Fight Night Kansas City final results

Reis came out throwing aggressively and even scored a takedown but Johnson got up immediately and was rarely touched by the Brazilian in Round 1. He continued to pop in-and-out to perfection in Round 2, landing and bullying Reis around the Octagon. The fight nearly came to end at the round’s end Johnson mounted and piled on elbows but Reis survived the bell. Johnson’s full range of ability came on display in the third as he took Reis down, kept control and inflicted damage. Then came the move of the night. Johnson mounted Reis and then submitted him with an arm-bar for his 10th consecutive title defense.

THEY SAID IT:
Demetrious Johnson : “It is very important. I want to give a shout out to Kansas City; this is an amazing crowd. This is probably the best training camp I’ve ever had. This is the best I’ve ever felt. GSP and Anderson Silva were great champions, but I’m the best champion to ever step foot in this Octagon.”

Waterson kicked off the action landing a head kick followed by a takedown but couldn’t keep control. Namajunas took the back and eventually gained top control. One minute into the second Namjunas landed a head kick as Waterson was retreating and it sent the “Karate Hottie” down. Namajunas mounted and landed blows, eventually taking Waterson’s back and locking in a rear naked choke for the victory.

THEY SAID IT:
Rose Namajunas : “When I landed the kick we were breaking off from the clinch and she was leaning away from it. I tried to hit her with a right hand earlier and it missed, so I knew my right hand was going to be right in that range to connect after the kick landed. I just stopped worrying so much, I stopped overanalyzing things and I’m just having fun with life and appreciating my life because it could always be worse. I think this win puts me right up there in title contention. Whoever wins the belt, I’m fighting.”

It took two and a half minutes for Souza to get his first takedown and take Whittaker’s back, but Whittaker recovered and got the fight back to the feet instantly. Whittaker’s patience paid off and he landed his big shot early in Round 2 and sent Souza to the canvas. Souza got back up but Whittaker continued to land and sent Souza to the mat again with a head kick before claiming the TKO victory.

THEY SAID IT:
Robert Whittaker : “I think a lot of people let the hype get in their heads given he’s a legend of jiu jitsu and MMA. I have great coaches and I train to fight. I know that it’s a fight at the end of the day, it’s not a grappling match, it’s not a jiu jitsu match; all I have to do is get back up and punch him. I think Bisping owes me a fight. All the best to him, doing his own thing, but here’s the thing he owes me a fight and I just proved that I’m deserving of it. I have to see how my injuries heal up first and see how things go, then who knows?”

Moicano used leg kicks to keep Stephens at a distance for all of the first before eventually scoring a takedown, though nothing was done with it. Stephens finally got in striking distance several times in Round 2 but Moicano kept avoiding the action. Stephens threw 188 punches compared to 121 for Moicano but Moicano landed more and took the split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

A somewhat uneventful first round finished with a flurry. Nelson earned a takedown and kept top control for most of the round before the two were finally stood up. The last 30 seconds featured non-stop exchanges, with Volkov seeming to get the better of Nelson. Volkov used his reach to pick Nelson apart with jabs the rest of the fight. And Nelson kept looking for the big knockout blow but it never came. Volkov took the decision unanimously (30-27 three times).

THEY SAID IT:
Alexander Volkov : “Almost all my first rounds are pretty tough because I need to feel my opponent out. I think it went pretty well in the first because I was able to feel my opponent out and in the second and third he wasn’t able to surprise me with anything. It was my fight after the first. He’s always pressuring, if you watch him fight he’s always coming forward. In all of his fights that go the distance, he’s always trying to throw himself forward in the last round and I didn’t expect to knock him out because he’s a very big guy. I expected to land some good combos on his head and then I’d see what happened – he didn’t fall. Slowly, I am joining the ranks for the belt. I’m really happy because here in the UFC there are no easy fights. All fights in the top-10 will be very hard and very interesting. To me it’s not important where I’m ranked, I know I’m higher now than I was before and I want to have a belt. That’s what is important to me.”

Williams came out of the gate fast, earned a takedown early in Round 1 and later cut Duquesnoy with an uppercut. Williams slowed down though and Duquesnoy landed an elbow to know Williams down just as the bell rung. Duquesnoy went back to the same move in Round 2 and KO’d Williams with another elbow. The UFC newcomer lived up to the high expectations.

THEY SAID IT:
Tom Duquesnoy: “It is very motivating and very inspiring (to live up to the hype) and it means that I am on the right track and it means that I have to continue on my path to be the best. I have actually knocked an opponent out twice in one fight before, it has happened, but this one was the most important one because this was my UFC debut and it was in front of a lot of people. I feel very thankful to be a part of it.

“I am very happy that all of the French fighters have a lot of success in the UFC. It means that our country is definitely one of the best in Europe in MMA.

