The Good, Bad and the Ugly from UFC Fight Night 242

TACO PADILLIA 😳

The fight ends with a TKO from a HUGE elbow in Round 2! #UFCVegas97 pic.twitter.com/FsCFijUp13

— UFC (@ufc) September 7, 2024

Before the Ultimate Fighting Championship heads toward its groundbreaking pay-per-view UFC 306 card at The Sphere in Las Vegas next week, the promotion put on a solid appetizer as UFC Fight Night 242 on Saturday night.

Twelve fights and six finishes, headlined by a welterweight showdown between contenders and fan favorites Gilbert Burns and Sean Brady, the UFC Apex hosted another event filled with highs and lows.

Here’s the good, bad and the ugly from UFC Fight Night 242.

The Good: Didn’t See that Coming

You can stop anyone with pin-point accuracy; just ask Chris Padilla. The 28-year-old lightweight picked up the biggest win of his career in the form of a second-round TKO (doctor’s stoppage) over Zhu Rong. Rong came in with a four-fight win streak and leg kicks that could snap a tree in half. Rong cut off the cage and kept Padilla on the back foot for most of the first round as he hunted for the finish.

Padilla remained calm, however, and patiently waited for his opportunity to strike. Midway through the second round, he found it. Padilla timed the pause between Rong’s jab and right cross and split the difference with a picture-perfect elbow over the top. Rong was so shaken up that he thought he had been poked, but the shot was legitimate. Within a minute, Rong’s eye was swollen like a purple golf ball, and Padilla started to land at will. It didn’t take long for the cageside doctor to come in and save Rong with 46 seconds left in the round. Padilla (16-6) pulled off a first-round submission in his last appearance, and now he’s showing that he can strike with fighters bigger and stronger than he is. While Rong’s swollen eye could easily lead the ugly portion of this piece, Padilla’s read and perfect timing on the counter was the best single shot of the weekend.

The Bad: Father Time Wins Again

There’s nothing sadder in sports than watching great fighters lose their step. Longtime great Gilbert Burns, former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade (26-13), and scrappy bantamweight contender Matt Schnell are two warriors the UFC loves to book for some extra violence. Still, the battles over the years have taken their toll.

Burns (22-8) will go down as one of the best fighters never to win a UFC championship, and if Saturday was the last time we saw Durinho in the cage, then he once again left it all in the cage. Sean Brady was simply too disciplined and too sharp for the 38-year-old. Burns clipped Brady in exchanges, but Brady’s superior conditioning established itself early. Burns was a step behind the entire way en route to the decision loss (50-45, 50-45, 49-46).

Burns didn’t stop fighting and even had his moments throughout. This fight could’ve been an all-time classic had Burns been younger, and it’s a shame that retirement is an option, but a competitor the caliber of Burns deserves to give nothing but his best, and those days have passed.

Schnell (16-8) was desperate to snap his two-fight skid against fellow journeyman Cody Durden and looked good in the first round. His hands were quick, and he caught the Georgia native with crisp uppercuts. Schnell discovered he had the hand speed and power advantage and looked supremely confident as he walked Durden down, but that confidence dissipated after he was cut by a huge right hand.

Schnell traded until the bell but had no interest in throwing punches to start the second round. Abandoning his game plan, Schnell shot for a takedown that made Durden’s entire day. After going for the guillotine, Durden finished Schnell off with a ninja choke. Schnell could’ve regained control of the fight on the feet, but he surrendered all chances of victory with that terrible takedown attempt. As the disappointment sank in, Schnell left his gloves in the cage, signifying his retirement after a 12-year pro career.

Retirement could be around the corner for Andrade as well. The former strawweight queen hadn’t fought at flyweight since 2021, but her heavy hands make her dangerous at any weight. A win over fellow Brazilian Natalia Silva could’ve put Andrade back into the title picture, but she was used for target practice instead. Andrade lacked explosiveness in her three-rounder and struggled to keep up with Silva’s lateral movement.

Silva cruised to a unanimous decision win (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), picking up her 12th straight win. Andrade took the loss in stride, but at this point in her career, what’s her next move? Andrade is ranked at strawweight (No. 4) and flyweight (No. 6), but the former is her better division. At 32, Andrade still has the time to book more matches, but she deserves to be more than just a gatekeeper for rising prospects at the apex. This loss puts her future in the balance, and a fresh start could be best for “Bate Estaca” moving forward.

Shithole sport. Jaqueline Amorim clearly cheating, hooking inside the gloves against one of my favorite fighters Vanessa Demopoulos, to get the finish. Absolute disgrace. pic.twitter.com/I7a20fZK4Z

— JJ Alejandro (@breakingyoun) September 7, 2024

The Ugly: What are Rules for Anyway?

Vanessa Demopoulos came into her showdown against American Top Team standout Jaqueline Amorim as a clear underdog but didn’t expect to have to face controversy as well. Midway through the first round of the strawweight scrap, Amorim — who has never seen the final bell — furiously worked for her ninth career finish after catching a Demopoulos kick and throwing her on to her back.

Amorim transitioned from an inverted triangle to side control to a north-south position before finally finding an opening for a body triangle. Amorim grew frustrated by Demopoulos’ stubborn grappling and looked for a way to open her up in any way she could. As the two continued to scramble, Demopoulos complained to referee Jacob Montalvo about Amorim’s illegal hand placement inside her gloves. Demopoulos was so flustered by the illegal move she stopped defending herself. This was the opening Amorim needed to sink in an armbar 3:28 into the first round.

Amorim improved to 9-1 with the win, while Demopoulos (11-6) had her two-fight win streak snapped in the process. Demopolous wouldn’t accept that, and when the Columbus, Ohio, native demanded that Montalvo check the replay, the film proved that Amorim clearly grabbed her on the inside of her gloves to gain a superior position. So now what?

The win still stands for Amorim and will likely not hinder her journey to the top of the strawweight standings. Montalvo’s miss is chalked up to the game, and Demopoulos remains screwed in the process. Should she have remained composed throughout the adversity? Absolutely. The first rule of the fight game is to protect yourself at all times, and you can’t ignore that rule when complaining to the referee. But what’s the point of having all these cameras in 2024 if you won’t use them? The film supported Demopolous’ claims and the fight being overturned to a no-contest shouldn’t be out of the question. What’s the point of having rules if you’re not going to enforce them anyway? Amorim arguably comes into the Octagon with more leeway as the marquee fighter in the matchup. Would the video have been considered if Demopoulos had pulled off the upset? Who knows. But for now, live, unedited footage carries no weight in judging and if you aren’t cheating, are you even trying to win?