Author: Brian Mazique

Cody “No Love” Garbrandt (9-0) put on a show Sunday night in Las Vegas. He didn’t even need a full round to smoke the previously undefeated Thomas Almeida (21-1).

Garbrandt came into the main event of UFC Fight Night 88 with an unblemished record, and his hard right hand ensured he left the Octagon with that intact. With a series of crushing shots, Garbrandt secured his ninth win and moved to the forefront of the bantamweight class.

The fight looked like a stand-up war on paper, and that’s what it turned out to be—for as long as it lasted.

Garbrandt found the range with his straight right hand early. He was the harder puncher, and he wouldn’t give Almeida any room to breathe. After stunning him early in the round, Garbrandt connected on the definitive right hand that sent the Brazilian tumbling to the mat.

It was a clean shot right on Almeida’s chin, and he was finished before he hit the canvas.

The UFC tweeted Garbrandt’s primal celebration:

He wasn’t ranked coming into the fight, but per Fox Sports’ Ariel Helwani, Garbrandt expects to see a little number next to his name Monday:

With UFC 203 already set to take place in Cleveland in September and Garbrandt being from Ohio, Helwani also believes that would be a great spot for the 24-year-old’s next fight:

Just about anyone in the Top 10 should be fair game for No Love. 

Almeida is also just 24. Bleacher Report MMA doesn’t expect him to fall far in the eyes of most MMA experts:

But he must work on his striking defense. He took a lot of shots from Brad Pickett as well in July. The I-can-take-your-best-shots approach isn’t conducive to winning a title. Almost everyone who currently has a belt in the UFC moves his or her head—Robbie Lawler might be the only exception.

Almeida has a lot of tools, but he has to work on that part of his game to maximize his potential.

 

Stephens Pushes Past Barao

In a spirited battle, Jeremy “Lil Heathen” Stephens outpointed Renan Barao. All three judges scored it 29-28 in the former’s favor. The fight was close, and many in the MMA community saw it differently. 

Rob Tatum of Combat Press favored Barao, but Showtime’s Mauro Ranallo thought Stephens did the better work over three rounds:

The first two rounds were likely scored the same on all three cards. Barao easily outstruck Stephens in the first frame, 15-8 in significant strikes, per UFC.com. Stephens came roaring back in the second. 

He landed some titanic uppercuts that dazed the Brazilian but didn’t put him down. Still, it was clear he won the round. 

In the third, Stephens landed heavier shots, but Barao secured a takedown. He didn’t hold Stephens down long, but because the strikes were close (20-17), it was easy to see how someone could score the round either way.

This was perhaps the biggest victory of Stephens’ career. Barao is a former bantamweight champion and a huge name to have on his resume. Stephens might have positioned himself for a shot at the featherweight crown some time in the next year.

He lost to Max Holloway in his last fight, so Stephens will be behind him in line for a title shot. He’ll also need to wait for the Conor McGregor-Frankie Edgar-Jose Aldo triangle to work itself out, but the victory over Barao puts him in an enviable position.

This was Barao’s featherweight debut. He looked strong and fast in the first round, but he seemed to fade in the second. Conditioning was an issue at 135 pounds, so who knows what caused the drop in energy in this one?

In any case, he’s lost three of his last four fights, and things aren’t looking up.

Hare are the results for every fight on the card:

Matchup	Weight Class	Result
Chris de la Rocha vs. Adam Milstead	Heavyweight	Milstead by TKO (Round 2, punches).
Aljamain Sterling vs. Bryan Caraway	Bantamweight	Carraway by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29).
Erik Koch vs. Shane Campbell	Lightweight	Koch by submission (Round 2, rear-naked choke).
Jake Collier vs. Alberto Uda	Middleweight	Collier by TKO (Round 2, spinning back kick).
Abel Trujillo vs. Jordan Rinaldi	Lightweight	Trujillo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Sara McMann vs. Jessica Eye	Women’s Bantamweight	McMann by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Joshua Burkman vs. Paul Felder	Lightweight	Felder by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Jorge Masvidal vs. Lorenz Larkin	Welterweight	Larkin by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29).
Chris Camozzi vs. Vitor Miranda	Middleweight	Camozzi by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Tarec Saffiedine vs. Rick Story	Welterweight	Story by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
Renan Barao vs. Jeremy Stephens	Featherweight	Stephens by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Thomas Almeida vs. Cody Garbrandt	Bantamweight	Garbrandt by TKO (Round 1, punch).

