UFC on ABC 5 was one of the highest quality events the Ultimate Fighting Championship has promoted in months, including pay-per-views. In the main event, undefeated phenom Ilia Topuria faced recent interim title challenger Josh Emmett in a big showdown at featherweight.
Topuria came in as a heavy favorite, having gone a perfect 13-0 in his career and 5-0 in the UFC, four of which were finishes. Arriving in the UFC as a very good grappler, he had showcased excellent, highly technical striking, recording three knockouts in a row against Damon Jackson, Ryan Hall and Jai Herbert at 155 pounds. His most recent outing before this main event, an obliteration of then fellow unbeaten Bryce Mitchell ending via submission in the second stanza, was his most impressive yet. At just 26 years old, Topuria is only getting better.
Emmett, meanwhile, was looking to prove he still has enough left in the tank at the age of 38. He had gone on an inspiring five fight-winning streak after a devastating knockout loss to Jeremy Stephens that required major facial reconstructive surgery. However, that run ended when Yair Rodriguez decimated him with body kicks and clean punches upstairs before locking in a triangle choke late in Round 2 for the interim UFC featherweight title.
Topuria ended up beating Emmett from pillar to post for 25 minutes. He consistently landed a hard jab and followed that up with flush left hooks, right crosses and overhand rights that lit up his veteran opponent. Emmett's face was already a bruised, bloody mess by round 2, and his left eye was completely closed by the end. Topuria came very close to knocking him out entirely late in Round 4, recording multiple knockdowns and was likely seconds away from a finish as the bell rang. As befitting his tremendous heart and toughness, Emmett never gave up the whole way through and continued trying to win even in the final stanza. Topuria took the unanimous decision by scores of 50-44, 49-45 and a rare 50-42.
In the co-main, female flyweight contenders Maycee Barber and Amanda Ribas faced off. Barber was riding a four-fight winning streak, though her split decisions against Miranda Maverick and Andrea Lee during that time were highly controversial, with most believing she lost both affairs. Ribas, meanwhile, was 1-1 since moving up to flyweight, dropping a split decision to Kaitlyn Chookagian that could have gone either way and then convincingly defeating top contender Viviane Araujo.
The fight turned out be a barnburner, with both martial artists landing brutal blows and Ribas spilling copious amounts of blood after Barber opened her up with an elbow. In the end, Barber's chin held up better and her strikes were more powerful, finishing Ribas just over halfway into the second round.
In other significant action, Brendan Allen made the shocking decision to stand against fearsome striker Bruno Silva, a man who had fought on even terms against Alex Pereira for stretches at a time. To the surprise of many, Allen got the better of Silva, knocking him down and then finishing with a rear-naked choke late in the first round. He is now a gaudy 10-2 in the UFC. Perennial contender Neil Magny added to his welterweight record of wins by moving up to 21 with a tough split decision over determined Philip Rowe.
Here are several interesting fights that can be made in the event's aftermath: