Main event: Jon Jones def. Daniel CormierAfter arguably losing the first two rounds, Jon Jones settled in and landed a headkick right on the money. Daniel Cormier was rocked and Jones pushed forward and erupted with the finishing sequence of ground and pound to win back his light heavyweight title by TKO at 3:01 of the third round. Jones out-struck Cormier 94-57 in significant strikes and neither fighter landed a takedown. Jones extends his overall win streak to 14 in a row, now just two wins from tying Anderson Silva’s all-time mark.
THEY SAID IT:
Jon Jones: “Big thank you to all MMA supporters and the fans around the world for all the love and support. Thank you to everyone who supported me throughout this long process. I’m going to do my best to be the champion that you guys deserve to have. Daniel Cormier has been one of the biggest sources of motivation I’ve had in the last two-three years and I thank him for that and for pushing me to a higher level.rdquo;
Co-main: Tyron Woodley def. Demian Maia
Tyron Woodley stopped all 24 of Demian Maia’s takedowns and won in a landslide unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46). Woodley out-struck Maia 45-23 in what was generally not appreciated by fans in attendance. Woodley said after the fight that he fought a specific gameplan because when Maia gets your back he’s the most dangerous. Woodley defends his title for the third time.
THEY SAID IT:
Tyron Woodley: “I’m willing to win fights and when it’s someone that is a freestyle fighter then I’m going to go in there and take their head off. When it’s someone that’s a jiu-jitsu master, every time I threw a hook and punch he was in on my legs. Granted, I had some NCAA Div. I All-American wrestling defense to get him off my legs, but this is my second specialist in a row. It would be silly for me to take him down and try to submit him. I went out there and did what I needed to do. For me, the exciting part was that he’s won seven fights in a row, he’s been able to take down all of his opponents, he’s been able to get on 90-percent of their backs. He didn’t take me down one time, he didn’t even come close. I wasn’t breathing hard the end of the fight, I feel amazing. I was satisfied with my performance; not everyone is going to understand what is taking place in there. It’s a chess match and I won it convincingly.rdquo;
Cris Cyborg def. Tonya Evinger
Cris Cyborg finally wears UFC gold around here waist after taking out tough Tonya Evinger by TKO at 1:56 of the third round. Cyborg controlled the entirety of the fight but Evinger had her moments, evading strikes and looking to clinch. She even landed a takedown in the first round but Cyborg stood right up. In the end the significant strikes began to add up for Cyborg, who finished landing 83 sign. strikes to just 23 for Evinger.
THEY SAID IT:
Cris Cyborg: “I don’t have the words to say. I want to thank the fans for coming here and watching me; Cyborg nation forever. A lot of things happened in my career, but before I was just crazy inside the cage and now I’m learning fighting. I have calmed down. I’m very happy to be world champion and I think this is the perfect time because I think I’m at the top of my career now. I’m really happy. Thank you to my team, to Dana White for giving me this opportunity, my friends and family. I’m going to make great fights inside this Octagon. rdquo;
Robbie Lawler def. Donald Cerrone
In a fight that lived up to its massive expectations, Robbie Lawler edged Cowboy Cerrone in a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in a fight that left everyone in the arena wanting more. Cowboy landed just 1/13 takedowns but landed more total strikes, 83-72 and had the edge in significant strikes landed, 72-64. Lawler came out on fire in the first round, pushing Cerrone back and landing bi shots that rocked Cowboy a bit on two occasions. But Cerrone owned the second round, landing a few head kicks and firing off combos. The two combined for almost 60 significant strikes in the final round before heading to the judges.
THEY SAID IT:
Robbie Lawler: “I came out fast in the first round because I thought if I got on top of him, I could stop him. Obviously, that didn’t happen. He showed a lot of toughness and a lot of grit. Hats off to him. I’m going to go visit my buddy Matt (Hughes) and make sure he’s alright and he’s continuing to fight and then I’ll get back to work.rdquo;
Volkan Oezdemir def. Jimi Manuwa
Volkan Oezdemir continues his shocking rise in the light heavyweight division with a first-round TKO win against Jimi Manuwa in just :22 of the first round. Manuwa looked to clinch with Oezdemir, who responded with a few big left hands that rocked Manuwa. As “Poster Buy” retreated, Oezdemir charged forward and caught Manuwa, who went tumbling to the mat before the finish moments later. Oezdemir now moves to 3-0 in the UFC.
THEY SAID IT:
Volkan Oezdemir: “I think my entry to the UFC is kind of unique. Before this fight no one knew me, I came from nowhere. People were always doubting me and each fight I prove them wrong – I really like it. It drives me and gives me a challenge when I’m able to do this. Manuwa was supposed to be fighting the winner of the main event and this fight and I think I deserve the shot next. I put on a really good performance and that’s three in a row against top-10 guys, so yeah, I think I deserve the shot.rdquo;
Ricardo Lamas def. Jason KnightRicardo Lamas steamrolled through prospect Jason Knight with a flurry of big winging punches before finishing him at 4:34 of the first round by TKO. It seemed like Knight, who is very confident off his back, thought he could eat punches long enough or until he dropped, where he would be able to survive because of his grappling. But Lamas kept unloading with big shots and when Knight finally fell the referee was forced to jump in and stop the fight.
