Sacramento was treated to a hopping card despite the lack of big name draws. The action was compelling, and many fighters took a step forward in their future fighting careers. We will take a look at what’s next for the winning and losing fighters.

Losing Fighters:

Vince Morales: Pingyuan Liu or Nohelin Hernandez
Morales had a very strong showing in this contest, and you can make the argument that he won the fight. Morales was able to land hard shots and push the pace with his blitzing attacks. The major issue he ran into was the kicking game of Benito Lopez. Morales was repeatedly battered to the body and legs with kicks. He did display toughness and certainly deserves another shot in the UFC.

Livia Souza: Randa Markos or Amanda Ribas
Souza showed a lot of heart and toughness in this fight. She was able to land a couple of takedowns, but wasn’t able to capitalize on these attempts. She was simply out struck and paced by Brianna Van Buren. She was picked a part on the feet by the technical striking of Van Buren. This is the first UFC loss for the former Invicta Women’s Strawweight champion.

Pingyuan Liu: Vince Morales or Anderson dos Santos
Liu came into this fight on a winning streak, but his performance was disappointing. He showed no real urgency in the fight, and often found himself circling on the outside. He landed a clean shot in the first that wobbled Jonathan Martinez, but was unable to do anything with it. To make matters worse he leaned into a brutal knee that knocked him unconscious. This was a tough way to loss after a long winning streak.

Darren Elkins: Alejandro Perez or Andre Ewell
Another loss for Elkins pushes the veteran’s losing streak to three fights. Elkins just simply could not find Ryan Hall in this fight. He did a good job of avoiding Hall’s famous leg lock game, but was wobbled several times by kicks and punches. I believe Elkins underestimated the striking of Hall, and paid dearly for that multiple times. He did showcase his trademark heart, and was able to push this fight to a decision. At the age of 35, you have to wonder if Elkins MMA career could be coming to a close.

Nicco Montanto: Bethe Correia or Sijara Eubanks
Montano made her return to the octagon after injuries and being stripped of the UFC Women’s Flyweight championship. She did well early on using her takedwons and strength to overwhelm Julianna Pena. As the fight progressed she found herself on the wrong end of the grappling exchanges. She was controlled on the mat in rounds two and three, and it seemed the pressure of Pena started to wear her out. This was still a good showing against a formerly highly ranked competitor in her return to the Women’s Bantamweight division.

Sheymon Moraes: Kevin Aguilar or Daniel Teymur
Moraes was able to land some hard kicks against Andre Fili early on. He took a few shots, but seemed to be winning the exchanges. Then he was stopped in his tracks by a head kick, and eventually finished by the follow up strikes from Fili. Moraes still has a ton of potential and the UFC should not give up on him yet.

Mike Rodriguez: Vinicius Moreira or Patrick Cummins
Rodriguez was able to land clean shots for the majority of the fight, but struggled to defend the aggressive John Allan. The high pace set in the fight started to wear on Rodriguez as well. He was taken down multiple times, and was visibly exhausted when the final horn rang. Rodriguez is a promising prospect, and once he improves his overall game could be a factor in the Light Heavyweight division.

Cezar Ferreira: Jack Marshman or Alessio Di Chirico
Cezar is the definition of toughness after that performance against Marvin Vettori. He was blasted with hard punches and a nonstop onslaught but never quit fighting. He also dealt with the offensive wrestling game of Vettori who mixed it up with a couple of takedowns. Ferreira was able to land some hard leg kicks and a couple of clean power shots. He put up a hell of an effort, but was overmatched by the young Italian.

Wellington Turman:
Turman showed some real talent in his UFC debut against a dangerous striker. Turman came out firing early and was able to land some good shots. He had his moments on the ground taking Roberson’s back on multiple occasions and going for submissions. In the end, I feel Turman wore himself out and ended up on the wrong end of some late round grappling exchanges. This was still a fight he arguably could have won against a tough opponent.

Mirsad Bektic: Andre Fili or Ryan Hall
Bektic simply got caught stepping into a jab at the wrong time especially against the powerful Josh Emmett. He was never able to establish his game or land a fight changing shot. This is a tough loss for Bektic who has been dealt both of his professional defeats by Team Alpha Male products.

Ricky Simon: Marlon Vera or Ricardo Ramos
Simon came out swinging early wobbling Urijah and landing a hard leg kick. However, he was dropped by a hard right hand and finished on the mat with ground and pound. Simon protested the stoppage a little bit, but seemed to be dazed you could make an argument the stoppage was early. Despite the layoff, Urijah Faber was the best fighter Simon has ever faced. Simon has a ton of promise and just got caught by a world class veteran.

Aspen Ladd: Cat Zingano or Marion Reneau
Ladd has finally tasted defeat on a professional level. She had looked pretty much unstoppable up until this point. She was dropped straight away by a big right hand from Germaine de Randamie, and the fight was quickly stopped by Herb Dean. Ladd looked very disappointed and befuddled by the stoppage. She was clearly rocked by the shot, but didn’t appear to be out. It’s heartbreaking for Ladd who suffered through a brutal weight cut, and then suffered from an early stoppage. Germaine de Randamie deserves the credit she did her job, but this to me looked like a premature stoppage by the referee. Ladd is young, talented, and full of promise so she should get back on the horse straight away. The major concern for me is can she continue to make the weight because she is already having issues, and it only gets tougher as the years go by.

