Before hitting the road for the next month, the APEX was home to some exciting fights. The night was capped off by an incredibly tight fight between Rafael dos Anjos and Rafael Fiziev. Before that, the main card also featured fantastic, close battles between Said Nurmagomedov and Douglas Silva de Andrade, as well as a Brawl of the Night between Michael Johnson and Jamie Mullarkey. Finally, we also saw HUGE finishes from Kennedy Nzechukwu, David Onama, Cody Brundage and Chase Sherman. All of the bouts from UFC Vegas 58 are covered below along with BLÜ’s favourite performances of the night: the BLÜ BONUSES. As a special bonus, BFL 73 (as seen on UFC Fight Pass) is also covered below.
Prelim. Action
Fight #1
BLÜ’s Prelim. Pick #1
Ronnie Lawrence vs. Saidyokub Kakhramonov
Both of these men are fairly new to the UFC and hadn’t lost since joining. Lawrence earned his contract on the Contender Series and has opened up his journey with two wins. This was only Kakhramonov’s second fight in his UFC career, but he made a statement in his first, grabbing a finish over Trevin Jones.
This may have been the closest matchup of the night. Both men move a lot, have great wrestling and decent striking. It was close and either of them could have edged ahead in a close decision, but Lawrence seemed to hold a slight edge with his wrestling. Although Kakhramonov’s wrestling is fantastic, he was taken down fairly easily and controlled by Trevin Jones. It seemed likely that his movement would also be slowed down thanks to the kicks of Lawrence. With those slight edges, I predicted Lawrence would be able to pull ahead.
BLÜ’s Prediction
Lawrence by Decision
After a couple of decent strikes from both guys, they jumped straight into some grappling. Lawrence tried first, doing some good work, but it ended up being Kakhramonov who grabbed the dominant position first. For the rest of the round it was all Kakhramonov, smothering Ronnie with his wrestling and busting him up with ground and pound.
After the round was done, Ronnie’s eye was already almost swelling up BAD. Not letting the opening round stop him, Lawrence came in throwing some crisp combos to open the round. Sadly for him, that was short-lived as Saidyokub took him down once again and smothered him. Lawrence finally managed to get up and actually landed a takedown of his own… but that lasted about 2 seconds as Kakhramonov got back up right away. Kakhramonov wasted no time in the final round and just picked Lawrence up and slammed him to the ground. Considering the fact that Ronnie Lawrence had never been taken down in the UFC before this fight, it can’t be overstated how impressive of a performance this was from Kakhramonov. Just an absolutely dominant, relentless three round performance, notching 10 takedowns and 10 minutes of control time.
Result
Saidyokub Kakhramonov def. Ronnie Lawrence by Unanimous Decision
Fight #2
Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Karl Roberson by TKO in the 3rd Round
Working to avoid the length of Nzechukwu, Roberson worked for an early takedown. Sadly, when someone’s that much taller, they’re VERY difficult to take down. That helped Nzechukwu grab a takedown himself. From there he took the back of Roberson and sunk in a dangerous-looking rear naked choke. Roberson got out of it, but he was very much still in deep trouble. Nzechukwu just kept putting all his weight on him, working for submissions and chipping at him with ground and pound. Roberson opened the 2nd Round HARD with some HUGE combos, but that didn’t stop Nzechukwu at all. He just walked right through it and dragged Karl to the ground. This time he was focusing more on the ground and pound and he was shooting for a TKO finish. Knowing he needed that, Roberson opened the final round with some more heavy strikes.
Of course, Nzechukwu just walked him down and took him down once again with ease. After a couple minutes of dominant control, Nzechukwu finally started to land some significant blows, landing HUGE elbows. Thanks to all those elbows, the ref was forced to stop the fight with only a couple minutes left.
Fight #3
David Onama def. Garrett Armfield by Submission in the 2nd Round
Both men started to get their striking early, but it was Onama that took the early momentum, pinning Armfield on the fence. Despite being a HUGE underdog, Armfield actually found himself on top when the fight hit the canvas. Not only that, when they got back up he landed some pretty heavy combos on Onama. Onama closed the round out with some massive shots, but it actually seemed like Armfield may have won the opening round.
