Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will make its FOX Sports 1 return this Sat. night (Aug. 25, 2018) with the UFC Fight Night 135 mixed martial arts (MMA) event inside Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, which includes additional preliminary bouts airing on FOX Sports 2 and UFC Fight Pass. Headlining the “Cornhusker State” fight card is the lightweight showdown pitting 155-pound “Highlight” reel, Justin Gaethje, opposite dangerous division contender James Vick. In the featherweight co-main event, former lightweight striking sensation, Michael Johnson, tries to establish himself at 145-pounds by getting “Touchy” with featherweight wunderkind Andre Fili. In addition, welterweight wrestle-boxers Jake Ellenberger and Bryan Barberena collide for 170-pound bragging rights, while Angela Hill looks to made headway at 115 pounds at the expense of strawweight sensation Cortney Casey.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 135 fight card below, starting with the Fight Pass “Prelims” undercard bout at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the FOX Sports 2 “Prelims” undercard bouts at 8 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 10 p.m. ET, also on FOX Sports 1.
Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps, and post-fight analysis following “Gaethje vs. Vick.”
Without further delay, see below for the latest UFC Fight Night 135 results. (Note: This will go from the bottom up; therefore, scroll toward the bottom for the latest detailed round-by-round action.)
UFC FIGHT NIGHT 135 QUICK RESULTS:
Justin Gaethje vs. James Vick — Gaethje def. Vick by KO (punch) at 1:27 of Round One
Andre Fili vs. Michael Johnson — Johnson def. Fili by split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
Angela Hill vs. Cortney Casey — Casey def. Hill by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Bryan Barberena vs. Jake Ellenberger — Barberena def. Ellenberger by TKO (punches) at 2:26 of Round One
Deiveson Figueiredo vs. John Moraga — Figueiredo def. Moraga by TKO (punches) at 3:08 of Round Two
Eryk Anders vs. Tim Williams — Anders def. Williams by KO (head kick) at 4:42 of Round Three
Warlley Alves vs. James Krause — Krause def. Alves by TKO (knee and punches) at 2:28 of Round Two
Iuri Alcantara vs. Cory Sandhagen — Sandhagen def. Alcantara by TKO (punches) at 1:01 of Round Two
Markus Perez vs. Andrew Sanchez — Sanchez def. Perez by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Mickey Gall vs. George Sullivan — Gall def. Sullivan by submission (rear naked choke) at 1:09 of Round One
Joanne Calderwood vs. Kalindra Faria — Calderwood def. Faria by submission (armbar) at 4:57 of Round One
Drew Dober vs. Jon Tuck — Dober def. Tuck by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26 x2)
Luke Sanders vs. Rani Yahya — Yahya def. Sanders by submission (heel hook) at 1:31 of Round One
UFC FIGHT NIGHT 135 PLAY-BY-PLAY:
155 lbs.: Justin Gaethje vs. James Vick
Round 1: Vick sending out early kicks. Gaethje leg kick falls short. Gaethje jabs the body. Low kick exchange. More kicks from Vick. Gaethje wades into the clinch, eats a leg kick on the exit. Body kick from Vick, leg kick from Gaethje. Suddenly, Gaethje steps in with an overhand right that knocks “The Texecutioner” unconscious.
Final result: Gaethje def. Vick by KO (punch)
145 lbs.: Andre Fili vs. Michael Johnson
Round 1: Johnson lands an early left hand. Body kick from Fili. Another straight left from Johnson, who takes a finger in the eye. They go right to trading heavy punches. One minute in. Fili looks for a head kick, lands a body kick. Right hook from Johnson. Two minutes in. Fili fires another head kick. Body kick connects. Low kick from Johnson. Straight left lands clean upstairs. Another. A third. Two minutes to go.
Another head kick from Fili answered in kind. Straight left from Johnson. Another. One minute to go. Jab to the body. Fili tries another head kick, lands a long right hand and eats a straight left. Yet another left hand. 10-9 Johnson.
Round 2: Johnson opens with another straight left, blocks a head kick. Fili takes a kick to the nards. 3-2 lands for Johnson when they resume. Another straight left and another. One minute in. Body kick from Fili. Head kick from Fili, who hits a takedown and takes the back. Johnson stands with Fili playing backpack. Handfighting from Johnson. Fili worms his left elbow under Johnson’s chin and puts on the squeeze. Johnson somehow survives. Two minutes to go.
After another minute of danger, Johnson spins into guard. Hard elbows from Johnson. Fili threatening a triangle. Johnson postures out. 10-9 Fili.
Round 3: Fili fires another pair of head kicks. 1-2 lands for Johnson. Fili avoids a left hand and spins to the back. One minute in. Johnson works his way to his feet and separates. Two minutes in. Fili fires another head kick. Low kick from Johnson, who stuffs a takedown attempt. Two minutes to go.
