UFC 251 Results

British bantamweight veteran Davey Grant delivered the biggest win of his UFC career in the opener, knocking out Martin Day in the third round.
 
Grant was busy in the early stages of the fight, shooting in and out with his strikes until he got too aggressive on one rush just before the midway point and got dropped with a right hand. Grant recovered quickly and the two rose to their feet. This time, Grant took Day down with a minute left and kept the fight there until the closing seconds of the frame.
 
Midway through round two, Grant rocked Day with a right hand and turned up the heat with his punches before scoring a second takedown. Grant nearly locked up an armbar, but Day defended well and scrambled into the top position before standing and then putting Grant down with a kick to the body.
 
Day defended Grant’s first takedown attempt of round three and showed a lot more urgency in his attack as he tried to walk his opponent down. Grant didn’t shy away from any exchanges, and both were scoring. But it was Grant getting the last word, as a flush left hook put Day down and out. The official time of referee Rich Mitchell’s stoppage was 2:38.
 
With the win, County Durham’s Grant moves to 12-4. Hawaii’s Day falls to 8-4.

In a meeting of Brazilian bantamweights, Karol Rosa won a clear-cut unanimous decision over Vanessa Melo.
 
Rosa dominated the first two rounds, first on the feet and then on the ground, nearly stopping Melo with ground strikes late in the second stanza. Melo made a brief run in the third round, but outside of that, it was all Rosa, who took the bout via scores of 30-26 twice and 30-27.
 
With the win, Rio de Janeiro’s Rosa moves to 13-3. Sao Paulo’s Melo, who missed weight at 141 pounds, falls to 10-8.

A closely contested three-rounder went to Brazilian flyweight contender Raulian Paiva, who outpointed newcomer from Kazakhstan Zhalgas Zhumagulov via unanimous decision.
 
The first round belonged to Paiva as he worked from range and drilled his foe with repeated right kicks to the body, but two late takedowns from Zhumagulov reminded the Brazilian that he was still there and in the fight.
 
Zhumagulov settled in a lot better in round two, as he was busier with his strikes before ending the frame with another takedown and some hard ground strikes.
 
Each fighter had their moments in the third round, with a low kick by Paiva bringing a brief halt to the bout with a minute left until Zhumagulov was able to continue. Once the fight resumed, Zhumagulov scored a brief takedown as he looked to finish strong, but after another low blow – this one a knee by Paiva – the 15 minutes were up, with the bout going to Paiva via identical scores of 29-28.
 
With the win, the No. 14-ranked Paiva – who missed weight at 129 pounds – moves to 20-3. Zhumagulov falls to 13-4.

Heavyweight veteran Marcin Tybura spoiled the UFC debut of late-notice replacement Maxim Grishin via three-round unanimous decision.
 
There was little significant action in the opening frame outside of a late semi-takedown by Tybura, and business didn’t pick up much in the second, as Tybura continued to try and implement his grappling attack.  With three minutes left in the fight, Tybura got the takedown he wanted and soon moved into the full mount before taking his opponent’s back. And though he didn’t get the finish, the decision was clearly his by scores of 30-27 twice and 30-26.
 
Tybura moves to 19-6 with the win. Grishin falls to 30-8-2.

It was a wild one in the lightweight division before Leonardo Santos moved his unbeaten UFC record to 7-0-1 with a three-round unanimous decision win over UFC debutant Roman Bogatov.
 
Scores were 29-26 across the board for Santos, now 18-4-1. Bogatov falls to 10-1.
 
There was some good back and forth action in the first round, each fighter having his moments while neither was able to build a substantial lead.
 
Told to focus on his striking attack between rounds, Santos did just that in the second, and after hitting Bogatov with a series of right hands, the Russian was in serious trouble. But after throwing a barrage of unanswered blows, Santos was winded on the mat as his foe recovered, and it was Bogatov roaring back with ground strikes as the round ended.
 
After a brief break after Santos took a low blow early in the third stanza, Bogatov went back to his grappling, but moments later, he landed another low shot, pausing the action once more. Referee Marc Goddard let Bogatov off with a stern warning, and the UFC newcomer went back on the attack when the fight resumed, getting the takedown he wanted. But as the two battled, Bogatov fouled the Brazilian once more, this time with a knee to the grounded Santos. This time, Bogatov was penalized two points by Goddard and he needed a finish in the final minute to get the win, but he ran out of time.

