On A Dramatic Night At UFC 220, A Tense Rivalry Finally Met Its End With A Spectacular Finish…
While UFC 220 arguably lacked in quality across the board, it more than made up for this by spinning a number of dramatic narratives. On a massive night for MMA, you couldn’t take your eyes off the screen for a second.
In the co-main event, Daniel Cormier sought to exorcise his Jon Jones hangover against Volkan Oezdemir, doing so with panache. Then in the headliner, Stipe Miocic had the chance to become the Heavyweight champion with the most defences of all time. Meanwhile, his opponent Francis Ngannou was fighting for a UFC title only four years after being homeless on the streets of Paris.
Obviously the two headlining bouts had the most high-profile stories, but the remainder of the card also served up some very tasty moments. One that casual fans might have missed was the bitter rivalry between Abdul Razak Alhassan and Sabah Homasi. The welterweight duo faced off in a rematch after their original fight ended in controversial circumstances.
Dubious Finish
The pair first met at UFC 218 back in December. They were scrapping away in the opening round when suddenly, Alhassan let loose with his hands and Homasi hit the mat.
Herb Dean, the referee on the night, thought that Homasi had been dropped by Alhassan’s punches and intervened to stop the fight. This gave Alhassan a TKO victory on the night. However, cameras showed that Homasi actually slipped while changing levels. Understandably on the night the New Jersey fight was frustrated.
“I’ve been hurt worse than that in fights. That was just a little drop. I been hurt a million times worse than that.”
Time To Go Again
In fairness to the UFC they moved quickly to set the pair up in a rematch that has been surrounded by tension from the moment it was announced. Both fighters were obviously determined to prove themselves, and a rivalry blossomed between the pair.
Alhassan and Homasi faced off again on the prelims last Saturday night. The bitter rivals came out swinging from the off. What was an ugly brawl ended very quickly with a beautiful highlight finish.
UPPERCUT SZN! BACKFLIP SZN! Abdul Razak Alhassan with the insane KO of Sabah Homasi at #UFC220! 🇬🇭🇬🇭 https://t.co/n8TRDnRQP0
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) January 21, 2018
No Doubt
Alhassan knocked Homasi out with an uppercut from Hell. As sweet and clean a finish as you’ll ever see. Homasi goes stiff as soon as he hits the ground and a visibly pumped Alhassan walks away, revelling in his success.
The Ghana fighter was beaming as he spoke to reporters in his post-fight interview. He gave credit to his coach for calming him down and giving him focus.
“I’m just angry, I just want to go. My coach says calm down, be patient you’re better than him everywhere. Just take your time do better than him.”
Clearly it worked, as you can see in the highlight reel above. A deadly, deadly finish that shows the importance of keeping your composure, even when you’re in such a highly charged and emotional moment.
