Victor Altamirano v. Carlos Hernandez

These fighters come into the cage looking very similar, almost like they could be related. They meet in the middle and immediately start trading combinations. Altamirano starts going for clinches and takedown attempts but every time Hernandez shuts it down right away with tremendous takedown defense. As the round progresses it is actually Hernandez who finally gets a takedown. From there he starts landing ground shots from top control but Altamirano is able to get back up in the final ten seconds of the round. In the second round Altamirano makes a nice adjustment and starts throwing more left punches and kicks, particularly to the body. After a few landed to the liver Hernandez clearly is starting to notice. As the round progresses the boys continue to trade but it appears that it is Altamarino who is getting the edge in the exchanges. The fight is very competitive and going into the third round it could very well be tied at one round a piece. In the final round Altamirano starts utilizing the clinch more and is trying to hold Hernandez against the cage while chipping away at him. Hernandez only tolerates it briefly and is usually able to work his way back to the middle. The activity seems more intensified in the final minute as both fighters know the fight could be on the line. This was an extremely close fight as every single round was separated by only one significant strike. In the end, the judges felt that Hernandez had done just enough. Hernandez by split decision.

Ramiz Brahimaj v. Michael Gillmore

This fight was very short lived. Brahimaj came out very aggressive and starts throwing hard shots. From there he quickly ducks under after a combination to grab a body lock and secure a fast takedown with minimum resistance. He quickly starts working to improve his position. Before Gillmore can realize what’s happening Brahimaj is on the back and threatening rear naked chokes. Gillmore fights it off to the best of his ability including suffering through very hard jaw cranks that are extremely painful. Although Gillmore is able to survive some of the onslaught, Brahimaj eventually gets the rear naked choke completely under the chin and around the neck. Within seconds Gillmore is left no choice but to tap out. Brahimaj by first round submission.

Alejandro Perez v. Jonathan Martinez

Perez takes this fight for the first time in a higher weight class. He draws a tough opponent in Martinez who has finally been putting it all together lately. In the opening round Martinez is looking absolutely perfect as he lands beautiful kicks and precise punches. As the round progresses Martinez starts pulling away and is looking really dominant. However, in the final 5 seconds Perez lands a flush punch that drops Martinez immediately. A very nice way to end the round for Perez which could maybe get some respect back after being dominated for most of the round. In the second round Perez comes out with a little more confidence and is throwing blistering right hands at Martinez. For the most part though, Martinez is able to evade while still landing his devastating kicks. As the round comes to completion Perez has made a better showing than the previous but it still appeared that Martinez might have had the slight edge. In the third round Perez comes out fired up and starts emptying the tank with lots of 7 and 8 punch combos. His coach told him to try and get the finish since they believed he was down two rounds already. Perez definitely listened to his coach and gave it his all but Martinez was just too slick. Even with the increased aggression of Perez it appeared that Martinez was once again able to edge out the round. As the fight ends it felt like Martinez had done enough to win all three rounds. The judges agreed. Martinez by unanimous decision.

Terrance McKinney v. Fares Ziam

McKinney comes into this fight with a huge amount of momentum. In his previous fight he had made his UFC debut and won that fight in seven seconds. In this fight he comes out very aggressive and accidentally loses his footing. As he slips he is able to grab ahold of Ziam and in a scuffle McKinney is able to end up on top. From there he begins to show his very impressive wrestling and grappling skills that we have not yet been able to see in the UFC. This kid is for real. He remains heavy on top while dropping hard ground strikes. Every time Ziam bucks and tries to rotate McKinney just flows on top and remains in the perfect position. No matter what Ziam does McKinney stays one step ahead and is always able to flatten him back out. Eventually, McKinney is in mount while Ziam is on his side and as unorthodox is it looks, McKinney locks in a choke while Ziam is on his side. The choke doesn’t appear to be tight enough to cause any real trouble but apparently that is not correct. Within seconds Ziam is left no choice but to tap out. Another very impressive performance for this young prospect. McKinney by first round submission.

