UFC Vegas 58 results and highlights: Fiziev TKOs dos Anjos in final round

Check out the full results and highlights from UFC Vegas 58: Dos Anjos vs. Fiziev.

Rafael Fiziev scored the biggest win of his career in the main event of UFC Vegas 58. With just a handful of seconds elapsed in the fifth and final round, Fiziev hurt and knocked out former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos to extend his winning streak to six. Fiziev’s vaunted power and exemplary takedown defense were on display, and while dos Anjos put in a very good effort and appeared to be gaining some steam heading into the last round, the heavier-handed Fiziev landed the most telling punches of the contest to definitively announce himself as a contender in the 155 lbs division.

Scorecards at the time had Fiziev up 39-37 x2 and 38-38, so RDA needed a finish and instead got finished.

It’s only the third time RDA has ever been knocked out, and for Fiziev he continues his march towards the title with a statement victory over the #7 ranked contender. No doubt it was one of the high marks of a card that was pretty up-and-down.

Main Event Recap

Fiziev wasted no time trading kicks with dos Anjos. A feel-out process was not executed whatsoever. RDA pushed for the first takedown of the contest but Fiziev denied him. Fiziev broke from RDA’s clinch and then unleashed a right hand and a flying knee. Both men looked to work the body but Fiziev was working on higher volume. RDA continued to pursue the clinch and aim for a takedown but to no avail. A left hook and right hand stumbled the former champ to end the opening round.

Dos Anjos again looked for a takedown in round two and while he didn’t get it, he was able to briefly take Fiziev’s back standing. Fiziev worked his way out of that spot and they returned to the center of the cage. Dos Anjos did well to work Fiziev’s body and pump out the jab, but Fiziev had answers with hooks and uppercuts and his own kicks. A well-timed entry by RDA but Fiziev used the whizzer kick to prevent himself from being put on his back.

There was more dogged determination by RDA to finally take Fiziev down and he did, but for merely a few seconds and he didn’t do anything with it. It was a clinch-heavy, wrestling-heavy third round which didn’t allow Fiziev too many opportunities to strike, but he still got in a flying knee on the Brazilian. RDA answered back with a stinging jab from southpaw stance against the switch-hitter.

For the first time in his entire MMA career, Rafael Fiziev made it to a fourth round. RDA caught Fiziev with a flying knee and a left hand that forced Fiziev into a tie-up. In the final 85 seconds Fiziev changed levels quickly and scooped Fiziev up for a quality takedown and this time some extended top control. As the round drew to a close RDA split open Fiziev with an elbow that caused a cut right near the right eyebrow.

The fifth round didn’t last long, and if there were questions about Rafael Fiziev’s power carrying over late in fights then he answered them emphatically. A jab and a big left hand from southpaw froze and felled dos Anjos in dramatic fashion. Some follow-up punches on the ground resulted in the fight’s conclusion.

Main Card Recap

The co-main event was forgettable. Caio Borralho’s takedowns and grappling easily won him the first two rounds over kickboxer Armen Petrosyan, and despite a late charge from Petrosyan after stuffing a couple of shots and connecting on some decent strikes it wasn’t remotely enough. Petrosyan’s one potential glimmer of hope in round two came when he was fully mounted by Borralho, only to reverse the position and get on top and separate. A takedown by Borralho happened shortly thereafter, and it was abundantly clear that Caio just needed to not do something stupid in order to get the win. Spoiler alert: He got the win.

As you might expect, bantamweight prospect Said Nurmagomedov and Douglas Silva de Andrade delivered a very entertaining battle. Nurmagomedov wowed with his flashy but devastating kicks throughout the contest, but Silva de Andrade is always one willing to throw down and show off his creativity on the feet. The Brazilian caught Said with a spinning backfist towards the end of the second round and stunned him with a head kick earlier, only to be met by a Nurmagomedov flying knee. In the final round, Nurmagomedov scored a takedown but couldn’t hold Douglas down, so he naturally threw a head kick on the way up. Silva de Andrade also had a takedown of his own preceding that and had some time on top after a Nurmagomedov spinning back kick went awry. Nurmagomedov’s more damaging shots and overall more consistent offense paved the way for him to improve to 5-1 in the UFC, but Silva de Andrade absolutely made him work for it.

In the heavyweight division, Chase Sherman likely kept his UFC career alive and just as likely ended Jared Vanderaa’s with a third-round TKO. Vanderaa curiously opted to just kickbox with Sherman, who had the edge in speed and technique and demonstrated a great chin when Vanderaa was getting to him with his jab and power punches in the second and third rounds. Sherman ultimately landed the harder shots and in the final round he rocked Vanderaa with a right hand to the jaw in close quarter. ‘The Vanilla Gorilla’ followed up with at least 15 big shots to the head and Vanderaa eventually sunk to the canvas for the TKO stoppage. It’s Sherman’s first UFC win since his 2020 return against Ike Villanueva, and for Vanderaa he’s lost four in a row.

Aiemann Zahabi picked up his second win in a row with a bizarre, uneventful decision over TUF 29 winner Ricky Turcios. Zahabi was landing strikes (not a ton, mind you) while Turcios… was making loud battle cry noises and kiyas with his feints and foot stomps. Turcios hardly connected on any of his strikes — a sub-20% connect rate — which made for a very dull watch over 15 minutes.

The main card opener was a thriller between lightweights Michael Johnson and Jamie Mullarkey. In a back-and-forth opening round, Johnson dropped Mullarkey with a counter left that had the Australian in serious trouble. Just as the round was coming to a close, Mullarkey rocked Johnson with his own left hand. That set up a dominant second round for Mullarkey, who repeatedly hurt Johnson with strikes from range and in the clinch, throwing punches, elbows, kicks, anything to get a knockout that would not materialize. The onslaught of offense by Mullarkey seemed to exhaust him, as Johnson was the fresher fighter in the final round and used his jab to set up the power punches behind them and clearly take the third. Unfortunately for Johnson, two judges gave Mullarkey the first and therefore the fight.

Main Card results

Rafael Fiziev def. Rafael dos Anjos by TKO (punches) at :18 of Round 5

Caio Borralho def. Armen Petrosyan by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Said Nurmagomedov def. Douglas Silva de Andrade by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Chase Sherman def. Jared Vanderaa by TKO (strikes) at 3:10 of Round 3

Aiemann Zahabi def. Ricky Turcios by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Jamie Mullarkey def. Michael Johnson by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Preliminary Card results

Cody Brundage def. Tresean Gore by KO (punches) at 3:50 of Round 1

Antonina Shevchenko def. Cortney Casey by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

David Onama def. Garrett Armfield by technical submission (arm-triangle choke) at 3:13 of Round 2

Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Karl Roberson by TKO (elbows) at 2:19 of Round 3

Saidyokub Kakhramonov def. Ronnie Lawrence by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)