 

The Finishes

Milstead Batters De La Rocha

Fighters don’t get paid by the hour, and both Adam Milstead and Chris de la Rocha were looking to have a short night. 

The two heavyweights came out throwing bombs. Milstead got the better of all the exchanges in the first round. He wobbled de la Rocha with a right hand just behind the ear, but the rugged Californian withstood the shots to survive the first round.

De la Rocha’s face was a sea of blood by the midway point of the second round. Milstead’s right hand couldn’t miss, and referee Chris Tognoni stopped the bout despite the fact that de la Rocha never dropped.

It was the right decision. De la Rocha had taken a ton of damage and he couldn’t win the fight.

 

Koch Returns with Victory

Erik Koch hadn’t fought in the Octagon since 2014, but he looked sharp in the opening Fox Sports 1 preliminary bout Sunday night. Koch didn’t show any rust as he transitioned from striking to his underrated ground game.

In the second round, he lulled Campbell to sleep before sinking in the rear-naked choke to earn the finish. 

It was a nice win, but Koch was once regarded as one of the top young featherweights in the world. He has a long way to go before he can regain that status, but this win was a step in the right direction.

 

Collier Shakes off Broken Nose to Stop Uda

Jake Collier is a tough dude. UFC newcomer Alberto Uda looked to have broken Collier’s nose with a well-placed knee to the face in the first round. Collier was dazed, but Uda couldn’t finish the determined American.

In the second round, Collier started to open his newly expanded tool chest of strikes. A spinning back fist and a variety of kicks seemed to freeze Uda.

Collier landed his own knee, and then a spinning back kick caught Uda in the stomach. Collier knew he’d hurt his opponent and closed the distance to throw more strikes. He unsheathed another spinning back kick that landed even more squarely than the first, and Uda folded like a set of bedsheets. 

The bout was stopped, and Collier pulled off the come-from-behind victory.

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If you like MMA cards with no action and tons of horrible judging, Bellator 155 was the event for you. Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho successfully defended his title via a controversial split decision over Melvin Manhoef (48-47, 48-47, 47-48) in Boise, Idaho, on Friday night.

Carvalho didn’t deserve to win. He did almost nothing of note in the fight and looked to have given up midway through the fourth round. It’s amazing that anyone could find three rounds to give to him.

Manhoef wasn’t his normal action-packed self. He was tentative, but he made more of an effort to make it a fight than Carvalho did.

It would be nice to discuss highlights in this section of the recap, but there weren’t any. Fans booed consistently, but like stubborn children rebelling against their parents, the combatants wouldn’t respond to the cry for action.

Carvalho was nearly penalized for two low blows and received several warnings for keeping has hands open and fingers extended. He poked Manhoef in the eye on at least two occasions. For whatever reason, referee John McCarthy didn’t deduct a point.

Perhaps he was asleep during the snooze fest.

If he had deducted a point, the fight would have been a majority draw. That would have been only slightly less criminal.

As it was, the main event that was supposed to be an all-action bout with a guaranteed knockout finish turned out to be the cherry on top of a mud-and-gravel sundae.

Here’s what Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Snowden and Combat Press’ Rob Tatum said about the main event and the horrendous card:

In Manhoef and Carvalho’s defense, they weren’t the only ones who laid an egg in this event. Check out the details from the other four fights on the card.

 

Curran Wins a Ho-Hum Co-Main Event 

Pat Curran dropped Georgi Karakhanyan with a counter left hook in the first round. He pounced on his foe in an attempt to pound him out, but Karakhanyan showed his toughness and skills off his back to survive the round.

Bellator captured the biggest strike of the fight:

Curran seemed to control the second frame before he coasted in the third, allowing Karakhanyan to take a round. The decision was not a surprise, but like most of the card, the fight left a lot to be desired.

Instead of looking to make a statement and finish his opponent, Curran was tentative and rode the impact of his early knockdown to a less-than-awe-inspiring victory.

Here’s a look at all the results:

• Chase Gormley def. Joey Beltran via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29),
• Alexis Dufresne def. Marloes Coenen via submission (first-round armbar).
• Augusto Sakai and Dan Charles fight to majority draw (28-28, 28-28, 27-30).
• Pat Curran def. Georgi Karakhanyan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
• Rafael Carvalho def. Melvin Manhoef split decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-48).

