UFC Vegas 3: Results

Lightweight up and comer Austin Hubbard was patient in his bout with Max Rohskopf, biding his time until a second-round offensive burst led to a TKO victory.

A grappling ace with a college wrestling background, Rohskopf got the fight to the mat in the second minute but Hubbard rose quickly and added in a knee for good measure. Rohskopf continued to attack, though, and he went after Hubbard’s leg after the two returned to the canvas. Hubbard continued to defend well as he got back to his feet and he then tried to get his offense in gear on the feet for the rest of the round.

Rohskopf went right for the takedown to start round two and he got it, but again, it was Hubbard quickly rising to his feet, and as the newcomer tired, “Thud” began landing more and more, jarring his foe midway through the frame while marking his face up with strikes. The continued barrage, coupled with fatigue, apparently did the job for Hubbard, as Rohskopf was unable to come out of his corner for the final round.

With the win, Denver’s Hubbard moves to 12-4. Rohskopf, who took the fight on short notice, replacing Joe Solecki, falls to 5-1.

Flyweight contender Lauren Murphy extended her winning streak to three with a three-round unanimous decision over Roxanne Modafferi.

Scores were 30-27 twice and 29-28 were the No. 7-ranked Murphy. The No. 6-ranked Modafferi falls to 24-18.

A brief feeling-out process turned into a grappling match against the fence in the second minute, with Modafferi holding the edge until Murphy got free midway through the frame, allowing her to control the action behind her standup attack.

Murphy wobbled Modafferi with a right hand early in round two, and while the Las Vegan got her legs back, Murphy’s confidence grew. With under three minutes left, Modafferi again sought a takedown in a grueling exchange along the fence, but it was Murphy who took her foe down and remained in control.

Modafferi pushed the pace in the third, looking to turn the tide momentum-wise, and she did good work at range and in the clinch. Murphy stayed close, but a late takedown sealed matters for Houston’s Murphy, who moves to 13-4.

Making his UFC debut on less than a week’s notice, Justin Jaynes wasted no time making an impression in lightweight action, as he halted veteran Frank Camacho in less than a minute.

On the attack from the start, Las Vegas’ Jaynes went right after Camacho, and 30 seconds in, he scored a knockdown with a left hand. Camacho tried to recover, but the relentless attack of Jaynes was too much, with a final right hand bringing in referee Herb Dean to stop the fight 41 seconds into round one.

With the win, Jaynes, who replaced Matt Frevola, moves to 16-4. Camacho, who missed weight at 158 pounds, falls to 22-9.

Apparently cruising to a clear-cut decision win, flyweight prospect Gillian Robertson kept working for the finish against Cortney Casey and she got it via submission with 28 seconds left in the fight.

Casey came out throwing hard to start the fight, but 45 seconds in, Robertson got the takedown and kept her foe grounded for the rest of the opening round.

It was the same story in the second, with Casey getting in some solid shots before getting put on the canvas again. This time, Robertson had more success offensively, and while she wasn’t able to put Casey in serious trouble, she had wrapped up the first two rounds.

After a third takedown by Robertson, Casey nearly locked in an armbar, but “The Savage” got loose and settled into her opponent’s guard. Casey stayed busy with her strikes from the bottom position, but out of nowhere, Robertson switched positions, took Casey’s back and sunk in the rear naked choke that forced a tap out at 4:32 of the final round.

With the win, Robertson moves to 8-4. Casey falls to 9-8.

In his fourth UFC fight, Canadian middleweight Marc-Andre Barriault delivered on his promise as he stopped Poland’s Oskar Piechota in the second round to secure his first Octagon victory.

The fight was back-and-forth in the early going, each fighter getting in their share of shots, but as the round progressed, Barriault’s pressure paid off as he began landing more and more thudding shots at distance and at close range.

Barriault mixed things up with a takedown in the second minute of round two, adding to his point total briefly before the two rose. Piechota stayed busy with his strikes, but late in the frame, Barriault surged, and after he hurt his foe, he finished him with ground strikes. The time of referee Chris Tognoni’s stoppage was 4:50.

