UFC 224 – Final Results

In her third title defense Amanda Nunes continued to show growth and evolution in her fight game. Her strikes were concise, her movements crisp, and she marched forward fearlessly. After an 18-month, injury-laden layoff, Raquel Pennington came out more hesitantly, getting dropped twice in the early going by some stiff leg kicks from Nunes. Pennington did unload some well-position counterstikes after Nunes’ combinations, but often found her back to the fence as Nunes pressed forward. Pennington found her offensive groove in the third, but Nunes never broke championship form or pace, landing a series of brutal knees to the head during the fourth round. The pressure continued into the fifth where following a takedown, an exhausted Pennington succumbed to Nunes’ hammer fists to finish the fight. Official Result: @Amanda_Leoa def @RockyPMMA by TKO, fifth round, 2:36.

While Kelvin Gastelum got off some heavy punches in the early going, the story of the first round was Jacare Souza’s swarming ground game which kept Gastelum stuck on defense as his energy drained. Gastelum fared better in the second as the fight stayed on its feet and both fighters dished out heavy overhand jabs, including a repeated monster right from Jacare. Momentum continued to swing back and forth for the duration, with both fighters delivering and eating enough shots for the fight to be over at any moment, although it somehow managed to go the distance. A tough fight to call was evident in the split decision outcome. Official Result: @KelvinGastelum (29-28, 29-28) def @JacareMMA (29-28) by split decision.

THEY SAID IT:
Kelvin Gastelum: “I expected to win, but I wanted to finish the fight and guarantee the title shot. Now I don’t know if I will get it, but hopefully I will. I thought I was going to finish after the knockdown, but he is a tough guy, he is very durable. The crowd was not so welcoming this time, but I still got some support after the win.”

Putting the chaos of missing weight aside, Mackenzie Dern seized the opportunity to perform MMA in person for her father (BJJ legend Megaton Dias) for the first time, submitting Cooper with some of the BJJ prowess for which she is renowned. Official Result: @MackenzieDern def @ABCNation115 by submission, rear naked choke, first round 2:27.

THEY SAID IT:
Mackenzie Dern : “I wanted to hit her with some punches, so I am happy that I was able to show my ground and pound, but ended with the finish. She talked a lot during this week. I know I did not make weight – it’s not something that makes me happy. I made a mistake, I took punishment for it, but she accepted the fight. I’m not a person who gives excuses. I tried, but I will not let that happen anymore. I really wanted to see my father’s face during the fight. He must have been very nervous. I do not want to leave here; I want to stay longer. I knew coming in, winning or losing, fans would be rooting for me. The energy in there was indescribable.”

Brian Kelleher gamely hung in with his opponent, but the fight belonged solely to John Lineker and his notoriously heavy hands, dropping Kelleher frequently and keeping him on the run with his forward-marching attack. Kellher’s skilled counterpunching found its target more than a few times, but he simply could not outpunch Lineker who more than doubled the amount of significant strikes (107-53), including a final strike that sent ‘Boom’ to the mat one last time late in the third round. Official Result: @JohnLineker def @BrianBoom135 by KO, third round, 3:43.

THEY SAID IT:
John Lineker :“The hands went back to work. I needed that knockout to reclaim my nickname, „Hands of Stone.“ I am very happy to fight in Brazil, and the fans helped – a lot of energy inside the arena. I like to put on a show for the fans; that’s what I do. As for my opponent, I have no one in mind, but I want to get a top-5 to get closer to the title again because the goal is the title, and it is not the defeat to champion T.J. Dillashaw that will stop me from pursuing this.”

The Brazilian crowd cheered equally loud for both of their native sons, Vitor Belfort and Lyoto Machida, in an exaltation worthy of their status as MMA legends. The cheers turned to impatience as both men seemed hesitant to engage in the early going. Starting the second, as they began to close range, Machida fired off one of his signature, well-timed head kicks to Belfort, dropping him unconscious to the mat. A standing ovation for both fighters ensued. Official Result: @LyotoMachidaFW def @VitorBelfort by KO, second round, 1:00.

THEY SAID IT:
Lyoto Machida: “I trained a lot for this fight, but I did not train the front kick that much. But when you are well-trained and well-prepared, you can see the fight more clearly and be able to do things that you did not even train. I know it was a lot like the kick I got in Randy Couture when he retired, with the difference that his was right and that was left, so maybe it is the history repeating itself. Let’s wait for the next opponent the UFC is going to give me. I would like to fight Michael Bisping. It’s another fight that could have happened and did not. I want to fight a few more times this year.”

Despite Karl Roberson’s considerable physical prowess, Cezar Ferreira was able to control most of the fight on the mat from the top position, where despite not inflicting much damage, was able to keep working into a near-perfect submission. Roberson briefly lost consciousness from the arm triangle choke. Official Result: @CezarMutante def @KarlBabyk by technical submission, arm triangle choke. First round, 4:45.