 

Other Results

Beltran and Gormley Made Us Sad

Before the Joey Beltran vs. Chase Gormley bout began, the canvas of the Bellator cage was stained with blood from the non-televised bouts. Clearly, Gormley was determined not to add any of his or Beltran’s blood to the scene.

Despite enjoying a 28-pound weight advantage, Gormley refused to throw much of anything with enough power to hurt his smaller opponent. That approach almost cost him the fight.

Gormley took a split decision, but it was closer than it needed to be. Two of the three judges seemed to give Gormley the first two rounds, but his work consisted primarily of leg kicks and overhand rights that didn’t connect cleanly.

In the third round, Beltran rocked him with a hard right hand, but he couldn’t finish. Snowden took a warranted shot at Bellator’s matchmaking for moving lightweight contender Marcin Held to the prelims to make room for this heavyweight farce:

There was nowhere to go but up after this one.

 

Dufresne Shocks and Submits Classless Coenen

Marloes Coenen is a legend of women’s MMA, but on Saturday night, she disgraced herself and the sport. Coenen is known for her excellent submission skills, but on Saturday, she was the one being forced to tap.

After executing a solid sweep to gain top position in the first round, Coenen got careless, and Dufresne showed this woman of will what will really is.

Dufresne beautifully transitioned from a triangle choke to a neck crank to an armbar that forced Coenen to tap. The latter wasn’t happy as she sat on her knees and stared blankly after the loss. Here’s a look at the finish, courtesy of Bellator:

Tatum was shocked by the outcome:

The two had bad blood during the weigh-in, but Dufresne still went looking for the sportsmanlike hand shake. Coenen wasn’t having it.

Per the Spike broadcast, Coenen was angry with Dufresne for missing weight by five pounds. Usually, that’s understandable, but this was a special circumstance. Dufresne gave birth to her son on Thanksgiving and took the fight on short notice.

Those are extenuating circumstances, to say the least. 

To not shake hands after a fight is unacceptable. The agreement fighters make with each other when they go to battle in the cage or ring is a different deal than in any other sport. It should happen even if there are issues before the fight.

 

Dreadful Draw

One judge in the Augusto Sakai vs. Dan Charles fight should be ashamed. He somehow scored the fight 30-27 for Charles.

Sakai was penalized a point in the first round for two low blows, but it appeared as though he was winning that round before the deduction. That should have made it an even round at 9-9.

Sakai got the better of the action in the final two rounds—notably in the third, when Charles was in retreat for the second half of the frame.

Because of the deduction, the draw was plausible but still probably not the right call. This was a horrible night for Bellator and MMA. On the bright side, it can only get better from here.

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Stipe Miocic is the new UFC heavyweight champion. On Saturday night in Curitiba, Brazil, Miocic scored a scintillating one-punch knockout over defending champion Fabricio Werdum. 

Fox: Sports UFC tweeted a graphic acknowledging the changing of the guard:

Werdum’s approach was questionable. He was ultra-aggressive from the opening horn, and that strategy led to his demise. When he was caught by a short right hand, Werdum was running toward a retreating Miocic with his hands wide, trying to land a left hand.

Miocic fired a counter that landed on Werdum’s chin and knocked him out cold. The finish happened at the 2:47 mark of the first round, leaving the Brazilian crowd in a state of shock and awkward silence.

During his post-fight interview, the Cleveland, Ohio, native told his long-suffering sports city it finally has something to cheer about, per MMAFighting.com:

ZombieProphet was quick to add the Crying Jordan treatment to his tweet as he trolled Werdum after the loss:

Miocic’s win will almost certainly set up a title defense against Alistair Overeem. The latter impressively stopped Andrei Arlovski at UFC Fight Night: Rotterdam on May 8. That battle of powerful strikers should be a fan-friendly contest.

 

Jacare Batters Belfort

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza wants a shot at the UFC middleweight title, and he might have earned it Saturday. He destroyed Vitor Belfort in the first round via technical knockout. 

Souza avoided Belfort’s early punches and got the better of the renowned striker in stand-up exchanges. He opened a cut across Belfort’s nose and took his fellow Brazilian to the mat, where he did the definitive damage. The flowing blood prompted the referee to stop the action so the doctor could take a look at Belfort’s battered face.

That gave Belfort a temporary reprieve, but matters would conclude moments later. Souza again wound up in top control, and this time, nothing would rescue Belfort from the perilous position.

