UFC Vegas 67 full results, video: Strickland decisions Imavov

Check out the live results and highlights for UFC Vegas 67: Strickland vs. Imavov. 

Stay up to date with what’s happening today at UFC Vegas 67, which is going down at an earlier than usual start time from the APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The original main event for this card was supposed to be Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nassourdine Imavov, however, Kelvin had to pull out of the match. The ever-ready Sean Strickland has stepped in for Gastelum, but the short-notice nature of this situation has Strickland vs. Imavov taking lace at light heavyweight instead of middleweight.

For the co-main event of the evening, we have an unranked fighter on a four-fight winning streak going up against a ranked fighter trying to avoid a four-fight losing skid. The surging Damon Jackson will tangle with the UFC’s #13 ranked featherweight, Dan Ige.

The main card is slated for 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT, and the preliminary bouts begin at 4:00pm ET/1:00pm, PT — all of which can be streamed on ESPN+.

Main card:

Sean Strickland def. Nassourdine Imavov by unanimous decision (49-46 x2, 48-47): Light Heavyweight

Strickland started out with his usual pressure, moving forward while trying to avoid the counters of Imavov. Both men were throwing in combination, and that resulted in both men connecting. Just as one guy would land something meaningful, the other would come back with something equally as damaging. Strickland was throwing more haymakers than he usually does, and it was pretty effective for him. Strickland had a strong second-half of the opening act, but overall it was a close round.

The pressure of Strickland was there again in the second stanza. He entered into the clinch and pressed Imavov against the cage. Strickland yelled out to the ref saying that Imavov was grabbing his glove. The fighters separated and went back to exchanging combos in open space. Both were landing, but it felt like Strickland was landing the better strikes. Strickland then blasted a takedown, but Imavov was quick to stand back up. Imavov started to get his strikes going towards the end of the round, prompting Strickland to clinch up again.

The fighters started to trade in the pocket at the start of the third frame. Strickland was landing the better punches at first, and then Imavov started to score. The jab of Strickland was being thrown often, as well as a teep to the gut, and they were stifling the offense of Imavov. The pace was being set by Strickland, who was starting to take over command the cage.

Imavov looked to apply more pressure in the fourth round, but it wasn’t long before Strickland started to push back. The hands of Strickland were landing clean. His punches weren’t the fastest things out there, but his timing and accuracy was shining through.

Strickland’s pace remained steady in the final round. He was still striking the same as he was in the first round, while Imavov seemed a little more tired. Imavov was throwing, but he struggled to land more than one punch at a time, and then when he got close Strickland would clinch up with him. Imavov did land a couple of sneaky elbows on some of those clinch breaks, and went for it late, but Strickland went for it too and prevented a much-needed finish.

Dan Ige def. Damon Jackson by KO at 4:13 of round 2: Featherweight

Jackson tried to go first, but he got countered with a right hand from Ige in the clinch that dropped him. Jackson quickly stood back up, and it became clear that Ige possessed more punching power. A glove to the eye resulted in a timeout, and the referee was brought in to check on Jackson. The replay shows that it was a punch to the eye that could have done the damage, and not the side of Ige’s glove as he pushed off of the head of Jackson. It’s arguable whether or not Jackson should have been aware a break, since it actually wasn’t an eye poke. Ige landed a couple of power punches in the short time left in the round, and even snagged a last-second takedown.

Ige kept up the pressure in the second round. Jackson was forced to play the outside, and didn’t seem to be too comfortable fighting that way. A big punch from Ige opened up a cut on the forehead of Jackson, and to make things worse, it was dripping into the eye that was gloved in the previous round. Jackson did his best work when he moved forward, but he was spending a lot of time on his back foot. Then KABOOM!!! Ige uncorked a viscous left hook that landed right on the chin. Jackson was out on impact, and Ige walked off like a boss!

