Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Live, blow-by-blow updates for today’s UFC 240 preliminary card from Edmonton, which has women’s flyweights Alexis Davis and Viviane Araujo in the feature slot.
Join us today (Saturday, July 27th) on Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, round scoring, and play-by-play as UFC 240 takes place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The main event will see men’s featherweight champion Max Holloway put his title on the line against former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. In the co-main event, former women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg returns to action against undefeated Felicia Spencer.
This post will cover the preliminary card, which includes a women’s flyweight bout between Alexis Davis and Viviane Araujo.
The show kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at approximately 7 PM ET with two fights. The card then moves to ESPN at 8 PM ET for four more bouts, then onto the main PPV card. Remember that you can only order UFC PPVs now through ESPN+, so you have to sign up for that service beforehand if you haven’t already.
The full lineup and schedule follows. The main PPV card will be covered in a separate post.
Women’s Flyweight – Alexis Davis vs. Viviane Araujo
Round 1 – Araujo opens up very quickly as she lands some solid leg kicks and jabs. Davis is landing some good strikes to the body when Araujo rushes in. Good left hand landed by Araujo before Davis replies with a kick to the body. Davis is flat on her back with Araujo not wanting to get into her guard. Davis gets back to her feet and continues to look to catch the Brazilian coming in. Good jab landed by Araujo before landing a right hand. Araujo lands another right hand on the break. Solid body kick landed by Davis. 10-9 Araujo.
Round 2 – Araujo comes out with some more effective jabs. Davis attempts a takedown but Araujo shrugs her off. Davis continues to push forwards to close the distance. Araujo gets the takedown but Davis attacks the leg straight away and reverses position. Davis is comfortable working in the guard and is landing some strikes to the head and body. Araujo is trying to control the hands but Davis is landed elbows over the top. Davis ends the round on top. 10-9 Davis.
Round 3 – As Araujo throws an overhand right, Davis returns with a body kick. The Brazilian lands a number of right hands in a row but it does nothing to halt Davis’s forward movement. Araujo stuffs the takedown as Davis is visibly damaged. Davis lands a backfist after a strike to the body. Davis lands a right hand before absorbing a shot back from Araujo. Davis attempts to pull guard but Araujo shrugs her off. Araujo wants to keep this on the feet. Araujo is crisper on the feet and is peppering the face of her opponent. Davis gets Araujo in the clinch against the cage and looks to land some knees. 10-9 Araujo.
Viviane Araujo defeats Alexis Davis by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Featherweight – Hakeem Dawodu vs. Yoshinori Horie
Round 1 – Horie swings wildly to open. Horie lands a good outside leg kick. Horie lands a good right hand as Dawodu stubbles after being off-balanced. Solid left hand landed by Dawodu as he stalks Horie around the cage. Horie lands to the body but Dawodu fires back with his own punch. Dawodu lands some good punches after Horie attempted a takedown. Hard to see Horie being able to maintain this movement all the way through this fight. 10-9 Horie.
Round 2 – After Horie opened by rushing to close the distance, Dawodu lands his own leg kick. Both men throw right hands at the same time but neither land. Dawodu gets off some good work in the clinch with elbows and knees. Dawodu lands a good right hand as he appears to be finding his range and adjusting to Horie’s movement. The Canadian is beginning to get off some combinations now rather than single shots. Much approved round by Dawodu. 10-9 Dawodu.
Round 3 – Good right hand landed by Horie. Body kick landed by Dawodu before he lands a three strike combination. Left head kick just misses by Dawodu. He really hurt Horie with a knee to the body as the referee looked as though he was close to stepping in. Dawodu pouring it on while staying composed. Knees and elbows are doing lots of damage now as Horie is absorbing a lot of shots. High left kick landed by Dawodu which sends Horie to the canvas. He picks up his first stoppage victory in the UFC. Outstanding round from the striker.
Hakeem Dawodu defeats Yoshinori Horie by TKO at 4:09 of the third round.
Featherweight – Gavin Tucker vs. Seung Woo Choi
Round 1 – Both men exchange a range of kicks early. Tucker gets the single leg and moves to Choi’s back. Choi shakes him off against the cage over the top but Tucker maintains the clinch standing. Tucker has double under-hooks but Choi throws Tucker to briefly end on top. The Canadian gets back to his feet and Choi just misses with a overhand right. Outside leg kick is landed by Tucker. 10-9 Tucker.
Round 2 – Tucker continues to throw more leg kick as Choi comes out more aggressive on the feet. Tucker lands the takedown but Choi gets back to his feet against the cage. Good left hands landed by Tucker from that position before Choi lands a solid elbow on the break. Outside leg kick lands again for Tucker. Tucker threatens to take the back of Choi but catches Choi with an illegal knee. A point is taken from Tucker. He lands an overhand left on the South Korean. Choi pushes forward again at the end of the round but it struggling to land anything clean. 9-9 round with point deduction.