Makwan Amirkhani looked sharp in his featherweight bout against Danny Henry, submitting the Scotland native in the first round.

After keeping it standing with Henry early on, Amirkhani’s first attempt to get the fight to the mat was a successful one, and once the two settled in on the ground, it was Amirkhani locking in the anaconda choke that ended matters at 3:15 of round one.

With the win, Finland’s Amirkhani moves to 16-4. Henry falls to 12-4.

MORE UFC 251: Fight By Fight Preview | Fighters On The Rise | Free Fight: Volkanovski vs Holloway 1 | Fight Island’s Most Intriguing Matchups | Fearless PVZ | Significant Stats UFC 251 | Jorge Masvidal: Every UFC Finish | Max Holloway: Every UFC Finish | Top Finishes: Elizeu Dos Santos

Top level strikers Muslim Salikhov and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos delivered on the promise of their welterweight bout, keeping it standing for the majority of their 15 minutes in the Octagon, with Salikhov emerging with a close split decision win.
 
After a brief feeling out process, the two began breaking out their offensive arsenals, but the defense was solid on both sides. Salikhov (17-2) appeared to take a slight lead behind good work from his left hand, but it was dos Santos (22-7) who had the last word for the round after staggering his foe with a right hand upstairs. Salikhov immediately responded with a takedown, but the Brazilian landed several hard strikes on the ground before the horn.
 
The right hand rattled Salikhov again, this time in the second minute of round two, and the two locked up, trading positions in the clinch before separating. Salikhov was intent on landing a spinning kick on his opponent, but dos Santos smoothly dodged any incoming fire before countering well in another competitive frame.
 
The high level action continued in the final round, each fighter getting in his share of shots, but when one fighter would take the lead, the other would answer, making it a tough call for the judges, who ultimately awarded the bout to Salikhov via scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 28-29.

Highly touted UFC newcomer Jiri Prochazka announced his arrival in devastating fashion, as he knocked out light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir in the second round.
 
Oezdemir went on the attack as soon as the fight began, but within a few seconds, Prochazka settled in and began showing off his unorthodox style. It allowed the Czech Republic native to get in plenty of shots during a fast-paced frame, but Oezdemir landed the harder shots, including a right hand with three minutes left that got Prochazka’s attention.

Rising star Amanda Ribas made short work of Paige VanZant in the main card opener, submitting “12 Gauge” in the first round of their flyweight bout.
 
Ribas got VanZant to the mat a minute in, and she went to work, quickly locking up VanZant’s arm. Moments later, Van Zant was forced to tap to the armbar, with the official time 2:21 of round one.
 
With the win, Minas Gerais’ Ribas moves to 10-1. Portland’s VanZant falls to 8-5.

Former strawweight champions Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade met for a second time, with Namajunas evening the score with the woman who took her title in May 2019 by winning a three-round split decision.
 
Scores were 29-28 twice and 28-29 for the No. 2-ranked Namajunas, now 10-4. The No. 1-ranked Andrade falls to 20-8.
 
Andrade made a concerted effort to use more head movement in the rematch, and it paid dividends in the first round, as she was able to dodge a lot of incoming fire while landing some hard shots. Regardless, the busy and varied striking of Namajunas still saw her taking the round from the Brazilian.
 
The action-packed second stanza also appeared to go Namajunas’ way, as her smooth striking kept Andrade at bay for the most part, but when “Bate Estaca” was able to get in range, she made Namajunas pay, making it clear that she was still one rally away from taking over.
 
Andrade bloodied Namajunas’ nose early in the final round, prompting “Thug Rose” to sit down on her punches in an attempt to even the score. That played into Andrade’s game, and after a hard right hand, she took Namajunas down. Namajunas looked for a submission from her back but when that came up empty, she kicked her way back to her feet and then rattled Andrade with a body shot followed by a punch upstairs. That just prompted the two to let their hands go to the horn, capping off a thrilling back-and-forth scrap.

Featherweight icon Jose Aldo showed why he is a future UFC Hall of Famer in his bantamweight title fight against Petr Yan, but the relentless force from Russia would not be denied, as he progressively broke down the Brazilian and halted Aldo in the fifth round to take the 135-pound title vacated by Henry Cejudo earlier this year.
 
A thudding right hand by Yan was the first big shot of the fight and it got Aldo’s attention, but the Rio native put his foe on the mat with a kick to the leg seconds later, making it clear that the two were settling in for a war. As the round progressed, Aldo got busier, but when Yan fired, he made it count. In the final minute, an Aldo takedown attempt went awry and saw him on his back, and Yan hurt him with a body shot just before the horn.
 
