Check out which fighters won performance bonuses from UFC Vegas 38: Santos vs. Walker.
A Saturday night at the UFC Apex turned in some good fights, with half of them ending within two rounds. The light heavyweight headliner between two of the most dangerous strikers in the division surprisingly went all five rounds, and the middleweight co-headliner ended in unusual fashion.
The preliminary portion of the card saw Alejandro Perez come back from a two-year layoff and submit Johnny Eduardo with a rare scarf-hold armlock in the second round of their fight. Stephanie Egger battered Shanna Young with a stiff elbow and some ground-and-pound en route to a second-round technical knockout. Douglas Silva de Andrade literally launched Gaetano Pirrello into the air with a left hook and finished him off with some hammerfists to get a first-round stoppage. Jamie Mullarkey fought through some early adversity in an absolute barnburner against Devonte Smith, who he ultimately dropped with a few brutal body shots in the second round. Karol Rosa spoiled the final fight of Bethe Correira and earned a unanimous decision over the now-retired UFC veteran. Casey O’Neill kept her undefeated record intact and laid waste to Antonina Shevchenko for a second-round finish. Jared Gordon and Joe Solecki had some nice scrambles on the ground, but it was ‘Flash’ who did just enough for a split decision win.
The main portion of the card started with Alexander Hernandez and his overhand right of doom, which stunned and dropped promotional newcomer Mike Breeden inside of two minutes. Misha Cirkunov had an unpleasant welcome to the middleweight division and was defeated by Krzysztof Jotko via split decision. Niko Price fought smart and scored a unanimous decision win over Alex Oliveira. Kevin Holland vs. Kyle Daukaus was ruled a No Contest after an accidental headbutt leading to the fight-ending sequence was reviewed by the commission. Daukaus submitted Holland with a rear-naked choke, but it no longer stands and both men said they should run it back again.
Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker engaged in quite the chess match over the course of five rounds. It was a tough one to score, but ‘Marreta’ got the nod by unanimous decision. Santos snapped a three-fight losing streak and returned to the win column with the decision over Walker.
Performance of the Night: Alejandro Perez, Douglas Silva de Andrade, Jamie Mullarkey and Casey O’Neill
Alejandro Perez def. Johnny Eduardo by submission (scarf-hold armlock) at 4:13 of round 2
Stephanie Egger def. Shanna Young by TKO (strikes) at 2:22 of round 2
Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Gaetano Pirrello by KO (punches) at 2:04 of round 1
Jamie Mullarkey def. Devonte Smith by TKO (punches) at 2:51 of round 2
Casey O’Neill def. Antonina Shevchenko by TKO (strikes) at 4:47 of round 2
Alexander Hernandez def. Mike Breeden by KO (punches) at 1:20 of round 1
Fight of the Night: No Fight of the Night
Karol Rosa def. Bethe Correia by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Jared Gordon def. Joe Solecki by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Krzysztof Jotko def. Misha Cirkunov by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Niko Price def. Alex Oliveira by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Kevin Holland vs. Kyle Daukaus ends in a no contest (accidental headbutt) at 3:43 of round 1
Thiago Santos def. Johnny Walker by unanimous decision (48-47 x3)