Straight left by Johnson. Fili fires a head kick, eats a body shot. Johnson finds the mark with a pair of left hands and stuffs a takedown. One minute to go. Johnson looking for his own takedown, lands a left hand. Fili sprawls on it. I smell controversy. 10-9 Fili.
Final result: Johnson def. Fili by split decision
115 lbs.: Angela Hill vs. Cortney Casey
Round 1: Both women come out throwing. Casey lands a right hand and leg kick. Left hook from Hill, overhand right behind it. One minute in. Hill with a nice body shot, catches a kick but doesn’t follow her down. Low kick from Hill, overhand right. Leg kick and left hook. Casey throwing with her. They trade leg kicks two minutes in. Casey with a knee to the midsection and right hand on the break. Hill lands a low kick and right hand, met by a pair of good punches from Casey. Heavy punches by Casey. Hill cracks her with a right cross. Great exchanges. Two minutes to go.
Casey ties up and puts Hill on the fence, then trips her down. Good elbows from Casey. Hill locks up an armbar, but Casey stacks her. She gets her arm free with a minute to go. Hill transitions to her own takedown attempt. Good elbow from Hill on the break after trading knees. Low kick from Hill and now they’re trading punches. Overhand right stings Casey. 10-9 Hill.
Round 2: They go right back to trading punches, Casey getting the better of it. She looks for a takedown, can’t get it. She goes low-high. Body kick met by a Hill low kick. Great exchange a minute in. Low kick from Hill. Casey answers in kind, eats a jab. Casey catches a kick, lands punches inside. Hill to the body. Two minutes in. Good flurry by Casey in response to a leg kick, left hook comes back at her. More quality exchanges. Casey gets in deep on a double-leg, can’t quite get her down against the fence. They separate with two minutes to go.
Low kick from Hill. Clean overhand and left hook land for her. Right hands to the body and head. Hill coming on strong, eats an uppercut. One minute to go. Casey looks for a knee. Overhand right and body kick from Hill. Slicing elbow by Hill. 10-9 Casey.
Round 3: Snappy left hook from Hill, who eats a cuffing right hand. Right hand from Hill. One minute in. Right uppercut from Casey met by a left hook from Hill. Another right hand by Hill lands clean. Counters from hill as Casey presses forward. Trading in the center. Two minutes in. Casey shoots, denied. Right hand by Hill. Two minutes to go.
Overhand right lands for her. Casey lands a right hook. Body shot from Hill, who checks a leg kick. Casey opens up, eats a hard right hand. One minute to go. Overhand right again from Hill. Knee and uppercut connect. 10-9 Hill.
Final result: Casey def. Hill by split decision
170 lbs.: Bryan Barberena vs. Jake Ellenberger
Round 1: They clinch in the center and trade knees. Good overhand and left hook from Ellenberger. Left hand catches Barberena coming in. Low kick from Barberena one minute in. They trade bombs in the center. Body kick from Ellenberger. Right hand rocks Ellenberger and Barberena sends him to the mat with a flurry. Ellenberger shoots, gets clipped by another right hand and falls once again. Barberena pounds him out.
Final result: Barberena def. Ellenberger by TKO (punches)
125 lbs.: Deiveson Figueiredo vs. John Moraga
Round 1: Low kicks from Moraga to start. One minute in. Figueiredo on the advance, neither throwing much. Counter uppercut attempt. Moraga blasts him with a straight right and counters a takedown attempt with a hip toss. Figueiredo gets him to the mat two minutes in. Full guard. Two minutes to go.
Moraga not giving Figueiredo any room to posture up. Half guard now. Moraga threatens a leg, lands an elbow off his back. Figueiredo postured up. Now he falls back for a straight ankle lock. Moraga counters with a heel hook and Figueiredo blatantly uses the cage to stand. Hammerfists from Figueiredo. 10-9 Moraga.
Round 2: Moraga fires a body kick. Another one lands. Figueiredo tries to answer in kind. Both land winging hooks. Figueiredo ties up, eating a knee along the way. Figueiredo gets a body lock and drags him to the mat. Half guard for the Brazilian.Figueiredo not able to land much. Moraga works his way up, gets crushed by an elbow and right hand. Figueiredo tries to follow up, overextends in the process. When Moraga stands, though, Figueiredo smashes him with a shovel hook that sends him to his knees.
Final result: Figueiredo def. Moraga by TKO (punches)
185 lbs.: Eryk Anders vs. Tim Williams
Round 1: Anders looks for the body, eats a jab. Low kick from Williams. One minute in. Head kick and straight right from Williams. Inside leg kick. Williams ties up and takes him to the fence. Two minutes in. Anders separates. Williams ties up once again, separates shortly thereafter. Two minutes to go.