Aldo began focusing on Yan’s legs in the second, landing several hard kicks downstairs, and when Yan started paying too much attention to them, Aldo moved his attacks to the body and head, effectively switching things up.
 
The kinetic chess match was at its best in round three, both fighters taking turns in control and making their opponent pay for any mistake. Getting more aggressive, Yan scored with several shots upstairs, while Aldo’s body work was his weapon of choice as the bout wrapped up its 15th minute.
 
Yan started to surge ahead in the fourth round, his work rate staying consistent while Aldo’s dipped, and as Yan finished up the frame with a takedown and a series of ground strikes, it was “No Mercy” in control heading into the final five minutes.
 
A right-left by Yan hurt Aldo as the fifth round began, and the Russian went all-in for the finish as he locked the Brazilian up on the mat and fired off strikes. The bloodied Aldo hung tough as long as he could, but finally, referee Leon Roberts had seen enough, stepping in at the 3:24 mark of round five.
 
With the win, Yan moves to 15-1. Aldo falls to 28-7.

Max Holloway seemed to be on his way to regaining his UFC featherweight title in his rematch against Alexander Volkanovski, but some quality adjustments and a late surge by the champion kept the belt in Australia via split decision.
 
Scores were 48-47 twice and 47-48 for Volkanovski, now 22-1. Holloway falls to 21-6. Volkanovski took the title from Holloway in their first fight in December 2019.
 
Volkanovski picked up where he left off in their first fight by throwing plenty of leg kicks, but this time, Holloway fired back with kicks of his own, and when he wasn’t answering the Australian, he was mixing up his attack effectively, jarring Volkanovski with a right hand with 1:15 left and dropping the champ with a head kick in the closing seconds of round one.
 
Holloway, looking like a completely different fighter than he did the first time around, continued to put on a striking clinic with a variety of strikes in the second, and it was showing on the face of Volkanovski, who suffered a second knockdown when he was drilled by a right uppercut late in the frame.
 
Making adjustments in round three, Volkanovski sought out a takedown, but was turned away by Holloway. Giving Holloway something else to think about was a wise move though, as he was able to tag the Hawaiian with some solid shots.
 
The fourth was close, Holloway possibly holding a slight edge, but Volkanovski certainly getting some points for a takedown with a little under two minutes left.
 
Volkanovski got another takedown in the fifth, a key in a pivotal round in which the striking numbers were virtually even. And a final takedown by Alexander “The Great” had fans waiting with bated breath for the scorecards, which went Volkanovski’s way.

The stage was set for something spectacular to happen in the storied career of Jorge Masvidal. Fresh from his breakout year in 2019, “Gamebred” took his first UFC title fight on six days’ notice, replacing Gilbert Burns. But in the main event of UFC 251 on Fight Island, it was all Kamaru Usman, who extended his current winning streak to 16 while successfully defending his welterweight title via unanimous decision.
 
Scores were 50-45 twice and 49-46 for Usman, now 17-1. The No. 3-ranked Masvidal falls to 35-14.
 
Masvidal opened up with several hard kicks until Usman caught one and put him on his back less than 30 seconds into the fight. Masvidal stayed busy with his strikes when he had some daylight, and 90 seconds in, he was back on his feet, throwing everything with bad intentions. Usman eluded any danger and locked up with his foe, clearly wanting to get the fight on the mat again. Masvidal emerged from the clinch with a cut over his left eye thanks to a clash of heads, but it was a small price to pay for him to get the fight at distance again.
 
Usman locked Masvidal up against the fence early in round two and kept him there for a long spell until the two broke just before the midway point. Again, a clash of heads opened up another cut on Masvidal and within seconds, the two were in the clinch again. Usman stayed busy at close range with his strikes, and he held the position until Masvidal got free with under a minute left and landed some good shots.
 
It was more of the same in the third, Usman dominating in the clinch and before scoring a pair of takedowns that extended his lead, and throughout the fourth round, Masvidal had no answers for the smothering attack of “The Nigerian Nightmare.”
 
Usman stuck to the game plan in the final frame, taking Masvidal down a minute in and keeping him grounded until a little less than 50 seconds remained. Once separated, Masvidal threw hard with whatever he had left, but he was unable to secure the miracle comeback.

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