UFC Vegas 9 results and video: OSP KO’s Menifield, Pereira, Kelleher, & Muniz all hit subs

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

On the UFC Vegas 9 main card, Ovince St. Preux knocked out Alonzo Menifield in the co-main event, plus Michel Pereira, Brian Kelleher, and Andre Muniz all earned submission wins.

UFC Vegas 9 did away with the preliminary portion of the event and jumped right to the main card due to a bunch of fights falling through. Nonetheless, the co-main event just ended with Ovince St. Preux scoring a walk-off knockout on Alonzo Menifield in the second round. It was the body kicks that had OSP commanding the cage, and it was a counter left hook that put Menifield down. In an outstanding display of class, OSP passed on bashing a defenseless person and took his walk to the winner’s circle. This was a veteran performance from someone that has been around the block a time or two, and makes his eleventh finish in the UFC.

Before that, the acrobatic Michel Pereira put on a much more fundamental performance against Zelim Imadaev before sniffing out a late third-round submission with just 21-seconds left in the fight. Looking at the replay, it appeared as if Imadaev was trying to fight the hands and didn’t actually tap. Nonetheless, he was getting blown out on the scorecards and Pereira looked as smooth as ever. He would only blitz with his patented funk on occasion, which really allowed his gas tank to be there late in the fight. This version of Pereira is downright terrifying, and in his post-fight interview he called for a shot against Jorge Masvidal for the BMF belt.

Making good on his sophomore appearance on the big stage, Andre Muniz hit a slick first-round armbar on Bartosz Fabinski. Muniz jumped on a guillotine, showed a triangle attempt, but then switched to the armbar to get the tap. This is two up and two down within the UFC for Muniz, who extends his winning streak to six.

In what was the quickest finish of the night, Brian Kelleher submitted Ray Rodriguez with an arm-in guillotine in just 39-second. Rodriguez shot in for a takedown, but quickly found himself fighting a losing battle against one of Kelleher’s most lethal holds. Kelleher is one person that’s having a solid 2020, winning three out of his four fights this year.

Earlier in the night, top rated flyweights went at it when the #8 ranked, Viviane Araujo, waged war for three round with the #11 ranked, Montana De La Rosa. DLR was quite game, but the pressuring pace, jab, and power punching of Araujo proved to be the winning recipe for her to walk away with the unanimous decision. Araujo proves her worth at her ranking and advances her UFC record to 3-1.

**See complete results below

Main card:

Ovince St. Preux def. Alonzo Menifield by KO at 4:07 of round 2: Light Heavyweight

Menifield looked to be the aggressor early, trying to holds OSP against the fence. In open space, OSP worked his body kicks and fighting long. Menifield began to struggle with those tactics and just started skirting along the outside. He did land a solid punch in a flurry at the bell, but OSP wore it like a champ.

OSP took the center of the cage in the second act went right back to his kicking attack. Menifield threw a kick back and seemed to have hurt his foot in the process. OSP was commanding the cage. Menifield began to charge forward with a flurry, but OSP caught him with a counter hook that dropped him. Menifield went face down, so OSP opted to not follow up with any unnecessary punishment.

Michel Pereira def. Zelim Imadaev by submission (RNC) at 4:39 of round 3: Welterweight

Pereira came out way more reserved than he had in his previous performances. Imadaev pressed forward, but was eating hard counter shots — including a hard knee to the face. Pereira started to explode with some flashy showtime kicks, but reeled it back in and got back to being fundamental. Because of that, a crisp right hand dropped Imadaev. By the end of the round, Pereira was in total control, and even stood and taunted Imadaev after the bell.

The second round started tentatively, despite the first round ending with a heated stare down. Imadaev cracked Pereira with a hard right hand after some flash, and was really trying to make Pereira pay for his antics. Pereira showed off some strong natural defensive instincts, rolling with the punches of his opponent. Pereira settled down and got back to scoring with his fundamentals, picking his shots wisely and not expending a bunch of energy.

Pereira brought it in the third round, throwing all sorts of heat at Imadaev. He really was flowing out there, and did a descent job of not going too crazy with the funk. Imadaev tried to press forward, but Pereira was simply too smooth to be hit flush. Pereira even got his revenge for getting slapped at the weigh-ins by dishing out a couple of slaps to the face of Imadaev. Just when it looked like the bout was going the distance, Pereira hit a suplex and dove on a RNC to get the tap. My goodness!

Andre Muniz def. Bartosz Fabinski by submission (Armbar) at 2:42 of round 1: Middleweight

Fabinski shot in right away and pressed Muniz up against the cage. The fight stalled out there until Muniz jumped a guillotine. Fabinski fought it off, but quickly got baited into an armbar. Fabinski had nowhere to go so Muniz earned the tap.

Brian Kelleher def. Ray Rodriguez by submission (Guillotine) at :39 of round 1: Featherweight

Rodriguez shot in early, and paid dearly for it. Kelleher was quick to attack with an arm-in guillotine. Rodriguez tried to fight it off, but the squeeze was on and Kelleher got the tap.

Viviane Araujo def. Montana De La Rosa by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28): (W) Flyweight

The fighters went right to work, exchanging punches in the center of the Octagon. DLR settled into a countering role as Araujo started to lead the dance. Araujo began to land and busted open the nose of DLR. The round continued to be competitive, but Araujo was clearly in the driver seat.

Araujo came out for the second round cracking with some leg kicks. The blows were visibly altering the movement of DLR, who became almost stationary at times. The hands of Araujo continued to score as well, but even that didn’t discourage Montana. DLR kept swinging back, and she was landing some quality shots, but nothing nearly damaging enough to steal the round.

DLR brought it in the final round. She pressed forward behind her volume, out-landing Araujo who appeared to be slowing down. The jab of Araujo was still popping and still scoring. Towards the end of the round, the output of DLR slowed down and Araujo got back to pressuring and leading the dance.

Hunter Azure def. Cole Smith by unanimous decision (29-28 x3): Bantamweight

Azure got himself a takedown within the first minute of the fight. Smith was able to scramble up to his feet, but had to eat a knee to the face in the process. Then boom! Azure dropped Smith with a stinging right hand behind a left hook. Smith recovered really quickly and got back to his kicking attack. Azure ultimately caught one and took the fight back to the floor whee he controlled and chipped away.

Smith stayed true to his kicking game to start the second round, but Azure bit down and punched his way into the clinch. Smith was able to reverse the situation to get a short-lived takedown of his own, but it wasn’t long before Azure was back in the dominant position. Azure began to eat up some clock as Smith struggled to get back any control.

Smith pressed forward in the final frame, but Azure did a good job of crashing in and clinching up. Azure was keeping Smith in wrestling mode, grinding away against the cage and giving him absolutely no space to work. He even transitioned to the back, but after slipping off, Azure found himself with his own back taken, and had to fight off RNC attempts until the bell.