This was an entertaining night of fights with a ton of decision finishes. The main event was disappointing as the fight ended with a no contest because of an eye poke. This was a tough end to what was a pretty entertaining card throughout. This article breaks down what’s next for all fighters, with a in depth look at the main card fights.
Prelim Losers
Marcos Mariano: Released by the UFC
Sijara Eubanks: Vanessa Melo or Julia Avila
Vinicius Moreira: Released by the UFC or Khadis Ibragimov
Tyson Nam: Mark de la Rosa or Alex Perez
Ariane Carnelossi: Jodie Esquibel or Syuri Kondo
Marco Polo Reyes: Released by the UFC or Lerone Murphy
Carlos Huachin: Miles Johns or Cole Smith
Main Card Losers
Martin Bravo: Lerone Murphy or Humberto Bandenay
Bravo came out very aggressive throwing his jab and right straight with great success. He mixed in takedowns to keep Peterson off balance, and seemed to land the better shots in exchanges. He did a great job of landing from the outside keeping Steven on the end of his punches. However, he made a crucial mistake throwing a spinning attack, and Peterson happened to be throwing a spinning back fist at the same time. Peterson’s shot landed, and knocked Bravo unconscious. This is a tough loss to swallow for Bravo after being in control for most of the fight.
Vanessa Melo: Sijara Eubanks or Karolline Cavedo
Melo had a hard time finding her range on the feet against the larger Aldana. She was firing and missing early in the fight eating jabs and straights. She picked up her urgency as the fight progressed, and was able to land some good shots in her blitzes. She was able to back up Aldana several times, but wasn’t able to land any fight changing shots. She showed great toughness taking some very hard shots, but just seemed to be a step behind against a technical striker. This was a excellent effort for the Brazilian stepping in last minute. She went toe to toe and had her moments against a highly regarded fighter in the Women’s Bantamweight division.
Alexa Grasso: Tecia Torres or Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Grasso had a significant advantage on the feet landing the more powerful shots. She was clearly hurting and wobbling Esparza anytime she landed. However, she just couldn’t find a way to stop the takedowns. She had issues with the wrestling, and top control of Esparza. Grasso was forced to defense takedowns throughout the fight, and had problems keeping the bout on the feet. Grasso found herself stuck on her back, and Esparza did a great job of making this fight a grappling affair. Grasso tried to threaten with submission and sweeps, but Esparza was too strong in the top position. Alexa has skills, but needs to figure out how to counter wrestlers because that has been a major issue for her in the UFC.
Prelim Winners
Claudio Puellas: Austin Hubbard or Ottman Azaitar
Bethe Correia: Nicco Montano or Sara McMann
Paul Craig: Klidson Abreu or Sam Alvey
Sergio Pettis: Deiveson Figueiredo or Alexandre Pantoja
Angela Hill: Livia Souza or Ashley Yoder
Kyle Nelson: Jordan Griffin or Gabriel Benitez
Jose Quinonez: Louis Smolka or Hunter Azure
Main Card Draw
Brandon Moreno: Tim Elliott or Kai Kara France
Moreno was taken down early, but did a nice job of reversing position to gain some of his own top control. He seemed to have the advantage on the feet being landing the faster and sharper shots in terms of boxing. Moreno had issues with the wrestling of Askarov, but never stopped working constantly scrambling refusing to stay down. He had to deal with Askarov who pretty much abandoned his striking focusing soley on taking Moreno down. This was a wild fight with a ton of scrambles, but Moreno seemed to slow down as Askarov continued to work in the clinch and his takedowns. He was able to drop Askarov with a huge head kick in the second round that might have stole the second round. Moreno was smart to get his own takedown in the third round to drain the clock so to speak. This was a really close, competitive fight, but I thought Moreno did more to earn this decision despite it being ruled a draw
Askar Askarov: Mark de la Rosa or Ryan Benoit
Askarov struggled with the speed on the feet of Moreno, and seemed to be on the wrong end of the striking. He was able to successfully use his wrestling in the first and second round. However, he had issues with keeping Moreno grounded, and found himself getting beat in the scrambles. He had a strong second roung, but was grounded for the entirety of the third round. This was a strong performance for Askarov, and he has shown his talent in terms of wrestling. He just ran into one of the best Flyweight’s in the world who he was just a step behind. Askarov proved he deserves to fight against the best in the division. I was surprised this was ruled a draw because I felt Moreno did more to win this fight. However, Askarov did have his moments so I am not shocked by this decision.
Main Card Winners
Steven Peterson: Jordan Griffin or Zubaira Tukhugov
Peterson seemed to have issues getting inside of Bravo’s reach early on. He was getting hit repeatedly with solid shots at range. He gave up a couple of takedowns as well, but never seemed to be discouraged despite being behind on output. He turned up his aggressiveness in round two, and started to find a home for his strikes. Peterson then countered Bravo’s spinning backfist with his own landing a vicious knockout blow. Peterson landed the kill shot so to speak, and found a way to win after a rough start to the fight. This is a huge win for Peterson who came in with back to back losses.
Irene Aldana: Marion Reneau or Aspen Ladd
Aldana did a great job using her size and reach advantage against Melo. She didn’t allow her to get on the inside, and used her kicks to pepper the legs. Irene landed her jab over and over, and used her fast straight right hand to pop Melo. I was also impressed with her defense by keeping her hand high, and avoiding the wild power shots thrown by Melo. However, she did get hit with some solid shots as the fight progressed. It seemed that as Melo picked up her aggressiveness Aldana started to have some issues. Aldana looked very sharp in this fight, and won this fight by being the more technical striker. It just seemed she was one step ahead on the feet, and used her physical advantages to assert her performance.
Carla Esparza: Nina Ansaroff or Rose Namajunas
Esparza leaned on her wrestling in this fight like she always does. She did a great job of mixing in takedowns in open space, in transition, and even in the clinch. She kept Grasso grounded, and landed some solid ground and pound. I was impressed with Carla’s ability to win almost every scramble in this fight. She had issues on the feet, and was clearly stunned from several power shots landed by Grasso. Every time she found herself in a bad position she just turned to her takedowns. Grasso came on strong in the third round, and seemed to land the better shots trying to finish the fight. However, Esparza was smart to survive because she was ahead on the scorecards. She somehow got out of a super tight armbar that Grasso was very close to finishing in round three. This was a gutsy victory for Esparza as she was in trouble several times in the fight. This was a big win for Esparza against a promising prospect showing she can still contend in this division.
No Contest Result:
Yair Rodriguez: Jeremy Stephens or Zabit Magomedsharipov
Unfortunately the fight ends with a eye poke right out of the gate. Rodriguez extended his fingers, and caught Jeremy Stephens with an eye poke. Stephens was not milking the injury because he is as tough as they come. His eye completely shut down and would not open. This is a tough finish for the hometown kid who wasn’t able to perform in front of his home fans. This has been an issue in MMA for a long time, and something has to be done with the gloves in order to keep these eye pokes from happening. They will likely run this fight back in the future.
Jeremy Stephens: Yair Rodriguez or Calvin Kattar
Unfortunately the fight ends with a eye poke right out of the gate. Rodriguez extended his fingers, and caught Jeremy Stephens with an eye poke. Stephens was not milking the injury because he is as tough as they come. His eye completely shut down and would not open. This is a tough finish for the hometown kid who wasn’t able to perform in front of his home fans. This has been an issue in MMA for a long time, and something has to be done with the gloves in order to keep these eye pokes from happening. They will likely run this fight back in the future.
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