UFC Brooklyn Open Workout Recap

Historic Gleason’s Gym, the hallowed institution central in the stories of boxing greats like Jake LaMotta, Phil Terranova, and Gerry Cooney among countless others, was the fitting site of the next chapter in the company’s history.

“This is the Brooklyn boxing gym,” explained Gleason Gym czar Doug Vannoni. “You talk about street cred, this would be the gym. And the UFC showing up here makes all the sense in the world. In the bigger world, it’s always been made out that there’s some competition between boxing and MMA. But you get boxers and MMA fighters together, they just watch each other. There’s a symbiotic relationship. They have such mutual respect.”

Vannoni’s comments had visual evidence, as both boxers and martial artists paused their training, along with a packed room of local fans, to watch the stars of Saturday’s Barclays Center event showcase their wares.

Newcomer Alex Hernandex marked a little milestone of his own, making his first appearance at a UFC open workout event. It’s not unwarranted, of course. Hernandez was objectively one of 2018’s most exciting newcomers, and he’ll look to capitalize on his quick ascension with his biggest fight to date against Donald Cerrone; a match some have referred to as a classic passing-of-the-torch.

“With all due respect to [Cerrone], it’s going to be a violent handoff,” Hernandez predicted. “I’m going to run through him and enter the new age.”

Speaking of Cerrone, when we last saw him in Denver, he was rejoicing in one of the more idyllic moments in recent MMA history, hoisting his infant son above his head as he celebrated capturing not only the most wins in UFC history, but also the most finishes. It was also the last time we saw Cowboy at welterweight, and he debuted his new lightweight frame for onlookers in Brooklyn.