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Derek Brunson shined this weekend against Darren Till, but despite Brunson’s incredible run and dominant finish over a legitimate contender, a title shot may not be coming as quickly as Brunson hopes. Someone who is likely to get a title shot next, Dustin Poirier, might make his last walk to the Octagon on the night of that title fight. We’ll also explain why Contender Series will be different in 2021 and just how big a threat Alexandre Pantoja could be to Brandon Moreno if they were to meet again.
As we look ahead to a busy few months inside the Octagon, Marc Raimondi, Brett Okamoto, Jeff Wagenheim and Carlos Contreras Legaspi want to make sure that you won’t be shocked if some surprising headlines show up on the site. Here’s what you need to know.
Don’t be surprised if … Brunson has to fight again before title shot
Raimondi:Derek Brunson has done more than enough to earn a title shot in the UFC’s middleweight division. He has won five straight, and he really put a stamp on things Saturday afternoon with a third-round submission victory over a popular fighter in Darren Till.
Few have the résumé of Brunson, who has fought just about all the best fighters at 185 pounds over the last nine years, including champion Israel Adesanya, current top contender Robert Whittaker, legend Anderson Silva, stalwart Yoel Romero and more. Brunson lost those bouts, but at 37 years old he is in his prime right now — and deserving of that recognition in the form of a chance at the belt.
However, there’s a solid shot that timing is going to be Brunson’s enemy in this situation. Adesanya is likely to defend against Whittaker, the man who Adesanya took the belt from in 2019, in early 2021. At minimum, that’s four months away. Add in time to recover for the winner of that fight, and if Brunson waits around — which he said he was willing to do — that could put his title shot sometime closer to the halfway point of 2022.
That’s a long time from now. And there’s another factor: Jared Cannonier. Two weeks ago, Cannonier looked strong in beating Kelvin Gastelum, and he has won four of his last five. Brunson might be on a slightly better run, but it’s close enough. Cannonier is surely in the title conversation, too. In a situation like this, it seems like the most logical answer is to just have Brunson and Cannonier fight it out. Maybe put that fight on the Adesanya vs. Whittaker undercard. If something goes wrong with Adesanya or Whittaker, Brunson or Cannonier can step in. And even if not, the two winners will be on the same timeline and can face off in a mini-tournament final.
Brunson clearly wants the title shot and is willing to wait until next spring to get it. I understand that perspective. He’s closer to 40 now than he is 30. His window of opportunity during his peak years won’t be open forever. But with the way the schedule works out now, it sure feels like Brunson will have to extend his impressive winning streak to six straight to get his second shot at the UFC middleweight championship.
Don’t be surprised if… Dustin Poirier retires if he wins a UFC championship
Okamoto: I decided to go bold here. If Poirier were to dethrone Charles Oliveira (that fight might happen in December, but it’s not official), what if he were to walk away? He’d be the second lightweight champion to do so — in his prime — in the last two years. For the record, I’m not predicting this will happen, I’m only saying, don’t be surprised if it does.
The one thing that has eluded Poirier over his 12-year professional career is an undisputed title. It’s the only box he has left to check. He’s described how important that is to him in multiple interviews. If he were to finally get it done in his next fight … would he be all that motivated to stick around and defend it against Justin Gaethje, Michael Chandler, Beneil Dariush or Islam Makhachev?
Honestly, I’m not too sure. Of course, there are also two potential fights out there for Poirier in which titles aren’t the central focus: Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz. The paychecks for those fights would be tough to walk away from, but is it possible Poirier would leave them on the table if he’s accomplished everything he wanted in his career? I think it’s entirely possible.
Don’t be surprised if … Contender Series yields more UFC contracts this season than ever before
Wagenheim: We have only one episode to go on, but what a start: five contracts awarded after just four fights. But it’s not the numbers alone that bode well for those who’ll be vying for UFC deals in Season 5’s nine remaining weekly episodes. What also stood out in Week 1 was the types of performances that caught the eye of the UFC brass.
Two of the contracts went to purveyors of knockouts, and that’s a no-brainer. But another fighter was rewarded with a UFC deal after he’d ended his bout by fouling his opponent and being deducted a point. The two other contracts went to both fighters in a close bout. That’s a new one — getting in off a loss. Now, this is not to suggest that any of these five fighters didn’t deserve a ticket to the Octagon. They all fought really well. It’s just that in past seasons it took more than that to get you in the door.
The most famous no-deal example is Brendan Loughnane, who was passed over after an outstanding victory in 2019 (and ended up in the PFL, where he fell one win short of this year’s $1 million championship fight). But he is not alone in showing off skills at least on par with a UFC prelim fighter, only to be turned away. Over the show’s first four seasons, it was mostly knockouts and submissions that were a key to the front door. Others did go the distance and still were chosen for entry, but only after explosive or dominant performances.