Quebec City’s Barriault ups his record to 12-4 with the win. Piechota falls to 11-4-1.

Entering the Octagon on a four-fight losing skid, strawweight contender Tecia Torres rose to the occasion to snap that skid, as she scored an impressive three-round unanimous decision win over Brianna Van Buren.

Torres was active with her kicking game as the bout began, but Van Buren quickly closed the distance and locked up with Torres against the fence before scoring the takedown. Torres rose immediately but remained pinned to the fence thanks to Van Buren’s double underhooks. Midway through the round, Van Buren let Torres loose, but only briefly, as the two clinched again. Once loose, Torres got off a couple shots, but as soon as she got close, she fell into Van Buren’s grip. 

Using her speed and offensive variety to good advantage, Torres put in a solid second round as she mixed up her punches and kicks and simply outworked Van Buren in the middle five minutes.

Refusing to be denied, Torres continued to press the action and dominate the striking sequences in the final round. Van Buren was game as she kept trying to get the fight to the mat, but Torres was on top of her game in this one as she locked up the win via identical scores of 30-27.

With the win, the No. 11-ranked Torres moves to 11-5. Van Buren falls to 9-3. 

After being on the wrong end of several close decisions over the years, talented lightweight Bobby Green finally saw one go his way as he outpointed Clay Guida over three rounds.

Scores were 29-28 twice and 30-27 for Green, now 25-10-1. Guida falls to 35-17.

Guida put the fight on the mat briefly in the opening minute, but after a scramble, Green got up, got loose and went back to work. Guida was still hunting for the takedown, even though Green defended effectively and countered the charges of “The Carpenter.” Guida found his takedown with under two minutes left, and though he kept his foe there until the end of the round, Green stayed busy with his strikes.

MORE UFC Vegas 3: Fight by Fight Preview | Shane Burgos | Josh Emmett | Cortney Casey | Significant Stats | Subscribe To ESPN+

Green’s subtle attack got a little more obvious in the second as he forced Guida to pay attention to a series of hard knees. The takedown attempts kept coming from the Illinois native, but Green was defending well and making his foe pay each step of the way. 

Guida scored an early takedown in the third round, an important moment in the close fight, but once standing, Green’s accurate striking attack kept him in good stead, even as Guida kept the pressure on with his grappling for the rest of the bout.

Lightweight veteran Jim Miller showed that he still has some tricks up his sleeve against the young guns of the division, as he submitted Roosevelt Roberts in the first round of a 160-pound catchweight bout.
 
An early exchange saw Roberts slip to the deck, which allowed Miller to get into his wheelhouse on the mat. After a spell on his back, Roberts scrambled and appeared to be seconds away from getting to his feet, but Miller locked in an armbar, and that was it, as Roberts tapped out at 2:25 of the opening frame.
 
With the win, Miller – the man tied with Donald Cerrone with the most fights in UFC history with 35 – moves to 32-14 with 1 NC. Roberts falls to 10-2.

Belal Muhammad made it three wins in a row as he scored a unanimous decision over Lyman Good in an exciting welterweight contest.

Scores were 29-28 across the board for Muhammad, now 17-3. Good falls to 21-6 with 1 NC.

Muhammad was the busier of the two in an opening round that remained on the feet, and while the Chicago product used his movement effectively throughout, it was clear that the superior firepower belonged to Good.

Implementing his grapping attack in the second stanza, Muhammad showed off a complete game in order to keep Good guessing, and as the round progressed, it was clear the New Yorker was getting frustrated. In the final minute, Good landed his best shots of the fight, but Muhammad got out of trouble and went back to sticking and moving, albeit now with a cut over his right eye.

In the opening minute of the final round, Good hurt Muhammad with a right hand, forcing a grappling exchange from the Chicagoan. After separating, Good went on the attack, and while Muhammad welcomed the battle, he was getting caught more by his opponent. That led to some heated back and forth between the two, but Muhammad surged with a late takedown to put a cap on the fight.

