4 takeaways from UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris

Alistair Overeem defeated Walt Harris via second-round TKO in the UFC Fight Night headliner Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville.

Here are four takeaways from the event.

Overeem's chin holds up

These days, Overeem is known for not being able to take much of a shot. He's lost 18 times as a professional, and 14 were knockouts. He hasn't lost via decision since 2005. In his last fight before Saturday, Overeem was on track to beat Jairzinho Rozenstruik until "Bigi Boy" finished him with four seconds left.

Harris rocked Overeem early in the main event, but this time, "The Demolition Man" survived. That could be thanks in part to referee Dan Miragliotta, who could've easily justified stopping the fight when Harris was obliterating Overeem with shots on the ground.

But the 40-year-old covered up when necessary, and he eventually moved around enough to get out of the bad position. Overeem somehow ended the round on top of Harris, peppering him with a ground-and-pound of his own.

While Overeem was badly hurt in the opening round, he never went out cold. It's possible Harris just didn't land the right shot, but his efforts seemed like knockout blows to me. Maybe, just maybe, Overeem's chin isn't quite as bad as we all thought.

An unforgiving sport

The world was rooting for Harris on Saturday. Over the past seven months, he's been dealing with the worst thing a parent could ever imagine. His 19-year-old stepdaughter, Aniah Blanchard, went missing in late October in Alabama. She was allegedly murdered and found dead a month later.

Blanchard's story was well-documented ahead of Harris' clash with Overeem, with the former receiving so much praise from the MMA community for having the courage to return to the Octagon after the tragedy.

Unfortunately, that doesn't matter when it comes to what happens in the cage. Overeem showed Harris respect in the lead-up to their bout that had been scheduled three times, but he went in there to win. After the fight, Overeem said it wasn't difficult to face Harris under those circumstances because MMA is a sport, and there's nothing personal.

Harris' fight on Saturday was for his stepdaughter, and a victory in his return might've taken a sliver of the pain away. But MMA is an unforgiving sport, and that wasn't the outcome in store for "The Big Ticket."

Ige on the rise

Featherweight Dan Ige edged out Edson Barboza, a longtime lightweight contender, on Saturday's main card. If you weren't talking about Ige as a future top competitor before, you absolutely should be now.

Ige got dropped in the first round, but he rallied late to earn the biggest victory of his career via split decision. He's now won six straight, including a decision over Mirsad Bektic in January, after kicking off his UFC career with a loss in 2018.

The 145-pound division is loaded with contenders, so there's still a ways to go for No. 15 Ige before he can think about a title shot. But he's undoubtedly improved since joining the UFC's roster, and if Ige continues to get better, he could very well find himself in the title picture down the road.

'Chito' improving, even in defeat

If you compare the Marlon Vera who walked into the Octagon for the first time in 2014 to the Marlon Vera who fought Song Yadong on Saturday, they're two different people.

That was evident in Vera's unanimous decision loss to Song. Many people thought Vera won, and even if you scored the fight for Song, there's no denying "Chito" showed a few flashes of brilliance throughout the "Fight of the Night."

Vera has improved so much since moving to California from his native Ecuador to train with Team Oyama, and at 27 years old, he'll only get better from here. He's more dangerous on his feet, and his ground game surely remains slick, even if we don't always see it in his fights.

Song is a rising prospect in the 135-pound division himself, so a close bout with the Chinese fighter is impressive. Vera had won five straight matchups prior to this loss, and the defeat will serve as motivation for him to continue to refine his craft.