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UFC Fight Night 70: Machida vs. Romero Fight Card, TV Info, Predictions and More

What happens when a Dragon and a Soldier of God meet in an Octagon?
We’ll find out on Saturday night from Hollywood, Florida when Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida locks horns with Yoel “Soldier of God” Romero in a pivotal middleweight scrap in the main event…

What happens when a Dragon and a Soldier of God meet in an Octagon?

We’ll find out on Saturday night from Hollywood, Florida when Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida locks horns with Yoel “Soldier of God” Romero in a pivotal middleweight scrap in the main event at UFC Fight Night 70. Also on the card is a welterweight clash that could be stacked with action. Santiago “Gente Boa” Ponzinibbio takes on the revitalized Lorenz “The Monsoon” Larkin in the co-main event.

Here’s how you can watch the card and a table of predictions for each bout:

When: Saturday, June 27 at 8 p.m. ET

Where: Seminole Hard Rock Hotel Casino in Hollywood, Florida

TV: Fox Sports 2 and Fox Sports 1

Tickets: The event is sold out, but tickets can become available at ScoreBig.com

The Main Event

Machida is a beloved performer and legend of the sport, but Romero figures to be the heavy fan favorite. The fight will take place in Hollywood, but nearby Miami is the Cuban-born Romero’s residence and adopted home. He will be looking to make the city, which is infused with Cuban culture, proud.

Romero talks about his connections to Florida in the video from the UFC below:

After battling injuries that forced him out of a potentially tantalizing scrap against Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza at UFC on Fox 15, Romero is ready to make his return to the Octagon.

The former silver medalist in the 2000 Olympics has a mixed martial arts record of 9-1. The 38-year-old Romero is a perfect 5-0 in the UFC with his last win coming over Tim Kennedy back in September 2014. Romero finished Kennedy via TKO, but the win was not without controversy. After dominating most of the fight, Romero was rocked by a hard right hand from Kennedy just before the end of the second round.

Romero barely survived the frame and his corner appeared to use some questionable stalling tactics between rounds to allow their fighter more time to recuperate. He ultimately had enough wherewithal in the final round to again put the rugged Kennedy in trouble and stop him via punches.

That incident stained what was otherwise an impressive performance. Romero wants to reestablish his momentum with a win over one of the most recognizable names and gifted fighters in the history of the UFC.

Machida may be at a crossroads in his career. He’s coming off a one-sided loss to Luke Rockhold in his last fight in April. A win wouldn’t get him a shot at Chris Weidman‘s middleweight belt immediately because he’s already had a shot less than a year ago, but it would keep him in line for a rematch somewhere down the line.

Should Weidman lose his next fight, Machida‘s path to another shot at the belt would be a little shorter.

If he loses, he’ll fall so far to the back of the line, one would have to wonder if he has enough longevity to ever reach the mountaintop again. Because he’s had 28 professional fights—and more importantly six losses—Machida‘s 37 is older than Romero’s 38. If a title is still his main motivation to compete, he’d have to seriously consider if it’s worth continuing to fight.

There are so many top-notch middleweights, there’s no telling when Machida would get another shot at the title if he loses. Thankfully for him, he won’t have to worry about that scenario. While Machida can’t match Romero in raw power or in wrestling prowess, his takedown defense is stellar. For his career, he’s stuffed 76 percent of the takedowns attempted against him.

When you consider the level of wrestlers he’s faced in his career: C.B. Dollaway, Chris Weidman, Phil Davis, Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans, just to name a few, that number is really impressive. Even if Romero gets Machida down, The Dragon can be difficult to submit when he’s on the ground. That’s what makes the way Rockhold manhandled him all the more impressive. While an unfortunate slip is what initially put Machida in peril against Rockhold, the latter had to be skilled enough to keep his opponent in the precarious position.

When it comes to technical prowess on the ground and depth of skills, Romero is no Rockhold. Machida will keep this fight standing the majority of the time and that’s where he’ll earn the victory. Romero is extremely strong and he possesses one-strike KO ability. You can see that in his devastating KO win over Clifford Starks in the Cuban’s UFC debut:

Machida, however, has one of the most diverse striking games in UFC history and Romero has been known to have a few defensive lapses. That’s what got him caught against Kennedy and in his loss to Rafael Cavalcante when Romero was in Strikeforce. Machida wins this one by TKO on ground strikes that are set up by a head kick.

