Mauricio Luffy and James Lontop at UFC 309 ceremonial weigh-in Credit: Jake Noecker/Cageside Press
James Lontop was the only fighter to miss weight at UFC 309, but that’s probably forgivable since he entered a 165-pound catchweight fight against Mauricio Luffy on short notice.
Luffy spent a full camp, maintained a 100% completion rate out of 10 wins, and shined in his promotional debut match against Jamie Malarkey.
The main card opener saw a bit of a back-and-forth early on, mostly single strikes to find distance. Lontop hooked his body and slashed Luffy’s leg. After about three minutes, he connected upstairs, delivered a combo that sent Laffey back, and finished with a leg kick. However, Luffy’s own leg kick clearly hurt Lontop. The Peruvian fighter responded with a kick to the body of his own. Luffy’s left hand was effective and the body kick was again on top, making it a competitive opening frame. At the last moment, Luffy hurt Lontop with his right hand, but wiped him out with the following spinning attack.
Luffy performed a wild drop-down calf kick, nearly losing his balance and starting the second round. His jab was much more traditional, but it hit the mark. However, Lontop supported Luffy and severed the cage. Lontop’s own leg kicks caused damage, and Luffy was also damaged. However, just under 90 seconds into the game, Luffy knocked him down! With one punch and a left hook, Lontop sat down and was able to survive and stand up while Luffy swarmed him. However, his eye was clearly damaged.
Sensing the flow, Luffy threw a roundhouse kick, then lowered his hands and struggled, pretending to be a jumping attack. He got the jab working, but his next left hook just missed. Shortly after, a right hook landed, bending Lontop’s leg but not knocking him down.
It was a credit to James Lontop’s toughness that he made it to the end of the second round and advanced to the third round. But, bloodied and down in the first 10 minutes, he was losing the fight. In the third, Rontop threw punches and tried to get a takedown against the fence, but couldn’t get it. They returned to the center and Luffy continued to show impressive accuracy in his striking. Whether it was conserving his energy or just holding onto the lead, Luffy seemed to let off the gas a bit when Lontop tied the match again. Luffy, in probably the closest round of the fight, broke free, retreated, fired, and made the counter work.
In the final minutes of the game, Rontop tried to turn up the heat. He chased Luffy, looking for an entrance for a takedown, throwing kicks and swinging his right hand like a club. Luffy was the one who made a clean connection with 20 seconds left, but Lontop ate it and took it to the final horn.
The winner was undoubtedly Mauricio Ruffy. Still, credit to James Lontop for being tough as nails, overweight or not.
Official result: Mauricio Ruffy def. James Lontop unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
