Daniel Marcos vs. Saimon Oliveira

For the first half of the opening round it was Oliveira moving forward and landing most of the strikes.  Marcos stayed on the outside and spent most of his time trying to evade.  After this went on for a while something in Marcos finally clicks.  He starts to throw heavily and late into the round he really started finding momentum.  He lands some good shots and even has Oliveira in trouble briefly.  Each fighter has their moments, and the round could have gone to either fighter in the judges’ eyes.  In the second round Marcos gets right back to work.  He starts finding momentum and overwhelming Oliveira with pressure and heavy strikes.  He eventually lands flush and has Oliveira hurt and scrambling for survival.  Marcos lands nice body shots followed by punches to the face and then a head kick to the head.  He then lands a vicious knee to the body and the totality of the barrage is finally too much.  Oliveira falls down and shells up, which is always the sign that a fighter no longer wants to participate.  The fight is stopped immediately.  Marcos by second round TKO.

Josiane Nunes vs. Zarah Fairn

The size discrepancy in this fight is almost comical.  Fairn is 6 inches taller with a six-inch reach advantage.  However when you see them in the cage together it looks even more exaggerated than that.  In the first two minutes of the opening round Fairn is having her way.  She is landing repeatedly on Nunes who is overwhelmed by the size and reach.  Nunes is getting hit from far away and can’t figure out what to do or how to land her own shots.  Fairn has Nunes all busted up but late in the round Fairn starts to slow down and Nunes is now finally closing the distance with blitzes and landing a few shots of her own.  In the second round Fairn starts to throw again but it is still at a lower rate than early in the fight.  Nunes is utilizing her opportunity to finally have some of her own offense.  Fairn is clearly more tired now, but the round still stays competitive.  This round could have gone to either fighter.  In the final round Nunes continued to try and blitz to close the distance.  She has success at times but then Fairn would finally get some energy and start to touch her up again.  The size difference is huge but the cardio dip on Fairn makes things more competitive.  In the end the judges give a slight edge to Nunes which is just enough for her to scrape by with the win.  Nunes by unanimous decision.

Warley Alves vs. Nicolas Dalby

The first round of this bout is all action.  Alves comes out swinging heavy haymakers from the opening bell.  Alves evades most of them and it doesn’t take long for him to get settled in to eventually start throwing his own bombs.  The fighters take turns blitzing in on each other and firing heavy strikes.  Each fighter has their moments but Dalby clinches occasionally which does help to slow down the fireworks.  The round remains close and could have gone to either fighter.  In the second round the heavy pace continues.  There is a grappling scramble about a minute into the round and Dalby ends up on his back with Alves on top.  Dalby does a nice job of defending while on the ground.  He waits for his opportunity to sneak out and get back to the feet.  The fighters continued trading with heavy output for the remainder of the round.  The fight is very competitive, and these two fighters are a perfect match for each other.  It is another close round.  In the final round Alves comes out at full blast again.  He is blitzing with everything he has.  Dalby stays poised under the immense pressure and once again starts to land his own shots as well.  The fight is a continued story of back and forth momentum switches.  As the final minutes expire it is a very competitive bout and is one where either fighter could get the nod from the judges.  In the end though, the judges felt that it was Dalby who had done just enough.  Dalby by split decision.

Terrance McKinney vs. Ismael Bonfim

Bonfim comes into this fight from the Contender Series to face one of the most electric fighters in the lightweight division.  A tall task for a fighter who is making his UFC debut.  Fortunately for him we was up to the task and more so.  The opening minutes are fireworks as McKinney starts throwing heavy immediately.  He lands a couple but Bonfim is not intimidated.  He stands his ground and starts throwing back his own heavy shots.  The fighters now start trading, and the crowd erupts.  A couple of grappling exchanges happen and Bonfim shows that he can hang with the highly experienced and explosive wrestler.  After a couple minutes McKinney starts to slow slightly.  Bonfim starts landing some good shots and McKiney is now realizing he’s not going to just run through this guy like he usually does.  Late in the round Bonfim has McKinney backed against the cage.  Bonfim lands a flush right hand that sends McKinney’s mouth piece flying out of his mouth.  Bonfim then rushes in and throws a jump knee that lands flush.  McKinney falls forward onto his face and is out cold.  The crowd erupts and Bonfim has just made one of the most memorable UFC debuts we have ever seen.  What a way to announce your arrival to the division.  Bonfim by first round KO.

