MMA Recap April-June #6 (UFC FN: Almeida vs Rozenstruik)

Being in attendance for this event was a special feeling considering it is only the second moder UFC event to take place in my home city. Despite there being some occurrences that would be better forgotten. There were also some incredible moments on this card where certain fighters further elevated their career trajectory.

May 13, 2023

Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina

FOTN- N/A

POTN- Carlos Ulberg, Bryan Battle, Matt Brown, Jailton Almeida, Ian Machado Garry

Despite there not being a specific fight that stuck out amongst the rest, there were several up-and-coming fighters who continued to impress as well as progress through the rankings. First one being Charlotte's own Bryan Battle. Despite being the second fight on the entire event and coming into the fight being off weight by two pounds. Battle completely shoved the circumstances aside and made the Spectrum Center ERUPT with a 13 second knockout against Gabe Green who has a wealth of experience in the UFC. Another standout performance was from Carlos Ulberg who made quick work of his adversary. It is also worth mentioning that the entire catastrophe of a situation between Mandy Bohm and Ji Yeon Kim also occurred on this card which has since seen Böhm removed from the UFC roster which was followed by a very questionable decision win for Douglas Silva de Andrade. Despite that rough sequence of events there were a number of other standout performances from Alex Morono, Matt Brown, Ian Garry, and Jailton Almeida. Along with Johnny Walker extending his win streak to three in an underwhelming fight against Anthony Smith.

I believe if the UFC did return to Charlotte again any time soon the card would be much more properly structured. There were a few fights that were originally booked and did not happen such as Natan Levy vs Pete Rodriguez which will more than likely never be booked again and Angela Hill vs Mackenzie Dern which turned out to be a great fight. Regardless, It was a bittersweet ending to the card with Jailton establishing himself as a legitimate problem in the Heavyweight rankings alongside other young fresh names such as Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich.

For what it's worth, the moment of the card belonged to Bryan Battle