And the legend continues to add to his highlight reel.

The Co-Main Event

Larkin looked to be on the verge of being cut after three-straight losses at middleweight, but he breathed new life in his career when he dropped to 170 pounds and stopped John Howard in his last fight in January.

Like Romero, Larkin wants to keep the momentum going with another win. Ponzinibbio is 2-1 in his UFC career and he’s a guy who likes to bang. While he’s a rugged and powerful striker, he won’t have the quickness or boxing ability to get the best of Larkin.

At 185 pounds, Larkin‘s hand speed and punching accuracy were his best attributes. In his career, he lands 45 percent of his strikes compared to just 31 for Ponzinibbio. In his welterweight debut, that number rose to 58 percent in a KO win that earned him a Performance of the Night Bonus.

Larkin may be in line for another 50 grand against Ponzinibbio. The Brazilian isn’t hard to hit as evidenced by the fact that he absorbs 4.05 strikes per minute. Look for Larkin to take advantage of his speed and score a second-round TKO to run his winning streak to two.

Truck Trying to Rebound

Eddie “Truck” Gordon has lost his last two fights and he has the most to lose of any fighter on Saturday’s card. Machida could go to the back of the line with a loss and face some tough questions about his career, but Gordon has never been to the front of the line.

He’s not a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame like Machida. In fact, if things continue to go as they have in his last two fights, The Ultimate Fighter Season 19 winner is going to be considered a bust.

What’s the real issue? It appears to be weight discipline. Per Thomas Gerbasi of UFC.com, Gordon said before he made a recent change to his lifestyle, he’d have to lose huge amounts of weight before every fight.

Gerbasi writes:

“Gordon would sign a fight contract and look at dropping 40 to 50 pounds just to be able to fight. That’s not including fight strategy, techniques, or anything else related to his opponent. That’s just weight loss.”

That’s clearly not a recipe for success against high-level competition. According to Gordon, per Gerbasi‘s article, the talented middleweight has a new found dedication to the sport. He said: “I made a complete 180 change in my entire mixed martial arts thinking and way of life, and this fight, to me, is everything.”

He’s looking to showcase the fruits of his labor against another former TUF winner in Antonio Carlos Junior.

This is a contrast in styles and the simple question that determines the winner of this fight will be: Can Gordon stay off his back? If the answer is yes, he stops ACJ near the end of the first round or midway through the second frame.

There’s no questioning Gordon’s superiority in striking, power and athleticism. But stopping ACJ‘s takedowns will be crucial. In his career, Gordon has a 71 percent takedown defense rating. ACJ‘s takedown accuracy is an impressive 75 percent. Something will have to give in this area.

Gordon was convincing. He looks to be dead serious about conditioning and you’d have to believe that also means preparing for his opponent. His already-solid takedown defense should be even sharper and his leaner physique and less strenuous weight cut should improve his cardio.

He’ll stop ACJ with an eye-opening bounce-back performance.

Fight stats per FightMetric.com

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UFC Fight Night 69 Results: Winners, Scorecards from Jedrzejczyk vs. Penne Fight

UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk viciously dominated Jessica Penne on Saturday at UFC Fight Night Berlin. Jedrzejczyk scored a third-round TKO win in a fight that was never in doubt.
Penne was the better grappler, but Jedrz…

Penne was the better grappler, but Jedrzejczyk’s takedown defense was exemplary. As you can see from the fight stats, Jedrzejczyk stopped all but one of Penne’s nine takedown attempts:

The champion’s stand-up skills are clearly head and shoulders above just about any woman in the world. Out-landing an opponent 183-27 in significant strikes is like playing a video game on easy.

Just as she did against Carla Esparza when she won the title, Jedrzejczyk systematically chopped Penne down with a variety of punches, elbows and kicks. In the second round, she seemed to have broken Penne’s nose with an elbow. It drew an uncomfortable amount of blood and things went all downhill for Penne from there.

Jedrzejczyk battered Penne until the fight had to be stopped in the final round.

When it was over, Penne confidently called on her next challenger and told the UFC universe, she’ll have the belt for a long time.

UFC president Dana White gave Jedrzejczyk’s performance his stamp of approval:

Slowly but surely, Jedrzejczyk is becoming one of the most exciting champions in the UFC. The co-feature wasn’t quite as thrilling.

