The Monday Grind: November 17, 2025
KO of the Weekend: Bo Nickal
On a night that saw huge KOs from Carlos Prates, Benoit Saint Denis and Baisangur Susurkaev, Bo Nickal’s head-kick KO of Rodolfo Vieira stole the show.
The last time Nickal fought at “The Garden” he was mercilessly serenaded with chants of “Overrated!” by the New York crowd as he laboured to victory against Paul Craig. Faced with another top grappler this past weekend, Nickal leaned heavily on his ever-improving striking, then finished the job with a jaw-dropping head-kick knockout.
Unsurprisingly, there weren’t so many boos for Bo this time…
The Biggest Upset: Ethyn Ewing
Stepping in on just a few days’ notice having fought for Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat promotion the previous weekend, Ethyn Ewing stepped into Madison Square Garden, stepped up a weight class and handed hot prospect Malcolm Wellmaker the first defeat of his career.
Wellmaker was a colossal betting favourite heading into the bout, but Ewing, who won the A1 Combat interim bantamweight title last weekend, showcased a more well-rounded game than hard-hitting Wellmaker, as he mixed up his martial arts superbly to put the highly-touted Wellmaker on the back foot. And, despite conceding height and weight to the unbeaten prospect, Ewing looked the better all-round fighter as he ran out a unanimous decision winner on his short-notice UFC debut.
Wellmaker will bounce back and continue to make waves at 145 pounds, but it looks like the UFC has a dangerous new name in their bantamweight division. Give him a bout in his natural weight class, and a full fight camp to prepare, and we could see Ewing establish himself as a serious threat to the world’s best at 135 pounds.
Storyline to Watch: Islam Makhachev as welterweight champion
The welterweight division may just have become the most interesting division in the UFC.
Islam Makhachev is now at the top of the division, but there’s a handful of contenders all looking to challenge him for the title. The most interesting angle to follow will be to see how Makhachev himself approaches his title reign. Will he take a “bring them on” approach, where he’ll face anyone, or will he look to pursue title defences against fighters where he has a clearer wrestling and grappling advantage?
Based on what we’ve seen this past weekend, Michael Morales presents a dangerous option, with his combination of size, strength, speed, knockout power and solid defensive wrestling making him a nightmare matchup for anyone at 170 pounds. But Makhachev may be more prepared to take on someone like Carlos Prates, who is undeniably brilliant on the feet, but may be more easily taken down and dominated on the mat.
Makhachev has the chance to cement himself as an all-time great with this title run, but to do that, he needs to take on all-comers.
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