Fiorot cements top contender status, Nelson keeps rolling in Atlantic City

Manon Fiorot cemented her case as the top contender in the flyweight division on Saturday night, venturing to Erin Blanchfield’s home state and collecting a clean sweep of the scorecards to close out the UFC’s return to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

From the outset, the superior physicality and striking ability of the French standout was apparent, as she hoisted Blanchfield into the air on a takedown attempt moments into the fight, and kept the American at bay with sharp counter-strikes the whole way through. If Blanchfield tried to get inside or initiate a clinch situation, Fiorot was quick to either shuck her aside forcibly or reverse the position, stymying the majority of the offence the 24-year-old Jersey girl tried to muster.

While Blanchfield gets full marks for her tenacity and still has plenty of time to regroup and grow as a result of her first UFC setback, the story of Saturday’s main event was that “The Beast” should unquestionably be next in line to challenge for championship gold once Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko resolve their rivalry later this year.

The 34-year-old from Nice has now won a dozen straight since dropping her professional debut, the last seven of those coming inside the Octagon. She answered any remaining questions about her conditioning by working at a steady clip for all five rounds on Saturday, and with consecutive victories over Blanchfield, Rose Namajunas, and former title challengers Katlyn Cerminara and Jennifer Maia, it’s hard to make a case for anyone usurping her place in line.

In the co-main event of the evening, Joaquin Buckley continued to show he’s an dangerous addition to the welterweight division, pushing his record to 3-0 since arriving in the 170-pound ranks with a second-round stoppage win over Vicente Luque.

Neither man truly distinguished themselves in the opening stanza, with Buckley flashing his trademark athleticism while Luque stayed tight and technical. But early in the second, the Brazilian opted to pull guard after Buckley stuffed a telegraphed takedown attempt, and the St. Louis native took full advantage, settling into top position and quickly pounding out the finish.

While he’s posted bigger highlights, this was easily the biggest win of Buckley’s career, as it should carry him into the welterweight rankings and open up further marquee opportunities for him going forward, perhaps as soon May when the UFC returns to his hometown.

Former middleweight champion Chris Weidman registered his first victory since his horrific leg injury at UFC 261, collecting a technical decision win over Bruno Silva in a bout that was plagued by accidental eye pokes.

Weidman looked sharp to start, throwing kicks with his surgically repaired leg and controlling the first round before the two men got a little more loose with their hands in the second. Silva took one eye poke in the second, and then they simultaneously poked one another early in the third, earning a warning from the referee. Shortly after the restart, Silva charged forward and Weidman’s outstretched fingers crazed each eye, prompting the Brazilian to collapse to the canvas.

The 39-year-old fan favourite followed him to the ground and attacked, prompting the bout to be halted. After initially being announced as a technical knockout, the broadcast team later clarified that the victory would be ruled a technical unanimous decision, retroactively deeming the accidental fouls to be the cause of the stoppage and going to the scorecards.

Regardless of the controversy, this was a good effort from Weidman, who took some good shots and looked far more comfortable inside the Octagon than he did last summer in Boston when he returned against Brad Tavares.

Stoney Creek’s Kyle Nelson collected a quality first-round stoppage win over local favourite Bill Algeo, running his winning streak to three and unbeaten run to four in the process.

“The Monster” wobbled Algeo early in the fight, throwing big shots right out of the gate. The Pennsylvania native steadied himself and started to work back into things, but the power discrepancy continued to be the difference, as Nelson again rocked Algeo. This time, he stayed on the gas and collected the stoppage, adding to the positive results he posted last year to move to 4-4-1 inside the Octagon.

Elsewhere on the main card, middleweight Nursulton Ruziboev picked up a controversial first-round stoppage win over Sedriques Dumas, pounding out a finish after the Contender Series graduate’s appeal for a pause in the action after getting poked in the eye went unheard. In the opener, Chidi Njokuani snapped a three-fight losing streak with a unanimous decision win over Rhys McKee in his first UFC appearance at welterweight.

Saturday’s prelims offered a mix of fighters with ties to the rugged East Coast regional scene, a trio of international talents collecting key wins and a pair of veterans registering big victories to keep things moving in a positive direction to start their 2024 campaigns.

In the final preliminary card pairing, Nate Landwehr rallied from a rough start to finish Jamall Emmers before the opening five minutes expired.

The always entertaining Landwehr took some punishment out of the gate and was leaking crimson by the end of things, but true to form, he steadied himself and rallied back, hurting Emmers with a clean uppercut before pounding out the finish. An all-action talent on the fringes of the Top 15 at featherweight, “Nate the Train” is must-see TV whenever he’s on the card.

Brazil’s Virna Jandiroba returned for the first time after suffering an ACL injury and ran her winning streak to three, halting the ascent of Mexican-Canadian Loopy Godinez. In both the first and third rounds, Jandiroba was able to end the frame in dominant position on the ground, stationed on Godinez’ back, hunting for chokes.

With the unanimous decision win, Jandiroba pushed her winning streak to three, cementing her position in the Top 5 and putting herself in the title conversation in the strawweight division.

Both Julio Arce and Dennis Buzukja cut their teeth and built their resumes fighting on the East Coast, making several trips to Atlantic City before touching down in the UFC. Saturday evening, they returned to the Jersey Shore and showed out, with each collecting stoppage victories, the former over Herbert Burns and the latter over newcomer Connor Matthews.

To begin the night, international talents Caolan Loughran, Jacob Malkoun, and Ibo Aslan registered wins.

Ireland’s Loughran out-worked durable Dana White’s Contender Series grad Angel Pacheco to collect his first UFC victory, while the Turkish light heavyweight Aslan avenged the only loss of his career, posting a third-round stoppage win over Anton Turkalj. In between, Malkoun made the trip from Australia worthwhile, posting a second-round stoppage win over Pennsylvania product Andre Petroski.