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Natalia Silva v. Tereza Bleda

The opening round is a very intense one for Silva.  Bleda comes into this fight the much bigger fighter and immediately utilizes her size and strength advantage.  She blitzes for a clinch within the first 30 seconds.  Once Bleda gets the hands locked, Silva is in an uphill battle for the remainder of the round.  Silva does a nice job at fighting off the takedown but eventually she gets tied up in a grabbling scramble.  She continues to give Bleda fits in her pursuit of the takedown and after many scrambles and reverses by Silva, Bleda finally achieves top position on the ground.  By this point Bleda has used a lot of energy.  She does attempt a triangle mixed with an armbar, but Silva defends nicely and finds a way out of the round.  In the second round Bleda is lunging for the takedowns once again, but she is now fading quickly in the cardio department.  Silva starts finding her target with the striking and is landing some beautiful strikes on the bigger but extremely fatigued opponent.  Bleda is now a sitting duck and is eating big strikes.  Eventually her lunging takedown attempts are used against her.  Silva times a beautiful spinning kick to catch Bleda lunging and connects violently.  The kick hits Bleda in the chin and throat and drops her immediately.  Silva lands a few follow up strikes and the referee quickly rushes in to stop the fight.  Silva by second round TKO.

Brady Hiestand v. Fernie Garcia

The opening minute of this fight is a wild one.  Hiestand lunges for an early takedown and gets hit flush with a power shot.  He is rocked badly but his wrestling instincts take over and he keeps pursuing the takedown.  Garcia locks up a choke, but the wrestling still pushes through to somehow save Hiestand.  He eventually ends up in top position which is highly impressive after what he just went through.  He remains in control for a majority of the round and is likely able to steal back the round after several submission attempts and shots from top.  In the second round Garcia starts sticking the jab and landing some nice shots.  He stuffs several takedowns and is edging out the striking exchanges.  Hiestand forces a couple of grappling exchanges, but Garcia does a nice job at defending and continues pumping the jab.  This round was likely edged out by Garcia.  In the final round Hiestand lands an early takedown and Garcia is fighting for survival for the remainder of the round.  Hiestand continues to pursue submissions and pepper shots.  Garcia is in defensive mode for the entire round which clearly will give the round to Hiestand.  It is a wild fight but in the end the judges see what the audience also sees.  Hiestand by unanimous decision.

Maria Oliveira v. Vanessa Demopoulos

In the first round of this bout Oliveira is having her way in the striking department.  She controls the distance nicely and is finding her target.  Oliveira appears to be baffled by how many times she is getting hit and about halfway through the round she finally blitzes for a takedown.  She lands the takedown with authority and the entire back half of the round is all Demopoulos.  She is in heavy top control and landing nonstop punches and elbows.  Oliveira somehow survives but Demopoulos now has felt the extreme advantage she has on the ground and will likely try to exploit this as the fight continues.  In the second round she inches forward and is likely looking for an opening, but Oliveira continues to pepper her with shots.  Oliveira lands some very nice shots and even drops Demopoulos briefly but it is short lived.  Eventually Demopoulos is back on the feet and now landing a nice shot of her own.  This drops Oliveira and now Demopoulos is in top control once again owning Oliveira.  The round ends and it will be a tough one to score.  In the final round Oliveira is once again landing nice shots.  This forces Demopoulos to blitz again for a takedown.  She finds herself in heavy top control again, but this time Oliveira is finally able escape after eating a few shots.  The final minute plays out on the feet and Oliveira stalks her opponent and lands some more nice shots.  As the fight ends it was a very back and forth affair which was a tale of dominance in two different departments.  In the end it was very close, but the judges felt it was Demopoulos who had done enough.  Demopoulos by unanimous decision.  