Roman Kopylov def. Punahele Soriano by TKO at 3:19 of round 2: Middleweight

Soriano threw an overhand right, and then right away showed a takedown. Kopylov was moving, trying to stay away from the power of Soriano and making him miss. The jab of Kopylov was effective. He was jousting it out there and was keeping Soriano from freely entering the pocket. Soriano was doing damage when he did land, but he was struggling with consistency.

Soriano was much more calculated to begin the second round. He wasn’t loading up on every strike, and was scoring with uppercuts on the inside. Kopylov attacked back by going to the body with kicks and punches, and once he noticed Soriano backing up, he stepped on the gas. He flurried on Soriano, but wasn’t able to get him out of there just yet. Kopylov went back to the body with a nasty liver kick, which hurt Soriano and set up a boxing flurry to get the standing TKO.

Raquel Pennington def. Ketlen Vieira by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29,): (W) Bantamweight

Vieira started to walk down Pennington behind her boxing to get things going. Pennington returned several jabs of her own, and although they would reduce the pressure being put on her, they just weren’t really landing that often. One of the punches from Vieira opened up a cut on the forehead of Pennington, but it didn’t seem to be bothering her at all. The fight got a bit sticky, but ultimately Vieira had more sting on her strikes.

Pennington started strong in the second round. She was connecting with her hands, and then used the moment to enter into the clinch. Vieira landed a mean elbow as she exited the clinch, and then the fighters started to exchange in the pocket. A knee below the belt brought a small pause to the contest, and prompted a warning to Pennington. Rocky continued with her aggression upon the restart, prompting Vieira to clinch up.

The third round got underway with both fighters being aggressive. Both were landing clean punches, until Vieira pressed Rocky up against the cage. They broke apart and exchanged more punches in the middle of the Octagon, and then it was Rocky’s turn to press Vieira against the cage. Vieira reversed the position, and after eating a knee to the midsection, she landed a big cross of her own. Ketlen started to work her way to the back, and maintained control until the round expired. Close fight!

Umar Nurmagomedov def. Raoni Barcelos by KO at 4:40 of round 1: Bantamweight

Nurmagomedov was looking to fight from range early in the first round, while Barcelos took the center and looked to close the distance. The jab of Nurmagomedov was finding a home, and was the most landed strike of the round. Nurmagomedov was also throwing a lot of teep kicks to try and keep Barcelos on the outside.Behind that teep, Nurmagomedov connected with a clean left hand that briefly stunned Barcelos. Then KABOOM! Nurmagomedov landed an explosive left hook that flattened Barcelos, and then followed up with a wicked hammerfist on an already out opponent. Yikes! In his post-fight interview, Umar apologized for the extra blow, stating that he didn’t realize that Barcelos was already out.

Prelims:

Javid Basharat def. Mateus Mendonça by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28): Bantamweight

Mendonça pressured from the word go, and was making Basharat look uncomfortable. A low calf kick from Mendonça briefly dropped Basharat, but then Javid started to land leg kicks of his own. Around the mid-point of the round, Basharat landed a piston of a right cross that got the attention of Mendonça. They started to grapple from there, with Mendonça working for the takedown and Basharat refusing to be on his back. After some back and forth on the feet, Basharat hit a takedown of his, but it didn’t last very long.

Mendonça went back to pressuring in the second round. He snagged a short-lived takedown, and then went to pressing Basharat against the cage. Basharat returned to open space, and Mendonça kept looking for the takedown. He ended up jumping a guillotine, but that would prove costly as it gave Basharat top position. Plenty of ground and pound was dished out from Basharat, with Mendonça attacking a leg lock at the end of the round.

Basharat got a an early lead in the final round with his striking, picking off Mendonça from range. Mendonça was still coming forward, but his output was rather low. He started to shoot his takedowns from far out, and Basharat was able to easily avoid them. Mendonça got his opponent against the cage, and after botching a takedown he tried to jump a triangle. Basharat quickly escaped and began controlling from the top. Mendonça had one last guillotine attempt in him before Basharat rode out the rest of the fight on top.