Last year’s Season 4 saw 37 contracts awarded, more than any other season. Season 5 is off to a great start in terms of beating that pace, although there’s a long way to go. We’re not likely to see five contacts handed out each week, but something tells me the entrance exam will remain looser. The past 18 months have been difficult for us all, but among the hardest hit are small, regional MMA promotions that are the breeding ground for future major-league talent. With the feeder system not yet back up and running at full speed, the UFC has to find its fighters somewhere.
Don’t be surprised if… Brandon Moreno cruises past Alexandre Pantoja in their third fight
Legaspi: Pantoja was right in his post-fight interview after defeating Brandon Royval on Aug. 21. He claimed that he made Brandon Moreno a better fighter with both of his victories over the current flyweight champion — in 2016, on The Ultimate Fighter, and again in May 2018.
After the dominant performance he had over Moreno in their second fight three years ago in Chile, Moreno learned the extent of his weaknesses in boxing.
Unlike many Mexican fighters, Moreno found success with his jiu-jitsu and wrestling, which is comparable to almost everyone in the division he’s faced since he arrived in the UFC. He proved that by submitting two ranked opponents in his first three fights, right after being eliminated from The Ultimate Fighter by Pantoja.
But that 2018 fight was crucial. Moreno was cut from the UFC after that loss, and the 125-pound division as a whole was in jeopardy.
Pantoja pushed Moreno to add tools to his set, and Moreno started building his boxing skills from scratch. Training in his native Tijuana with Javier “Drift” Cortez — who was part of Antonio Margarito’s corner, and worked with amateurs at Erik Morales’ gym — changed Brandon’s approach to the game and made him a very confident fighter on his feet. He improved his head movement and combinations, which helped him beat dangerous strikers like Kai Kara-France and former champion Deiveson Figueiredo.
Moreno’s confidence has grown as he’s built his undefeated streak to seven fights since the second Pantoja loss.
Pantoja looked explosive against Royval, and he will put pressure on Moreno, who wants to leave those two losses in the past. If Pantoja gets cleared from a left knee injury to fight before the end of the year, he will be a dangerous contender. But when it comes to improvement, the current champion looks like a completely different fighter than the one he dismantled three years ago.
DALLAS — Nathan MacKinnon had a part in both of Colorado’s strange goals in the second period before adding an empty-netter late as the Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 5-1 in the opener of their first-round Western Conference playoff series Saturday night.
MacKinnon scored on a shot that deflected off Stars defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, and knuckled past goalie Jake Oettinger late in the second period. That came during an extended power play, a double minor against the Stars after he took a high stick to the face.
That came after MacKinnon’s assist midway through the second period on a goal by Artturi Lehkonen, who was following his initial shot and falling down after a collision in front of the net when the puck ricocheted off his lower left leg into the top corner of the net. The play was reviewed and officials ruled that there was no kicking motion by Lehkonen while tumbling to the ice with Mavrik Bourque.
“He was really good tonight,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “You know, like, obviously they’re going to key on him — like we do on some of their players — but really strong defensive game from him. And obviously, his get-up-and-go on the offensive side of it, he’s making plays all night. I thought that line was dangerous.”
There wasn’t much Oettinger could do on either of those goals as the Stars lost Game 1 in their eighth consecutive series in the NHL playoffs since 2022. They are 0-7 in series openers under coach Pete DeBoer, six of those coming at home. DeBoer saw progress, however, calling the effort Saturday night “the best game we’ve played in 3-4 weeks.”
Devon Toews gave Colorado a 3-1 lead with 7:04 left. MacKinnon’s empty-net tally for his 50th career playoff goal came with 3:08 left, 11 seconds before Charlie Coyle scored.
This series-opening loss for the Stars came after they finished the regular season on an 0-5-2 stretch that included four losses at home after being 28-5-3 before that.
Game 2 is Monday night in Dallas, before the series shifts to Denver.
It was pretty special,” Blackwood said. “I’ve been waiting to play in the playoffs for a long time and it was great to finally get my first one.”
Blackwood was one of 11 players who have seen action since being acquired through Colorado’s eight in-season trades. Those deals included the Avalanche trading Mikko Rantanen on Jan. 24 to Carolina in the East. He played only 13 games before a deadline deal March 7 sent him back to the Central Division with the Stars and included an eight-year, $96 million contract extension.
Rantanen, who had 101 points (34 goals, 67 assists) in 81 playoff games for the Avalanche, had three shots and one block over 18 minutes in his postseason debut with the Stars.
Oettinger had 19 saves, three when Colorado had a two-man advantage in the first period when Cale Makar drew two tripping penalties only 36 seconds apart from each other.
Roope Hintz, who had the penalty against MacKinnon, trimmed the Stars’ deficit to 2-1 on his goal with 13:15 left in the game, just before the end of a power play and about a minute after DeBoer called a timeout.
