MAFB: UFC Fight Night 193 Review

Pintsized Background

Hahaha. Classic Bethe Correia. Even in her retirement match, the Brazilian still managed to live by the memes and miss weight by 2.5lbs. Certainly, any weight advantage wouldn’t have made a lick of difference against Karol Rosa, but it still brings a tear to the eye as an apt send-off.

Of particular sadness, however, was Misha Cirkunov’s failed move down to Middleweight. The powerful wrestler looked phenomenal at the weight, yet Jotko was a tough ask due to the Pole’s solid TDD and crisper counter-boxing. Hopefully, Cirkunov sticks around at 185lbs and builds himself a run against unranked foes. The only fight back at Light Heavyweight that makes sense is to be iced by Jimmy Crute in a rematch.

Catch up on the preview and predictions for UFC Fight Night 193: Predictions if you haven’t already, and have a good old laugh at our expense.

More interested in number crunching? Find out how each fighter ranked on the Pintsized Interest scale this weekend on MAFB Math: UFC Fight Night 193.

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Jamie Mullarkey vs Devonte Smith

Mullarkey def. Smith // TKO (punches) Round 2 2:51

Fight Breakdown

The sleeper banger on the card violently awoke on Saturday night. Consistently pressed back by Mullarkey’s stalking forward pressure, Smith competently boxed off the back-foot with hard check hooks and right straights. New-found head movement was utilised by the Aussie throughout the first round, yet it was often used outside of striking range. Mullarkey’s career issue of keeping his head on the centre line arose whenever he waiting in the pocket. Thankfully, the Aussie could call upon his stellar chin, yet Smith stunned Mullarkey a couple of times early.

Smith out-classed Mullarkey on the outside but an inability to keep his back off the cage eventually caught up to the American. Shelling up against the cage, Mullarkey out-muscled Smith in the clinch. Latching onto hard knees, Mullarkey emptied the American’s gas tank before finding the finish on the mat. The Aussie will never win a title but that doesn’t stop him from building a Darren Elkins-esque run and notoriety.

Jamie Mullarkey Analysis and Future

A durable brawler with strong clinch striking and a deep gas tank? Put Jamie Mullarkey in the cage with Ottman Azaitar right now. The German prospect has a penchant for first-round stoppages, but little is known about Azaitar’s bottle deep into contests. If Azaitar can clean out Mullarkey, his power is legit. If Mullarkey can survive the first round, the Australian can grind out a FOTN war.

Devonte Smith Analysis and Future

After recovering his career with a stoppage over Justin Jaynes, falling to a TKO loss against Mullarkey has placed Smith back to step one. If Smith wants to bounce back with a statement win, a rematch with Khama Worthy could be necessary. Worthy may have secured a first-round knockout in their first meeting, but the thirty-four-year-old is riding a two-fight stoppage slide. Instead, Smith could slowly rebuild against Frank Camacho in what could end up a retirement fight for the vet.

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Casey O’Neill vs Antonina Shevchenko

O’Neill def. Shevchenko // TKO (punches) Round 2 4:47

Fight Breakdown

It must be tough to be the sister of WMMA’s biggest thirst trap. It must be doubly tough if you are the older sister. Antonina, for all her flaws, fought a solid fight against hot up-and-comer, Casey O’Neill. For much of the first-round, Shevchenko punished the Aussie’s uncultured forward aggression with hard straight shots. Moreover, when O’Neill blindly shot for Shev’s hips, Antonina ended up scrambling to top position and landed solid work.

Unfortunately, Shevchenko’s horrific decision making rose its ugly head by the end of the first round. Positioned too closely to the cage and failing to throw enough firepower in anticipation of O’Neill’s eventual takedown attempt, Antonina ended up on her back. It was only a matter of time before O’Neill broke Shevchenko. The Kyrgyzstani has lost four of her last six fights on the basis of ineffective work from her back. O’Neill may have secured the finish, but her leaky striking defence and physical inferiority in the clinch will be noted by future opponents.

Casey O’Neill Analysis and Future

If the UFC were willing to feed Shevchenko’s sister to the prospect, O’Neill must be high in the match-makers plans. The twenty-three-year-old is an easily marketable fighter, least not because of her aggressive finish-first style, but the Aussie needs far more cage time before a considerable push. Ideally, the winner of Cortney Casey and Liana Jojua would be a fine career stepping stone. If O’Neill is unwilling to sit on the sidelines for long, Gina Mazany is a perfect fighter to keep warm.

Antonina Shevchenko Analysis and Future

Well, any slither of hope for a crawl up the rankings has been well and truly squashed. Antonina simply doesn’t possess the fighting brain required to excel at the highest levels of WMMA. While Valentina continues to ply her trade in the UFC, however, it is likely Antonina remains. A Molly McCann clash of styles could be somewhat fun, especially to cod a few casual Scouse fans into mistakenly thinking Meatball is having a crack at Valentina’s title.

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Pintsized Awards

Pintsized Prospect

Casey O’Neill. Aggressive wrestler, willing ground and pound artist and a horde of social media followers? Dana’s next darling is shaping up nicely.

Pintsized Veteran

Douglas Silva de Andrade. The big old train ran over an opponent uncomfortable with a powerful opponent – classic MMA fun.

Surprise of the Night

Santos vs Walker. A surprise for all the wrong reasons. The Light Heavyweight version of Lewis vs N’Gannou. 

Fight of the Night

Mullarkey def. Smith // TKO (punches) Round 2 2:51. Back-and-forth striking affair with occasional patches of clinch striking brutality.

Finish of the Night

Andrade def. Pirrello // KO (punch) Round 1 2:04. A mid-air knockout from a punch – one for future highlight reels for sure.

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