Ramiz Brahimaj v. Sasha Palatnikov

This fight was pretty short lived.  Brahimaj comes out and wastes no time shooting for and securing the takedown.  After a bit of scrambling on the ground and threatening a head and arm choke, Brahimaj quickly gets full mount.  He lands a few heavy shots and then locks in a choke.  Palatnikov remains calm and lasts longer than most fighters would but in the end he blacks out and goes unconscious.  Brahimaj by first round submission.  

Roosevelt Roberts v. Ignacio Bahomondes

This fight appeared to be a perfect style matchup for Roosevelt Roberts to showcase his skills.  He finally had an opponent who was not an elite wrestler so he could have a striking battle and utilize his skills and reach.  Unfortunately for Roberts, his opponent did not get the memo.  Bahomondes was not going to be denied in this fight.  He was the far more aggressive and active fighter throughout the entire bout.  For every strike Roberts threw, Bahomondes threw 3 or 4.  Round one went to Bahomondes due to more strikes landed.  Round two did also.  Round three was exactly the same except at the very end of the fight Bahomondes throws a spinning wheel kick and knocks Roberts out cold with only seconds left in the fight.  Bahomondes by third round KO.

William Knight v. Fabio Cherant

When you see these two step into the ring you immediately know that someone is going to sleep.  In the opening round both guys allow about 30 seconds to feel each other out and then Knight starts throwing heavy shots at one thousand percent.  He lands a couple including some extremely heavy leg kicks but for some reason Cherant stays calm and doesn’t seem intimidated at all.  From that point Cherant begins picking up his offense and landing some hard strikes of his own.  In fact, Cherant began using footwork to get on the inside and each time he did it he was getting further and further inside the defense of Knight.  It felt like it was only a matter of moments before he was going to get inside and land the knockout blow.  Unfortunately for him he came lunging in to throw a heavy combo against the cage and catches a fast and brutal check hook by Knight.  Cherant drops instantly and the fight is stopped immediately.  Knight by first round KO.  

Bea Malecki v. Josiane Nunes

When these two fighters met in the middle of the Octagon the size difference was insane.  You don’t usually see a size discrepancy of this proportion in a women’s MMA fight.  Malecki is the more experienced and more technical fighter who also had the height and reach advantage.  Unfortunately for her, Nunes was a stalky little bulldog who threw caution to the wind.  With each attack, Nunes threw everyt single strike with all her might.  She threw heavy combos and haymakers until eventually she landed a devastating overhand left and knocked Malecki out instantly.  Nunes by round one KO.

Brian Kelleher v. Domingo Pilarte 

This fight was a dominant performance for Brian Kelleher.  He used much more wrestling in this fight than he usually does.  In round one Kelleher comes out and secures a takedown fairly quickly.  From there he begins landing heavy shots while slowly improving his position.  In round two he does more of the same and in round three it happens again.  Pilarte did have a moment of gaining top position late in the third but it didn’t last long and Kelleher ultimately found his way back on top.  Kelleher by unanimous decision.  

Luis Saldana v. Austin Lingo 

Saldana came out in the opening round and looked to be the far superior fighter.  He was lighting Lingo up landing hard shots at a frequent pace.  Lingo was bloodied up and battered by the end of the first round.  Round two Lingo hung tough and Saldana began showing signs of fatigue.  Lingo started picking up his activity and aggression all while covered in blood.  Lingo steals round two just from the far busier activity and show of aggression.  Round three however, Lingo begins to dominate.  Saldana starts running on fumes and starts getting hurt by Lingo’s shots.  It was a tale of two different halves of the fight.  Saldana owned the first half while Lingo owned the back half.  In the end, the momentum of Lingo when the final buzzer went off was enough for the judges to give him the nod.  Lingo by unanimous decision.  

Alexandre Pantoja v. Brandon Royval

This fight was nonstop grappling action by two lighting-fast fighters.  It was like two squirrels tussling in a ball in the middle of the street.  Pantoja secures a takedown quickly in the opening round but immediately finds out how formidable his opponent is in the grappling department.  With every submission attempt and every attempt to improve position Royval has the answer.  In fact, Royval even reverses and begins threatening with his own submission attempts.  By the end of the first round Pantoja is gasping for air while Royval only seems to be getting more energy.  Round two they immediately get right back to business and resume non-stop grappling scrambles.  It was like a well choreographed dance.  Unfortunately for Royval, he makes one mistake on the ground for a split second and ends up getting his neck snatched up quickly.  He is unable to escape and is forced to tap.  Pantoja by round two submission.  

Vinc Pichel v. Austin Hubbard

Round one is a bit of a chess match between these two fighters with Hubbard being the slightly more aggressive fighter.  Both have their moments and it is a closely contested round.  In the second round Pichel comes out more quickly and begins to land immediately.  Hubbard clinches to slow the momentum.  Later in the round Pichel rocks Hubbard and has him wobbly.  Hubbard hangs tough but it appears to be enough to win Pichel the round.  Round three was the most action packed with both fighters emptying their tanks and leaving it al on the line.  Hubbard has his moments but Pichel has even more significant moments landing heavy shots and wobbling Hubbard a couple more times.  It is enough to win him the fight.  Pichel by unanimous decision.  

Trevin Jones v. Saidyokub Kakhramonov

This fight was closely contested.  Kakhramonov focused more on landing strikes while Jones focused more on clinching and takedown attempts.  Kakhramonov landed some hard strikes even rocking Jones at one point but Jones stayed tough and continued to pressure with grappling.  After three hard fought rounds it appeared this fight was going to the scorecards but in the last 30 seconds Kakhramonov locks up a choke.  Jones tries to fight through it but with only seconds left in the round he falls to his knees unconscious.  Kakhramonov by third round submission. 

Chase Sherman v. Parker Porter

This fight was high action and fast paced for a heavyweight fight.  Both fighters were exhausted by the end.  In the first, Sherman was getting the better of the striking but at the end of the round Porter gets a takedown and Sherman has no answer for it.  In the second Sherman is showing signs of fatigue as Porter is picking up in the striking department.  By round three both fighters are exhausted and barely able to stand.  In the end, Porter does just enough to get the nod.  Porter by unanimous decision.  

Clay Guida v. Mark O. Madsen

This fight was very surprising how it played out.  Madsen is not only an olympian but he’s an olympic medalist.  Those are very big differences.  Surprisingly enough however, Madsen used almost none of his olympic wrestling skills.  Instead he engaged with Guida in a standup battle.  It was a back and forth battle that was closely contested.  Each round was very close in striking numbers for each and therefore would be tough to judge.  In the third round Madsen maybe landed his best strikes but even then Guida was right there with him and keeping it competitive.  In the end the olympian remains undefeated and barely squeaks by with the win.  Madsen by split decision. 

Jarred Cannonier v. Kelvin Gastelum

This bout was the main event and a very risky battle with little room for error.  When you fight someone with the power that Cannonier has, you’re playing high stakes poker with extreme consequences.  Round one Gastelum comes out and bounces around utilizing good movement and shows no regard for the power and danger he’s facing in Cannonier.  Gastelum does good work and lands a fair amount of strikes but so does Cannonier.  Round two was close also but it may have gone to Gastelum.  Round three was the clearest cut and went to Cannonier due to the much higher activity and Gastelum only landing 7 strikes.  Round four was another close round and going into the fifth you could hear each corner voicing their opinion that they are up 3 rounds to 1.  When they showed the striking number totals at the end of the fight it looked a lot more dominant for Cannonier than it felt watching it live.  In the end, it was enough for the Killa Gorilla to get the win.  Cannonier by unanimous decision.