Josiane Nunes v. Ramona Pascual

This fight was extremely one sided. Although it was Pascual with a huge size advantage, it was all Nunes with the offense. Nunes had a big speed advantage and an even bigger power advantage. In the first round Nunes starting landing some good flush shots and by the end of the round Pascual had two giant lumps on either side of her forehead. In the second round, Nunes continues landing hard punches but in this round she ends up dropping Pascual several times and comes very close to getting the finish on more than one occasion. By the end of the second round Pascual has an extremely swollen left eye to go with the lumps on her forehead. In the final round Pascual comes out looking extremely battered but all credit should be given to her as she never gave up and kept coming forward. She was even able to land a takedown every once in a while. At the completion of the fight though, it was a very one sided battle in the favor of Nunes. The judges felt the same way. Nunes by unanimous decision.

Ignacio Bahamondes v. Zhu Rong

Bahamondes comes out in this fight looking extremely dominant. From the very start he begins utilizing his reach advantage with precise straight punches and lethal leg kicks. Within the first two minutes Bahamondes is already up by about a twenty or thirty significant strike difference. By the end of the round, his strike count lead has gone up even more. Bahamondes wins the first round with a very clear cut performance. In the second round Rong comes out like a missile. His coach must have told him how much he was getting chewed up from the outside. Rong comes out blitzing and getting in on the inside with deadly combinations. This new approach immediately starts paying dividends for him as he’s finally starting to find some success. The minute he starts letting off the gas however, Bahamondes gets right back to work and starts picking him apart from the outside. A much better round for Rong but it once again seemed like a winning round for Bahamondes. In the final round it is more of the same as Rong tries to continue the aggression to get on the inside and he even tries a takedown that he lands for about half a second. Unfortunately for him Bahamondes is able to reverse it in a matter of seconds which had to be another demoralizing moment for Rong. About halfway through the second minute of the round, Bahamondes starts a scramble with Rong and is able to lock in a choke from the side. Once again it is another choke that doesn’t look to be locked in very tight but for the second time tonight, Rong is forced to tap out quickly on a choke that doesn’t look very threatening. Bahamondes by third round submission.

Gregory Rodrigues v. Armen Petrosyan

In the opening round of this fight Rodrigues comes out looking extremely improved in the standup. He starts landing flush jabs and overhand rights. Petrosyan is focused on leg kicks but Rodrigues is doing a good job at checking them. Throughout the entire first round, surprisingly, Petrosyan never attempts a single takedown attempt. Rodrigues continues to walk Petrosyan down and force his back against the cage. Once his back against the cage Rodrigues starts blitzing with three and four punch combinations. By the end of the round it appears that Rodrigues has out landed Petrosyan and done enough to win the first round. In the second round Petrosyan starts picking up his activity and finding more success. Both fighters continue to stay on the feet and exchange strikes. Late in the second round, it is Rodrigues who finally lands the first takedown of the fight. Petrosyan is able to get back up fairly quickly though. When it shows the strike count of the second round, it is neck and neck making it a much closer round which could have gone to either fighter. In the third and final round, Rodrigues starts pulling away. While Petrosyan has his back against the cage, Rodrigues lands a flush head kick where his shinbone appears to hit the nose and shatter it. Petrosyan immediately drops while Rodrigues chases him to the ground raining down ground strikes. Petrosyan’s nose is bleeding all over the canvas. Surprisingly, Petrosyan is able to find his way back to the feet and starts firing back. There is no quit in this fighter. In the final minute both fighters are now bleeding and are emptying the tank, trading nonstop shots back and forth. A wild and exciting fight but in the end, the judges felt that it was Petrosyan who did just enough. Petrosyan by split decision.

Joel Alvarez v. Arman Tsarukyan

This fight was an absolute blood bath. Both fighters come out somewhat measured until they finally start to exchange with extreme viciousness. Once Alvarez decides to throw he swings so hard he loses his footing which proves to be a crucial mistake. Once Tsarukyan gets on top he starts raining down deadly ground and pound. Alvarez has a very good submission game so he starts threatening with submissions but Tsarukyan is able evade all of them. With Alvarez so confident in his submission game he never seems to panic or show any real urgency to try and get back up. This proves costly. Although Alvarez is able to block most of the ground shots, Tsarukyan eventually lands a devastating elbow flush on the nose of Alvarez. The elbow lands with the sharpest point of the elbow and cuts Alvarez in two different places. Alvarez starts bleeding so badly that it appears the fight could be stopped just due to the amount of blood loss. Alvarez ends up surviving the round and surprisingly, is allowed to continue into the second round. It doesn’t take long before Tsarukyan is able to land another quick takedown early in the second. With all the blood flowing once again, it doesn’t take too many ground strikes before the image is just too bad. The referee decides he can’t let the violence allow to continue anymore. Tsarukyan by second round TKO.

