The first finish of the UFC Saudi Arabia prelims was fittingly the first win the UFC career of the young Brazilian Felipe Lima who made his short-notice UFC debut against an incredible game Muhammad Naimov who led on the scorecards before Lima saw his opening for the rear naked choke.
The UFC APEX was home to another action-packed event in Las Vegas as Flyweights Alex Perez and Tatsuro Taira put it all on the line in their main event clash. See which fighters stood out with their performances and earned some extra cash for their efforts.
The energy in Newark was high all fight week, but it really reached a fever pitch when the lights when down in Prudential Center. A sold-out crowd of fans and celebrities were on their feet for one of the most dramatic main events in recent memory, supported by a bevy of classic performances.
As we get a little distance from this fight, the magnitude of it will start to sink in a little more. Are we in the midst of the greatest lightweight championship run of all time? Did we just watch the great Dustin Poirier fight for the last time?
The Octagon returned to the UFC APEX for a solid night of fights. Featherweights Edson Barboza and Lerone Murphy headlined the event with the two 145-pound contenders putting it all on the line for 25-minutes. Before those two went to battle, these fighters punched in standout performances and earned some extra cash for their efforts.
90 seconds into his co-main event bout with Carlston Harris, the 30-year-old landed a right hook that put the lights out on Harris. It was a perfect knockout and the perfect statement for Williams to make as he angles his way to the welterweight rankings.
For years, Angela Hill has been working for an elusive UFC finish. Well, she finally got it and got it in the form of her first career submission win. In the second round Hill locked up a guillotine choke on Luana Pinheiro that forced the tap. It was a triumphant moment for the 39-year-old, who continues to prove that she absolutely deserves to be competing with the best strawweights in the world. With 25 UFC fights under her belt, and with back-to-back wins, Hill is in a prime position to make a run.
Both guys wore their heart on their sleeve and went to battle and pushed themselves to the brink for 15 minutes. The fight could have been stopped on either side but neither man would completely fade. In the end, it was the power of Waters that made a difference, as "The Truth" damaged Goff on multiple occasions. The judges rewarded that and gave Waters his second UFC his win.
No. 11 ranked Alonzo Menifield blitzed the City Kickboxing Product right off the horn, prompting a side step counter hook from Ulberg that landed right on the money. The shot took Menifield off balance and Ulberg poured on a couple more powerful strikes for good measure and got out of the bout without a scratch.
That's six wins in a row, with five finishes for the surging light heavyweight contender. Big things are ahead for Ulberg and it'll be interesting to see how he fits into the upper tier in the division going forward.
In June it'll be ten years since Diego Ferreira joined the UFC, and his veteran savvy continues to pay dividends. He faced a shiny prospect in Mateusz Rebecki and had adversity in the first round when he was dropped by Rebecki. But in the second round he flipped the tables completely, repeatedly hurting Rebecki and landing an impressive number of strikes. Rebecki was significantly beaten up by the end of the second and Ferreira put his foot on the gas in the final frame and didn't stop until the fight was called off with just nine seconds remaining.
Back to back great wins for Ferreira, who was a mainstay in the lightweight rankings before injuries and some losses took him out. He's now primed to get a fight with a ranked fighter in his next trip to the Octagon.
The 26-year-old added to his highlight reel with a picture-perfect head kick knockout of Christos Giagos. The Chile born Bahamondes was looking on top of his game for the first few minutes of the fight, landing great kicks and controlling the striking exchanges. He waited for his moment and threw the head kick and that was all she wrote.
The Octagon returned to Atlantic City for the first time since in almost six years with New Jersey-bred contender in the main event as Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot dueled with a title shot likely on the line. The fighters up and down the card brought the action for the East Coast crowd, delivering more than a few moments that set the arena on fire. On a night that tied the record for the most knockouts during a single event with eight, these fighters stood out from the crowd.
In a rematch dating back to their days on the regional scene, Anton Turkalj and Ibo Aslan went to war much to the delight of the Atlantic City crowd. The back-and-forth was wild and chaotic at times with a handful of moments where both men just stood in the pocket and slugged it out. As they entered the third round, more of the same rock-em-sock-em action occurred, and it was a flush right hand from Aslan that finally sent Turkalj stumbling to the canvas.