Anders counters a head kick with a chopping left, eats a jab. Low kick trips Anders up. Anders looks for the body against the fence. Hard 1-2 stings Anders. One minute to go. Williams catches a body kick and shoots, avoiding a guillotine as he completes it into side control. Now looking for the back. 10-9 Williams.
Round 2: Anders looking a little more aggressive, eats body shots after stopping a takedown. Williams tries a head kick. One minute in. Anders steps in and Williams takes him to the fence. He changes levels and completes the double-leg. Anders forces his way to his feet as Williams looks for the back. They separate. Straight left from Anders two minutes in. Anders marching after him, opening up with left hands. Head kick just misses. Uppercut, straight left, right hook. Hard knee opens Williams up. Uppercut from Anders, walking Williams down. Williams with a well-timed takedown, pulls guard with he gets sprawled on. Anders briefly follows him down. Two minutes to go.
Anders steps right into mount, then cracks Williams with punches when he scrambles up and shoots. Short left by Anders, spinning back fist attempt. Good shots on the break. One minute to go. Anders backs him to the fence, looks to open up with a minute to go. Anders lands another hard left in the waning seconds. 10-9 Anders.
Round 3: Williams showing his jab, but walks into a straight left that knocks him down. Anders lets him stand. Tentative second minute. Good counter left by Anders. Two minutes to go.
Williams shoots, sprawled on, blocks a head kick. Williams moving forward, throwing power shots. One minute to go. Anders moving forward, eats a spinning back fist and drops Williams with a head kick. As Williams tries to scramble back up, Anders fires another head kick that puts him to sleep.
Final result: Anders def. Williams by KO (head kick)
170 lbs.: Warlley Alves vs. James Krause
Round 1: Krause has a head kick caught, avoids a guillotine. He looks for a takedown and takes Alves to the fence. Nifty little foot sweep can’t get Alves all the way down.One minute in. Krause lands a body shot and changes levels, nearly gets his back taken. Knees from Krause. Elbow on the break. Two minutes in. Krause digs a left to the body. Alves catches another kick and dumps him to the mat, trying an axe kick. Krause lands another left downstairs. Counter left upstairs. Alves lands a knee to the body. Two minutes to go.
Jabs from Krause. Alves lands a short right hand. Good combinations from Krause. Straight left upstairs. Body kick from Alves. One minute to go. Krause digs another left downstairs. Alves fires a kick on the break. Glancing front kick from Krause. 10-9 Krause.
Round 2: Nice little slugfest to start the round. Krause presses Alves against the fence. One minute in. Still in the same position. Krause tries a foot sweep on the break. Straight right from Krause, left to the body. Krause hits an outside trip, clipped by a left hook. Krause comes back with a knee that rubberizes Alves’ legs. The Brazilian is out on his feet and Krause pours on the hurt until the ref steps in.
Final result: Krause def. Alves by TKO (knee and punches)
135 lbs.: Iuri Alcantara vs. Cory Sandhagen
Round 1: Low kick from Sandhagen. Alvantara swinging big, rocks Sandhagen with a right hand. He muscles Sandhagen to the mat and hops over for an armbar. Sandhagen’s arm looks gruesome, but he’s surviving as Alcantara swats at him with hammerfists. Incredibly, Sandhagen survives and starts dropping bombs. Big shots from Sandhagen. Alcantara looking for a sweep, eats a hard left hand. Right hands from Sandhagen and now some savage elbows. Two minutes to go.
Alcantara eyes a leg. More brutal shots from Sandhagen. Sandhagen just blasting him with ground-and-pound. Full mount for Sandhagen. Alcantara still moving, continues to eat bombs. 10-8 Sandhagen.
Round 2: Sandhagen storms after Alcantara from the opening bell. The Brazilian tries desperation elbows, falls to the mat and continues eating punches. Sandhagen just keeps striking and the ref waits way, way too long to stop it.
Final result: Sandhagen def. Alcantara by TKO (punches)
185 lbs.: Markus Perez vs. Andrew Sanchez
Round 1: Body kick lands for Perez. 1-2 from Sanchez, more body kicks from Perez. Left hook by Sanchez. One minute in. Perez tries a jumping front kick. Right hook from Perez. Sanchez lands a low kick. He ties up on the cage. Looking for the back. Perez turns to face him, gets put back on the fence. Two minutes to go.
Perez latches onto an arm, can’t do anything with it. Sanchez staying heavy on the fence. 3-2 lands for him, Perez tries a spinning elbow on the break. One minute to go. Left hand from Perez. Technical difficulties mean I miss the rest of the round. 10-9 Sanchez.
