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Gets right back in win column
Mayes defeated Caio Machado via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) at UFC on ESPN 55 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
This was viewed as close to a pick 'em when the fight went off, and it played out that way inside the Octagon. The truth of the matter is if these two men fought ten times, both are likely to win five. Mayes has always had questionable cardio, and it showed here. He basically took the third round off, but the judges felt he did enough good work over the first ten minutes, including a Round 1 knockdown, to earn the decision. Now 32 years of age and having alternated wins and losses in his past four fights, "Lord Kong" is the very definition of roster depth.
This was viewed as close to a pick 'em when the fight went off, and it played out that way inside the Octagon. The truth of the matter is if these two men fought ten times, both are likely to win five. Mayes has always had questionable cardio, and it showed here. He basically took the third round off, but the judges felt he did enough good work over the first ten minutes, including a Round 1 knockdown, to earn the decision. Now 32 years of age and having alternated wins and losses in his past four fights, "Lord Kong" is the very definition of roster depth.
Machado up next
Mayes is scheduled to compete against Caio Machado in a heavyweight fight at the UFC's April 27 event, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Mayes will look to establish some better consistency across 2024. During 2023, he defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski via second-round TKO but also suffered decision losses to both non-champions Augusto Sakai and Rodrigo Nascimento.
Mayes will look to establish some better consistency across 2024. During 2023, he defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski via second-round TKO but also suffered decision losses to both non-champions Augusto Sakai and Rodrigo Nascimento.
Inconsistent ways continue
Mayes lost to Rodrigo Nascimento via unanimous decision (27-30, 28-29, 28-29) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
ANALYSIS
It was another lousy effort from Mayes, although better than his May 2020 fight against Nascimento in which he was submitted in Round 2. Don'Tale had real difficulty getting out of the starting blocks here, generating virtually no offense until Round 3. A good portion of that appeared to be the result of Nascimento tiring. There simply wasn't enough volume from Mayes over the course of the first ten minutes for him to have any chance of winning a decision. The very definition of roster depth, "Lord Kong" drops to 3-4 (1NC) in his first eight UFC bouts.
It was another lousy effort from Mayes, although better than his May 2020 fight against Nascimento in which he was submitted in Round 2. Don'Tale had real difficulty getting out of the starting blocks here, generating virtually no offense until Round 3. A good portion of that appeared to be the result of Nascimento tiring. There simply wasn't enough volume from Mayes over the course of the first ten minutes for him to have any chance of winning a decision. The very definition of roster depth, "Lord Kong" drops to 3-4 (1NC) in his first eight UFC bouts.
Nascimento rematch scheduled
Mayes will fight Rodrigo Nascimento in a heavyweight bout at UFC Sao Paulo on Nov. 4, according to Guilherme Cruz of MMAFighting.com.
ANALYSIS
Nascimento defeated Mayes at UFC on ESPN 8 more than three years ago. But since then, the latter has recovered with a 3-1 (1) and two TKOs across his last five fights. Mayes will look to redeem himself by defeating Nascimento, who is fighting in his native Brazil.
Nascimento defeated Mayes at UFC on ESPN 8 more than three years ago. But since then, the latter has recovered with a 3-1 (1) and two TKOs across his last five fights. Mayes will look to redeem himself by defeating Nascimento, who is fighting in his native Brazil.
Takes out Andrei Arlovski
Mayes defeated Andrei Arlovski via TKO (punches) at 3:04 of Round 2 at UFC on ESPN 46 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
While the final result is fantastic, this was another fight in which Mayes had virtually nothing going prior to the finish. Don'Tale's power is legitimate, as Arlovski found out first hand, but his biggest advantage over fellow UFC heavyweights is his athleticism. That said, Mayes seemingly never fights to his greatest strengths. He's almost always one-and-done in terms of firing off strikes, in addition to displaying stunningly little footwork. Combined with what has been questionable cardio at times, Mayes seems unlikely to put forth any sort of prolonged winning streak moving forward, although this was obviously a great start.
While the final result is fantastic, this was another fight in which Mayes had virtually nothing going prior to the finish. Don'Tale's power is legitimate, as Arlovski found out first hand, but his biggest advantage over fellow UFC heavyweights is his athleticism. That said, Mayes seemingly never fights to his greatest strengths. He's almost always one-and-done in terms of firing off strikes, in addition to displaying stunningly little footwork. Combined with what has been questionable cardio at times, Mayes seems unlikely to put forth any sort of prolonged winning streak moving forward, although this was obviously a great start.