Ricky Turcios v. Kevin Natividad

The opening round of this fight is a wild one that is back and forth due to many intense scrambling exchanges.  Both fighters have their moments, and it is the crafty BJJ of Natividad versus the wild frantic pace/wrestling of Turcios.  It is a very competitive round and will be a tough one to score for the judges.  In the second round the frantic pace continues.  Turcios stays blitzing wildly which is always forcing Natividad to respond.  Natividad’s BJJ helps him tremendously, but Turcios is relentless and there is never an easy moment for either fighter.  Late in the round Natividad lands a nice left hook that wobbles Turcios, but he uses his frantic wrestling to hang on.  This is likely a winning round for Natividad.  In the final round Turcios is blitzing forward again and this time eats a flush knee that hurts him badly again.  He still is not out though and somehow gets right back to his suffocating pressure.  Turcios eventually gets the back of Natividad and is raining down blows from behind which then leads to a heavy rear naked choke attack.  Natividad is in big trouble but somehow hangs on to survive.  It is a wild fight that is constantly back and forth but in the end the judges felt that it was Turcios who did just enough.  Turcios by split decision.  

Miles Johns v. Vince Morales

The beginning of this fight is a measured one.  Both fighters show respect as they cautiously circle each other.  Morales appears to be weary of potential takedown attempts from Johns which causes him to never fully commit to his strikes.  As the round plays out they finally loosen up a bit and start to throw with a little more commitment.  It is still a very measured approach, but Morales does land one nice hook at the end of the round which could be enough to steal the round for him.  In the second round Johns attempts a takedown early on but it is stuffed nicely by Morales.  Afterwards there is an accidental eye poke by Johns which causes a brief stop in the action.  The fight resumes and the fighters get right back to heavy jabbing.  As the round closes both fighters now have some clear damage on their faces but it is a very tough fight to score.  The final round is more of the same with both fighters circling each other and jabbing.  Johns blitzes for another takedown in the final minute but the defense of Morales holds up until the very end where Johns gets him down for maybe one second.  It is an extremely close fight but in the end the judges felt it was Johns who had done just enough to squeak it out.  Johns by unanimous decision.

Jennifer Maia v. Maryna Moroz

In the first round Maia is landing early and often on Moroz.  The success in the striking seems to catch Moroz off guard considering that Maia is mostly known for her grappling prowess.  As the round plays out Maia continues to find success and in the final minute, she forces a clinch against the cage to control Moroz for the final minute.  A clear-cut round for Maia.  In the second round Maia continues to land nice strikes and is almost picking Moroz apart.  Moroz finds a little more success later in the round and lands a few of her own.  Despite this, the better and more powerful strikes are being landed by Maia.  It feels like another clear-cut round for Maia.  In the final round it is more of the same.  Maia continues to edge out the striking exchanges and appears to stun Moroz with her new striking prowess.  The judges agree that it is a mostly one-sided affair.  Maia by unanimous decision.

Zhalgas Zhumagulov v. Charles Johnson

The first round of this one is all action.  Johnson does a nice job at picking from the outside, but Zhumagulov is lunging forward with hooking combinations that are giving him a surprising amount of success.  He lands some very nice shots, but Johnson just eats them and keeps picking at Zhumagulov from distance with the straight shots.  There are some accidental fouls that cause the fight to be stopped a couple times, but the fight eventually proceeds.  It is a wild round and both fighters have their moments of success.  In the second round the fighters get right back to the momentum swings.  It seems like whichever fighter is going forward is the one having success at that moment.  Unfortunately, there is another foul in this round and the fight is once again stalled.  The fight then continues.  It is another close round, but Johnson does some nice clinch work in the final minute which could be enough to edge out the second.  In the final round there is yet another foul which has now become the reoccurring theme.  Fortunately, all the fouls are deemed accidental and there is never a point taken away.  In the final minutes Johnson is pressing forward as he senses Zhumagulov is slowing down.  He lands some very nice strikes, and, in the end, it is just enough for him to edge out the fight.  Johnson by split decision.

Jack Della Maddalena v. Danny Roberts

This fight went as many UFC fans may have expected.  Maddalena has been on a tear with a couple first round finishes and Roberts has proven to be a fighter who can be finished with strikes.  As per usual, Maddalena comes out looking dangerous with his very crisp boxing.  He lands several blistering strikes that immediately get the attention of Roberts.  The damage is already accruing quickly, and Roberts eventually tries to clinch and hang on for dear life.  Maddalena stays patient and breaks away which allows him to get right back to his elite and extremely dangerous boxing.  He lands several more strikes that hurt Roberts and eventually drop him.  Maddalena follows up with some heavy ground strikes and the body language of Roberts tells the referee he no longer wants to continue.  The fight is stopped and Maddalena now has three consecutive first round finishes to put the division on notice.  Maddalena by first round TKO.

