Paige VanZant showed off her toughness in her fight with Jessica-Rose Clark in the co-main event of UFC St. Louis (Fight Night 124) on Sunday night at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri on FOX Sports 1. As seen in the fight, VanZant suffered a unanimous decision loss to Clark. After the second round of […]
Paige VanZant showed off her toughness in her fight with Jessica-Rose Clark in the co-main event of UFC St. Louis (Fight Night 124) on Sunday night at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri on FOX Sports 1.
As seen in the fight, VanZant suffered a unanimous decision loss to Clark.
After the second round of the flyweight bout, she told her coaches who were in her corner that she broke her arm in the first round. As soon as the final bell sounded, she quickly reached for her right arm.
This led to the UFC prospect being transported to a local hospital after the fight to get treatment. That is when it was confirmed that she had broken her arm and she has an X-ray to prove it.
As a result of this loss, VanZant has dropped two straight and three of her past four. This fight with Clark marked her flyweight debut.
Even though she has an injury, VanZant is keeping her spirits high as she wrote the following on her official Twitter account:
“Well… I broke my arm in the first! I was able to finish the fight but as you can see, had a hard recovering and throwing my right. I’ll be back better and stronger than ever! it’s all apart of the fight game. God had other plans for me. darn spinning back fist.
And that’s the shot that broke my arm lol @missjessyjess you got a hard head girl!! Congrats tonight. Tough as nails.”
Well… I broke my arm in the first! I was able to finish the fight but as you can see, had a hard recovering and throwing my right. I’ll be back better and stronger than ever! it’s all apart of the fight game. God had other plans for me. darn spinning back fist. pic.twitter.com/v5DhSv5YxD
Paige VanZant has revealed she broke her arm during the first round of her unanimous-decision defeat to Jessica-Rose Clark on Sunday but continued for another two rounds.
The 23-year-old American was making her flyweight debut at UFC Fight Night 1…
Paige VanZant has revealed she broke her arm during the first round of her unanimous-decision defeat to Jessica-Rose Clark on Sunday but continued for another two rounds.
The 23-year-old American was making her flyweight debut at UFC Fight Night 124 and posted on Twitter afterward a photo of her X-ray, vowing to come back “better and stronger”:
UFC provided the moment she suffered the break to her right arm after aspinning backfist:
It was a second successive defeat for the Oregon-bornVanZant, taking her professional MMA record to 7-4.
Australian Clark took her record to 9-4 (1) after the victory in St. Louis, Missouri.
After her recovery VanZant will have crucial work to do in confirming her next opponent and ensuring she gets back to winning ways.
Her reputation is unlikely to be marred after her defeat to Clark given that she fought on despite her broken arm, but she has now lost three of her last four fights and is in need of a victory in her next bout.
Paige VanZant calmly told her corner between the second and third rounds of her bout against Jessica Rose-Clark that she may have suffered a broken arm. Despite the injury, VanZant went on to last the full fight, losing by way of unanimous decision. It…
Paige VanZant calmly told her corner between the second and third rounds of her bout against Jessica Rose-Clark that she may have suffered a broken arm. Despite the injury, VanZant went on to last the full fight, losing by way of unanimous decision. It was clear to most that something was not right. Despite throwing […]
Jeremy Stephens knocked out Doo Ho Choi to prevail in the main event of UFC Fight Night 124 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. In the second of the two main event fights, Jessica-Rose Clark earned a unanimous decision over Paige VanZant.
Stephens p…
Jeremy Stephens knocked out Doo Ho Choi to prevail in the main event of UFC Fight Night 124 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. In the second of the two main event fights, Jessica-Rose Clark earned a unanimous decision over Paige VanZant.
Stephens provided the most excitement on the night as he dispatched of Choi in the second round.
The turning point came when Stephens hit Choi with a hard right hand. That sent the 26-year-old to the canvas, where Stephens followed up with a right elbow. Choi tried to keep Stephens back, but Stephens landed another vicious right-handed shot.
The referee stepped in after the 31-year-old Iowa native hit a series of left elbows without reply.
The UFC shared a replay of the final sequence:
Below are the full results from UFC Fight Night 124 and a brief overview of how the rest of the main card shook out.
UFC Fight Night 124 Results
Main Card
Jeremy Stephens def. Doo Ho Choi, TKO (Round 2, 2:36)
Jessica-Rose Clark def. Paige VanZant, unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Kamaru Usman def. Emil Meek, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Darren Elkins def. Michael Johnson, submission (Round 2, 2:22)
Preliminary Card
James Krause def. Alex White, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Marco Polo Reyes def. Matt Frevola, knockout (Round 1, 1:00)
Mads Burnell def. Mike Santiago, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
The biggest moment of the night didn’t involve any of the fighters on the card.
Former welterweight champion and UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes walked down to the Octagon nearly seven months after a truck he was driving collided with a train. Doctors placed Hughes in a coma shortly thereafter.
The UFC shared the tribute video that played before Hughes’ arrival, as well as Hughes’ arena entrance to overwhelming cheers from the St. Louis crowd:
The scene moved many on social media:
In the co-main event, VanZant suffered her third defeat in her last four fights.
An arm injury played a role in the result. Fox Sports: UFC shared a clip that showed that VanZant informed her corner she suffered a fracture in her right arm in the first round:
The fracture appeared to come when she misfired somewhat on a spinning back fist, with her right wrist and forearm catching Clark in the head.
Since she was essentially fighting with one arm, VanZant was unable to land many significant blows, and she couldn’t get too bold with offense for fear of aggravating the injury.
That opened a door for Clark, who remained careful so as not to receive a left jab or kick from VanZant. The 30-year-old picked her spots well and connected with enough to be the clear winner.