Bednar got his 50th playoff win with the Avs — in his 82nd postseason game, equal to a full regular season. That broke a tie with Bob Hartley for the most wins by a coach in franchise history. Both won Stanley Cups — Bednar in 2022 and Hartley in 2001.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Kyle Connor‘s one-timer with 1:36 remaining in the third period snapped a 3-3 tie, and the No. 1 seed Winnipeg Jets survived a Game 1 scare — and some shaky goaltending from Connor Hellebuyck — to post a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues in the opener of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Connor also contributed a pair of assists and captain Adam Lowry capped the victory with an empty-netter with 53 seconds left, much to the delight of the “whiteout” full house of 15,225 fans at the Canada Life Centre.
“There were some emotional swings. Obviously, we didn’t get off to the start we wanted,” Lowry said during his postgame bench interview, aired on the arena’s jumbotron. “But what an incredible third period, what an incredible atmosphere. And we’re real happy with the result.”
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Monday in Winnipeg, and the home team knows it will need a more complete effort in their own zone if it is to gain a 2-0 series lead. Hellebuyck made 14 saves en route to the win, but in allowing three goals in the first two periods, he finished with a concerning .824 save percentage.
But Mark Scheifele had a goal and two assists and Jaret Anderson-Dolan also scored for the Jets, who won the Presidents’ Trophy for the NHL’s best regular-season record (56-22-4). With his three points, Scheifele became the Jets’ all-time leader in playoff points with 41.
“It’s obviously really cool,” Scheifele said of the record. “To do it in front of the fans tonight was pretty special. That was a fun game to be a part of.”
Jordan Kyrou gave the Blues a 3-2 lead with a power-play goal early in the second period, but Winnipeg’s top-line winger Alex Iafallo tied it at 9:18 of the third.
Jordan Binnington stopped 21 shots for St. Louis, which grabbed the Western Conference’s final wild-card spot with a final-game victory.
St. Louis outshot the Jets 9-7 in the opening period, and dished out 32 hits to Winnipeg’s 14, as the teams hit the locker room tied at 2-2.
The Blues came out of the first intermission and used the power play for Kyrou’s goal at 1:13 and a 3-2 lead. It extended his season-ending point streak to four goals and two assists in four games.
“Overall, I thought it was a really good hockey game, but we are going to grow and we are going to get better,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “That’s what we’re going to have to do. … We’ve got a lot of young guys playing in their first game in the Stanley Cup playoffs. That’s why I know we will get better.”
Winnipeg couldn’t capitalize on its early third-period man advantage but came close when Binnington denied Connor on a one-timer.
After Lowry’s goal, players paired up for some fighting with 19 seconds left after a regular-season series that Winnipeg won 3-1.
“That’s playoff hockey,” Hellebuyck said. “You have to play ’till the last minute, the last second. You know, it was a lot of fun, the guys were buzzing out there. I didn’t get a whole lot of action in the third. But it was really fun to watch and be a part of it.”
Brandon Lowe tied the score with a two-run single in a four-run ninth inning off Williams, Jonathan Aranda hit a two-run homer in the 10th against Yoendrys Gomez, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Yankees 10-8 on Saturday to stop New York’s five-game winning streak.
“Yeah, four-run lead, you’d like to get in and get out,” Williams said. “Made some good pitches; made some bad ones. Not enough good ones today.”
Williams has a 9.00 ERA and has allowed runs in four of nine appearances. While he has four saves in four chances, Williams has walked seven in eight innings, and opponents have a .333 average against him.
“We got a long way to go,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Williams. “It’s a little bump here early, and he’s got all the equipment to get through it.”
Luke Weaver, who struck out two in a perfect eighth, could become an increasingly enticing option to replace Williams as closer. After thriving when he took over the closer role from Clay Holmes late last season, Weaver has not allowed a run in 11 innings over nine games this year and has given up just two hits while striking out 13 and walking five.
Acquired in December from Milwaukee for left-hander Nestor Cortes and infield prospect Caleb Durbin, Williams can become a free agent after the season.
Williams converted 14 of 15 save chances with a 1.25 ERA for the Brewers last year, striking out 38 and walking 11 in 21⅔ innings. Diagnosed during 2024 spring training with two stress fractures in his back, he didn’t make his season debut until July 28.
Given an 8-4 lead, Williams allowed Jose Caballero‘s one-out single on a chopper as third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera made a high throw, for an error, then walked No. 9 batter Ben Rortvedt. Chandler Simpson hit an opposite-field RBI double to left for his first big league hit, Yandy Diaz hit a run-scoring infield single and Lowe singled to left.
“A lot of soft contact,” Boone said.
Williams allowed the hits to Caballero, Diaz and Lowe on his changeup, known as an airbender.
“Just the changeup to Lowe. I’d like to have that one back,” Williams said. “Tough luck on that double down the line, but aside from that, I thought I threw the ball pretty well.”
Williams generated just one swing-and-miss among his seven changeups.
“Maybe using it too much,” he said. “We’ll work on that.”