Muslim Salikhov v. Andre Fialho

The first round of this one is tale of momentum swings.  Fialho is looking dangerous with his boxing as per usual.  He lands some nice strikes but Salikhov lands a few of his own and eventually gets to the grappling.  He lands a nice takedown, but it is short lived.  Fialho gets back to the feet and lands another nice shot that wobbles Salikhov and swells up his eye.  The round ends and Fialho may have done enough to edge it out despite the grappling success of Salikhov.  In the second round Salikhov attempts the wrestling much sooner this time.  He gets in on a nice attempt, but Fialho defends nicely and forces the fight to remain on the feet.  Salikhov starts landing some very nice strikes which even include a head kick.  Fialho eats them but he is clearly affected by them.  The opening few minutes clearly belong to Salikhov.  Fialho gets his bearings back but them Salikhov lands the biggest shot of the round.  He drops Fialho violently and then follows him to the ground with some extremely vicious follow-up shots.  Fialho somehow stays conscious and then hangs on for dear life as Salikhov finally decides to rest.  This is likely a 10-8 round for Salikhov.  In the final round Salikhov gets right back to work.  He lands a spinning back kick to the body of Fialho that sends him falling back into the fence.  He manages to stay on his feet but only to suffer more and more vicious shots.  Eventually he’s just eating too many violent strikes.  The referee does not like what he’s seeing and finally steps in to call off the fight.  A very impressive and violent performance for Salikhov against a very good name to put on his resume.  Salikhov by third round TKO.

Chase Sherman v. Waldo Cortes-Acosta

The first round of this fight is a mostly boxing affair.  Each fighter has their moments and both are landing some nice jobs followed by occasional hooks.  It is a close and competitive round until the final minute where Sherman is able to land a surprising takedown.  He lands a couple of rabbit punches from top control and this small difference may have been enough to edge out the round for him.  In the second round Acosta lands a heavy shot early that wobbles Sherman.  Acosta blitzes after him with several hard follow up shots.  A few of them land which only put Sherman in further trouble.  He is able to hang on and survive the blitz, but Acosta is now clearly up in this round.  As the round progresses Acosta continues to add momentum and keeps building on the damage.  He lands shot after shot but somehow Sherman eats them all and is able to barely survive the round.  A very clear-cut round in favor of Acosta.  In the final round Acosta is now clearly less active after his giant flurry in the previous round.  Sherman now stalks forward as he clearly notices this. 

Ion Cutelaba v. Kennedy Nzechukwu

In the opening minute of this bout Cutelaba lands a nice flush that slightly wobbles Nzechukwu.  Cutelaba then blitzes after him and clinches.  From there he heavily pursues a takedown, but Nzechukwu defends nicely.  Cutelaba is relentless though and keeps forcing the issue which eventually produces a takedown.  However, this may lead to be a questionable management of energy for Cutelaba if the fight hits the later minutes.  For a majority of the round Nzechukwu is forced to defend all the attacks that are coming his way, so it is a clear-cut round for Cutelaba.  In the second round Nzechukwu gets right to work and starts utilizing his giant reach advantage to throw strikes from distance.  He starts landing which forces Cutelaba to lunge in for some sloppy takedown attempts.  Nzechukwu sees this and starts timing beautiful knees up the middle.  He lands several of them and has Cutelaba in all kinds of trouble.  Cutelaba is wobbling all over the place and Nzechukwu moves in to flurry and close the show.  The fight is called off and this caps off the night with a bang.  Nzechukwu by second round TKO.

Derrick Lewis vs. Sergey Spivak

Unfortunately for fight fans this fight was called off in the middle of the event.  Apparently, Lewis had some non-covid related medical issues that happened last minute.  There is speculation that it may have been related to the weight cutting measures Lewis had recently endured.  It is unknown if this fight will be rescheduled at a later date but it’s always sad when a card loses its main event.