A hometown hero, a legend retires, a night of stoppages and more from UFC 330

Inside the Xfinity Mobile Arena, the impact of punches and kicks could be heard all the way to the upper deck. Coaches yelled instructions from their corners, blood, sweat — and teeth — covered the mats of the octagon, and fans stood cheering for more action.

“They say Philly crowds, they are the craziest,” said 25-year-old Xashem Alhab, who made the trip from Canada. “It’s been seven years since the UFC came back here. So, you know what, I’m looking forward to that. I haven’t seen a crazier fan than Montreal fans. So, let’s see if they can match that.”

The Ultimate Fighting Championship had finally made its return to Philly with UFC 330, its first major championship event in the city in 15 years — dating back to UFC 133, which featured a main event between Rashad Evans and Tito Ortiz.

With the promotion’s return, in front of a crowd of thousands of fans, there was action both inside and outside the octagon — including a hometown win, a legend’s retirement, and a number of stoppages.

Here’s everything you missed from UFC 330 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena …

Coming out to the sounds of Maino’s “Remember My Name,” Jeremiah Wells made his walk down to the octagon. The Philly native was welcomed by a number of scattered cheers but none would equal the cheers for his Kyrgyzstan native opponent, Myktybek Orolbai.

The Philly crowd was speckled with Kyrgyzstan flags decorating the arena as Wells’ opponent was entering the fight as a massive -1050 favorite. Throughout the match the crowd went back and forth between Kyrgyzstan and USA chants. With Orolbai taking an early two-round lead, Wells practiced patience and proved he had leveled up from his last two fights.

In the third round, Wells caught Orolbai in a guillotine choke which ultimately secured his victory in his hometown. Media members looked around at one another in shock, Philly natives cheered, the arms carrying the Kyrgyzstan flags slowly fell, and Wells climbed the cage and celebrated a second consecutive win.

“I do that move with my eyes closed in the gym…that’s my signature move man,” Wells said in his post-fight interview. “This is my hometown ... .I said I’m going to fight here one day and look at me now. Look at me now.

“I had four tries to get into the top 14, I fumbled the ball twice and then I won my last fight and nothing happened. And now, here. So, I win this. If they want me, then I’ll go. But if I’m not going to be 15 then I think I’m going to be done. And this would be a dream come true in my city because I always wanted to do this for my city. Philly stand up.”

Although it sounded like the welterweight was debating retirement after a shocking win in front of his hometown crowd, he later confirmed that he just wants more fights within the top 15.

“[I want to be remembered as] that gritty fighter, explosive and always excited to see,” Wells said. “To just put it on for the fans.”

With his victory on Saturday, he proved just that.

The early prelims set the tone for an exciting night at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. None of the three bouts went the distance, starting with a third-round guillotine finish by Philly native Wells, a second-round TKO by Neil Magny, and a third-round TKO by Lucas Fernando in his UFC debut.

The action continued right into the prelims with TreSean Gore winning by unanimous decision but losing some teeth in the process — which resulted in a shocked response from the Philly crowd.

Gore’s toothless win was followed by a quick first-round knockout by Donte Johnson, and a third-round scottish twister submission by Charles Johnson, who fittingly came out to the Rocky theme song. After the win Johnson declared himself “Philly’s adopted son,” revealing his Eagle fandom before leading the crowd in a botched version of Fly Eagles, Fly.

And that was all before the main card had even started.

The main card kicked off with a lightweight bout between Edson Barboza and Esteban Ribovics which ended in a second-round TKO win for Ribovics.

Barboza (24-15) ended his career after the fight, laying his gloves in the ring. In response, the Philly crowd gave the 40-year-old fighter a standing ovation. Barboza has given UFC fans a number of memorable moments throughout his 16-year career, including a spinning wheel kick knockout against Terry Etim at UFC 142 in 2012.

Out of the five fights on the main card, three ended in TKO, KO, or submission; however, there were no title changes. After the memorable night of action, Saturday’s UFC card left Philly fans wanting more visits from the MMA promotion.

“Philly has heart and passion, we got to see them here more often,” Wilson said.

The last time the UFC was in the city was in 2019 for a Fight Night card at the then-Wells Fargo Center, featuring a main event between Justin Gaethje and Edson Barboza. Since then, fans have been anticipating a return.

“I think they need to come here more often,” said New Jersey native Andrew Ferchen. “I don’t know why they go to Newark as opposed to coming here. I like all the sports teams here and the fans always show out for their team way more than most of these [other cities] I would say. I’m just glad they’re here and I hope they continue to come here and make it a yearly thing.”

Ferchen was accompanied by Nick Sorce, Kai Wilson and Kevin Haley, who was celebrating his birthday a day early with tickets to his first-ever UFC event. Although the New Jersey natives were still anticipating an exciting fight card, they were hoping for more name value.

“The main event is good,” Haley said. “But everything on the undercard could be way better. We don’t get the respect we deserve. What’s up with that?”

A lot of fans were also looking for more Philly representation on the card. Wells was the only Philly fighter featured. And the last time the UFC was in Philly, there were no Philly fighters featured on the card, although former Philly fighter-turned-broadcaster Paul Felder was in the booth.

“I think we could have seen more Philly fighters too,” Sorce said. “Sean Brady, he’s literally here right now. Joe Pyfer was here earlier. I think we could have seen a lot more guys.”

About three hours before gates opened, fans were already preparing for the event in the parking lot of the Xfinity Mobile Arena with the UFC’s Makchachev vs. Machado Garry fan experience.

The event, located in parking lot D, invited fans to participate in an immersive experience — whether that meant taking selfies with the UFC Legacy Championship Belt, testing their knockout power on the UFC Striking Challenge, picking up merch, or meeting some UFC athletes at the meet and greets.

“I think it’s really cool,” said 27-year-old Bill Bender. “I haven’t waited in any of these lines but I’ve been walking up and getting close to the fighters. Out of the nine that I’ve been to, this is the first time that I’ve come to the meet and greet. It’s pretty cool.”