Kawajiri Wears Down Siver

After a strong first round from Dennis Siver, Tatsuya Kawajiri took over with his aggressive ground game. Siver displayed some solid takedown defense stopping 10 of the 14 attempts to take the fight to the ground.

However, when Kawajiri was able to take Siver down, he maintained control for 8:04 of the contest. Siver simply couldn’t do enough to sway the momentum or win the final two rounds.

The 37-year-old Kawajiri proved he still has a lot left in the tank. He was in excellent shape for the fight and was able to keep up a strong grappling pace for all 15 minutes of the bout. Look for him to get an even bigger fight the next time out.

Here’s a look at all of the results from Berlin and analysis into each bout.

Lapilus is Impressive

Taylor Lapilus is making a mark on the UFC bantamweight division relatively quickly. After winning his UFC debut over Rocky Lee in April, Lapilus annihilated Ulka Sasaki in the opening bout on Saturday’s prelim lineup.

The UFC has the ending of the bout in the video below:

From the beginning of the fight, Lapilus established an edge in striking with his quickness and aggression. He came forward and took control of the center of the Ocatgon. It led to a 31-16 edge in significant strikes.

In the second round, a straight left and a follow-up left hook seconds later put Sasaki down against the cage. Lapilus would brace Sasaki against the fence with his right hand and rain down more lefts until referee Wolf Menninger called a stop to the bout.

UFC Canada loved the way Lapilus kicked off the event:

Lapilus is now 10-1 in his career, and this was his first KO/TKO win. At just 23 years old, the Frenchman looks to have a solid future in the sport. Keep an eye out for his name in future events.

Cut Halts Hallmann

A Octagon-side doctor was forced to step in because of a cut over the left eye of Piotr Hallmann and award Magomed Mustafaev the TKO victory in the second round. It was an entertaining scrap.

Mustafaev did the most damage with hard elbows that had him on the brink of stopping Hallman without the doctor’s assistance in the first round. However, Hallman had the edge in fight stats. He landed 29 significant strikes to just 18 for Mustafaev. Hallmann also secured two takedowns to none for his opponent.

MMA Mad has an image of the judges’ scorecards:

While it was a bummer to see the fight end with a doctor’s stoppage, Bleacher Report’s Riley Kontek thought the physician made the right decision:

Even though most might say Mustafaev got the better of the meeting, a rematch might be in order.

Ashkam Decimated Dos Santos

Antonio dos Santos got off to a fast start against Scott Ashkam, but it didn’t last. Dos Santos forced Ashkam against the cage and used his low center of gravity to control his opponent. Ashkam stayed calm and ultimately got his back toward the center of the Octagon.

Dos Santos looked to have slowed down a bit after the opening moments. Two body kicks from Ashkam zapped more energy from the Brazilian. A big left hand dropped dos Santos and a hard knee precipitated the stoppage.

All things considered, it was a solid win from Ashkam especially considering he had lost his UFC debut against Magnus Cedenblad in October 2014.

Lahat Wins a Close One

In one of the most disputable results of the event, Noad Lahat won a majority decision over Niklas Backstrom. Many thought the fight should’ve been called a draw. Just one of the judges saw the fight even as the other two gave Lahat the nod via 29-28 scorecards.

The first round was clearly Backstrom’s. He nearly stopped Lahat with a rear-naked choke. Lahat did a great job avoiding the choke by turning into the direction of the hold. Once the fight was over, per the UFC Fight Pass broadcast, Lahat said: “No one will ever choke me.”

In the second, Lahat had the huge edge in striking. He landed 49 significant strikes to just six for Backstrom. You could easily make the case that the round should have been scored a 10-8 frame for Lahat. He nearly stopped his opponent on two occasions.

The last round was the toughest to score.

Backstrom scored three takedowns and controlled position for 3:01 of the round, but Lahat landed 13 significant strikes to just four for Backstrom. Two of the judges liked Lahat’s striking in the final round. Clearly this is questionable rationale considering how much time Backstrom spent in control.

MMA Fighting thought the bout should have been scored even:

It’s definitely a tough loss for the 25-year-old Swede. He’s now lost two in a row after being knocked out by Mike Wilkinson in October 2014. Lahat has improved to 9-1 overall and 2-1 in the UFC.

