Holly Holm is back! A massive headkick in the third round gives her a massive win against Correia to get the former champion back in the win column.
They said it:
Holly Holm: “With this win I feel great right now. I appreciate the first two rounds were slow, but I wanted to pick my shots and not make it too messy out there. I picked the shot I wanted and got the finish. In my last two fights my opponents countered me, so I countered tonight. We figured she would get frustrated and that’s what opened up the opportunity for the head kick. I really wanted this for my coaches mostly. Just imagine how many hours they’ve put into me in this last year and a half. I’m going to enjoy this win tonight and then spend some time with my family.”
Tybura gets a unanimous decision victory (29-28, 28-27, 29-27).
Marcin Tybura: “”
Covington gave fan-favorite Kim little to celebrate in the Octagon, as he was utterly dominant en-route to victory via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-27)
Colby Covington: “Nothing surprised me about this fight. I knew what his strengths were coming into the Octagon and so I prepared for that. I’m so honored to have competed against a legend and to be here fighting in Asia. This win should now put me in the top 10 of the welterweight division. No one outside of the top 5 had beaten Kim previously – only the top guys and that’s where I think I belong. I’m the most complete welterweight in the division – tonight a lot of my success came in my striking, I’m well rounded and not needing to depend just on my wrestling. I want a top contender next. I’m ready to be that guy – to step up against Maia, Woodley, whoever.”
The former 155 lb champion made a successful debut at welterweight with a unanimous decision win over Saffiedine (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Rafael Dos Anjos: “To me this win means a lot. My last win was way back in 2016, about 18 months ago so it’s great to be a winner again. I knew I had 15 minutes to fight and prove myself. Sometimes you get the finish, but I was prepared to go the distance. He to me looked tired as the fight went on because of my constant pressure. He’s a tough dude, but my will to win and my forward pressure won me this fight. I want to go home and enjoy this win with my family, but I want to get back into the Octagon at least one more time this year.”
Wow! Jon Tuck hurt the legend Takanori Gomi early in the fight with a hard front kick, then sending him to the ground seconds later. Once on the mat, Tuck got into position and earned an impressive rear naked choke victory
They said it:
Jon Tuck: “I’ve been preparing for this moment my whole life. This is my breakthrough moment – career defining. To beat a legend like Gomi will only help propel me further. Being from Guam, I’ve now competed against and beaten the best fighters in the region – from Philippines, China, Korea and now a legend from Japan. I’m taking my game to the next level and need to now beat the best. I have no doubt in my skills and ability. I know what I poses and where I belong. I want to prove myself in the Octagon against the best of the best – no one wants to be a dojo legend! Give me another big name and let’s do it all again.”
That didn’t take long! Walt Harris makes easy work of Asker – rocking him and sending him to the ground with a one-two combination before ending the fight with vicious elbows.
Walt Harris: “I’ve been through a lot personally these last few months so getting that win means a lot to me. My son was sick and my house flooded. I had to do my camp, so I pushed through it. There was a lot thrown at me in a short period of time, but we stayed faithful and you saw the results tonight. My coaches did a great job of putting the game plan together, I honestly didn’t stick to it in a couple of situations. We worked on certain things that I was very confident using going into the fight that’s why I was confident I would come out on top. I trusted them 110%. I took a show but I’ve always had a belief in my chin. I train with some big time guys like Deontay Wilder, one of the hardest punchers in heavyweight boxing. I didn’t see it coming and the punch surprised me. We’re definitely going back to the table to make sure it doesn’t happen again. When I got him I saw him hurt. I saw a look in his eyes like he didn’t want to be in there so I was going to go until they pull me off him -no matter how I felt my hands were hurting, elbows were hurting… but told myself don’t stop because the ref will jump in. I saw a couple land clean and I kept going and I got the stoppage.”
The referee has stopped this fight between the second and third round. Earlier in the first round of the fight, a punch by Caceres impacted debutant Dy’s right eye and at the start of the second round the fight was stopped so the doctor could check out the injury. The fight was allowed to go on until the end of the round when the referee put an end to the bout.
Alex Caceres: “The whole time I was in the Octagon, I was telling myself that I’m the veteran. That I’ve got the experience in the UFC and tonight I needed to make a statement and get a strong finish. I’m sure he was expecting to come in here and beat me – I expected his game plan of wanting to counter. But as the fight was progressing I could tell he was gassing and didn’t want to come out. He has the heart of the warrior – despite the stoppage he wanted to fight on. I would have been fine with doing that but you’ve got to respect the officials.”
Wow! Sasaki scores a come-from-behind submission victory over Scoggins! Scoggins dominated the fight early, but a reversal in the second round allowed Sasaki to get position and earn the rear naked choke win.
They said it:
Ulka Sasaki: “He was much tougher, stronger and had more variety than expected. When I grapple with him I felt like I could control him well. He had much power so I decided to not put my full bodyweight into it and instead wait for my opportunity. My corner told me to keep my hands up and keep moving after I strike. He was really pushing me and yelling at me, I knew that he was really pushing so I knew that I just had to wait and I would have a chance to finish the fight. Everytime I win of course I feel good. It feels to climb up on the Octagon. But more than anything the fans in Singapore have given me so much support so everything has been great here.”
What a fight! Jingliang and Camacho traded shots throughout the fight in an entertaining brawl. The fight went the distance, with the Chinese Jingliang getting the unanimous decision victory (29-27, 28-27, 29-27).
Li Jingliang: “My opponent surprised me with his speed and strength. He punched very hard. Because of this I changed my game plan for the second round to move more and land more low leg kicks. I knew I had the chance to finish the fight in the last round and it looked as if he was going down, but he was very tough and stayed in the fight. I trained for this to be a three round fight, so I took my time and delivered. My foot is a bit hurt from the fight, but I don’t think it’s anything too serious.”
Doane continues the recent Hawaiian UFC dominance! He got off to a fast start and earns a first round KO finish over Kwak.
They said it:
Russell Doane: “I knew coming into this fight I was coming away with the knock-out. He’s not the fighter I am. I thought it was going to come later in the fight, maybe the second round, but was happy it came in the first. He surprised me with his leg kicks – he got me in the calf quite good. After this win I’m going to take my family on vacation to show them my appreciation. After that, I’m coming back for anyone and everyone.”
The fight goes the distance, with debutant Inoue winning by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26). Inoue was strong from the start and had multiple submission attempts, but was unable to get the win before the fight got to the judges’ scorecards.
Naoki Inoue: “This is my debut fight and I’m happy with my performance. I practiced it and it all went very very well. I expected takedowns but I defended all of them and I’m happy. I want to improve my all round skill, I want to not be a submission specialist but also improve my striking and kicking too.”
Pudilova takes the unanimous decision victory after a hard-fought three rounds (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Lucie Pudilova: “Today I tried to change my tactics and show off my ground game. Everyone knows that I am good at boxing and striking, but I wanted to use techniques on the ground and not just stick to striking. Kim is a champion fighter and so experienced. I felt very close to finishing her with the guillotine choke, but she is a tough fighter and very experienced. I’ll go back to training even harder and go onto another win.”