THEY SAID IT:
Ricardo Lamas: “ I wasn’t surprised he didn’t go down sooner. I knew he had heart, I’ve seen him fight before. I know that kid keeps coming no matter what you throw at him. I had to keep going, I saw it in his eyes that he wasn’t there and I had to stay on him. I approach every fight the same. I don’t get involved emotionally in the fight. This is all business for me, I’m an athlete and I come to perform and you have to have a clear mind to do that. This was a really long, hard camp for me being away from my kid. I hated every second of it, so the next thing for me is going to be concentrating on opening my UFC Gym in Naperville, Ill. As soon as I get that settled, we’ll see about the fighting.rdquo;
Aljamain Sterling def. Renan Barao
Aljamain Sterling showcased some improved striking and elite-level ground game to take the unanimous decision win (29-28, 29-27, 30-26) over former bantamweight champion Renan Barao in a catchweight 140-pound bout. Sterling was aggressive with the ground and pound when he got top position, controlling the former champ for 5:37 and out-striking him 112-65.
THEY SAID IT:
Aljamain Sterling: “I made a mental mistake and timed a kick wrong in the first round and he was able to capitalize, he’s a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, he’s a former world champion and his resume speaks for itself. I overcame adversity, I picked it up in the second and third round in a big way and I felt him break in there in the second round when I had him on his back. My shots landed and I felt the steam deflating out of him. Cody Garbrandt has said I’m overrated and Bryan Caraway keeps running away from me. I want a fight with one of them. rdquo;
Brian Ortega def. Renato Moicano
Brian Ortega handed Renato Moicano his professional loss when “T-City” sank in a guillotine choke at 2:59 of the third round to secure the submission win after a firefight on the feet for almost three full rounds. The win gives Ortega four wins now in the UFC as he improves to 12-0 in his MMA career.
THEY SAID IT:
Brian Ortega: “It felt good to be back. I’m not going to lie, I felt a little bit nervous. I had a year layoff and I’ve been watching the featherweight rankings change. Guys are going up and down, there are new guys in the division and I was thinking that since I’d been gone for a year I hadn’t been training as hard as the other professional athletes in the top-10. I put in a hard four months once I was fully recovered and I felt that was enough and it was tonight. His heart surprised me. He’s got heart and he’s got a good poker face. A lot of people that I’ve fought I can see them, through their eyes, they give out and this guy looked like he was on fire all night. I kept telling myself not to be fooled and that he was more tired than I was. He took me down and I took advantage of it.”
Calvin Kattar def. Andre Fili
Calvin Kattar picked up the unanimous decision win (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) on short notice filling in for injured DooHo Choi to take out Team Alpha Male’s Andre Fili. Kattar landed the only takedown of the fight, but was outstruck by Fili, 74-73 in a super close fight despite how the scorecards read.
THEY SAID IT:
Calvin Kattar: “I really put my faith in my team, my coaches and my management. We all jumped at the opportunity, Andre is a tough kid and I took the fight on two weeks’ notice. I had a great camp and I’m glad I got the job done. I had to check my weight, but I know that opportunity waits for no one. When the UFC calls, you have to answer. I’m really glad we took the fight and made the best of it, because here we are now. That was on short notice, I want someone higher in the rankings next. Imagine what I can do on a full camp.rdquo;
Alexandra Albu def. Kailin Curran
Alexandra Albu showed her toughness and exciting fighting style in a hard-fought victory over Kailin Curran by unanimous decision, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28. In the first round Albu was winning the standing exchanges and then oddly pulled guard after a nice combo. But she quickly swept Curranand spent some of the round in top position. After a head and arm throw, Albu was landing huge shots but Curran was able to pull off a sweep of her own for what was a super entertaining first round. In the end Albu was bruised up on the feet, as Curran landed more total strikes (141-132), but it was Albu who had the most significant strikes (96-73) and five takedowns in the fight. Albu improves to 2-0 in the UFC.
Jarred Brooks def. Eric Shelton
Jarred Brooks landed five of nine takedowns and looked to have a guillotine choke in tight in the first round before time ran out. He picked up the split decision win over Eric Shelton (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). Brooks wasn’t thrilled with his performance he told Joe Rogan after the fight, but he picks up the win all the same in his UFC debut.
THEY SAID IT:
Jarred Brooks: “I think the takedowns I got were the difference. I really had Octagon jitters. I said that it wasn’t going to happen, but it was for real. The UFC jitters are for real and just the process of everything is crazy. My next time out fans will see a lot more striking and a lot more versatility out of me. Eric is a hell of an opponent; he’s a future contender just like myself and hopefully we’ll meet again someday for a belt. I’m probably thinking Magomed Bibulatov or Ben Nguyen are next.”
Drew Dober def. Josh Burkman
Drew Dober landed an overhand left on the chin of Josh Burkman, sending the veteran to the mat to pick up the first win of the night by KO at 3:04 of the first round. The two were just getting comfortable when the younger Dober showed off his hands with a great KO to kick off the night for his third win in his last four.
THEY SAID IT:
Drew Dober: “The keys to my last couple victories have been position, getting in the right spot in the fight and unleashing the beast. I watch video of myself so that I can come into each fight better than the last. I’m showing what I’m capable of and I want to continue that motion.”
