Nick Maximov v. Andre Petroski

This fight was a very short lived fight to start the night. Petroski had actually called for this fight against Maximov and surprisingly was the biggest underdog on the entire event. At the opening round begins the fighters meet in the middle and start trading punches. Both fighters are known for being grapplers so it was interesting to see who would shoot first. As they were trading punches Petroski throws a jab and Maximov ducks under and shoots quickly to grab a leg. Petroski starts trying to evade and they begin scrambling on the ground battling for position. During the scramble Petroski grabs ahold of the neck of Maximov. Before Maximov realizes it, Petroski has locked in an anaconda choke. Maximov tries to escape but within seconds Petroski is looking up at the referee and yelling at him. The referee rushes over to check on Maximov and realizes he’s already unconscious. A very impressive win for Petroski over a streaking and hyped up new fighter in Maximov. Petroski by first round submission.

Carlos Candelario v. Tatsuro Taira

Taira makes his UFC debut in this fight and comes in with a lot of hype and anticipation. In the opening round it is a close and competitive on the feet. Candelario continues to throw head kicks but most of them are blocked or dodged by Taira. The punches of Taira are straight down the middle and he does well landing jabs at distance as well. In the final minute of the round Candelario is able to end up in top control on the ground. Although the round was close this could have been enough to edge the round out for him in the judges eyes. In the second round Taira completely takes over. He lands a flush punch that drops Candelario and Taira immediately jumps on top and assumes top control. He lands some nice ground strikes but for the most part he appears to be solely focused on the submission. He threatens various chokes but Candelario is formidable on the ground and is able to survive the round despite being dominated. In the third round it is more competitive but and both fighters take turns being in top control on the ground. As the round progresses however, Taira is able to take control and once again is landing strikes and threatening submissions. He comes close to getting the stoppage based on the referee’s body language but Candelario is once again able to survive. A very impressive and dominant performance for Taira. Taira by unanimous decision.

Virna Jandiroba v. Angela Hill

The opening round of this fight was a fairly exciting one. Both fighters meet in the middle and immediately start exchanging strikes. Hill seems to be the better striker of the two with a nice speed advantage. Eventually Jandiroba realizes this and decides to take the fight to the ground where she excels. Jandiroba quickly gets Hill locked into a calf slicer. Hill remains calm despite the clear pain that she experiences as made obvious by the grimace on her face. Eventually Hill is able to escape and get back to her feet. She starts to do nice work on the feet again but the ground control of Jandiroba should have been enough to clearly win her the round. In the second round Hill does good work on the feet again but eventually ends up back on the ground. Jandiroba has a clear advantage on the ground and once again has Hill in submission danger. Hill is able to survive again but there were some very close calls. Going into the final round Jandiroba may up two rounds to zero. In the third Hill comes out more aggressive with the strikes knowing that she likely needs a finish. Unfortunately for her, Jandiroba is once again able to get the fight to the ground fairly quickly. Once this happens Hill is immediately in survival mode as Jandiroba is constantly threatening submissons. Hill is once again able to survive the round despite the various dangerous moments that she is put in. A moral victory for Hill not being submitted by the someone with the grappling prowess of Jandiroba but a domination nonetheless. Jandiroba by unanimous decision.

Michael Johnson v. Alan Patrick

The opening round of this bout was all action. Johnson comes out quickly as per usual in his fights. He throws his fast straight punches and finds some success but eventually Patrick lands flush and wobbles Johnson. Eventually the fight hits the ground and Patrick starts threatening submissions. Johnson is able to survive and eventually escape. The fight resumes on the feet and Johnson starts landing some flush shots that hurt Patrick. The fight hits the canvas once again with Johnson on bottom but he eventually is able to reverse and end up on top. The round ends with Johnson in top control landing some good ground strikes. A tough round to score for the judges. In the second round the action resumes immediately as both fighters waste no time. The speed of the blitzes of each fighter is something to behold. Johnson is able to keep the fight on the feet better in this round and eventually he lands flush and wobbles Patrick. From there Johnson uses another lightning fast blitz to land follow up shots. Patrick drops to the ground and Johnson lands one more devastating punch that KO’s Patrick. Johnson fights smart and finally gets back in the win column. A much needed and long awaited win to hopefully get his confidence back up and running. Johnson by second round KO.

