UFC

Some of the most impressive performances at UFC London came on the undercard.

Nathaniel Wood overcame the odds yet again to beat Losene Keita, while Mason Jones overwhelmed Axel Sola in a bruising back and forth fight of the year encounter.

Jones and Sola were covered in blood and breathing heavily by the end of their contest, with both fighters swinging until the final bell, using every last drop of energy.

Jones’ performance was the type that can have a lasting effect on a fighter’s career but he and Wood roused the fans on a night when the atmosphere was sometimes flat at the O2 Arena.

Fighters on the prelims like Wood and Jones don’t get as much media attention or promotion from the UFC – and strikingly less money than their headlining peers.

But in a sport that demands so much from the flesh and mind, there are arguments the athletes should be better looked after amid a changing landscape in combat sports.

Fighter pay has been questioned by athletes and the media recently after boxer Conor Benn secured a reported £11m one-fight deal with Zuffa Boxing.

Zuffa Boxing is owned by UFC president Dana White, so critics have asked why the 56-year-old isn’t paying similar amounts to his MMA fighters under contract.

The UFC gives about 20% of revenue to fighter pay, compared with boxers who get about 60% of revenue from their events.

London’s Wood, who has won 11 of 14 fights in the UFC, says he hopes the Benn deal will spark a change because he was “heartbroken” when he saw how much he would be earning.

“When you think I’ve been in the UFC for eight years, but I’m not on that, I”m not even on 1% of that,” Wood told BBC Sport before UFC London.

“Especially when I believe MMA is the tougher sport as well, but again I just try and control what’s in my hands and it’s got nothing to do with me.

“It was definitely heartbreaking to see someone is getting paid that much.”

After defeat to Klein in July 2022, Jones and UFC mutually agreed to not sign a new deal.

Reflecting on what alternative path he could have chosen, Jones gave an honest appraisal.

“I remember sitting down in my coach’s office after the whole thing in London because I was in a mess,” he recalled.

“My one coach said to me, ‘Look I think you need to go somewhere else and work with someone else because I don’t think I can give you what you need’.

“I said to him in tears at the time, ‘Please just stick with me, as long as you boys are in my corner I’ll go through anything’.

“They’ve stuck by me since then, and I can’t thank the boys enough.

“As long as those boys are there for me I’ll give them as much as they give me and I couldn’t ask for anyone else to stand by me and help me reach the top.”

For Jones there really was no other possibility than to stick to chasing his UFC dreams.

“I had an acknowledgment on this camp when I was running through the mountains, and I chose this life.

“I know it’s a weird thing to say, but every day I wake up I choose this life.”

Jones admitted the easy thing would have been to go and get a job.

“I could literally at any time just think, no, I’m done, and get a different job that pays on a weekly basis,” he added.

“After I left London I didn’t get paid for two years, I racked up credit card debt, and family members and friends told me to quit.

“I had a family business I could have gone into, done more with school.

“But for me fighting is what’s in my blood and fighting is what I want to do.”

Murphy came into the contest after missing out on a title fight against champion Alexander Volkanovski in January, with Diego Lopes being given the opportunity instead.

Murphy did not get the rousing reception from the home fans like Aspinall or Pimblett have in the past as he made a business-like walkout, but he was cheered as he stepped into the octagon.

Evloev was booed heavily but embraced his reception as he smiled and made a heart-shaped gesture with his fingers towards the crowd.

Encouraged by chants of “Oh Miracle Murphy”, some of the Mancunian’s best work was done with his back to the cage, as he landed a one-two uppercut combination and tried to keep Evloev at bay with leg kicks.

Evloev was predicted to grapple with Murphy but it was not until the third round, with the Briton gaining the upper hand in the striking, that he attempted his first takedown.

Murphy got to his feet quickly and drew roars from the crowd with a counter right hook, but Evloev would end the round on top as a flurry of strikes opened a cut above the Mancunian’s left eye.

The contest was delayed in the fourth round as Murphy took time to recover from an accidental groin strike in a move for which the Russian was docked a point.

But after telling his corner he had hurt his hip, Murphy struggled to defend takedowns like he had before and Evloev gained the upper hand in the closing stages.

Murphy was roared on by the crowd as he continued to get back to his feet, but Evloev’s nine takedowns by the end of the bout told a telling story.

“I told you I was a better striker than him – joking!” said Evloev.

“Me and my coach were preparing more fakes, takedowns and punches. I think my punches are hard, I can hurt the opponent. Look at his face, he is damaged. I don’t have to use my wrestling to get the win.”

Holloway, 34, first did the point-down against Ricardo Lamas in 2016, while he repeated it against Dustin Poirier last year in becoming the first fighter to defend the BMF title.

In every fight Holloway has initiated the point-down, he has been up on the judges’ scorecards and closing in on a win, meaning he has given opponents one final opportunity to steal victory.

“My coaches aren’t a fan of it, they want me to circle away, stay away and be smart for the 10 seconds,” said Holloway.

“But they come up with great game plans and we execute it to that point. So let me have my 10 seconds of fun, you know. If I’m on the wrong end, then so be it.”

Fans imitate the gesture during meet-and-greets with Holloway, while fellow fighters have also copied it during bouts.

Charles Oliveira, who faces Holloway for the BMF title at UFC 326 in Las Vegas on Saturday, has even been filmed training for the edge-of-your-seat exchange which follows the point-down.

Holloway has created a set of rules for any fighter, including Oliveira, planning to initiate the point-down.

“If you’re winning the fight, you are the person who can call the 10 seconds. And then when you call the 10 seconds, you cannot step back, or shoot or clinch,” said Holloway.

“The other guy, if he obliges and then shoots or clinches, whatever, because he’s on the losing side already.”