Triple-A Results

Arnold “Almighty” Allen displayed a solid ground game en route to his third-round submission victory over Alan Omer.

The very powerful and fluidly athletic Allen made a nice impression in this his UFC debut. Though he was out-struck in each of the three rounds, he seized the moment in the final frame.

A combination gave Allen the advantage and Omer quickly shot for a double-leg takedown against the cage. Allen dropped to his seat before quickly rising to his feet. Omer went for a hard knee, but Allen countered with a guillotine that found the sweet spot.

Omer was forced to quickly tap. UFC welterweight Colby Covington was complimentary of Allen’s work:

It’s early, but Allen has an exciting athletic base and sharp submission skills.

Taisumov Topples Patrick

After an even first round, Mairbek Taisumov walked through Alan Patrick in the second round. Patrick wanted to get the fight to the mat to utilize his edge in jiu-jitsu. Taisumov stopped all seven takedown attempts from Patrick and in the second round, Taisumov dropped Patrick with a head kick and punished him with hard shots to his downed opponent from a standing position.

Lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov was complimentary of his countryman.

Taisumov has has now won three straight fights and all three have come by KO/TKO. Could a battle between the two Russians be in the cards down the line?

That might be interesting.

Mr. Finland Scores Emotional Victory

It only took Makwan Amirkhani eight seconds to beat Andy Ogle in his UFC debut in January. It took a little longer to beat Masio Fullen, but the end still came within the first round.

We might have forgotten that Amirkhani is known as a submissions specialist after we saw him destroy Ogle with a flying knee. Amirkhani reminded us he can make opponents tap on Saturday as he used a rear-naked choke to finish Masio Fullen.

It appeared Amirkhani had done his homework on Fullen. The Mexican had seemingly had issues defending takedowns in previous bouts I’d watched. Apparently Amirkhani had watched the same fights. He immediately slipped a Fullen strike and shot for the takedown.

Within 60 seconds, Amirkhani had Fullen locked up and tapping.

When the fight was over, Amirkhani was overcome with emotion as he acknowledged his mother in the crowd. The 26-year-old has a myriad of skills and he will be a serious contender or champion in the featherweight or lightweight division.

Remember where you heard it first.

Hein Controls Sajewski

To the delight of the Berlin fans, Nick Hein proved to be too much for Lukasz Sajewski. Striking was clearly the area where Hein proved his superiority. He landed 54 significant strikes to just 26 for Sajewski.

Hein distanced himself from Sajewski with every passing moment of the fight.

Hein moved to 2-1 in the UFC with the victory, but he has some work to do before he’ll be considered one of the brightest up and comers in the deep 155-pound division.

Sobotta Chokes out Kennedy

Peter Sobotta entered the Octagon fired up and he wasn’t there long. He closed distance with some effective punching and took Kennedy down.

Sobotta took the American’s back and transitioned to lock in both hooks. Kennedy did a good job avoiding the choke for a spell, but the persistent Sobotta would ultimately lock in the hold and force the tapout.

The win was Sobotta’s seventh in a row and second straight in the UFC. The 28-year-old German might have earned a top-15 opponent in his next bout.

This was an event filled with finishes and it was punctuated by Jedrzejczyk’s dominant performance. One can only hope UFC 189—which was relentlessly advertised during the event—is half as exciting.

Fight stats images from Jason Floyd of The MMA Report and Sportz Visionz taken from UFC.com

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Bellator 138 Results: Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock Fight Card Winners Scorecards

Kimbo Slice believes in evolution. Once seen as a one-dimensional stand-up fighter who would be exploited on the ground, Slice scored the biggest win of his odd mixed martial arts career on Friday night in St. Louis.
Slice knocked out 51-year-old MMA l…

Slice knocked out 51-year-old MMA legend Ken Shamrock in the very first round. Bellator MMA has the finish:

It looked as if the critics of Slice would be proven right as Shamrock had a tight rear-naked choke locked on. To his credit, Slice didn’t quit when he looked as if he was a goner. Slice turned his head in direction of the choke and made it to his feet.

There he had his way. Two quick and hard right hands opened up nasty gashes on Shamrock’s face and led to the stoppage win. While the pace was slow, the action delivered in this the ultimate of novelty fights.

