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UFC Edmonton is almost as bad as last week’s card. Hell, maybe it is just as bad, but since there are two ranked fights and the bigges losing skid is three fights, I guess I should cut them some slack. The dearth of recognizable talent is indicative of where the UFC’s promotional ability is these days, which is to say barely existent. I do love the co-m…

UFC Vegas 122 is a miserable card. It’s filled with lateral movement, losing records and athletes that shouldn’t even be in the promotion. This is the truest form of Apex slop, and it’s shameful that this is the state of the promotion that commands billions. The single ranked fight isn’t even the best one on the card. What a miserable state this sport i…

UFC 332 is a card slapped together with what looks like zero regard for traditional numbered event standards. This one looks like it would be right at home in Salt Lake City, but billed as a Fight Night. Now I’m sure the action will find its way to our screens, but the bar is pretty low, to say the least. The main card is fairly fun and intriguing but t…

UFC Vegas 121 is exactly what you’d expect of an Apex card. Not much in the way of name value, ridiculous card order and some miserable stats. This is supposed to be a TUF finale card, so I understand the dearth of ranked talent, but once upon a time, TUF finales were well matched, thoughtful events that felt like impactful, important events. Those were…

UFC 331 was kind of mid card on paper but in practice, it was pure greatness, mainly thanks to Sean Sharaf. Aside from that amazing ending, we had several really good finishes that added to the action in Los Angeles. It was certainly a night for the old guard, and that is fine by me.

The prelims opened up with Joanderson Brito stopping Giga Chikadze by brutal KO in the first round with hammerfists. You have to wonder what they’re going to do with Giga since that was his fourth straight loss. Casey O’Neill secured a sick armbar on Eduarda Moura in the first round, showing that the ranked ladies should probably be a little higher up on the card. Ryan Gandra defeated Ozzy Diaz in the first round by TKO, after a barrage of punches forced referee intervention. Capping off the undercard, Marlon Vera scored a third round TKO over Charles Jourdain.

The main card finishes saw Sean Sharaf absolutely run through Gable Steveson like a Mack truck. His round one knockout was heard around the world, and especially among bettors and oddsmakers who had Steveson at -2200 at the start of the fight. Sharaf became an instant fan favorite and unofficial Hall-of Famer with that thunderous stoppage.

Patricio Pitbull wasted no time in nailing the Korean Superboy in round one with hellacious punches to score the knockout, demonstrating that the oddsmakers were all wrong about a couple veterans. Arman Tsarukyan followed up with a knockout of his own, stopping Mauricio Ruffy with vicious elbows in a round one buzzer-beater. The headlining fight was a banger, even though it didn’t end in a finish. Joshua Van is a phenomenal striker and it showed in spades tonight. Outstanding performance by the champ.

For those keeping up, here are the disclosed payouts (Courtesy of MMA Junkie) since the event took place in California:

Now that we’ve reviewed the highlights, let’s check out the results and bonuses while we’re here.

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UFC 331 Results

* 125 lbs.: Joshua Van def. Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-47, 50-45)

* 155 lbs.: Arman Tsarukyan def. Mauricio Ruffy by KO (elbows), round 1 (4:56)

* 145 lbs.: Patricio Pitbull def. Doohoo Choi by KO (punches), round 1 (3:28)

* 265 lbs.: Sean Sharaf def. Gable Steveson by KO (punch), round 1 (0:12)

* 205 lbs.: Alonzo Menifield def. Iwo Baraniewski by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

* 135 lbs.: Marlon Vera def. Charles Jourdain by TKO (punch), round 3 (2:02)

* 265 lbs.: Robelis Despaigne def. Tai Tuivasa by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

* 145 lbs.: Michael Aswell Jr. def. Joo Sang Yoo by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

* 185 lbs.: Ryan Gandra def. Ozzy Diaz by TKO (punches), round 1 (2:04)

* 185 lbs.: Edmen Shahbazyan def. Brunno Ferreira by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

* 125 lbs.: Casey O’Neill def. Eduarda Moura by submission (armbar), round 1 (3:22)

* 145 lbs.: Joanderson Brito def. Giga Chikadze by KO (hammerfists), round 1 (0:57)

UFC 331 Bonuses

* $100K each FOTN: Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja

* $100K each POTN: Arman Tsarukyan, Casey O'Neill

* $100K Proper Chaos Bonus (Was $50K but Dana White matched it): Sean Sharaf

* $25K each to the other fighters that got a finish: Joanderson Brito, Ryan Gandra, Marlon Vera, Patricio Pitbull

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UFC 331 is minimum effort card slapped together by the matchmakers. It does have three ranked fights but all ranked fights are not created equal. Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja sits atop the main card, our lone title bout. It should be a good, action-packed fight that will determine if Van has what it takes to hang on to his belt now that Pantoja has …

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