Luan Lacerda vs. Cody Stamann

The first round of this fight is very competitive.  Stamann utilizes his usual heavy movement that keeps him constantly changing angles and hard to hit.  Lacerda stays patient and tries to figure out the timing and how to finally land on this guy.  As the round progresses he starts to figure it out.  Both fighters have their moments of landing.  Stamann throws a lot of leg kicks while Lacerda throws a lot of body kicks.  Each fighter does well and it will be interesting to see which fighter the judges give the round to.  In the second round was very competitive as well.  Lacerda is now moving forward much more and being the aggressor.  Stamann bounces around along the outside to make sure he’s not an easy target.  When he wants to throw he stops the movement and plants his feet to throw bombs.  It is a tough round to score and once again could have gone to either fighter.  In the third round Lacerda lands an early takedown with authority.  Stamann works his way back up quickly but is once again slammed down hard.  Lacerda stays in control for about a minute while accruing some points with some mild ground strikes.  In the final minutes of the fight Stamann doesn’t do much offensively.  Lacerda keeps moving forward and landing brutal body kicks.  This appears to be the clearest round of the fight.  Despite the winning round for Lacerda the judges give the fight to Stamann.  It is a questionable decision but a win, nonetheless.  Stamann by unanimous decision.

Jailton Almeida vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov

The opening round of this fight is all Almeida as per usual in his fights.  He wastes no time at shooting and gets the takedown quickly and easily.  From there it is just the usual drowning of his opponent that Almeida does to all his competition.  He lands strikes and threatens submissions along with constantly transitioning each time Abdurakhimov tries to improve his position. The round is complete domination and by the end of the round Abdurakhimov is no longer trying to buck Almeida off as hard.  Almeida starts landing heavier shots and more frequently.  It is quite possibly a 10-8 round for Almeida.  In the second round it is more of the same.  A quick takedown followed by utter domination.  As the round progresses the domination just increases.  Eventually Almeida is sitting on top of Abdurakhimov’s back and just raining down on him.  After about 20 consecutive punches the referee has finally seen enough.  Another display of pure domination by the very dangerous fighter who is surging through the division.  Almeida by second round TKO.

Gabriel Bonfim vs. Mounir Lazzez

In this fight we have yet another electric debut from a Bonfim.  This time it is the younger brother who fights in a heavier division.  Not only does he also get a finish, but he does it even faster than his brother had done earlier in the night.  As the opening round begins the two fighters start trading immediately. Lazzez appears to be holding his own until a grappling scramble initiates.  Bonfim latches around the neck and quickly jumps quard while holding the neck tightly sinched up.  Lazzez tries to hang in there but is forced to tap within seconds.  Another explosive debut from the Bonfim brothers.  Bonfim by first round submission.

Thiago Moises vs. Melquizael Costa

Costa makes his debut in this fight against a very accomplished and dangerous opponent in Moises.  In the opening round Costa shows no signs of nerves and in fact appears to be very confident.  Not only that but he is loose and smiling throughout the round showing his clear belief in himself.  Each fighter has their moments in the striking department but when the grappling exchanges start it is Moises who has the slight edge.  Costa holds his own though and is able to escape each time with almost zero damage taken.  It is a close opening round.  In the second round Moises gets an early takedown but is able to do a lot more with it this time.  He starts landing flush shots and eventually lands an elbow that opens up a considerable cut on the face of Costa.  From there Moises starts pouring on the pressure.  Costa’s resistance has now slowed and the damage is starting to add up.  Eventually Moises is able to get the back and lock up a rear naked choke.  Costa tries to resist but it is short lived.  He taps out and Moises has yet another impressive win on his record.  Moises by second round submission.

Gregory Rodrigues vs. Brunno Ferreira

Well once again we have another fighter making their debut in the UFC who is forced to face an absolute killer for their first fight.  In somewhat fitting fashion, we once again have another shocking and devastating win by the unknown fighter making their debut.  As the opening round begins to play out we have Rodrigues stalking as per usual.  He is throwing hard shots and grazing with some of them but not really landing anything flush.  Ferreira stays poised and throws his counters when he sees the chance.  Both fighters are evading for the most part but are sitting down on their punches and throwing heavy.  Eventually Rodrigues backs Ferreira up against the cage and as he’s coming in to throw his combination he gets hit flush with a right hand straight down the pipe.  The shot drops Rodrigues instantly and he is out before he even hits the ground.  Another absolutely shocking and dramatic upset for another debuting fighter.  There’s something in the air tonight.  Ferreira by first round KO.

Mauricio Rua vs. Ihor Potieria

We finally come across the retirement fight for Shogun Rua tonight.  He draws a fairly tough opponent which is concerning since Rua’s chin hasn’t been able to sustain much punishment these days.  Early in the first round Rua is holding his own.  He even lands a flush shot that would’ve knocked many other fighters out cold.  Unfortunately, Potieria just eats the shot and keeps coming.  The fighters continue circling and trading but mostly missing.  Eventually Potieria finally lands but it’s just a tiny shot with not much on it that wobbles Rua.  He then starts stumbling around trying to regain composure as Potieria lands a couple more grazing shots that also don’t have much on them.  Unfortunately, they still have effects like a big punch.  Rua continues to stumble around and can’t get his legs back under him. He finally just gives up and falls down into the fetal position to avoid any actual big damage.  The fight is called off and we have now seen the last Shogun Rua fight.  He takes off his gloves and the crowd cheers him on to give him his flowers.  Potieria by first round TKO.

