I was disappointed for Cat, happy for old Andre, really loved what Ortega was able to accomplish and seeing the Cyborg roboticly destroy.
All that being said, I enjoyed O'Malley with the personality and drama taking the victory speech from the mat while they put him in traction.
You?
Hahaha, yeah... "and the winner is... that guy lying on the floor over there!" Was certainly a memorable moment from the night.
I also feel bad for Cat and Frankie Edgar but Ortega's KO was beautiful (he also seems to be a great guy and he's Mexican so I was happy he won).
I feel conflicted about Cyborg's fights, it's becoming a meme that she just goes and destroys everyone who crosses her path. The only opponent who has given her a competitive fight so far has been Holly. I would love to see a worthy challenger stepping up but it seems that the gap in skill and power is just too big between Cyborg and the other female fighters. I wish we could enlarge Valentina or Joanna with a magnifier laser (or shrink Cyborg) and have them fight her, hehe...
The main reason why I watched the card though was that I was curious about Mackenzie Dern's UFC debut, but I have to say it was quite unsatisfying. She's world class in grappling but her stand up is super clumsy and wild, she evidently had trouble dealing with her opponent. I hope she gains more experience before they blow her out of proportion and she ends up in the Ronda situation.
This is probably buried in your feed enough you won't notice but I will reply anyhow. I actually missed the prelim fights but looked back at the highlights on the Dern fight.
Looks like typical transition from grappling to MMA growth. Those head down, flailing overhand rights are so typical of the BJJ fighters who have striking game to hone as you point out.
I like this about BJJ, you can still win MMA fights with limited striking. She has a great team that will polish and develop that.