UFC Vegas 54 results: Jan Blachowicz wins by injury TKO over Aleksandar Rakic

On the UFC Vegas 54 main card, Jan Blachowicz defeated Aleksandar Rakic by way of injury TKO, Ryan Spann choked Ion Cutelaba, and Davey Grant slept Louis Smolka.

That’s all she wrote for UFC Vegas 54, which saw four finishes across six main card matchups, including a TKO, a knockout, a submission, and an injury TKO.

That injury happened in the main event when the UFC’s former 205-pound champion, Jan Blachowicz, defeated the promotion’s #3 ranked light heavyweight, Aleksandar Rakic, in the third round. The fight seemed to be just heating up, with calf kicks flying on both sides in the first round, and rakic finding his stride in the second with his wrestling. Early in the third frame, that’s when Rakic took a backwards step and the knee on his rear leg gave out on him, causing him to drop down to the canvas in pain. It was quite unexpected, and unfortunate for Rakic, but nonetheless that’s where the fight came to a close. Perhaps Jan will now get to face the winner of the upcoming UFC 275 title tilt between the champ, Glover Teixeira, and his challenger, Jiri Prochazka.

Before that, the co-main event of the evening witnessed the UFC’s #13 ranked light heavyweight, Ryan Spann, tap out the ever aggressive Ion Cutelaba with a guillotine choke in the first round. Spann had to address a couple of takedowns from Cutelaba, but was able to get back to his feet each time and was able to jump on the neck to get the finish. When Ryan puts it all together he is quite dangerous, and if he can consistently perform like he did tonight, then he could definitely climb the ranks and crack the top-10

Davey Grant picked up another knockout tonight when he hurt Louis Smolka with a calf kick, and then removed him from consciousness with some ferocious ground and pound. Grant had a strong opening act, but had to deal with a rallying Smolka in the second stanza. Then it was early in the final frame when Grant delivered the fight ending blows that produced another finish. He keeps finding himself in wars, but Grant sure does have a knack for putting people out.

The UFC’s #1 rated women’s flyweight, Katlyn Chookagian, was involved in a close one with a Amanda Ribas, pulling out the split decision. This one was back and forth, with Ribas getting a couple of takedowns, Chookagian throwing volume, and both fighters swinging hard until the final bell. Credit to Ribas for moving up to flyweight, but the night belongs to Chookagian, who keeps turning away almost anyone with championship aspirations.

Making good on his UFC debut, Manuel Torres continued his trend of first-round finishes by stopping Frank Camacho with a nasty left hook to right hook combo. Torres went hard from the word go, and Camacho tried to do the same, but Manuel brought too much firepower for Frank to handle. Now sitting at 13-2, Torres extends his streak of violence to four in a row, and has actually only lost by leg locks. To say this man is fun to watch would be a gross understatement.

Opening up the main card, Allan Nascimento used his superior grappling skills to run away with the scorecards against UFC newcomer Jake Hadley. the bulk of this bout took place on the ground, with Nascimento hitting several sweeps to make sure he was the fighter on top.

**See complete results below

Main card:

Jan Blachowicz def. Aleksandar Rakic by TKO at 1:11 of round 3: Light Heavyweight

The light heavyweights were exchanging leg kicks right away. A punch from Rakic opened up a cut around the lower left eyelid of Blachowicz early in the match, which he kept wiping at. Blachowicz had Rakic switching stances, likely from the calf kicks. Rakic was doing his best work from range, but whenever they met on the inside, Blachowicz was the one coming up with the bigger punches.

The second act is where Rakic came up with an early single leg takedown. He found himself in a loose triangle attempt, but was able to escape with relative ease. From inside of the full guard, Rakic dropped punches and elbows while making sure he remained in control. Jan was unable to get back to his feet.

Blachowicz started attacking the lead leg of Rakic right away in the third round. Then as Rakic stepped backwards, his rear leg buckled on him, making him fall to the floor in agony. Luckily the referee was right there to stop the fight and prevent any unnecessary punishment from being delivered.