Viviane Araujo v. Andrea Lee

The first round of this fight was probably the best round of the night up to that point. These girls were scrappy and full blast for the entire round. They took turns rocking each other and then scrambling on the ground trading places in dominant positions. By the end of the round both fighters were exhausted and bleeding. The round was nonstop back and forth action and if they keep it up it will almost be guaranteed they win fight of the night. In the second round the violence continues on the feet but unfortunately for Lee it makes it back to the ground once again where Araujo has the slight edge in skill level. She spends a majority of the round controlling Lee on the ground landing heavy strikes and threatening submissions. Lee, as per usual, never gives in and once again shows us the heart and dog in her. She survives the round despite being dominated and badly beaten. In the third round Lee comes out aggressive with the striking and lands a couple good shots but the fight once again hits the ground. Lee is once again in defense mode and is fighting to survive. Despite being exhausted she is still able to make it back to the feet. She lands a few more good strikes but is once again taken down. Lee squirms from the bottom and continues to try to escape but by this point in the fight the cardio is starting to fade for both women. Lee delivers another impressive display of heart and grit but in the end it was Araujo who’s dominance in the grappling proved to be just slightly too much. Araujo by unanimous decision.

Jake Hadley v. Allan Nascimento

Hadley comes into this bout with undefeated record. In the opening round he marches across the cage quickly and starts throwing with no hesitation. He lands a couple of straight punches but is quickly taken down by Nascimento. Hadley does a nice job on the ground and is able to reverse the position but it is short lived and Nascimento once again regains top control. Hadley continues to scramble on the ground and does a nice job at constantly being active and never accepting positions. However, despite his tenacity he still appears to be at a slight skill deficit when facing Nascimento on the ground. As the round comes to a close Nascimento has had a majority of the control throughout the round which should be plenty to win him the round. In the second round Hadley lands a good strike to start the round but Nascimento ducks under and quickly takes the fight back to the ground. Nascimento spends almost the entire round in top control and dominating this round, even more so than the first round. Going into the final round it is a clear cut two rounds to zero for Nascimento. In the third round Hadley comes out with a vengeance and is aggressive. He walks forward throwing strikes with intention but Nascimento is once again able to duck under and get the fight to the ground. Hadley does escape and for the first time in the fight is finally able to be in top control. Unfortunately for him, he decides to stay there and try to assert his dominance from top control rather than take that opportunity to stand back up. It doesn’t take long before Nascimento is able to sweep and reverse the position. From there Hadley is once again back in defensive mode. Nascimento spends the remainder of the round dominating once again. As the fight comes to a close Nascimento has had at least ten total minutes of control time throughout the fight. A clear cut win. Nascimento by unanimous decision.

Frank Camacho v. Manuel Torres

This fight was a debut into the UFC for Torres. He comes in fresh off of an impressive Contender Series performance to fight the always tough Camacho. In the opening round Camacho marches forward and starts the boxing exchanges. He lands a couple of nice strikes but then Torres lands a couple flush shots that clearly have the heavier impact. Camacho continues to march forward and is holding his own but as the round progresses Torres starts gaining momentum. The fighters continue to trade but Torres is getting the edge in the exchanges. After about three minutes Torres finally lands his hardest shot of the fight which clearly wobbles Camacho. Torres then lands another flush follow up shot that drops Camacho. Referee Herb Dean rushes into stop the fight before Torres can even follow with any ground strikes. A very impressive debut for Torres. Torres by first round TKO.

Katlyn Chookagian v. Amanda Ribas

Ribas moves up in weight class for this fight to try her hand at the 125 division. She takes on a very tough challenge in Katlyn Chookagian. From the opening bell Ribas comes across the cage with fury and starts marching down Chookagian. Ribas uses a herky jerky style with both her movement and her striking. Chookagian remains calm though and picks her apart from the outside, as per usual with her fights. As Chookagian starts to pick up steam with her steady straight punches Ribas finally decides to take it to the ground. She clinches with Chookagian and gets an emphatic takedown by utilizing an impressive hip toss. From there Ribas starts landing ground strikes and continues to control as Chookagian tries to scramble out from underneath. As the round comes to a close it is anyone’s guess as to who won the round. In the second round Ribas is able to get a takedown more quickly this time and begins accruing control time earlier. Chookagian is eventually able to escape and work her way back to the feet. Each time the fight is on the feet it is Chookagian who is getting the better of the striking exchanges. Chookagian starts adding up her strikes on the feet and is now landing some good flush shots. Ribas is now bleeding from the nose and it appears that Chookagian may have done enough to win the round. In the third round Chookagian once again starts pulling away in the striking exchanges. Eventually Ribas has had enough and is able to take it to the ground again. She gets a bit of control time but Chookagian is able to work her way back to the feet. The final minute of the fight is the most exciting. The woment finally just meet in the middle and start throwing caution to the wind. Both fighters trade strikes in a phone booth while screaming out loudly. The crowd is cheering them on and the announcers are excited. A very exciting ending for a closely contested battle but in the end it was Chookagian who had done just enough. Chookagian by split decision.