“Next, I will take a little vacation in Italy but I will be able to work on the business as soon as I come back and I can’t wait for the biggest opportunity in the UFC.”

Green and Magomedov felt each other out in Round 1 without any significant moments. The action was on the feet for all of Round 2 and it was anyone’s fight entering the final round. Green finished landing 90 strikes to Magomedov’s 69 although Magmomedov earned a few more significant strikes. The judges gave the decision to Magomedov by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

THEY SAID IT:
Rashid Magomedov: “It was really important for me to get the win tonight because I lost my last fight and I felt a lot of pressure. There was no choice for me other than to win. I think the fight was close and I was just thinking whatever happens, happens and I’ll have to take it. This was the last fight on my contract, so the next thing for me is to get a new contract with the UFC and then we will see what’s next from there.”

Tim Elliott’s takedown seconds into the fight wouldn’t be his only one of the first round. He finished the round with five and kept a blistering pace but Smolka finished the round with some momentum on top. Elliott added a couple more takedowns in the second and nearly completed a guillotine before the bell. Elliott finished the fight with 10 takedowns and earned the unanimous decision win.

THEY SAID IT:
Tim Elliott: “I felt really sluggish, slow, I was surprised at how fast he was. I had a really, really good camp and I don’t have any excuses; I don’t know if it was nerves or fighting in my hometown or what, but I felt like I was fighting in quicksand. The difference between this and the DJ fight was coming into this fight I felt as good as I ever have. I had the best camp I’ve ever had. In the DJ fight, although I had a good camp, I felt terrible the entire fight. This fight, I felt great all the way up until the cage door shut and then I shut down. After that fight I feel like it’s back to the drawing board and back to training. I’m with some new guys and some new coaches and I’m trying to put those things together and it took a little more time than I thought. I will get better and I’ll be more ready next time.”

Sterling and Mendes grappled back-and-forth for a majority of the first two rounds, but Sterling finally took control at the end of a second by scoring a takedown and landing several shots from top position. The pace slowed back down in the third and Sterling snuck away with a decision victory.

THEY SAID IT:
Aljamain Sterling: “I feel like I’m on top of the world. I changed the country I’m representing. I was born in the US, but my parents were born in Jamaica. In my last two fights, I dropped two really close split decision losses and I just wanted to be able to win one and fly my flag high. I took a short notice fight my last time out and that’s not sitting well with me. I thought I’d be a top contender but he’s (Assuncao) reaping the rewards of it. I told myself not to do that again and to give it everything I’ve got. I started off slow, then I started to pick it up a bit. It feels good, it feels good to get the monkey off my back and let these guys know I’m still here. I want a top-5 opponent next.”

Devin Clark took Round 1 after earning a solid takedown. The pace picked up in Round 2 with each fighter looking to land the big blow. Clark secured the victory in Round 3 when he scored another takedown and kept control on top, in route to a decision win. The win gives Clark his second consecutive in the UFC.

THEY SAID IT:
Devin Clark: “My first fight was at 185-pounds, it didn’t go my way. Losing sucks and I don’t ever want to do it again. I’m feeling good at 205-pounds and I’m going to stick with it at light heavyweight and improve on some stuff; but I’m going to stay here in this division and keep getting better. I’m looking for bigger fights and opponents who are going to push me all the way to the top.”

After nearly a round and a half, Andrew Sanchez finally got the fight where he wanted it – to the ground. Sanchez earned his second takedown in the middle of Round 2 and kept control throughout, inflicting some ground-and-pound. Smith finally recovered late in Round 3 and found some energy, which led to a head-kick knockout finish.

THEY SAID IT:
Anthony Smith: “This has been a roller coaster. Just being in there, dealing with problems the whole time; I tell everyone all the time that I’m unshakeable and once I get in there I think it’s pretty obvious that I’m not going anywhere. Not just because of the money, but getting performance bonuses are one of the best things I can get. Not just because it’s $50,000 that I’m not owed, but because it’s proof that I’m one of the most exciting guys in the middleweight division. One of my teammates, Chris Camozzi is fighting in Sweden and it’d be really cool to jump on that card and go over there as a team.”

Zak Cummings felt the roar of his hometown crowd every time he landed a shot against Nathan Coy. Cummings knocked Coy down early but couldn’t finish him. Near the end of Round 1, Coy shot for a takedown and Cummings was able to lock in a guillotine choke for the submission win. Cummings is now 6-2 in the UFC.

Ketlen Vieira and Ashlee Evans-Smith scrapped for all three rounds with mostly non-stop action. Evans-Smith continued to try and get close but Vieira didn’t allow it, avoiding takedown attempts and continuously landing combinations. It was enough for Vieira to earn the decision and improve to 8-0 (2-0, UFC).