Fight Night: Cerrone vs Medeiros – Final Results

Both fighters got to work early at the opening bell, each landing and eating a series of strikes. Medeiros stick to his gameplan of marching forward and being the aggressor, while Cowboy did an excellent job of timing his own punches, figuring out Medeiros rhythm, ultimately dropping him to the mat and finishing the Hawaiian with some ground and pound mere seconds before the final bell. Cerrone gets back in the win column and a first round TKO.

THEY SAID IT:
Donald Cerrone : “I knew he was going to stand up and bring it. I’m a little more upset my grandmother gets more cheers than I do. Grandmas man, everyone loves them. I just bit down and said ‘let’s go.’ I didn’t even know it was ten seconds I was just going home for the finish. I think I just tied the most wins in UFC history. They call me I say ‘where are we going, where are we next?’”

The heavyweights tooks turns controlling from the top position on the mat for much of the first round, with Tybura outstriking Lewis, but Lewis landing more significant (and visibly heavier) strikes. When Tybura ate some shots to start the second, he went for (and got) an easy takedown and controlled Lewis on the ground for the remainder of the round, out-striking him from top control. Failing to get a takedown in the third, however, allowed ‘The Black Beast’ to go to work with his heavy hands, and a combination ending with a stiff right to the jaw made the KO inevitable. Lewis is now second only to Cain Velasquez (10) for most knockouts in heavyweight history with nine.

THEY SAID IT:
Derrick Lewis : “I just knew not to give up. My time was going to come all I needed to do was touch him one time. That’s just the way it is. It felt real good fighting in Texas. I hope to get it on hopefully this year with Francis Ngannou. If not it’s fine, then hopefully I get Blaydes or Fabricio next. I’m coming to take that number one spot for sure.”

James Vick’s considerable size and reach advantage allowed him to double up the number of strikes thrown in the first, and escape a guillotine choke by veteran Trinaldo. Eager to make the most of fighting a ranked opponent in front of his home state of Texas, Vick kept up the offense in the second, survived another takedown and delivered leg and body kicks when Trinaldo closed the distance. Knowing he was ahead on the scorecards in the third, Vick played it conservative in the third, and while the finish he predicted against Trinaldo never materialized, his efforts were good enough for the unanimous decision. (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

THEY SAID IT:
James Vick: “I dislocated my finger at the end of the second round. He kicked and I blocked it but my finger went back. I knew he saw it so I popped it back really quickly and kept fighting. I’m undefeated in Texas that’s my fourth fight here and never a loss. I’m 6’3” and I’m a finisher so no one wants to fight me. I’m better than anyone in everyone position whether its grappling or striking. My record is undeniable you probably can’t name many more people in the UFC that have a better record than I have. My finger is dislocated but it’s not broken. I’m ready to fight for the title if anything happens with Khabib and Tony. I beat guys that they have faced and beat them even easier.”

Newcomer Millender showed off a patient style that, combined with a six inch reach advantage and obvious size advantage, allowed him to pick and choose his best opportunities, dropping Alves several times in the first round, including one punch that had Millender celebrating a victory prematurely instead of finishing the fight. The finish did come in the second, however, when Alves was stunned by a knee that sent him to the mat. Millender gets the KO in his UFC debut with seventeen seconds remaining in the second round.

THEY SAID IT:
Curtis Millender: “I’m feeling good and I can’t say exactly how I feel – I almost don’t believe it. I’ve been envisioning it and seeing it for the last few weeks and I’ve been working hard. My hard work always shows through my fights. I definitely had seven or eight inches of a reach advantage why would I play his game at all? I feel like that’s when I dropped him when I was closest to him. I knew I had him in the first round and I didn’t want to hit him again but now I know, no brakes. This is how we feed our kids. I don’t want to permanently hurt someone. When you see someone’s eyes roll back, I didn’t want to go back in for more.”

Peterson displayed a fearless, downhill-marching style throughout the fight, content to take as much damage as he was dishing out, but Davis’ speed and deft combinations kept him ahead on scorecards going into the third round. Peterson, who accepted the fight on just 10 days notice, wore the marks of Davis’ work with a bloody head and face throughout the third, eating punches, knees and kicks throughout the round but never dropping. A valiant display by Peterson, but Davis’ punching prowess earns him the unanimous decision win, (30-27, 29-28, 30-26).

THEY SAID IT:
Brandon Davis: “I was tired in the beginning. I was sleepy all day and couldn’t really wake up until the second round. That dude came to fight and that’s exactly what I wanted. I knew I won the first round but the second he got me down. So going into the third so I knew I needed to come out and throw. He came in with everything but I finally saw him ducking his head so I came in for the knee and it landed perfectly. I tried to finish him but that guy is tough as nails. I want ‘Fight of the Night’ – I want the money and that was a good fight.”