THEY SAID IT:
Cezar Ferreira: “I’m even more happy because I got to do everything that I train every day at the gym. It felt like I was watching my coaches guiding me, all my moves. In my head, I’m coming from six straight wins and a performance bonus. I do not agree with the outcome of the fight against Theodorou, but I’m here to keep fighting and winning. About Borrachinha, I would like to face him, but I’ve already said everything I thought. Now it’s with the UFC. Whomever they put, I will fight.”

Brazil’s Junior Albini opened the eye of Aleksei Oleinik almost at the opening bell, and his ensuing heavy punches made it look like he’d have the fight in the bag. Scoring a takedown, he suddenly found himself on the wrong end of an Ezekiel choke, as the wily veteran pulls out a win from his back using one of his signature moves. Official Result: @oleynikufc def @JuniorAlbini by submission, Ezekiel choke, first round. 1:45.

THEY SAID IT:
Alexei Oleinik : “Before traveling to Rio, people said that Brazilian fans did not like foreign fighters inside the octagon. I thought so, but today I saw that it was not true. The fans congratulated me and were very supportive after this win. I have a lot of respect for Albini, before and after the fight. He is a very tough guy. I was just better than him. And at the end of the day, this is a sport. It’s professional. It’s part of it.”

Davi Ramos had been trained for Nick Hein with the assistance of Anderson Silva, and the Spider-sense seems to have paid off. Only able to inflict damage on his feet, Hein fell into Ramos’ BJJ ground trap more than once, and it was ultimately his undoing, succumbing to the rear naked choke.

THEY SAID IT:
Davi Ramos : “I want to become a complete athlete, like I’ve always been in jiu-jitsu – a fighter who has all the tools. This is my way of fighting and the style I want to bring to the UFC – a fighter who has his own style but who knows how to do everything. That’s what I’ve been doing, but of course my intention going in this fight was to get his back and finish him. Now it’s one step at a time. This is my second fight as a lightweight, but I do not see myself far away from the division’s ranked fighters. I will fight any of them. I have a lot to learn and evolve, but I am already doing this, and I see myself as the future lightweight champion.”

Frequent Fight of the Night recipient Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos weathered an early, surgical striking onslaught from Sean Strickland until he rocked Strickland with a vicious head kick. With Strickland stumbling to the mat, dos Santos moved in for the finish with a barrage of hammer fists. Official Result: @ElizeuCapoeira def @SStricklandMMA by KO, first round, 3:12.

THEY SAID IT:
Elizeu Zaleski: “I have been training this capoeira strike with my coaches, and it happened exactly as I would like it. I come to fight with my heart. I show the result inside the Octagon, and if that brings that performance bonus, so be it. A coach of mine always told me, ‘You do not put on a show, you fight.’ I’m a fighter. I fight and try to do my best. The fans are always very excited; they know that my fights will be war. They always ask me to finish the fights faster, but I go to do my work. I want to keep fighting with the best. Sean is a fighter who should be among the best; he lost to big names like Ponzinibbio and Usman

Sultan Aliev rarely had the opportunity to show off his skills, busied from the start by Warrley Alves’ sheer athleticism. Kicks, knees and especially punches gave Rio multiple moments to cheer for their native son. At the end of the second round, a brutal-looking eye wound on Aliev was enough for the doctors to rule that the fight should not continue. Official Result: @WarlleyAlvesMMA def @ASULTAN_MMA by TKO after two rounds. Doctor’s ruling.

A scrappy back-and-forth bout that saw the hometown favorite Thales Leites dominate the control game also saw Jack Hermansson dominate in the striking department soon gave way to mat domination by Leites in the second round, which Hermansson spent pinned on his back avoiding the submission. In the third round however, it was back to striking for Hermansson, where from the mat he found an opening to pummel a gassed Leites for the TKO victory. Official Result: @jackthejokermma def @ThalesLeites, by TKO 2:10, 3rd round.

THEY SAID IT:
Jack Hermansson : “I broke my rib in the first round, and it was difficult to continue. Thales is a great fighter, but I learned that defense in my first jiu-jitsu class with my coach. I have the best ground and pound in the world. When I connect, no one stands a chance.”

Alberto Mina’s nearly two year absence from the Octagon displayed plenty of evidence of ring rust that was promptly exploited by the faster Ramazan Emeev who moved down to welterweight to ply his trade. Mina began to show flashes of his prime form in the third round, but by the time the bell sounded, Emeev had done enough to tilt in the judge’s favor. Official Result: Ramazan Emeev def @AlbertoMinaUFC by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

THEY SAID IT:
Ramazan Emeev:“It was a good fight. Brazil has great fighters, and Mina is one of them – he was a great opponent. The most important thing is that I won. That’s what I came for.”

In a battle of two fighters searching for their first UFC victory, it was Perez who came away with the prize, dominating the entire fight from the opening clinch to the ground to the final rear naked choke. Official Result: Markus Perez def @JBoch_88 by submission, 4:28, first round.

THEY SAID IT:
Markus Perez : “I trained to knock him out in the first round, actually, but he came in very flustered, trying to take me down. I’m not a black belt, but I’m one of the best no-gi jiu-jitsu fighters. Now I want to fight more. My focus has always been this, fight as many times as possible. This time I started on the right foot, training at home. The one you saw inside the Octagon is the real Markus.”