Actress and major fight fan Rosie Perez was shocked at the result:

Slice and Shamrock had tons of bad blood leading into the fight, but they put those things aside once the bout was over. Scott Fishman of the Miami Sun-Sentinel applauded Shamrock’s show of respect after the bout.

Pitbull Does it Again

Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Freire continues to prove he can pull a victory from the jaws of defeat and retain his title. On Friday night, Pitbull was all but stopped in the closing seconds of the first round against Daniel Weichel.

The latter landed a hard combination that sent Freire careening into the Bellator cage. The champion was truly saved by the bell as referee John McCarthy seemed a bit confused at first. However, Freire wasn’t quite out at the end of the round.

He’d obviously use the time between the first and second rounds to recover. In the second round, Weichel tried to mount pressure but he got caught with a left hook that dropped him. Pitbull would go in for the finish, but McCarthy called an end to the bout before Freire could do more damage.

In his last defense, Freire was being soundly beaten by Daniel Straus before gaining an advantage on the ground and coming up with the improbable rear-naked choke victory.

Freire has some defensive deficiencies, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a more exciting champion.

Here’s a look at all of the result from Spike TV’s televised card:

Chandler’s Back

Former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler emphatically snapped his three-fight losing streak with a submission win over Derek Campos. Chandler wasted no time gaining the advantage. A quick combination dropped Campos and Chandler pounced on his downed opponent.

Campos pulled guard, but Chandler was still able to do damage with elbows. By demonstrating some solid defense off his back, Campos got to his feet, but he’d only be there for a short time.

Chandler would close the distance again and take Campos down and take his back in the process. He locked in the rear-naked choke that led to the win. Chandler hadn’t won a fight since he stopped David Rickels in 2013.

If he can put together a few more wins, he can put himself in position to challenge champion Will Brooks for a third time.

Straus Stops Corrales

After a dominant first round, Daniel Straus finished off Henry Corrales. Straus proved to be better than his opponent in every facet. On the strength of his diverse striking attack, Straus gained a clear advantage in the first round.

In the second round, Strauss put his respected ground game in action. A big left hook put Corrales down and that would be the beginning of the end.

Strauss transitioned to Corrales’ back and locked in both hooks. Corrales was able to use some hand fighting to keep Straus at bay for a short time. Ultimately, Straus would get under Corrales’ neck and forced the stoppage. Straus had Pitbull in serious trouble in his last fight before getting careless—that seems to be a common occurrence.

After this win, he’ll be looking to jump back into the Bellator cage with Pitbull as soon as possible for another shot at the title.

Lashley Smash

Bobby Lashley destroyed Dan Charles on Friday night. With a myriad of suplexes and a bevy of ground and pound, Lashley scored a dominating second-round win. To be honest, the fight could have been stopped about a minute or two before it was.

Referee John McCarthy was lurking over Lashley’s shoulder for the entire second round before moving in to end the carnage. Lashley has now won six fights in a row and he has his eyes set on earning a shot at the heavyweight title.

An old school WWE connection congratulated Lashley on his win:

Is Lashley ready for Bellator heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov? That remains to be seen, but because of his age (38 years old) and his current form, the time is now or never for Lashley,

This was an entertaining card filled with finishes. While Slice and Shamrock aren’t contenders, Bellator 138 had a nice balance of star power and quality fights.

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UFC Fight Night 69: Jedrzejczyk vs. Penne Fight Card, Live Stream, Predictions

History will be made on Saturday in Berlin. The first title match in the history of UFC Fight Pass will headline UFC Fight Night 69. UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk will make the first defense of her title against No. 3-ra…

When: Saturday, June 20 at noon ET

Where: The O2 World in Berlin, Germany

Live Stream: UFC Fight Pass (subscription required)

For those who still haven’t heard of Jedrzejczyk (and don’t know how to pronounce Jan-Jay-Chek) are in for a treat. She is an all-action fighter who makes her living as a strong stand-up fighter. In her last fight, she dethroned Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza via second-round TKO. The win was impressive, but quite honestly, Esparza looked like a beaten fighter the week of the fight.

The rigors of participating and winning The Ultimate Fighter as well as the hype and pressure of being her division’s inaugural champion had the Cookie Monster ripe for a fall. Was Jedrzejczyk simply in the right place at the proper time, or is she really a tough champion that will endure?

