The Bigger Picture | Crypto.com UFC 331: Van vs Pantoja 2

Patricio Pitbull looked like a different fighter on Saturday night than the one we had seen through his first three UFC appearances, as he came forward with urgency and aggression, taking the fight to Dooho Choi and dispatching “The Korean Superboy” in the opening round. His absolute peak years are behind him, but this version of Pitbull can still be a serious threat and dangerous addition to the featherweight ranks.

Alonzo Menifield fighting with a compound fracture of his thumb is utterly ridiculous to me in every way possible. First, his willingness to just soldier on for two more rounds despite that kind of injury shows incredible mental fortitude and pain tolerance, but secondly, what are we doing? How was this not stopped?

POST-FIGHT INTERVIEWS: Pitbull | Menifield | Vera

I thought the referee, doctors and cornermen are supposed to be protecting the fighters, often from themselves? Everyone involved here looked at his mangled thumb and said, “We’re good; let’s keep going.” This felt like a mistake to me, not because I had any kind of investment in the outcome, but because where is the line and what do you do if things get worse?

Seeing the emotion come flooding out of Marlon Vera following his third-round stoppage win over Charles Jourdain was a reminder of the humanity of this sport. It had been three years since “Chito” won a fight, and you could see how much that was weighing on him as he fell to his knees and was overcome following the stoppage.