Souza pounded him until the referee stepped in to stop the onslaught. The question now is this: After the convincing victory, does Souza deserve the next shot at the 185-pound crown? The MMA community seems to be split.

Fox: Sports UFC and MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani see things differently:

Michael Bisping did defeat Anderson Silva, but most would argue The Spider had him out on his feet in the third round of that fight. Bisping has also had several opportunities to rise to the elite level in his career, but Souza has seemingly been passed over.

Perhaps the two men should fight each other to determine the No. 1 contender. A Souza vs. Bisping bout would make for a solid co-main event on an upcoming card.

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

 

Results

Fight Pass Prelims

• Renato Moicano def. Zubaira Tukhugov by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29).
• Sergio Moraes and Luan Chagas fight to draw (29-28, 28-29, 28-28).
• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Patrick Cummins by first-round TKO.

Fox Sports 1 Prelims

• John Lineker def. Rob Font by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 29-28).
• Francisco Trinaldo def. Yancy Medeiros by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-26).
• Thiago Santos def. Nate Marquardt by first-round TKO.
• Demian Maia def. Matt Brown by third-round submission.

Main Card

• Bryan Barberena def. Warlley Alves by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
• Mauricio “Shogun” Rua def. Corey Anderson by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29).
• Cris “Cyborg” Justino def. Leslie Smith by first-round TKO.
• Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza def. Vitor Belfort by first-round TKO.
• Stipe Miocic def. Fabricio Werdum by first-round TKO.

 

The Finishes

Nogueira Blasts Cummins

Little Nog’s takedown defense and boxing were a nasty combination against Patrick Cummins. The Brazilian legend easily stopped Cummins’ lumbering takedown attempts and picked him apart with pinpoint jabs and straight left hands.

A jab-straight left combination wobbled Cummins in the first round. Nogueira chased the stoppage win with his ground-and-pound, but somehow Cummins momentarily got to his feet.

Nogueira didn’t let up. He smashed away with left hands until referee Leon Roberts called for an end to the bout. The UFC tweeted this celebratory moment between the Nogueira twins:

Todd Martin of the Los Angeles Times and Sherdog thought Cummins’ chin was his downfall:

He’s been stopped in each of his four losses in the UFC.

Fox Sports’ Damon Martin thinks Nikita Krylov will be next for Nogueira:

That would make for an interesting bout.

 

Santos Makes Nate Look Not So Great

Thiago Santos is a dangerous man. His striking is among the best in the UFC. Usually, MMA isn’t the sport for comparisons, but he’s a bigger version of Edson Barboza.

On Saturday, he smashed through over-the-hill legend Nate Marquardt in the first round. A short left hook hurt Marquardt initially. A body hook and a flurry of punches ended the bout.

Santos has now won four fights in a row, and he called out some interesting names after the win, per MMAFighting.com:

Santos vs. Whittaker gets this MMA writer’s vote:

MMAFighting.com’s Luke Thomas spelled out Marquardt’s not-so-great recent fight history:

 

Maia Smothers Brown

Demian Maia is the greatest submission fighter in the history of MMA. The 38-year-old Brazilian used a rear-naked choke in the third round against Matt Brown to earn the 11th submission win of his career.

Maia dominated the majority of the bout with his jiu-jitsu. Brown did hurt Maia early in the third round, but he couldn’t get the finish. That was his only opportunity, as Maia regained his wherewithal and resumed his ground dominance.

Late in the third, Maia got his arm under Brown’s chin, and the latter couldn’t resist any longer. He tapped, and Maia got the win. MMAFighting.com and the site’s Shaheen Al-Shatti tweeted about Maia’s exceptional ground game:

At some point, Maia has to get a title shot. He’s won five fights in a row, and it’s getting tougher to ignore him.

 

Cyborg Mows Down Smith

Leslie Smith was served up, and Cris “Cyborg” Justino feasted. It was clear in the early moments of the first round that Smith’s night would be short.

Cyborg found a home for most of her beautiful combinations. She blasted Smith with a left-right combo that put Smith down. Cyborg started raining down ground-and-pound shots until the referee stopped the bout.

Smith wasn’t happy about the stoppage, though. She felt it was early, and it may have been—but there’s no doubt Smith was going to lose.

Cyborg was vicious en route to the win. The fight took place at a 140-pound catchweight, but there is speculation that Cyborg could compete in the bantamweight division. After Saturday night’s performance, don’t expect to see women lining up for that challenge.

 

What’s Next?