Penne figures to provide the champion with a test.

In an interview with Hunter Homistek of Bleacher Report, Jedrzejczyk said: “I’m going to be a Ronda Rousey in the strawweight division. They’ll call me ‘JJ’ instead of ‘RR.'”

Jedrzejczyk has already eaten up The Cookie Monster. Per her Twitter account, she’s ready to devour some Penne:

Jedrzejczyk is apparently great at playing mind games. Penne believes she “got in the head” of Esparza leading up to the bout. Per this tweet from UFC Tonight, Penne won’t let the gamesmanship faze her:

It would appear Penne has an edge in grappling, but there’s a serious question as to whether she’ll have more success taking Jedrzejczyk down than Esparza—a far more accomplished wrestler—did.

Jedrzejczyk stuffed all but one of Esparza‘s 17 attempts to take her down. If this fight is contested on the feet—as I believe it will be—Jedrzejczyk will win in another impressive display. Her striking is loose, free-flowing and not easy to predict.

She’s the real deal. Here’s a look at the rest of the card and predictions for each fight.

Siver‘s Perfect Opponent

At one point Tatsuya Kawajiri was one of the most feared and effective fighters in the lower weight classes in MMA. However, at 37 years old, the Japanese legend might be past his prime. From the looks of this image in this recent tweet, Kawajiri is in excellent shape, but that’s purely cosmetic.

Having had 43 professional fights, the wear and tear on Kawajiri is beginning to show. He lost a unanimous decision to Clay Guida—another shopworn fighter—in his last bout and he faces another opponent who has been through the ringer on Saturday in Dennis Siver.

The edge in this bout goes to Siver. Despite the fact that he has won just one of his last four fights, Siver is still an above-average striker with fierce kicks to the midsection. He has a more diverse striking game that Kawajiri and an underrated ground game.

Against most any other ranked featherweight, Siver wouldn’t be my pick, but Kawajiri is about the only ranked 145-pounder I think Siver can still beat.

Mr. Finland is Back

Raise your hand if you were waiting for the next Makwan “Mr. Finland” Amirkhani bout. He’s back after a thrilling eight-second KO of Andy Ogle in January at UFC on Fox 14 in his debut with the promotion.

Amirkhani‘s bout with Masio Fullen should last longer than eight seconds, but the 26-year-old is sure to put on another impressive display. Fullen won his UFC debut via split decision over Alex Torres in February, but he still has some work to do as it pertains to his takedown defense. Torres only succeeded in taking Fullen down twice in nine attempts, but against more experienced grapplers like Alejandro Perez, wrestlers dominated Fullen. You can see that fight in video below from Xtreme Combat TV:

Amirkhani has the diverse game to expose Fullen‘s deficiencies. Blessed with above-average natural athleticism, an advanced ground game and daring striking, Amirkhani is one to watch in the next few years.

The lightweight division is deep, but Amirkhani might have the goods to make his way up the ranks.

Fight Night 69 won’t be an event that moves the needle much with most MMA fans, but fighters like Amirkhani and Jedrzejczyk could offer a glimpse into the future of the UFC.

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UFC 188 Results: Full List of Winners, Losers and Fight Stats

Fabricio Werdum was the biggest winner on Saturday night in Mexico at UFC 188. The 37-year-old Brazilian defeated Cain Velasquez by guillotine choke in the third round of the main event. Werdum won the undisputed heavyweight championship with the victo…

He was the interim champion and Velasquez the recognized king of the division coming into the bout, but in the end, there could be only one. Werdum and Velasquez were supposed to meet in Mexico in November 2014, but an injury forced Velasquez out.

He has battled injuries over the last two years and hadn’t fought since 2013.

Perhaps the layoff and the altitude played a role in the result, but most of the credit should go to Werdum. He fought a spectacular fight. He picked Velasquez apart in standup with his vastly improved striking and finished the deal with a choke from his bottomless arsenal of Brazilian jiu-jitsu maneuvers.

Jason Floyd of the MMA Report has the statistics for the bout:

Here’s a look at all of the results from the card:

Other Big Winners

Werdum’s win also won him one of the Performance of the Night bonuses, per UFC on Twitter. He was joined in the bonus line by bantamweight Patrick Williams and featherweights Yair Rodriguez and Charles Rosa, who won Fight of the Night.

