UFC Orlando Thompson Vs Holland Recap (SubStack Exclusive Preview)

For the substacked squad. Full post 12/07/22

UFC Orlando/UFC Fight Night Thompson Vs Holland took place December 03rd, 2022 and was a great card to have on ESPN. The main event ended up being a Fight Of The Year contender, and the start of the card included an amazing comeback to get the crowd going. For myself, it was the first card back where I was able to "research," adequately for a few fights. It paid off as I was able to go 3/3 on straight picks and 1/1 on parlays. You can see my Third-Party tracked results here. There were some major standouts during the event, which means extra on a card that delivered so much. Let's take a took at some fights and what's next for those fighters.

    Francis Marshall Vs Marcelo Rojo

Marshall showed really sharp boxing in the fight. Not only with the highlight reel finish to stop the fight, but the defense to bait Rojo into throwing without ever being in major danger. It takes a high fight IQ to drop Rojo in the first after by making a conscious mid-round adjustment, and then following up the wobble with a takedown. Natural athlete, high fight IQ considering the little experience, and sharp boxing should help him make a real impact in the division. 

What's Next?

Francis Marshall should be brought up slowly imo. Even another fighter around Rojo's caliber wouldn't be bad, as it would allow Marshall to be able to work more on his game rather than overly opponent specific. Someone like Herbert Burns or Daniel Pineda.  If he wants to take another big step up in competition, Charles Jourdain would be a dream fight to really test his stand-up, and likely his fight IQ to adjust when Jourdain begins to out strike him.

Roman Dolidze Vs. Jack Hermansson

Roman Dolidze was the standout of the night for me. Not only did get the finish as a short-notice dog, he showed a lot of creativity and improvement in this contest. Even as Hermansson comfortably took round 1 with leg kicks and the occasional jab, Dolidze was finding the timing and started to throw towards the end of the round. In the second round he found Hermansson’s  timing on the leg kick and fired back with the left straight he was feeling out at end of round 1. The power shot landing lead Hermansson to immediately shoot for a takedown, but ended up getting swept by an impressive inverted triangle chain. There are already several BJJ channels breaking down the sequence, and I highly recommend checking them out. It ultimately ended up with Dolidze using a calf slicer to hold back mount on Hermansson, and showing great core strength and balance to posture up from there and throw to force the TKO stoppage. 

What's Next?

Dolidze entered the top 10 with a statement. With him being 34 already, I think he should be as active as he can be and climb fast before father time catches up. The skill to remain disciplined, show good defense in blocking but also finding timing, and improve positions in dynamic ways make for an interesting fighter. I’d like to see Dolidze take on Brunson to enter the top 5 level next. 

Sergei Pavlovich Vs Tai Tuivasa

What a breakthrough performance from Pavlovich. After walking through Lewis to set himself up as the next top-3 contender, he establishes his spot by brutalizing Tuivasa. Pavlovich used his reach to feel Tai’s face right away, and as soon as Tai got backed up against the fence Pavlovich pounced. Even though swinging wide from in close makes less use of the range, having such long arms generates a lot of leverage to whip around. Pavlovich teed off for 20 seconds before Tuivasa eventually faceplanted, bloodied and battered. 

What's Next ?

Pavlovich needs the elite only now. I am not a believer in Blaydes Vs Jones, as Dana hates both of them. Jones/Miocic or Jones/Ngannou are the only two options. So therefore, Blaydes Vs Pavlovich PLEASE

Matheus Nicolau Vs Matt Schnell

The fight was granted high placement on the card, and Nicolau seized the moment.