MAIN CARD HIGHLIGHTS

Women’s Flyweight Match: Jéssica Andrade def. Cynthia Calvillo via Round 1 TKO (punches)

Calvillo started out of the gate on the offensive, but Andrade started her intimidation early, taking the offensive but closing the gap. Majority of the first round was back and forth, with each competitor trying to gain the advantage. As the first round was nearing to a close, Andrade unloaded her offense with an absolute barrage of punches! With no defence from Calvillo, the ref had to step in and stop the fight.

Men’s Heavyweight Match: Curtis Blaydes def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik via unanimous decision

As a fan of UFC, I truly cannot ever get over the size of some of these heavyweights. Curtis Blaydes is not exception, weighing in for this fight at a massive 260 lbs! Rozenstruik would naturally be on the defensive against this behemoth, but he managed to find a way to overcome the brooding giant, launching a flurry of strikes that managed to swell up and eventually close the right eye of Blaydes! Blaydes switched to grappling, and managed to overcome the bombs that Rozenstruik was dropping on him. Always a bit awkward to have heavyweight fights end at a point decision, but here we are.

Men’s Middleweight Match: Robbie Lawler def. Nick Diaz via Round 3 TKO (punches)

Nick Diaz returns to in-ring action after a 6-year absence! Return fights always drum up the thought process of “Can this man still fight? Or has the time away done more bad than good?”. Surprisingly, Diaz landed a lot of heavy hits and devastating combinations throughout the fight. Though coming close to being overwhelmed through the first 2 rounds, Diaz managed to hold his own and continue to fight — to the surprise of both his opponent and the live audience.

Ultimately, the fight was won by Robbie Lawler. He managed to land a massive combo on Diaz that sent him crashing to the mat. Both Lawler and the referee implored Diaz to get back on his feet to continue fighting, but surprisingly Diaz declined, as it looked as if his nose was broken!

Women’s Flyweight Championship: Valentina Shevchenko (c) def. Lauren Murphy via Round 4 TKO (punches and elbows)

Shevchenko has quickly proven to be both an amazing flyweight fighter and an absolutely dominant champion. She dominated in every round; it was evident that, after round 2, Murphy was starting to struggle and that she may be outrun by a more superior fighter. In round 4, the champ landed some vicious shots, followed up by a hard takedown. Looking to end the fight there and then, the champ launched a ground and pound bombardment, forcing the ref to end the round, and the fight.

MAIN EVENT – Men’s Featherweight Championship: Alexander Volkanovski (c) def. Brian Ortega via unanimous decision

• Round 1 was fairly evenly matched, as both men landed some heavy shots and, when the round was over, both wore some pretty even, yet devastating, injuries and cuts on their faces.
• In round 2, Ortega switched up his offense, relying more on his jabs and short-range strikes. Volkanovski kept his intimidation strong, absorbing the hits and continued the pressure, unleashing a few strikes of his own.
• In round 3, this fight really stepped it up! Ortega really wanted to end this fight and take the title, so much so that he locked in a rear naked chokehold early that had the refs and the fans all thinking that this fight was over and done! However, Volkanovski somehow managed to get out of it! I struggle to think of any recent fight where someone has escaped that hold. Though his hold was denied, Ortega refused to give up, following up the submission trend with a triangle chokehold! But, alas, Volkanovski once again managed to Houdini his way out of it!
• In rounds 4 and 5, Ortega’s conditioning was starting to fade, whilst Volkanovski managed to keep up his ferocity. Though there was no choke out or TKO, the fight ended with a unanimous decision in favour of Volkanovski.

Written by: Brutaleo