Round 3 – Tucker blocks two body kicks early and gets the double underhooks against the cage. Good right hand counter landed by Tucker as Choi moves in. Tucker does a good job at keeping Choi tied up against the cage before ending up on the bottom on the ground. Tucker gets back to his feet quickly and then takes the back with both hooks in. He flattens Choi out and sinks in the rear naked choke to take away the risk of any dodgy scoring after the point deduction.
Gavin Tucker defeats Seung Woo Choi by submission (rear naked choke) at 3:17 of the third round.
Flyweight – Alexandre Pantoja vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
Round 1 – Tentative opening from both as they look to see what the other will do. Figueiredo gets the takdown as Pantoja flies in. Pantoja gets back to his feet. Good left body kick by Pantoja. Figueiredo lands a body kick of his own as everything he throws has bad intentions. Pantoja drags Figueiredo to the ground but Figueiredo climbs back to his feet. Pantoja looks to land a head kick on the break. Great distance management from Figueiredo. Both men swing to end the round. Entertaining stuff. 10-9 Figueiredo.
Round 2 – Another body kick landed by Pantoja. Figueiredo defends a takedown attempt. Figueiredo gets back to his feet again quickly after his back briefly hit the mat. Solid inside leg kick landed by Pantoja. Both men are firing strikes off wildly inside the pocket. Great left jab by Figueiredo landed. Pantoja lands a takedown but Figueiredo breaks free once again. Figueiredo looking to throw elbows after being hesitant to throw the right hand as much as he previously did. Figueiredo drops Pantoja at the end of the round with a right hand. 10-9 Figueiredo.
Round 3 – Pantoja lands some good knees to the body inside the clinch. Big right hand landed again that wobbled Pantoja. Figueiredo looks to land some ground and pound but then lets his opponent up. Left jab landed by Figueiredo who then secures a takedown and lands in mount. Pantoja gets back to his feet as neither men have accepted any less-advantageous positions in this fight. Panotja continues to push forward but Figueiredo maintains separation. Pantoja swings away at the end as he appears to hurt Figueiredo. Very entertaining bout with both men displaying well-rounded skills. 10-9 Figueiredo so 30-27 overall.
Deiveson Figueiredo defeats Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Women’s Flyweight – Gillian Robertson vs. Sarah Frota
Round 1 – Robertson opens up with a kick up the middle but Frota returns with a left hand. Robertson takes Frota down but Frota lands some shots from within the guard. The Brazilian holds Robertson close to her so she can’t get off many shots. Frota works for a leg lock and then moves to working the reverse triangle. Robertson’s head pops out. Frota looking dangerous working from the bottom as Robertson gets to side control. A cut opens up on Frota and Robertson continues to land some elbows. The late rally from Robertson makes that a tough one to score. 10-9 Robertson.
Round 2 – Robertson moves well around the cage as she maintains distance. She takes down Frota once again and targets the cut. Frota still looks to land good shots from the bottom but Robertson maintains top position. Rubber guard is briefly established from Frota but Robertson moves to half guard. Frota attempts to get a choke from the bottom but Robertson moves to mount. This is a very tight mount from Robertson as she has total control. Frota shells up as Robertson continues to rain down the strikes. The referee has seen enough. Great performance from her.
Gillian Robertson defeats Sarah Frota by TKO at 4:13 of the second round.
Welterweight – Erik Koch vs. Kyle Stewart
Round 1 – Koch lands a right hook early. Stewart lands a kick to the body. Koch lands another right hand and falls into the clinch against the cage. They both jockey for position against the cage. Koch fends off the takedown attempt by utilising the double underhooks and turns Stewart against the cage. Stewart tries to surprise Koch with a takedown attempt in open space but it didn’t case any major problems for Koch. Sold right hand landed by Stewart. Stewart blitzes forward with a number of punches before attempting another takedown. Koch looks visibly tired. 10-9 Koch.
Round 2 – Left kick to the body landed by Koch. Big overhand right landed by Stewart that definitely got Koch’s attention. Koch reverses position against the cage by threatening a choke and gets the takedown. Stewart jumps back to his feet as Koch has the over/under position. Stewart has a big mistake as he falls to his back during a takedown attempt. Koch is in side control and works for a d’arce choke. Koch lands some strikes from on top before Stewart gets back to his feet. Round finishes with Koch pushing Stewart against the cage. 10-9 Koch.
Round 3 – Koch opens up with a left hand. He follows up with a clean right which goes over the top of Stewart’s punch. Koch takes Stewart’s back while standing against the cage before locking his hands and getting a takedown. Stewart pushes against the head and posts to get back to his feet. High kick misses for Stewart and shoots for a takedown but Koch takes his back. Stewart gets back to his feet before being tripped by Koch. Koch uses the left instep to progress to mount. Stewart regains half guard and Koch works for an arm triangle. An aggressive end to the round by Koch as he lands big shots to end the fight dominantly. 10-9 Koch so 30-27 Koch overall.
Erik Koch defeats Kyle Stewart by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).