Max Holloway extended his win streak to 10 when he became the first man to finish Anthony “Showtime” Pettis with a TKO stoppage in the third round at 4:50. Holloway is now the interim featherweight champion and gets a guaranteed shot at undisputed champion Jose Aldo next. Holloway was just too much for Pettis, the former lightweight champion. The Hawaiian was backing up for most the of the fight but was firing off his back foot with great accuracy and force. Pettis broke his right hand in the first round on the first punch he threw, so he was forced to become a wrestler as the fight progressed. Holloway unleashed a filthy comination late in the third to ultimately finish the fight. With 10 straight wins, Holloway now has the fifth-longest streak in UFC history. Anderson Silva’s 16 in a row are best all time.
Matt Brown ate four headkicks from Donald Cerrone through two rounds – the same kind of kicks that Cowboy has used to knock folks unconscious in the past. But as immortal at Matt Brown, he could not withstand the final head kick unleashed by Cerrone and Cowboy knocked Brown out at :34 of the third round. The fight was phenomenal from start to finish as the two veterans went blow for blow and looked for the finish. As expected, both attempted and landed body shots and by the end of the fight Brown’s face was a mess and Cowboy was spitting blood. Brown may have been on his way to a win as he was out-landing Cerrone (68-54 significant strike advantage for Brown in the fight). Cerrone extends win streak to four since moving up to welterweight. That’s three straight knockouts and four straight finishes for one of the most exciting fighters to ever step foot inside the Octagon.
Cub Swanson defeated DooHo Choi
In an instant classic, Cub Swanson took out the rising prospect Dooho Choi by unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28. The fight was a razor close. Swanson landed two takedowns and a knockdown that was arguably the difference in the bout. Swanson showed off his veteran savvy, taking a few big shots from the Korean Superboy in the opening round before coming back to put it on Choi. Both fighters had their moments and were rocked several times. Swanson landed 122 total strikes to just 87 for Choi and had the edge in significant strikes, 111-77. The end of the third round was a shining moment for Choi despite defeat, as Swanson emptied the tank going for the finish but couldn’t put Choi away.
It’s been a tough month for Kelvin Gastelum, but the former welterweight wasn’t about to make any excuses in his return to 185 pounds after failing to make weight in a scheduled bout with Cowboy Cerrone at UFC 205. Gastelum rebounded from the tough times with a destructive and dominant performance at UFC 206, dismantling veteran Tim Kennedy before earning a TKO finish at 2:45 of the third round. Gastelum was able to neutralize Kennedy and his wrestling in the first round. Gastelum ended the round by teeing off on Kennedy, who stumbled a bit back to his corner. The onslaught was on from there. Gastelum picked Kennedy apart, stuffing takedowns and landing 64 significant strikes on his way to the stoppage.
Emil Meek showed flashes of his exciting standup style in the first round, but after suffering an upper body injury the Norwegian was forced to grind and gut out a win against Jordan Mein. Meek won 29-28 on all three judge’s scorecards. The UFC debutant out-struck Mein, 91-39 overall and 63-38 in significant strikes. Meek controlled Mein on the ground for 8:22 of the 15 minute brawl.
Misha Cirkunov made quick work of Nikita Krylov, his toughest test to date inside the Octagon, winning by submission due to a guillotine choke at 4:38 of the first round. Cirkunov landed a big shot on the feet before winding up on his back with Krylov’s head secured under his arm. That snaps a fight-fight finish streak for Krylov and Cirkunov improves to a perfect 4-0 in the UFC (all finishes).
Olivier Aubin-Mercier scored a pair of knockdowns and capitalized on the second one, securing a rear naked choke submission to beat Drew Dober at 2:57 of the second round. OAM landed 30 significant strikes to just 16 for Dober and now has won five of his last six in the UFC.
Viviane Pereira outlasted Valerie Letourneau, taking a super close split decision win, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28. Pereira was out-struck 69-42 overall and significant strikes went 47-25 for Letourneau, but Pereira did most of damage in the final 10 minutes.
Matthew Lopez was rocked and in complete survival mode in the first round against Mitch Gagnon. But the Arizona native was able to keep going and push through the round and came back to win by unanimous decision, 29-28, 29-28, 29-27. Lopez got blown up in the first. Gagnon landed 31 significant strikes and had him in big trouble after dropping him and landing a bunch of big shots on the ground. Lopez ended up landing four of his five takedowns in the final 10 minutes to complete the decision win.
With one of the most spectacular finishes in UFC history, Lando Vannata announced his arrival on the scene officially in the UFC FIGHT PASS featured prelim bout with a first-round spinning heel kick knockout against John Makdessi at just 1:40 into the fight. The replay is probably going to be played a million times in the next few weeks and is a serious contender for KO of the Year. Get your UFC FIGHT PASS seven-day trial to check it out right now.
They said it:
LANDO VANNATA: “I practiced that kick about 2,000 times in camp and I knew it was going to work. I was planning on using it and I knew he couldn’t stop it. I expected it to be successful. I’m ready for whoever they want to give me next.“
Rustam Khabilov defeated Jason Saggo
Rustam Khabilov landed four of five takedowns and doubled up Jason Saggo in total strikes to win by unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27. Khabilov was relentless with the takedown and tagged Saggo a few times during the fight. The Dagestan native ended up landing 42 significant strikes to just 19 for the Canadian Saggo.
Dustin Ortiz took out Zach Makovsky to open the night’s festivities by embracing the grind and out-wrestling “Fun Size” on his way to a split decision win, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28. Both fighters earned five takedowns in the fight, but it was Ortiz who did more damage. Ortiz out-struck Makovsky 90-30 in total strikes and controlled him on the ground for 8:22 compared to just three minutes for Makovsky.