Williams’ Quick Choke

It took just 23 seconds for Williams to set a bantamweight record for fastest submission win when he also used the guillotine choke to submit Alejandro Perez. The move was preceded by two right hands that dropped Perez.

Williams wasted no time pouncing on his downed opponent. The 33-year-old Floridian sunk in the choke and put Perez to sleep. When the fight was over, Williams was able to win over the Mexican crowd by speaking fluent Spanish in his post-fight interview.

Williams talked about his big night in the interview below from UFC.com:

It was an impressive performance all around from Williams and one that will have fans anticipating his next bout. After just 23 seconds of work, he could fight next week if he wanted to.

Williams’ record is just 8-4, and this win could be his one shining moment. While he looked the part of a serious contender, his career has been up and down. He’s never won more than two straight fights and still doesn’t own a win over a notable opponent.

We’ll see what he has in his next fight and reserve the hype train after extended success.

Quick Choke, Take Two

The guillotine choke was the move of the night. Efrain Escudero also used it to submit Drew Dober in the first round. The finish wasn’t quite as fast as the one Williams produced, but it was just as impressive.

It took just under a minute for Dober to tap as Escudero leaned into the submission. The sequence started when Dober attempted an early kick that was parried by Escudero. The evasion caused Dober to lose his footing, and Escudero took advantage of the opportunity.

He quickly locked on the submission, and that signaled the beginning of the end. To Dober‘s credit, he valiantly fought to escape the hold, but perhaps he had just seen Perez go limp in the cage the fight before his and thought better of it.

Since losing his UFC debut, Escudero has now won two fights in a row. The 29-year-old has been fighting professionally since 2006, but he seems primed to make a significant move in the next two years.

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UFC 188 Results: Winners Who Put on Most Impressive Performances

Saturday night was a historic one for the UFC in Mexico City. It was just the second time the promotion has put on a show there, and the atmosphere was great for the sport. The altitude wasn’t exactly ideal for all of the fighters at UFC 188, though.
P…

Per Fox Sports UFC on Twitter, UFC head man Dana White said that a number of the fighters felt the effects of fighting 7,000-plus feet above sea level:

Only the strong were able to come out victorious under the conditions. Here’s a look at all of the results from UFC 188:

Top Performances

Per the UFC on Twitter, Fabricio Werdum and Patrick Williams earned Performance of the Night bonuses. Charles Rosa and Yair Rodriguez won bonuses for Fight of the Night.

Quite honestly, the Rosa vs. Rodriguez fight won the bonus by default. There really weren’t any great scraps on this card.

Of all the fights, that one had the most action, as the 23-year-old Rodriguez used better striking to win a decision over the grappling-minded Rosa. Those two lucked out as they didn’t have a ton of competition for the event’s Fight of the Night bonus.

Werdum

Discussion about the top performances from the evening has to begin with Werdum’s improbable win over Cain Velasquez to win the undisputed UFC heavyweight title. Most expected Velasquez to dominate upon his return to the Octagon, but Werdum scored a relatively easy win.

Velasquez came out aggressive and may have actually won the first round, but toward the end of the opening frame, he began to slow down. The altitude and Werdum’s sturdiness seemed to be sapping his energy.

By the middle of the second round, Werdum was teeing off with jabs, uppercuts and knees. Velasquez’s face was a bloody mess, and he looked exhausted.

In the third round, Werdum continued the onslaught and took advantage of a desperate and sloppy takedown attempt from Velasquez. Werdum sunk in a guillotine choke deep, and Velasquez tapped quickly. Unless Bethe Correia finds a way to knock off Ronda Rousey at UFC 190, MMA fans aren’t likely to see a more shocking result this year.

Williams

The altitude didn’t get a chance to bother Williams. He only needed 23 seconds to submit Alejandro Perez. The speedy finish set a bantamweight record for fastest submission victory.

Williams landed two hard rights that dropped Perez, and he quickly locked on the signature move of the event. The guillotine choke put Perez to sleep.

Williams’ performance after the fight was just as impressive as his work during the bout.

The crowd booed him loudly before the fight and during his post-fight interview, but when he began to speak fluent Spanish to the Mexican crowd, he turned the boos to cheers. Williams talked about his win and that moment in the video below from UFC.com:

This could be a star-making performance for Williams. Keep an eye on him moving forward.

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