Abdul Razak Alhassan def. Claudio Ribeiro at :28 of round 2: Middleweight

Ribeiro started to crack with calf kicks right away, with Alhassan just eating them. Alhassan then shot in for a takedown, but settled for pressing Ribeiro against the cage. Ribeiro escaped back into open space and went back to his calf kicks. Alhassan went back to clinching up against the fence, chipping away with knees to the legs. In the closing moments of the round, Alhassan unleashed a couple of big standing elbows, and then launched a flurry of fists just before the bell.

Ribeiro went right back to the calf kick to start the round, but went to the well too many times. Alhassan countered him with a hefty overhand right that rocked Ribeiro, and then followed up with a trio of blistering right hands that ultimate caused him to drop and the ref to step in. This was a solid win for Alhassan, showing off that he can mix things up, instead of just brawling.

Mateusz R?becki def. Nick Fiore by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27 x2): Lightweight

R?becki applied the pressure right away, and Fiore seemed ready to return fire. Both men were connecting with their respective combos, with R?becki seeming have a little more sting on his strikes. As the round grew on, the bulk of the activity was on the side of R?becki. Fiore spent a lot of time on his back foot, finding it difficult to find the time to fire back. With about 90-seconds left in the round, R?becki blasted a takedown. He was then able to land some solid ground and pound before the round ended.

R?becki came out launching more heat in the second round. He then went in for the clinch, but Fiore seemed to easily escape into open space. It looked like R?becki was starting to fatigue, which isn’t surprising considering the pace he pushed in the opening act. Fiore then hit a takedown of his own, but wasn’t able to keep R?becki on the ground. It was then R?becki’s turn to score a takedown. That’s where the fighters stayed for the rest of the round.

Fiore went for his own takedown to kick off the final round, but ultimately it was R?becki who realized top position. Much like the end of the second act, R?becki hung out int he full guard of Fiore

Allan Nascimento def. Carlos Hernandez by submission (RNC) at 3:16 of round 1: Flyweight

Hernandez was first to land with his punches, but Nascimento then quickly closed the distance and hit a takedown. From there, Nascimento went to the back and began woking for an RNC. Hernandez was defending well for awhile, but as soon as he stood up, Nascimento was able to fully lock in the RNC to get the tap.

Daniel Argueta def. Nick Aguirre by unanimous decision (30-27 x3): Featherweight

It didn’t take very long for Argueta to close the distance and snag a takedown. Aguirre was active off of his back, inverting and creating a unique scramble. Argueta came out on top of that exchange, but Aguirre wiggled his way out and took the back. After being controlled for a bit, Argueta spun around on top, causing Aguirre to scramble again. It was then Argueta’s turn to take the back, and although he went for an RNC, he wasn’t able to land it.

Argueta started to let his hands go to start the second round. He wasn’t landing a ton, but he had Aguirre mostly defensive. Argueta then clinched up against the cage, but Aguirre was doing a good job of remaining vertical… at first. Argueta stayed after it and eventually was able to put Aguirre on his back. He worked the way to the back and threatened with a rear-naked choke, but Aguirre hung tough and found a way out. Argueta also landed a big elbow before the bell.

Aguirre got some punching going in the final round, mostly right hooks, but they didn’t seem to have much of an effect on Argueta. The fighters clinched up again and Argueta realized top position yet again. There was a brief Kimura attempt from Aguirre, but other than that Argueta was in control.

Charles Johnson def. Jimmy Flick by TKO at 4:33 of round 1: Flyweight

Flick shot in for an early takedown, but Johnson quickly reversed the situation. Flick worked back to his feet, where Johnson slowly pressured forward. Johnson was getting through with heavy hands, both to the body and the head. Flick responded with a double leg takedown, but Johnson was the one that ended up on top. Johnson started to rain down a series of elbows, with one of them cutting open the forehead of Flick. The ground and pound continued, and although Flick was still defending, the referee stopped the match.