Paul Craig vs. Johnny Walker

This fight was the opening bout on the main card, but it did not last long.  In the first minute the fighters were calm and just circling each other.  This is a rare change in the approach that we usually see from Walker.  However, once the exchanges began it was over fairly quickly.  Craig blitzes in to grab a leg and once he gets ahold of one he hangs on at all costs.  Unfortunately for him he gets blasted with a right hand that wobbles him.  He falls down but refuses to let go of the leg.  Walker then blasts him with several hammer fists in a row that hurt him even worse.  Craig now folds up in a ball while still hanging onto the leg.  The damage has now been too much, and the body language is too submissive.  The referee steps in to stop the fight.  Walker has now won a couple in a row and is finally getting back to his winning ways.  Walker by first round TKO.

Jessica Andrade vs. Lauren Murphy

The first round of this fight is all Andrade.  Murphy tries her best to stand her ground, but Andrade has a huge speed and power advantage.  She tags Murphy repeatedly with heavy shots.  Everything that Murphy throws back pales in comparison in the power department.  Because of that, Andrade moves forward with no regard for any consequences.  She outlands Murphy by a wide margin making it a very clear cut round for Andrade.  In the second round Murphy finally starts landing a bit early.  But the power is still not having much effect on Andrade.  After a small flurry by Murphy Andrade once again takes over.  She lands flush shots repeatedly with insane power.  Murphy is one of the few fighters in the division who can sustain this type of damage.  It is another very clear cut round for Andrade.  In the final round it is more of the same.  Murphy puts on an incredible display of her toughness but that’s never something you want to see in this game.  CTE is a very real thing and at some point it becomes questionable why a corner would allow their fighter to take this kind of damage.  In the end, it is 30-25 on two of the judges score cards and 30-26 on the other.  Andrade by unanimous decision.

Gilbert Burns vs. Neil Magny

This fight was another one that didn’t last long.  The fighters felt each other out early but Burns was just taking his time to close the distance and latch on to the body of Magny.  Once he did that, he picks up Magny and puts him down with authority.  From there he slowly works to improve his position.  After a slow inching process, he is finally able to get full mount.  From there he acts like he’s going to land some ground strikes but instead snatches up a head and arm choke.  Within seconds Magny can feel the intensity of the squeeze and quickly taps out.  A very impressive performance to get Burns back on track.  Burns by first round submission.

Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno

The opening round of this title fight starts off somewhat mildly.  They have so much respect for each other that each fighter is somewhat hesitant to throw first.  Once they finally do throw they pick up right back where they left off in the first three fights.  Each fighter lands a shot or two but there are several grappling attempts early in the fight.  The round is close and could have gone to either fighter.  In the second round there is surprisingly a lot of grappling.  Each fighter seems intent on trying to implement a grappling approach.  Moreno is getting the better of the exchanges as far as ending up on top but Figueiredo is threatening at several points with some serious submission attempts.  Moreno stays calm though and eventually works his way out of each.  Another close round.  In the third round the fighters stayed on their feet for the first couple minutes.  Eventually Moreno lunges with a left hook that lands flush and hits Figueiredo in the eye which clearly bothers him.  Moreno tackles him and controls for the remainder of the round and lands occasional strikes.  In between rounds the camera shows that the injured eye has swollen completely shut.  The doctor comes to inspect it and once it is determined that Figueiredo cannot open the eye or see out of it, the fight is called off.  Moreno once again is the undisputed flyweight champion.  Moreno by third round TKO via doctor stoppage.

Glover Teixeira vs. Jamahal Hill

In the opening round of this title fight we see Teixeira continuously attempting to get the takedown but Hill keeps the distance and never allows it.  Hill peppers shots from the outside but isn’t ever sitting down on anything too much.  Hill just throws jabs and an occasional hook or straight.  Teixeira rolls with the punches to take some of the steam off them.  Teixeira is never able to land a takedown and Hill outlands him in the striking making it a fairly clear round for Hill.  In the second round Hill starts landing flush.  He has Teixeira hurt pretty badly at one point but Teixeira hangs on and is somehow able to survive and recover.  In the late minutes of the round Teixeira finally lands a takedown.  He lands some ground strikes and threatens a submission.  He accrues a minute or so of control time and eventually Hill is able to escape.  A much closer round this time that could’ve gone to either fighter.  In the third round Hill hurts Teixeira pretty badly.  He is standing over him raining down punches while Teixeira is hurt and bleeding badly.  Teixeira once again displays his toughness and finds a way to survive.  In the start of the fourth round it is a bit surprising that the fight is even allowed to continue.  Teixeira has a gash over each eye which are gigantic and brutal to look at.  Somehow Glover once again survives another round despite being brutally hit for another round.  In between rounds the corner of Teixeira, the referee and the doctors all appear to be inches away from stopping the fight.  Teixeira says “let’s go baby” to let everyone know he’s not done yet.  In the final round Teixeira lands a final takedown and the crowd erupts.  He works his way to full mount and the crowd gets even louder.  Unfortunately for Teixeira though, Hill eventually finds his opportunity to escape.  This will be enough to finish the fight and win a comfortable decision.  The judges agree.  And new.  Hill by unanimous decision.