Priscila Cachoeira v. Ji Yeon Kim

Cachoeira comes out in the opening round very aggressive. Kim stays more clinical but is being forced into a brawl. Both fighters have their moments and land nice strikes but neither fighter is ever truly rocked or wobbled. Cachoeira lands a takedown in the last ten seconds of the round which could have been just enough to give here the edge in a round where no fighter ever truly had an extreme moment. In the second round Kim gets back to being clinical and firing with medium power just looking to touch her opponent. Cachoeira on the other hand is throwing with full power looking for knockout shots. By the end of the second round, the precision of Kim has now started to payoff. She has now landed double the strikes of Cachoeira and the damage on her face is starting to reflect that. In the final round, the whole thing starts to erupt. Kim starts landing flush shots one after another. Cachoeira starts showing incredible damage on her face with swelling and blood. She’s finally had enough. She decides to start blitzing and throwing elbows only. Then she starts sprinkling in the knees as well. Cachoeira lands several elbows and now opens a cut on Kim’s face. Both fighters are now bleeding and throwing with reckless abandon. An amazing final round with both ladies leaving it all on the line. Although Kim out landed Cachoeira by a considerable amount, the judges somehow seemed to think Cachoeira did more. Cachoeira by unanimous decision.

Misha Cirkunov v. Wellington Turman

The first round of this bout was a tale of two different fights. In the first part of the round, Turman hops on the back of Cirkunov while still standing. Cirkunov stays patient and tries to maintain control of one of Turman’s arms to avoid him ever locking in a rear naked choke. Unfortunately for Cirkunov, the longer he stands with Turman on his back the more his legs begin to fatigue and his power starts to go down. Eventually Turman is able to get both hands clasped together while still on Cirkunov’s back. The choke is not completely under the chin but you can see the immense amount of pain while Turman is squeezing his choke tightly and crushing the chin and jaw of Cirkunov. Surprisingly, Cirkunov hangs in there through the pain and eventually is able to shake Turman off. Now Turman is on the ground on his back while Cirkunov is standing over throwing down blistering hard shots. It is apparent he is angry and is trying to issue some payback for the suffering he just endured. Cirkunov eventually goes down to the ground with Turman and locks in a choke of his own. We are now at another point in this round where it looks like the fight is about to be stopped. Turman somehow toughs it out as well and then the round expires. Both fighters were tested significantly in the round and it was a tough one to score. In the second round they begin exchanging strikes and Cirkunov is able to land a nice takedown. He is in top control and landing some ground strikes when out of nowhere Turman locks in an armbar and Cirkunov taps immediately. He doesn’t even try to escape. The armbar must have been extremely tight and Cirkunov felt it immediately. Turman by second round submission.

Bobby Green v. Islam Makhachev

Green comes into this fight with a lot of hype as he has recently become a fan favorite. Green steps in on ten days notice to save the main event after just having fought two weeks ago. Although it was extremely commendable for Green to step in against a guy nobody wants to fight, the bout was one sided. Both fighters meet in the middle and for the most part it is only Makhachev who is throwing any shots. Green had to be very mindful of planting and throwing any strikes due to the extreme takedown threats of Makhachev. Once he finally does plant and throw he is immediately taken down. From there is where we can all see once again the extreme dominance of Islam Makhachev. He stays heavy on top and with every rotation of Green, Makhachev just stays well balanced and rides on top constantly keeping a supremely dominant position. After a decent amount of squirming and shrimping attempts from Green, Makhachev eventually gets in full mount and starts raining down deadly hard shots. The referee gives his warning to Green to improve his position and get out of there. Unfortunately for Green, once these Dagestani fighters are on top of you, improving your position is not going to happen. The referee is left no choice but to step in and stop the fight. Another impressive first round finish for Islam Makhachev. Makhachev by first round TKO.