Unified MMA #66 - February 20, 2025

What a horrible night!! They all lost… all my favorites… YES, I HAVE FAVORITES!! Simon Marcus, Bilal Nasari, Mike Imperato, Alex Sosa.

So, the first three fights were a big yawn… no kidding! Who wants to see an MMA fight won on points? Nobody! Not even me, and I start squinting as soon as there is a nosebleed! I can’t be sure about this, but I think the issue with the first few very quiet fights was that the fighters were mainly strikers. So there were very few takedown attempts, and the fighters were too hesitant, waiting for that perfect strike. And there were a few who gassed out fast and decided to rest it out in missionary… oh sorry, I meant full mount. I’m just so distracted and conflicted when it comes to BJJ and grappling. I mean, you work so hard to get into top control only to remember you actually like being on the bottom. And ground and pound… is it really that bad? Getting sidetracked…

Mike Imperato’s fight against Luis Guerrero was everything you’d hope for at an MMA show; those fighters got in the cage only to leave it as a winner or on a stretcher. Mike tried to go for takedowns, but there was an overhand that rocked him and led to him losing by KO strikes.

Bilal’s record up until that night was 6-0, and his last fight was against an opponent with a lot of wins all over the world, so I was certain Bilal had it that night!! But no, Bilal lost to Nurbek Abdykadyrov in the first two minutes of the fight. Bilal was a lot taller than Nurbek, too, so this fight messed up a lot of theories for many.

And the biggest fight of the night: Simon Marcus and Bobby Poulter. It’s no secret that I followed Simon Marcus to MMA, but I must admit, Bobby also won my heart because the man just didn’t quit. There were a few takedowns, which led to Simon mounting Bobby and throwing those KO strikes that usually end a fight, but Bobby got back up. I think I counted, and Bobby had seven lives. Bobby won by KO strikes in the third round. Unbelievable!

Ferdaws Nayimi won his fight against Ramon Cardozo that evening and then gave the longest speech in the ring, gloating over his 7-0 record and asking for a title fight… But then Liam McFadyen stepped into the cage, and Ferdaws quickly found the door. I don’t know much about Ferdaws, but if he fights Liam, I’ll ask him for an interview!

Oh, and Liam was matched a few times to fight that evening, but all his opponents pulled out for various reasons. I told Liam he could cut weight and I’d fight him. He didn’t take the fight. I think he doesn’t have it in him to cut to 100 lbs!

A point about the MMA game… having heart and going all in, putting it all out there, is actually what gives you an advantage. It’s not the height. It’s not being faster or having better defense, and it’s not grappler vs. striker. It’s that feeling of having nothing to lose except the fight you’re fighting at that moment, in the cage. And of course, having seven lives goes a long way.

See you all at Fight Dynasty Promotions on March 28… I think! Alec from Etobicoke Martial Arts thinks he’s found a better blogger… we’ll see. Alec has recently come out of retirement and is fighting again. He won his first fight in a very very heavyweight class in less than 30 seconds by total KO… and yeah, he feels really bad about it.