On May 29, the UFC will go back to Las Vegas, and the card will feature an awesome main event. Thomas Almeida will take on fellow hot prospect Cody Garbrandt. Both men possess exceptional striking skills, and neither man has a loss on his record—but someone’s zero must go.

In the co-main event, Renan Barao will move up to featherweight to take on Jeremy Stephens. It should be another strong card.

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Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter.

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It was a great night for Dutch fighters.

In front of his hometown crowd in the main event of UFC Fight Night Rotterdam on Sunday, Alistair Overeem scored a dynamic second-round TKO win over Andrei Arlovski. With the victory, Overeem has almost assured himself a shot at the UFC heavyweight championship in his next fight.

A crane kick to the chin and a follow-up left hook dropped Arlovski and led to the ground-and-pound finish. It was Overeem’s fourth straight victory. Fox Sports’ Damon Martin, Jeremy Botter of FloSports and Bleacher Report MMA were all impressed:

It was an incredible finish by a heavyweight. The agility and coordination it takes to execute a strike like that are not usually present in a fighter as big as the 6’4″ Overeem. 

Arlovski had some good moments in the early seconds of the first round. He was able to back Overeem up against the cage and land a flurry of body and head shots. Most of the ones that connected cleanly were to the midsection, but he had to gain some confidence from the sequence.   

Slowly but surely, Overeem seemed to seize control of the fight. It was similar to the way he took a grasp of his last bout with Junior dos Santos. Overeem started slowly in that one but ultimately stopped the Brazilian in the second round as well.

By the beginning of the second round, Overeem looked to be the boss in the Octagon, and he was dictating the pace of the fight. He was maintaining a safe distance but still connecting with strikes.

The UFC on Twitter captured a victorious Overeem basking in the glow of his win. The tweet also talks about the clean sweep for Dutch fighters:

Overeem did have one issue after the fight. He dislocated his toe landing the crane kick, and a Octagon-side doctor had to pop it back into place moments after the fight ended.

Fox Sports’ Ariel Helwani and MMAFighting.com discussed Overeem’s bright future and his post-fight claim for a title shot.

Overeem made it clear on air he wants to face the winner of the Fabricio Werdum vs. Stipe Miocic championship battle. Werdum will defend the title at UFC 198 on Saturday. Overeem should get the winner, but he also wants to defend the title back in the Netherlands in 2017.

Back in their days in Strikeforce, Overeem defeated Werdum in the Heavyweight Grand Prix. Werdum has improved since then, but it appears Overeem has as well.

His career has peaks and valleys, but he’s riding higher now than he ever has before.

Arlovski’s second life in the UFC has lasted longer than many probably expected. He made himself a viable contender again when it seemed he was past his prime. Still, it appears he has hit his ceiling. He’s lost two fights in a row, both to great competition (Miocic and Overeem), but it seems clear he’s not among the elite fighters in his division.

Struve Stomps Bigfoot

It took just 16 seconds for Stefan Struve to put Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva away in the co-main event. Silva was sporting a new hairstyle and a beard, but the new persona didn’t produce positive results. Silva charged Struve from the opening horn and immediately ran into a hard right hand.

Bigfoot was stunned and further damaged by an uppercut and a knee. He dropped to his knees with Struve’s back on the cage, but the Skyscraper had enough room to rain down four hammerfists and 14 unanswered elbows to the side of Silva’s head.

Referee Andre Roberts gave Silva a reasonable chance to recover, but he ultimately stepped in to call an end to the bout. Silva complained a little, but the stoppage was just.

Struve was coming off an embarrassing loss to Jared Rosholt in his last fight. Via the UFC, Struve wanted the rest of the heavyweight division to know he’s still relevant:

Per Shaheen Al-Shatti of MMAFighting.com, Silva’s recent record suggests he should potentially consider another occupation:

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

 

Results

Fight Pass Prelims

• Ulka Sasaki def. Willie Gates via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)
• Leon Edwards def. Dominic Waters via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
• Kyoji Horiguchi def. Neil Seery via unanimous decision (30-27×2, 30-26)

 

Fox Sports 1 Prelims

• Reza Madadi def. Yan Cabral via third-round TKO
• Josh Emmett def. Jon Tuck via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)
• Magnus Cedenblad def. Garreth McLellan via second-round TKO
• Rustam Khabilov def. Chris Wade via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28×2)

 

