5 of the best UFC APEX fights, 1 of the worst
- Fans are up in arms about UFC APEX shows right now
- But they aren't all bad, some were really great
- We break down five we liked and one that failed to deliver
By Joe O’Grady
BEST: Josh Emmett vs. Shane Burgos, UFC Vegas 3
Going all the way back to the pioneer days of UFC APEX fight nights, Josh Emmett and Shane Burgos threw down in a Fight of the Year contender in June 2020. While many still remember this contest, it may be less heralded than the rest of the entrants on the list. From bell to bell, Emmett and Burgos competed in one of the most hard-hitting, technically sound fights of the year.
What really stands out when watching the fight is the sheer toughness and heart of both fighters, most notably Burgos. Although he came up short on the scorecards, he proved that his durability was among the best in the sport as he took multiple fight-ending shots directly on the chin and kept moving forward.
At the end of the fight, fans were left wanting more, as this is the only three round entrant on the list. However, both fighters used every second of the 15 minutes they were assigned in the Octagon and left fight fans with one of the more memorable undercard wars in the history of the sport.
BEST: Jirí Procházka vs. Dominick Reyes, UFC Vegas 25
While this fight lasted for just under 10 minutes, not a second was wasted between two of the top light heavyweight contenders at the time. Many remember the viral spinning elbow Jiri Procházka landed on Dominick Reyes to end the fight, but what preceded this uber-climactic finale was nearly two rounds of chaos.
Similar to when Marvin Hagler fought Tommy Hearns which lasted just under three rounds, there was no wasted time between Procházka and Reyes. The pace of this fight was truly remakable for anybody, let alone fighters of the light heavyweight division, with 146 total strikes landed in just over nine minutes. The shortened cage size really made this main event feel like both fighters were fighting in a phone booth and the sense of urgency to finish the fight was evident.
Procházka was largely pushing the pace and almost fighting like his life depending on a knockout victory but Reyes was very competitive for the majority of the contest. Procházka was able to earn himself the greatest knockout and highlight of his career but the real winners of the night were those lucky enough to witness one of the best fights not only at the UFC APEX, but in UFC history in general.