Ryan Spann def. Ion Cutelaba by submission (Guillotine) at 2:22 of round 1: Light Heavyweight

Spann was putting together some pretty boxing combos early in the fight, and cracked Cutelaba with a jab-jab-cross. Cutelaba immediately shot in for a takedown, planting Spann on his back. Spann was able to get up by emphatically pushing off with his feet, but rushing forward got him taken back down. Spann again pushed off with his feet, but this time Ion overcommitted with a huge punch that made him lose his balance. Ryan instantly jumped on a guillotine, and stayed attached to Cutelaba on the way to the ground to get the tap.

Davey Grant def. Louis Smolka by KO at :49 of round 3: Bantamweight

Grant was letting his strikes go right away, mixing up his kicks and boxing combos. Smolka was wearing everything well, but Grant was making life difficult by throwing in combination. Credit to Smolka for eating the shots, but he was struggling to unleash his own offense. With about 40-seconds left in the opening round, Grant connecting with a jousting jab that finally dropped Smolka. Louis recovered well enough to escape the round.

Smolka started to connect early in the seocnd round, coming forward and getting himself back into the fight. Grant wasn’t connecting as clean with his strikes as he was in the first, while Smolka was opening up and landing a lot more. A botched spinning hook kick from Grant resulted in Smolka taking the back, and then transitioning too a brief armbar attempt.

Grant was punishing the leg of Smolka to kick off the final round. He then made Louis hobble with an angry calf kick, and then prompted him to shoot a desperation takedown. Grant easily sprawled, and then immediately began dropping some devastating ground and pound that knocked out Smolka cold. EEK!

Katlyn Chookagian def. Amanda Ribas by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29): (W) Flyweight

Ribas hit an early head and arm throw to put Chookagian on her back early in the fight. Chookagian started to scramble from the bottom, and it took a little bit for her to find a way up… but she did without enduring much of any damage. On the feet, Chookagian was letting her volume go, slinging a bunch of jabs and crosses. After a rough start, Chookagian seemed to be able to steal it from Ribas.

Chookagian continued with her volume and aggression to start the second round, launching jousting straights at Ribas. A couple of kicks landed for Ribas, including a few spinning ones to the body. Once Ribas found a way on the inside, she was able to land another head and arm throw to put Chookagian on her back. A few elbows landed, but Chookagian stayed active to get Ribas to focus on control. Chookagian stood back up and landed some big punches before the bell.

Ribas tripped Chookagian with a leg kick to open the final frame, but wasn’t able to capitalize on it. Chookagian stayed true to her straights, and landed a few back fists to boot. Ribas was more focused on her kicks, throwing them to the body and legs alike. With just over a minute to go, Ribas blasted a takedown, but Chookagian scrambled right back up to her feet. Down the stretch, Ribas began connecting with several punches, screaming out as she threw.

Manuel Torres def. Frank Camacho by TKO at 3:27 of round 1: Lightweight

The lightweights got right to work, throwing heavy leather back and forth. Torres was landing the better shots early on, with Camacho being the one mixing in takedown attempts. Torres was poking through the guard of Camacho, landing big punches to back him off. Then right after Camacho delivered a jab-jab cross that missed, Torres came with a wide left hook that stunned Frank, followed by a wide right hook that put him down. The referee elected to step in at that moment to stop the sporting competition.

Allan Nascimento def. Jake Hadley by unanimous decision (30-27 x3): Flyweight

Hadley came out pressuring right away, but found himself on his back after getting a kick caught. He used an omoplata to sweep on top, but Nascimento rolled for a straight ankle lock. Nascimento then used heel hook to sweep back on top. The scrambles slowed down here, with Nascimento solidifying top position and racking up control time.

Hadley pressured Nascimento backwards again to seat the second stanza, but Nascimento changed levels and got back on top. The control of Nascimento was outstanding. He was able to thwart all of the sweep attempts from Hadley, and although he couldn’t quite pass the guard, Nascimento was dominating on the floor.

Just like the previous two rounds, Hadley backed up Nascimento to start the third. The time when Nascimento shot in, Hadley attacked with a guillotine. Nascimento was forced to roll to his back, and then Hadley had his chance at doing work from the top. Nascimento navigated the ground and ultimately stole top position off of a botched back take form Hadley. He started to attack with a D’arce, but Hadley defended well and made it back to his feet. Nascimento shot in, and again got stuck in a high elbow guillotine, but was able to sweep on top anyway.