Bantamweight contenders met on the main card, with No. 6-ranked Raquel Pennington defeating No. 10-ranked Marion Reneau via unanimous decision.

Pennington (11-9) had success with her left hook in the opening round, but Reneau (9-6-1) stayed busy with her own strikes and used her clinch work to great advantage in the final minute.

A low knee by Reneau brought a halt to the action early in round two, and once the bout resumed, Pennington went on the attack, only to get pinned to the fence by the Californian. Pennington adjusted well, using the Thai clinch to land some knees of her own. Reneau got a quick takedown with a little over two minutes left, but Pennington got free and began firing strikes from the top position. Once standing, it was Pennington and Reneau taking turns in control, but the last word went to “Rocky” at close range.

Reneau kept charging in the third round, but Pennington was just a step ahead all night, as she put together a steady work rate to take a well-earned decision via scores of 30-28 and 29-28 twice.

The co-main event between featherweight contenders Josh Emmett and Shane Burgos was expected to deliver fireworks, and it was like the Fourth of July at the Apex, with Emmett using two third-round knockdowns to break open a close fight and win a three-round unanimous decision.

Scores were 29-28 twice and 29-27 for the No. 8-ranked Emmett, now 16-2. The No. 10-ranked Burgos falls to 13-2.

Emmett was swinging his right hand with abandon in the early going, and he threw in the occasional short left hook for good measure. The bigger Burgos took the punches well as he moved forward, but he was taking too many of them, which only made Emmett more confident. Burgos stuck to the game plan, though, landing some hard calf kicks that were getting Emmett’s attention, and by the end of the round, both were trading bombs.

After hurting his left knee in the first frame, Emmett showed a sense of urgency in the second and he landed more flush shots that Burgos took with no issue. And as the New Yorker shook off the blows, he came back with more volume as he kept up a disciplined effort in the midst of an intense scrap.

In the opening minute of the final round, Emmett sat Burgos down with a short left hand, and while he recovered immediately, in a close fight a knockdown is pivotal. After the two rose, an inadvertent low kick by Burgos brought a momentarily halt to the fight, and when the action resumed, there was no let-up to the attacks of Emmett and Burgos. Midway through, another left hand dropped Burgos for the second time, and Emmett got in some ground strikes before Burgos got back to his feet. Looking to turn things around, Burgos went after Emmett, only to get rocked again just before the final horn.

Heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes is always confident that no one can stop his wrestling, and in the UFC Fight Night main event, he was right again, as he used a series of takedowns and long stretches of ground control to win a five-round unanimous decision over Alexander Volkov.
 
Scores were 49-46, 48-47 and 48-46 for the No. 3-ranked Blaydes, now 14-2 with 1 NC. The No. 7-ranked Volkov falls to 31-8.
 
Blaydes had no problem opening the fight with a successful single-leg takedown seconds in, and while Volkov rose quickly, he was put back down moments later. Blaydes stayed busy with knees as he put his weight on Volkov, setting a grueling pace. And whenever Volkov got up, Blaydes sent him down again, turning in a dominant first frame.
 
After landing some hard right hands to start round two, Blaydes dumped Volkov again, and when the Russian did rise, Blaydes stayed locked on until he got another takedown. After a brief stall in the action, the Chicago native drilled Volkov with elbows from the top position, allowing him to keep the fight on the mat until he rose and scored another takedown before the horn.
 
Volkov defended Blaydes’ first two takedown attempts of round three, but the third one hit, and the frustration was evident on the face of “Drago” as he was on the receiving end of another one-sided stanza.
 
Volkov got on the board in the fourth round, even scoring a takedown late on his now bloodied foe, but he would need a finish in the fifth to get the win, and he went after it early in the final frame. A takedown by Blaydes in the second minute did put “Razor” back in command, and though Volkov would rise again, the takedowns kept coming, allowing Blaydes to extend his winning streak to four.