The main card began with a bit of an upset as Darren Elkins submitted St. Louis native Michael Johnson in the second round.
Johnson appeared to be in the driver’s seat after looking like the stronger fighter in the first round. He maintained that advantage until Elkins got Johnson on his back and locked in a rear-naked choke. With nowhere to go, Johnson had little choice but to tap out.
UFC heavyweight Chase Sherman was among those calling for Elkins to get a marquee fight after notching his sixth win in a row:
Whereas Elkins’ turnaround was a big surprise, Kamaru Usman delivered exactly what was expected and largely dominated Emil Meek. Usman was especially adept at getting Meek on the ground, registering eight takedowns in the fight, according to UFC.com. Meek, on the other hand, didn’t even get an official takedown attempt.
Usman’s strategy wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing, but it’s hard to argue with the results. MMAjunkie’s Chamatkar Sandhu and former MMA fighter Dan Hardy offered differing opinions regarding the action inside the Octagon:
Hardy’s assessment brought to mind UFC president Dana White‘s comments after Tyron Woodley beat Demian Maia at UFC 214 last July. White lamented how he thought Woodley could’ve wrapped things up before the fight went to the judges’ scorecards.
As good as Usman performed, it wasn’t all that unfair to wonder how good he would’ve looked if he had been a little more aggressive with Meek.
After the fight, Usman called out Colby Covington. Covington would be a stern test for The Nigerian Nightmare, and it could prove an opportunity for him to silence his skeptics.
After two long weeks, it finally arrived—the first UFC fight card of 2018.
On paper, it was a show that left much to be desired. There were no fights with title implications at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
No supersta…
After two long weeks, it finally arrived—the first UFC fight card of 2018.
On paper, it was a show that left much to be desired. There were no fights with title implications at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
No superstars entered the Octagon, either, unless you count reality television sensation Paige VanZant. Worse, with the loss of the VitorBelfort vs. Uriah Hall bout on theday of the weigh-ins, there were no fighters who had ever held UFC championship gold.
Nothing happened to change that perception as the fighters engaged in one listless bout after another.
Then Matt Hughes limped out to the cage, just months removed from a collision with an actual train. It was a touching moment, with Hughes showing the fighting spirit that earned him a spot in the UFC’s Hall of Fame.
As if energized by the emotional display of courage and heart, the action immediately picked up. KamaruUsman channeled Hughes himself, practically slamming his opponent right through the mat. Jessica-Rose Clark outgrappledVanZant, and Jeremy Stephens closed the show with a brutal beating of Doo Ho Choi.
There were human beings fighting in a steel cage. Punches and kicks were thrown. Joints were stretched. Necks were strangled. Sometimes, that’s enough.
As always, the final stat lines only reveal so much. These are the real winners and losers from UFC Fight Night 124.
For the literal-minded among us, full results are listed at the end.
UFC Fight Night 124 went down tonight (Sunday, January 14, 2018) from the Scottrade Center as the octagon came to St. Louis, MO for the first time. The evening was headlined by a featherweight clash between longtime UFC vet Jeremy Stephens and exciting up-and-comer Doo Ho Choi. A simmering first round gave way to a […]
UFC Fight Night 124 went down tonight (Sunday, January 14, 2018) from the Scottrade Center as the octagon came to St. Louis, MO for the first time. The evening was headlined by a featherweight clash between longtime UFC vet Jeremy Stephens and exciting up-and-comer Doo Ho Choi.
A simmering first round gave way to a break-neck second. Leg kicks, jabs, and occasional punching combinations flew from both men, with “The Korean Superboy” likely edging out the first frame. He opened the second with a front kick to Stephens’ face, and that set off a borderline brawl. Stephens eventually settled into pressuring Choi backward, getting his jab going effectively. A winging right hand clipped and dropped Choi, spelling the beginning of the end. Stephens closed the show with vicious, crushing ground and pound punches and elbows, some standing, some diving. In the third main event spot of his career, Stephens finally got a W, the biggest of his career.
After the original co-feature between Uriah Hall and Vitor Belfort fell out the day of the weigh-ins, flyweights Paige VanZant and Jessica-Rose Clark were promoted to co-headliner duty. Clark got the job done, turning away the kick-happy VanZant with takedowns and top control in the first two rounds. She did not press the wrestling in the final round, though, and paid for it as “12 Guage” Paige teed off with kicks to the body and jumping knees and kicks, some coming perilously close to landing flush. This despite VanZant apparently suffering a broken right arm, seemingly from a spinning back-fist she landed in the second. Clark survived to see the final bell and had done enough work in the first ten minutes to take a unanimous decision.
See how Twitter reacted to these exciting bouts below:
I really could see this going either way. Both have the potential to be each others Kryptonite. But if I have to call it…I’d say Choi will catch Stephens with a straight right while Jeremy throws a wild lead left hook #UFCSTL
You just CANNOT rely on your chin against @LiLHeathenMMA. He will just flat out steal your consciousness from your body. You can't give him that opening. #UFCSTL
No shocker there. Give even a middling power puncher like Stephens enough free hooks and you'll get KO'd eventually. Stop matching Choi against guys who can hit.
That's the best performance of Jeremy Stephens' career even if he had to overcome a few of his own tough guy freakouts. Pressure and leg kicks remain the catalyst for his best successes.
If you want to play the kind of stick-and-move outside kicking game VanZant seems to have settled on, you need skills – footwork, variety, defense, timing – she doesn't possess. #UFCSTL
it’s all apart of the fight game. God had other plans for me.
it’s all apart of the fight game. God had other plans for me. 
darn spinning back fist.