Fox Sports 1 Main Card

• Karolina Kowalkiewicz def. Heather Jo Clark via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28×2)
• Nikita Krylov def. Francimar Barroso via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)
• Germaine de Randamie def. Anna Elmose via first-round TKO
• Gunnar Nelson def. Albert Tumenov via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)
• Stefan Struve def. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva via first-round TKO
• Alistair Overeem def. Andrei Arlovski via second-round TKO

 

The Finishes

Sasaki’s Ground Game Too Strong for Gates

Willie Gates’ ground game needs a ton of work. Ulka Sasaki used some basic takedown strategies to control Gates for the majority of the one-plus rounds. In the second frame, Sasaki easily submitted a worn-down Gates with a rear-naked choke.

Gates did have a strong moment at the end of the first round as he landed a strong uppercut on the break. But when the next round began, Sasaki had more in the tank, and he took him apart. 

With a record of 1-3 in the UFC and all of his losses having come by stoppage, it’s clearly back to the drawing board for Gates.

 

Madadi Wears Down Cabral

In a competitive bout, Reza Madadi’s pressure and stamina proved too much for Yan Cabral. In the third round, a noticeably slowed Cabral fell victim to a hard right uppercut that seemingly left him knocked out on his feet.

Madadi followed up with a straight right hand and a left hook just as the referee jumped in to stop the bout. 

 

Cedenblad Stops McLellan

Magnus Cedenblad has some powerful kicks. He dazed Garreth McLellan in the second round with a kick that didn’t even land flush on the head. McLellan blocked the strike with his arm and his hand, but there was enough power on the kick to leave the South African stunned.

Cedenblad wasted no time surging for the finish. He launched a fleet of uppercuts to induce the stoppage victory. UFC tweeted the vine of the finish:

It was his fourth consecutive win, but he’s still got a ways to go before he’ll find himself in the Octagon with a top-10 opponent. 

 

Krylov with 20-20 Vision

Nikita Krylov was in phenomenal physical condition, and he put on a great show against Francimar Barroso en route to a submission victory. Krylov’s physique was far more chiseled than in the past, but he still wasn’t interested in going the distance.

He has 20 wins in his career, and all of them have come by finish. From the beginning, Krylov was more aggressive than Barroso. While he did put himself in harm’s way a few times with some undisciplined work from top position, he ultimately took Barroso’s back and locked in the choke.

It didn’t appear he had it locked in under Barroso’s chin, but nonetheless, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt tapped quickly to the hold.

Krylov still has some kinks to work out, but he’s an interesting fighter in the light heavyweight division.

 

The Iron Lady Smashes Overmatched Elmose

Anna Elmose had no business in the Octagon with “The Iron Lady” Germaine de Randamie. The latter is a native of the Netherlands, so this bout was set up as a showcase for her. The less experienced and undersized Elmose was put up as a sacrifice.

While she did have boxing experience, Elmose came in with just three professional MMA bouts. De Randamie had eight pro MMA bouts, but she had 46 professional muay thai bouts without a defeat.

That experience translates better to MMA. 

Elmose is also six inches shorter, and that size disparity was a major factor. De Randamie was able to secure control in the Thai clinch. A well-placed knee to the midsection sent Elmose to the canvas, and it earned de Randamie the stoppage win.

 

Nelson Submits Tumenov

It wasn’t suppose to be easy, but Gunnar Nelson made his submission win over Albert Tumenov look simple. From the early moments of the first round, Nelson was quicker in stand-up, and he used that to set up his bread-and-butter game on the ground.

Nelson landed a few timely strikes with the right hand, and he took Tumenov down in the first round. Tumenov would survive the first round, but he wouldn’t be as fortunate in the second. 

Nelson countered a Tumenov kick, and he secured another takedown. He’d ultimately take Tumenov’s back before using the rear-naked choke to get the impressive victory.

After having been dominated by Demian Maia in his last fight, this was a much-needed bounce-back victory. 

 

What’s Next?

The UFC will be back in Brazil for UFC 198 on Saturday, and the country will be well-represented throughout the card. Heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum will defend his title against top contender Stipe Miocic. 

In the co-main event, two Brazilian legends will collide when Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza takes on Vitor Belfort. Anderson Silva will also be back in action against talented striker Uriah Hall. Also, Cris “Cyborg” Santos will make her long-awaited UFC debut against Leslie Smith.

Top to bottom, it’s an impressive card on paper. Hopefully the action doesn’t disappoint.

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