'Absolutely bonkers': UFC world in disbelief over 'crazy' scenes
Fight fans have been left stunned by 'bonkers' scenes at UFC 271, with Douglas Silva de Andrade staging a remarkable comeback in the prelims.
Silva de Andrade appeared to be copping a beating in his bantamweight fight against Sergey Morozov, with judges giving the first round to the latter.
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Morozov got Silva de Andrade on the ground early and opened up a nasty cut on the Brazilian, clearly dominating the fight.
But Silva de Andrade flipped the script in the second round and rocked his Kazakh opponent.
Morozov managed to survive a barrage from Silva de Andrede, before the Brazilian finished off his rival with a rear naked choke.
“That is crazy,” UFC legend Daniel Cormier said in commentary for ESPN.
Ariel Helwani wrote on Twitter: “I mean, this is just the craziest sport. What a wild fight”.
Silva called out UFC boss Dana White after the fight, declaring: “I deserve the $100,000 Dana, I deserve the best performance and fight of the night”.
Fans also flocked to social media in awe of the fight.
Yeeeeesh, that fight was the best kind of absurd. Douglas Silva de Andrade is a gangster y'all. #UFC271
— Shaheen Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) February 12, 2022
That Silva de Andrade/Morozov fight was absolutely bonkers. #UFC271
— Jay Arnold (@JArnoldTAMU85) February 12, 2022
What an insane comeback and finish from Douglas Silva de Andrade. Incredible. #UFC271
— Mike Heck (@MikeHeck_JR) February 12, 2022
Silva de Andrade is an ANIMAL!! From getting worked in the first to crushing the man in the second. Wow #UFC271
— Vince Morales (@vandetta135) February 12, 2022
Gotta love Silva de Andrade’s tenacity. That’s probably not going to be Fight of the Night — which is a good thing for us — but it was pretty amazing! Never saw that happening after the first. #UFC271
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) February 13, 2022
Silva De Andrade. Holy hell #Ufc271
— Underhooks Pod (@UnderhooksPod) February 12, 2022
Oh my god how did he come back from that first round! And choked him out too - Silva De Andrade wowee! #UFC271
— Dan (@Danfightfan) February 12, 2022
Rob Whittaker falls to Israel Adesanya
Meanwhile, Robert Whittaker has been left scratching his head after losing a tight, unanimous points decision in a UFC middleweight title rematch three years in the making to Israel Adesanya.
The Sydney fighter lost his title to the Nigerian-born New Zealand star in 2019, winning three times since to earn the rematch in Houston's UFC 217 main event.
And he showed he'd learnt plenty after that second-round knockout in Melbourne, pushing the heavy favourite in a unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) he thought should have gone the other way.
Whittaker (24-6 record) took the second round according to one judge, while the two other judges both agreed the Australian had won the final two rounds.
The champion had more significant blows, but four takedowns helped Whittaker's cause as he was left to lament what could have been in front of 16,000 fans at the Toyota Center .
"I'm happy that I fought my heart out and left it here (but) I'm gutted, I thought I did enough," Whittaker, who thought he'd won all but the first of the five, five-minute rounds, said.
"I was surprised at how well my plan was working. I was surprised at how I executed and it was paying dividends, I was surprised at the decision, but it is what it is.
"He's the champ, he beat me for the second time now and that's that. We're the two best in the world, we know this."
Adesanya (22-1) was pushed in his fourth title defence but remains unbeaten at the middleweight class.
with AAP
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