Facing UFC debutant Connor Matthews, Dennis Buzukja pulled out his best performance in the Octagon to date. Buzukja stayed on the front foot for much of the first two rounds with slick striking and smart defensive movement. As Matthews tried to push the pace in the third round, Buzukja connected with a slick left hand that buzzed Matthews and gave Buzukja his first UFC win.
For the second time in as many weekends, the Octagon landed in the UFC APEX for a solid night of fights. Rose Namajunas and Amanda Ribas headlined the affairs with the former strawweight champion besting the Brazilian over the course of five rounds. Before those two went to battle, these fighters punched in standout performances and earned some extra cash for their efforts.
Talbott beat Saaiman up plenty early, including a big knee in the first round that put him on the front foot. From there, Talbott was in rhythm. He walked forward, picked his shots, varied his targets and moved with little concern for what Saaiman threw back toward him. In the second round, Talbott cracked Saaiman with a clean left hook and pounched on him to complete the finish.
Filho timed a shot and got Osbourne to the canvas. After that he just waited for Osbourne to make a mistake before sinking in a rear naked choke and forcing the tap. At this rate Filho will make himself one of the names to watch at 125-pounds.
The bantamweight contender was away from the Octagon for a year and half and came back with a vengeance. Chiasson faced a familiar foe in Pannie Kianzad as the two fought almost six years ago on The Ultimate Fighter, with Chiasson winning by submission.
It was the same result at UFC Fight Night: Tuivasa vs Tybura. Chiasson took Kianzad to the floor and found the rear naked choke to get the win. It was an important win for Chiasson who is right back on track.
Fans had this fight circled on their calendar from the moment it was announced and for good reason. Benot Saint Denis entered the fight on a five-fight win streak and started the first frame of strong, pressuring Poirier and utilizing his wrestling and power throughout.
It was a back and forth battle between Della Maddalena and Gilbert Burns, with the Brazilian up on the scorecards heading into the second round. In the third round, the Australian escaped from a grappling exchange and as the two stood up he threw a knee that severely hurt Burns, sending him back toward the canvas. He followed up with several elbows with just over a minute left in the fight to get the job done.
Before we talk about Pereira's win, we have to discuss the walk out. It was a coordinated effort that saw Pereira bust a move before he delivered one of his best performances to date. Pereira hit the body of Michal Oleksiejczuk, forcing him to retreat, and that's when Pereira put his foot on the gas and went after Oleksiejczuk's neck. Pereira wrapped up the rear naked choke submission in 61 seconds.
The heavyweight newcomer had a reputation for finishing his fights quickly and he lived up to that reputation against Josh Parisian. Wildly swinging and retreating after a slip, "The Big Boy" caught Parisian with a strike that put him to floor. He added a follow up strike before the ref stepped in to stop the fight. 19 seconds.
Two fighters walking to the Octagon for the first time tonight made an incredible first impression, as Vinicius Oliveira knocked out Benardo Sopaj with a flying knee late in the third round.
The two debutants went back and forth in the opening round, with the first round going to Sopaj who found more success. Sopaj kept things going into the second round, but Oliveira started to find his groove, wearing down the 23-year-old into the final frame. With under a minute left to go, Oliveira threw a flying knee that put Sopaj on the canvas, giving us an early Knockout of the Year candidate.
Steve Erceg secured his third UFC win in a row, defeating his biggest test to date in a big way. Erceg and Matt Schnell exchanged a handful of punches in the first frame, with the Australian getting the nod from the judges after five rounds.
UFC's return to Mexico City, Mexico provided fight fans with an exciting night of fights. With 13 fighters of Mexican descent competing, there were plenty of highs for the crowd at Arena CDMX. Here's the fighters who shined extra bright on Mexican soil.
For 15 minutes "Golden Boy" was a sniper, picking a relentless Prado apart. Zellhuber busted up Prado pretty bad with his counter strikes and his combinations but Prado never stopped pushing forward and looking for the knockout. The combination of Zellhuber's striking prowess and Prado's toughness made for a high-quality battle that had fight fans everywhere appreciate the work of both lightweights.
Brian Ortega has waited a long time to get back into the Octagon after suffering an injury against Yair Rodriguez in 2022. He made the most of his second chance versus Rodriguez, pushing through an excellent first round by the former interim champion. Then in the second Ortega utilized his grappling to take over the fight and dominate Rodriguez for basically the entire second frame.
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