The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned after a week-long hiatus with a main event featuring Grant Dawson versus Bobby Green in the lightweight division. The two men were headed in opposite directions, as was reflected in Dawson being an enormous -500 favorite at UFC Fight Night 229. Dawson sported a perfect record of 8 wins and 1 draw in the UFC, with none being more impressive than his last outing, a 15-minute domination of the very tough and skilled Damir Ismagulov. A ferocious grappler who excels at taking foes down and then brutalizing them with ground-and-pound or finishing with tight submissions, Dawson is still improving at the age of 29.
By contrast, Green came into the main event 2-2 with 1 no contest in his last five outings. He had decisioned Nasrat Haqparast before being demolished in the first by current UFC lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev, was knocked out in the second by Drew Dober, but ended his losing streak by submitting Tony Ferguson with 6 seconds left in a three-round fight, though that is likely more a statement about his opponent. While an incredibly talented fighter in his heyday, at 37 years old, Green appeared clearly past his prime, though he hoped his superior striking would give him an opportunity against Dawson, whose chin was known to be shaky.
And that is indeed exactly what happened. Green wisely allowed Dawson to throw strikes with impunity early on, not punishing them, lulling him into a false sense of security. Then, just half a minute into the contest, he seized a golden opportunity, hitting Dawson with a perfect left-handed laser straight on the chin, before proceeding to pound him out. The giant upset required just 33 seconds.
In the co-main event, middleweight prospect Joseph Pyfer met the highly-dangerous Abdul Razak Alhassan. Pyfer came into the co-main only 2-0 in the UFC, though each victory was an impressive first-round knockout. Alhassan, meanwhile, is 38 and 2-3 in his last 5, but possesses devastating power in his fists, with all 12 of his victories occurring by knockout. That was reinforced in January when he brutally knocked out Claudo Ribeiro early in the second, a spectacular highlight-reel stoppage. However, Pyfer passed the test with flying colors, fighting intelligently throughout and avoiding a toe-to-toe firefight. He also used plenty of grappling, which led to a submission at 2:05 of the 2nd round.
In other significant action, the aforementioned Dober came back nicely from a shocking knockout loss to Matt Frevola in May of this year by needing just half a round to dispose of Ricky Glenn through a left hook and ground-and-pound, a fighter who, incidentally, holds a draw against Dawson. Dober is now 4-1 in his last 5, all ending by knockout.