Check out which fighters won performance bonuses from UFC Vegas 42: Holloway vs. Rodriguez
The APEX Center garden in Las Vegas, Nevada was home to a great day of fights at UFC Vegas 42: Holloway vs. Rodriguez. The card saw eight (T)KOs, one submission and two decisions.
Performance of the Night: Kalinn Williams, Andrea Lee
Fight of the Night: Holloway vs. Rodriguez
Da Un Jung kicked off the prelims with a first round KO of Kennedy Nzechukwu when he elbowed him into another dimension. That was followed by Rafael Alves snaring Marc Diakiese in a guillotine choke to take the first round submission win. Cortney Casey soundly tromped Liana Jojua via unanimous decision, finally getting her record above .500 and breaking a two-fight losing skid. Sean Woodson looked to be ten levels above Collin Anglin when he stopped him with punches in the first round and Andrea Lee looked sensational when she was able to pick up a TKO victory when Cynthia Calvillo’s corner mercifully threw in the towel. They deserve much praise for that, especially when we see so many teams ignore the damage their fighter is taking. Joel Alvarez got the upset victory over Thiago Moises in the first round (standing TKO), a fitting end considering Moises was trying to Babe Ruth his own finish in pre-fight interviews.
Preliminary Card
Joel Álvarez def. Thiago Moisés by TKO (elbows and punches) at 3:01 of round 1
Andrea Lee def. Cynthia Calvillo by TKO (corner stoppage) at 5:00 of round 2 – Calvillo did not get off from stool to start 3rd round
Sean Woodson def. Collin Anglin by TKO (punches) at 4:30 of round 1
Cortney Casey def. Liana Jojua by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Rafael Alves def. Marc Diakiese by submission (guillotine choke) at 1:48 of round 1
Da Un Jung def. Kennedy Nzechukwu by KO (elbows) at 3:04 of round 1
The main card opened with Julio Arce falling to a vicious head kick and followup punches from Song Yadong in the second round. Kalinn Williams created all sorts of Khaos the entire fight for Miguel Baeza, then stopped him in the third stanza. This card is BANANAS! After completely schooling Leah Letson for most of the fight, Felicia Spencer was able to put the TUF veteran away in the third round via TKO. getting her back on the winning path after a disappointing loss to Norma Dumont back in May. Marcos Rogerio de Lima made a case for the heavyweights for all those that pooh-pooh the division when he got the first round standing TKO just 32 seconds into the round. Side note, Herb Dean is still evolving into a worse version of himself. His indecision costed Rothwell more brain cells than necessary.
The main event was a certified banger. Rodriguez came out hot, throwing lots of heat and tearing up the lead leg of Holloway. His round. Second round saw much of the same but Holloway clearly starting to close the gap in volume. Round three was all Max, with some saying it could be a 10-8 round. Yair’s face is a bruised and bloody mess, but he is still in this. Round four saw Max really heaping on the damage, but Yair was still hanging tough. At this point, Max has already landed 200+ strikes! Eyepoke by Holloway, but after a brief timeout, they get right back at it. Rodriguez swinging with everything he’s got but Max is either dodging them or walking right through them. Final round was all Holloway, putting a big exclamation point on a fight that has been his since the second round. Yair definitely put everything he had into this, it just wasn’t enough. Holloway had an answer for everything. Holloway’s chin is unreal. Eyepoke from Rodriguez this time, but they’re right back at it. Holloway is cut right on the browbone over the right eye. Horn sounds. 49-46 Holloway by my scoring. 49-46, 48-47×2 for Holloway officially. Outstanding!
Main card
Max Holloway defeated Yair Rodriguez via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)
Marcos Rogerio de Lima defeated Ben Rothwell via TKO (strikes), :32 of round 1
Felicia Spencer defeated Leah Letson via TKO (strikes), 4:25 of round 3
Khaos Williams defeated Miguel Baeza via TKO (punches), 1:02 of round 3
Song Yadong defeated Julia Arce via TKO (head kick and punches), 1:35 of round 2