Main Card (FOX Sports 1)
Main Event Heavyweight bout: Derrick Lewis vs. Travis Browne
In a battle of giants, Lewis pounded out ‘Hapa’. Browne hurt Lewis with a bevy of body kicks but got countered by a right hand from Lewis in Round 1. In the second, Lewis caught ‘Hapa’ at close range and landed several huge shots, including two monstrous uppercuts against the fence.
He proceeded to land good ground-and-pound after which Browne stood up, only to be dropped again- this time for good!
The referee did a terrible job by letting Browne take unnecessary damage courtesy the ground-and-pound shots landed by Lewis after Travis Browne was already out. Bad job by the veteran referee, Mario Yamasaki.
Result: Derrick Lewis def. Travis Browne via KO (punches) (Rd 2, 3:12)
Co-main event Middleweight bout: Johny Hendricks vs. Hector Lombard
‘Big Rigg’ is now officially a Middleweight (MW). After a series of botched weight cuts and bad performances, Hendricks moved up to 185 pounds and looked good against...ahem...Post USADA-Hector Lombard.
Meanwhile, Lombard has looked terrible ever since being caught for the usage of anabolic steroids. Let’s hope for the best version of ‘Big Rigg’ at MW.
Result: Johny Hendricks def. Hector Lombard via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Featherweight bout: Sam Sicilia vs. Gavin Tucker
Sam Sicilia seemed extremely gun-shy but opened up a bit in the final five minutes of the fight. It didn’t make a difference though, as the hometown boy Gavin Tucker cruised to a clear UD win taunting Sicilia over the course of their fight.
Result: Gavin Tucker def. Sam Sicilia via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Middleweight bout: Elias Theodorou vs. Cezar Ferreira
The UFC’s resident Twitter trash-talker Elias Theodorou won a run-of-the-mill Middleweight (MW) matchup against ‘Mutante’ Ferreira. Theodorou used his good fight-IQ to thoroughly out-point his opponent and take this fight on the scorecards.
Result: Elias Theodorou def. Cezar Ferreira via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Catchweight (139.5 pounds) bout: Sara McMann vs. Gina Mazany
Sara McMann is finally letting her overall MMA game shine by getting more comfortable inside the Octagon. McMann absolutely trucked through newcomer Gina Mazany. A future matchup with recent ‘Bullet’ victim Julianna Pena may be on the cards, for the Olympic silver medalist in wrestling.
Result: Sara McMann def. Gina Mazany via Submission (arm-triangle choke) (Rd 1, 1:14)
Lightweight bout: Paul Felder vs. Alessandro Ricci
Felder has excellent Muay Thai skills and he let his skills shine against Ricci. After landing a bevy of decent strikes, he caught Ricci with a step-in elbow finishing him with a few follow-up shots. Good performance by Donald Cerrone’s prodigy.
Result: Paul Felder def. Alessandro Ricci via TKO (elbow and punches) (Rd 1, 4:44)
Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 1)
Welterweight bout: Santiago Ponzinnibio vs. Nordine Taleb
Ah! The Ponz is back.
Ponzinnibio is a solid boxer and decent overall fighter, with a bad habit of getting into unnecessary brawls. Taleb is a less-polished boxer than his opponent, but the fight was quite even, with Ponzinnibio scoring a knockdown on Taleb in Round 2 and with that he secured the judges’ nod.
Result: Santiago Ponzinnibio def. Nordine Taleb via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Women’s Strawweight bout: Randa Markos vs. Carla Esparza
Let’s get one thing straight, Carla Esparza is a bad striker, but she more than makes up for it with her excellent grappling. She almost submitted Markos at the end of Round 2 but was out-classed in standup.
Markos clearly out-pointed the former champion on the feet, with most grappling exchanges (except the aforementioned sub-attempt) being even.
Result: Randa Markos def. Carla Esparza via Split-Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Bantamweight bout: Aiemann Zahabi vs Reginaldo Vieira
A difficult fight to score, Zahabi-Viera was a classic power vs. volume matchup, with Zahabi dropping Vieira in Round 2 and Viera trying his best to outpoint his aggressive opponent. Zahabi got the judges’ nod in this entertaining scrap.
Result: Aiemann Zahabi def. Reginaldo Vieira via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Middleweight bout: Thiago Santos vs. Jack Marshman
After having his boxing flaws exposed by Gegard Mousasi at UFC 200, Thiago Santos saw Jack Marshman try his bets to exploit said holes in the Brazilian’s standup game. While Santos dropped in the first round, he came back strong in the second, landing a beautiful spinning kick on Marshman.
The fight-replay suggested that the stoppage might have been a bit premature, regardless, this was a decent performance by Santos.
Result: Thiago Santos def. Jack Marshman via TKO (spinning heel kick and punches) (Rd 2, 2:21)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Middleweight bout: Gerald Meerschaert vs. Ryan Janes
In a lower rung MW matchup, Meerschaert took on Ryan Janes, with Janes looking to take the fight to the mat from the opening bell. Meerschaert stunned Janes with a flash-sub, tapping him out in the very first round with a slick armbar.
Result: Gerald Meerschaert def. Ryan Janes via Submission (Armbar) (Rd 1, 1:34)
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