Round 2: Perez lands a low leg kick, eats a right cross. Another right hand by Sanchez. Perez lands a heavy left cross that backs Sanchez off. Sanchez to the body a minute in. Body kicks from Perez, tries a head kick afterwards. Another hard left from Perez. Sanchez with a 1-2 downstairs. Two minutes in. Body kick from Perez. Sanchez fires a flurry and looks for the back. He transitions to a front headlock, lands a knee upstairs. They separate. Perez lands a standing elbow through the guard. Two minutes to go.
Sanchez lands a sweeping right hook and clinches up. Left hook on the break from Sanchez, hard right hands inside. Body kick from Perez. Good combination from Sanchez into the clinch. One minute to go. Dirty boxing lands for Sanchez and Perez tries to pull guard. 10-9 Perez.
Round 3: Perez tries some fancy strikes early. Sanchez on the front foot. Check hook and overhand left land for Perez. Sanchez digs a left hook downstairs. One minute in. Jab up top, counter right. Perez lands an overhand left and yells at Sanchez. Spinning elbow and body kick from Perez. Sanchez tries to tie up. Two minutes in. Teep knocks Perez over. Straight right and stiff jab by Sanchez, who puts Perez against the fence again. They separate. Body kick from Perez, right hook by Sanchez. Sanchez to the body, ties up again. Two minutes to go.
Sanchez looking for the back. Both land knees inside. Ref separates them with a minute to go. Lead right by Sanchez. Body kick from Perez. Brazilian kick and backfist from Sanchez. Perez goes for a spin, eats an uppercut. Fun fight. 10-9 Sanchez.
Final result: Sanchez def. Perez by unanimous decision
170 lbs.: Mickey Gall vs. George Sullivan
Round 1: Gall sends out a high kick. He hits a single-leg and immediately takes the back. Gall looking to soften him up. Now he’s got the choke locked up. There’s the tap.
Final result: Gall def. Sullivan by submission (rear naked choke)
125 lbs.: Joanne Calderwood vs. Kalindra Faria
Round 1: Faria opens with strikes until she can tie up and hit an inside reap. She quickly passes to side control, looking for mount. Calderwood gets her guard back a minute in. Faria moves to half guard as Calderwood looks to sweep. Two minutes in, back to full guard. Faria postures and lands a solid right hand. Faria avoids an armbar and comes back down with a right hand. Two minutes to go.
Calderwood tries to kick her off, cannot do so. Now Calderwood working on a triangle. This looks deep with a minute to go. Calderwood squeezing hard, chipping in with elbows. She transitions to an armbar and draws the tap with just seconds left in the round.
Final result: Calderwood def. Faria by submission (armbar)
155 lbs.: Drew Dober vs. Jon Tuck
Round 1: Straight left from Dober, then a leg kick. Body kick this time. Again. Straight left, leg kick. Right hand from Tuck a minute in. 3-2 knocks Tuck back. Good right straight from Tuck. Dober looks for a head kick this time. Tuck lands a straight right, eats a leg kick, lands one of his own. Two minutes in. Combination by Dober connects. Tuck steps into the clinch, looks for the neck. Dober pops his head out and pressed him against the fence. Two minutes to go.
Dober lands a right hand on the break. They trade near the center, neither landing clean. Dober to the body with a minute to go, another hard leg kick soon after. Sharp left hand on the fence. Tuck digs in knees. 10-9 Dober.
Round 2: Dober staying aggressive early. Low kick lands, Tuck comes back with a body kick. Good check by Tuck and they trade punches. One minute in. Tuck connects with a right cross and head kick, then eats a shovel hook and left hand. Tuck shoots, briefly threatens a guillotine. Long left to the body from Dober. Now Dober shoots, only for Tuck to latch onto a guillotine. Dober passes to side control and slips his head out as Tuck regains guard. Left hands by Dober from half guard. Two minutes to go.
More shots from Dober. Tuck regains guard once again with a minute to go. Dober continues to land short punches. Some heavier blows in he last few seconds. 10-9 Dober.
Round 3: Dober connects with a hard straight left, walking Tuck down. Combinations flowing. Tuck lands a right hand in return, gets taken down into half guard a minute in. Nice elbows. Two minutes in. Dober staying busy. Tuck turns for a leg unsuccessfully. Two minutes to go.
Dober continues to chisel away. Tuck looks spent. One minute to go. Dober looking for mount. Tuck retains half guard, but that’s about all he’s got left. Dober keeps up the ground-and-pound until Tuck works his way to his feet. 10-9 Dober.
Final result: Dober def. Tuck by unanimous decision
135 lbs.: Rani Yahya vs. Luke Sanders
Round 1: Yahya opens with low kicks. He shoots, pulls guard. Sanders stands and separates. Straight right lands for the Brazilian. Body kick and another right hand that appears to buzz Sanders. Sanders lands his own right hand and Yahya pulls guard, immediately looking for a leg. The scramble continues until Yahya locks up the heel hook for the finish.
Final result: Yahya def. Sanders by submission (heel hook)