While Gouti proved to be formidable when he landed, Northcutt controlled most of the early-going with a steep advantage in strikes and significant strikes. Despite some questionable decision-making, Gouti’s heavy hands visibly damaged a tiring Northcutt, as he kept the fight on the mat for much of the second. Likely behind in the scorecards, Northcutt stayed busy in the third, and the extra effort was good enough for the unanimous decision

THEY SAID IT:
Sage Northcutt: “I felt good and excited to fight back in Texas. I had my UFC debut in Texas so great to be back here again. I wanted to come out with a victory, no pressure, but I wanted to put on a good show for everybody. Even though I got taken down a few times and held against the cage, I got myself up pretty quickly. When he got me to the ground I didn’t take any damage. When he held me down he didn’t get me with one punch, not one knee on the ground, and I was hitting him with elbows the whole time so I was staying busy. I know some people could say it was close but it’s who gets the most damage. I know his eye was busted out there and his side of his head was getting swollen. He was definitely getting hit and took a lot of strikes. I want to talk to my coaches and get back out there really quick to correct any mistakes I made out there tonight.”

Jared Gordon’s five fight win streak came to an abrupt halt at the hands of Diego Ferreira, who despite getting the fight stopped twice due to groin shots dominated Gordon, dropping him with a left to the chin, and getting only the second TKO of his career after finishing with some tough ground and pound.

THEY SAID IT:
Diego Ferreira: “I feel amazing! This is something I’ve been looking forward to for the last two years when my suspension first started. I needed to do this – I’ve been so scared and afraid but I’ve been training as hard as I could to get back in there. I can’t explain how I feel right now. I felt the hometown support especially with my business in South Texas I have a gym and all my students, my friends and family came down to watch me. And it felt amazing to give them the show they wanted and I gave it all my all. As long as I’m cleared to fight, I want to fight as soon as I can. Even a month I should be ready to go.”

Geoff Neal showed his dominance on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series was no fluke by dominating his UFC debut against Brian Camozzi, rattling his opponent with some fast, heavy punches and securing a half-bulldog, half rear-naked choke after he dropped him to the mat. Neal has won seven of his last eight, and is 1-0 in the UFC.

THEY SAID IT:
Geoff Neal: “I felt comfortable and at home when I walked out there. My whole goal was to keep the nerves away and focus on the fight – not think of my family and friends out here. It felt great being out there tonight. I got to get in and get out. I wasn’t expecting a submission but I saw the opportunity and I took it. As soon as I heal up, I’m ready to go again.”

Austin wasn’t big enough for two guys named Sanchez, and it was Roberto who was the new sheriff in town, dominating the short fight after mounting Joby’s back and securing the rear naked choke when the fighters dropped to the mat. First round submission for Roberto Sanchez avenges the loss in his UFC debut.

THEY SAID IT:
Roberto Sanchez : “He has a good back game. I expected him to stand it back up right away but he was good getting the hooks. I had him and I just had to be patient and get the choke. We share the same last name but we have a lot of differences in style – he’s traditional striker, I’m a traditional grappler. I knew what he was bringing and was able to come out on top. My day job is an actuarial analyst which means I do the mathematics for insurance quotes and calculate financial risks. But what I want people to remember is that I pull out quick wins even though people always write me off. People always think I’m the underdog but I’m a fighter.”

Moras controlled the action early from the ground, her specialty. But when the referee stood the fighters up, the momentum clearly swung back to Pudilova who rained some fists on Moras and survived repeated attempts at an armbar. The action stayed on the mat for most of a very even second round, until Pudilova allowed Moras to stand up in the final minute, where the Czech promptly dropped her again. Both fighters stayed busy throughout, and sustained plenty of damage, but in the end it was Pudilova’s dominance in the control game and an edge in significant strikes that won the day and the unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)

THEY SAID IT:
Lucie Pudilova : “My nickname is “Bullet” that means I will fight until I die. This is the reason I stay in the Octagon so long and win. So many women try and give me the armbar and no one can do it. I don’t know who my next fight is but I will wait to see who the UFC gives me.”

Alex Morono got a victory over one of his heroes, rattling the veteran Burkman with a couple of tremor-inducing leg kicks before finding the combination to allow him to lock a guillotine on his opponent, and getting the first round submission.

THEY SAID IT:
Alex Morono: “Burkman is a vet and I really wanted to knock him out. He’s a little slower and kept his range a little awkwardly so I knew it would be tough but I knew I had to close the distance. I got his timing down pretty quick and landed a collision punch as he was moving forward I timed it perfectly and landed, which dropped him. Once was down, I could tell he was out of it and was stunned and I wrapped it up with a guillotine, which I get about 50 a week. Diego Sanchez was my favorite fighter after he fought Clay Guida and he always fights crazy – he screams and bleeds – and he’s a hero of mine. You look up to your hero and it’s surreal to think that I can fight this veteran. It blows my mind. It would be a dream come true and an honor to fight him next.”

Piechota’s first fight in the US could not have gone any better. Standing and trading with what seemed to be an evenly matched Tim Williams, Piechota dropped Williams with a brutal right hand to the jaw, and moved in to finish him with some ground and pound for a first round TKO. Piechota remains undefeated in his professional career.

THEY SAID IT:
Oskar Piechota: “My game plan was to keep it standing. We practiced a lot of punching for this fight and it worked. So we are very happy. If we went to the ground, we would be prepared as well. I don’t want to say who I want to fight next. I will wait for what my manager and the UFC brings me and I will take it.”