Winning Fighters:

Benito Lopez: Jonathan Martinez or Ricardo Ramos
Lopez showcased a solid kicking game in this fight against Morales. He battered the legs with continual kicks, and was able to land a couple of body kicks as well. This was a nice bounce back win for Lopez coming off of his first professional loss. If he improves his hands to go along with his kicks Lopez could be a real problem in the future.

Brianna Van Buren: Amanda Ribas or Ashley Yoder
I was very impressed with the high level striking of Van Buren. She overwhelmed Souza with her crisp hands and constant pressure. Van Buren had Souza hurt badly multiple times in the contest and opened a lot of eyes in her UFC debut. She also was able to avoid the ground game against a solid grappler. If Van Buren keeps growing her game she could be a future contender.

Jonathan Martinez:
Martinez showed a well balanced striking game in this fight. He took on Liu who was on an impressive win streak and answered the challenge. Martinez was patient and calm during the storm keeping steady pressure on Liu. He listened to his coaches as well as they were calling for the knee and he actually finished the fight with this maneuver. This was by far the best performance we have seen out of Martinez in the UFC.

Ryan Hall: Arnold Allen or Ricardo Lamas
Hall certainly opened a lot of eyes and showed the world he is more than just a leg locking specialist. He threw a plethora of spinning kicks, wobbling and dropping the tough Darren Elkins multiple times. He was unable to really take advantage or make this a grappling contest, but he honestly didn’t need to. Hall gets another win against a respected veteran, and remains to be a puzzle the featherweight division hasn’t been able to solve.

Julianna Pena: Raquel Pennington or Yana Kunitskaya
What a return for Pena being out for over two years after giving birth to her daughter. She withstood the test of Montano early on, and was able to grind her way to a decision. Pena has always been known for her wrestling and grappling this along with her cardio allowed her to earn the victory. Not a bad way to get back in the mix beating the former and inaugural UFC Women’s Flyweight champion.

Andre Fili: Shane Burgos or Arnold Allen
Fili was able to close the show in front of his hometown crowd of Sacramento. Fili continues his run up the Featherweight rankings with a stoppage win over the underrated Sheymon Moraes. Fili waited for his opportunity, and blasted Moraes with heavy head kick. He finished with ground and pound making another statement that he is on the rise.

John Allan:
Allan cashed in on his short notice opportunity with a victory in his UFC debut. Allan was able to take Rodriguez’s best shots, and give some hard counter attacks in return. He was able to get inside the long reach of Rodriguez, and used takedowns to steal the later rounds. Allan can absolutely crack and could be scary proposition for future opponents.

Marvin Vettori: Kevin Holland or Edmen Shahbazyan
This was the night of stand out returns and you have to include Marvin Vettori on that list. Vettori returned from suspension after failing a drug test from a tainted supplement. He returned with a bang putting an impressive display against Cezar Ferreira. This is the best striking performance we have seen from Vettori. He was able to constantly pressure landing crisp lefts and rights to the face of Cezar. He busted up the face of Ferreira badly, and was able to land a couple of takedowns as well. Vettori showed a well rounded attack, and despit a valiant effort Cezar had no answer. Vettori is young and can only get better from here.

Karl Roberson: Edmen Shahbazyan or Zak Cummings
This wasn’t the prettiest performance for Roberson, but a win is a win. Roberson was able to control the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt in the first round. However, as the fight progressed he found himself in some uncomfortable positions in the clinch and on the mat. This was surprising because when Roberson was striking he was clearly the better fighter. For some reason he kept choosing to clinch with Turman. He was able to reverse position several times, but shouldn’t have put himself there in the first place. Roberson has to continue to improve his ground game if he wants to truly be a force in this division.

Josh Emmett: Chan Sung Jung or Zabit Magomedsharipov
Emmett continues to be one of the scariest knockout artists in the Featherweight division. There was a feeling out process and then Emmett landed a hard that dropped Bektic. He finished the fight with a ferocious flurry of ground strikes giving the referee no other option but to step in. This was a much more quick and clean performance for Emmett then his comeback knockout over Michael Johnson. Emmett is rising up the ranks and could earn a title shot with a few more wins.

Urijah Faber: Rob Font or Pedro Munhoz
How about that for a return for the “California Kid”! That was a super cool moment for the UFC hall of famer to return in front of his hometown of Sacramento and get a stoppage finish. Faber landed a big, classic right hand of his, and was able to finish the job with punches on the ground. The stoppage can be argued, but this was feel good moment for the 40 year old in his return. Faber beat a promising young fighter, and put himself back in the conversation at Bantamweight

Germaine de Randamie: Amanda Nunes or Ketlen Vieira
A very short night at the office for Germaine de Randamie. The brilliant muay thai striker landed one big right and a few more following shots which was enough to warrant a stoppage. Ladd was hurt, but I feel this was a very quick stoppage by Herb Dean. The awkward landing and the fact she feel somewhat on her face made it look worse than it actually was. This is unfortunate but shouldn’t take a way from another stoppage win for de Randamie. The former UFC Women’s Featherweight champion may have just earned herself a title shot.

Photo Credit: https://www.mmafighting.com/2019/7/13/20692704/ufc-sacramento-results-de-randamie-vs-ladd