Louis Smolka v. Davey Grant

The opening round of this fight was all Grant. Smolke was once again able to display his Hawaiian toughness but Grant was just blasting him repeatedly with full blast flush shots. Grant lands blistering hooks, devastating body shots and brutal jabs. Smolka takes them all and just continues to walk forward like nothing happened. What is surprising, is that with all the full blast hooks and overhand rights that Smolka is hit with, it is eventually a flush jab that was thing to finally drop him. Once on the ground Grant chooses not to engage and calls him back to the feet. Smolka gets back up and continues to walk forward despite being dazed. The round comes to a close and Smolka survives but it is a very clear cut round in the favor of Grant. In the second round Grant continues to land flush shots but he now starts showing signs of fatigue from throwing so many hard shots but being unable to put Smolka away. As Grant is fading Smolka then starts landing his shots and picking up momentum. The more Smolka starts landing it seems the more tired Grant becomes. In the final minute Smolka gets a takedown and ends up threatening an arm bar. Grant survives but the tables have now turned considerably. The final round is going to be very interesting. In the third round Grant makes a very smart adjustment. He immediately starts throwing calf kicks. Grant lands a flush calf kick right away and then lands another shortly after. The first two clearly hurt Smolka and he is now officially compromised in his ability to move. Smolka tries to keep coming forward but then Grant lands yet another flush calf kick and this one is just too much. Smolka can barely even stand anymore so he shoots for a takedown knowing that he is in big trouble. Grant evades and then stands over Smolka to land some ground and pound. After a few flush ground strikes Smolka goes out and is finally unconscious. A very violent fight with a lot of back and forth action. Grant by third round KO.

Ryan Spann v. Ion Cutelaba

This fight was a short lived bout, as many expected it might be. As per usual, Cutelaba comes out like a tornado but Spann does a good job at using footwork to keep distance and evade. Span starts throwing heavy shots from far away, landing long kicks and lunging punches. He lands some good strikes but eventually over commits and allows Cutelaba to latch onto a body lock and complete a very forceful takedown. Spann desperately holds onto the arms of Cutelaba to keep him from posting up and landing the heavy ground strikes that he is known for. Spann eventually is able to work his way back to the feet by kicking Cutelaba in the chest and sending him flying across the cage. Cutelaba rushes back across the cage to try and catch Spann while standing back up. Cutelaba throws a wild punch that misses and as he falls forward and catches himself with both hands on the floor, Spann quickly latches onto the neck with an extremely tight choke hold. Cutelaba tries to squirm out and then flips himself around but Spann keeps ahold of the neck and within seconds Cutelaba is quickly trying to tap out. A very impressive win for Spann to get him back on track. Spann by first round submission.

Jan Blachowicz v. Aleksandar Rakic

The opening round of this main event was contested entirely on the feet. Blachowicz was investing in the calf kicks early and as the round went on it was clear they were starting to add up and bother Rakic. Rakic was doing his best work with the jab that was also bothering Blachowicz. One of the jabs was so stiff that it somehow cut the inside of the eye of Blachowicz. The cut was bleeding into the eye and was clearly bothering him. Blachowicz was also landing good one-two combinations to the body and then the head. Both fighters had good moments of success in the first round but as the round comes to a close it seems that Blachowicz may have done just enough to edge it out. In the second round Blachowicz continues with the calf kicks but Rakic decide he’s finally had enough. He ducks under and grabs ahold of the legs and lands a nice takedown. From there Blachowicz starts trying to throw up submissions. After trying a few different submissions he should have placed more emphasis on trying to get back up but instead is far too accepting of the bottom position. Time continues to pass and as the round comes to a close Blachowicz has spent a very large majority of the round on the bottom. This makes it a very clear cut round in favor of Rakic. In the third round Blachowicz once again starts investing in the calf kicks. As the fighters continue to exchange on the feet Rakic steps backwards and his right knee buckles. He immediately falls to the ground clutching his knee and is clearly in agony. Blachowicz rushes over to throw follow up shots but before he can the referee jumps in and stops the fight. A surprising end to a very competitive fight but a nice win to get the former champion back on track. Blachowicz by third round TKO.