Once again, they both came in heavy with their striking to open the round. Armfield shot in for a takedown from there, but thanks to the strength of Onama he started to steal the momentum and landed a takedown himself. Onama locked in a DEEP submission that had Armfield defending for almost a whole minute. Eventually, he just couldn’t defend anymore and went to sleep, giving Onama a fantastic 2nd Round submission win.
Fight #4
Antonina Shevchenko def. Cortney Casey by Split Decision
Both women were slow to start, only throwing out the occasional strike. After almost 4 minutes of that, the first moment came as Casey jumped in with a big shot. Shevchenko used that to take Casey down, closing the 1st Round on top. The 2nd Round was very similar with minimal action from both sides. This time it was Shevchenko who was landing more often, but Casey was landing the better shots and grabbed a bit of control time along the fence. It was tight, but with a couple of heavy combos to close out the round, it may have been enough to give Casey the 2nd Round.
Unlike the other rounds, both women turned up the heat in the final round. Much like the 2nd Round though, Casey was REALLY pushing pace. She pressured Shevchenko with her strikes and ended up taking her down and lighting her up with ground and pound. With another couple of late takedowns after that, it was pretty clear that Casey won the final round and likely stole the decision on the cards. The judges ended up scoring it 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28 for… Antonina Shevchenko. She may have been my pick on Tapology, but this is was another decision that really didn’t make much sense.
Fight #5
Cody Brundage def. Tresean Gore by TKO in the 1st Round
Brundage decided to grab the momentum early, running straight at Gore and pushing him into the fence. He was having trouble taking him down, but he was still shutting down all his offence. After separating, it was then Gore who started to lead the offence. He started to walk Brundage down and land heavy, heavy shots. Just as it looked like Gore was cruising ahead on the cards, Brundage landed a HUGE counter that dropped Gore on his back. All Brundage had to do from there was land a couple of follow-up shots to grab a surprising 1st Round TKO.
Main Card Action
Fight #6
Michael Johnson vs. Jamie Mullarkey
After finally breaking his losing streak with a win over Alan Patrick in May, Michael Johnson was already back, trying to grab another win here. Before that win, he went 0-4 since 2018 with losses to Emmett, Stevie Ray, Moises and Guida. Mullarkey was in the opposite situation headed into this week. He had won two in a row over Khama Worthy and Devonte Smith, but then lost to Jalin Turner in his last appearance.
Johnson looked great in his last one, but it was nowhere near solid enough to challenge Mullarkey. Johnson was quick but still got hit pretty bad by Patrick, plus he tends to get kicked a lot and wasn’t all that effective in the clinch. Mullarkey is much more well-rounded and dangerous. He’s got fantastic striking, lots of kicks and elbows, plus he’s got the power to back it up. Not only that, he’s also got some pretty strong takedowns. With all of that power and skill, it seemed likely that Mullarkey was going to get a finish.
BLÜ’s Prediction
Mullarkey by Finish
As expected from these two guys, this was a pure striking matchup to open. Both men were landing some decent shots, but it was clear that Mullarkey was edging ahead with his power and his kicks. Then, out of nowhere, Johnson landed a BIG one to drop Mullarkey. He jumped on him with some HEAVY ground and pound and even threatened a submission, but Mullarkey managed to recover and get back to his striking. Then it was Mullarkey that dropped Johnson with a HUGE shot, threatening a finish off his own.
It’s tough to score a round like that. I’d have probably leaned Mullarkey only because his knockdown was later in the round. Neither man slowed down in the 2nd Round, both throwing WILD combos, trying to land something big. As the round went on though, it was clear that Mullarkey was getting into his rhythm. He started to land MASSIVE knees, elbows and punches that busted open Johnson.
After a clear round in favour of Mullarkey, Johnson came in hard the final round. After a very close first half of the round, Johnson started to land some bigger shots to stumble Mullarkey. In response, Mullarkey started to shoot in for takedowns, but couldn’t quite notch one. After an absolutely chaotic flurry from both men to close out the fight, it was anyone’s guess as to who had taken it on the judges’ cards. They ended up scoring it 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28 for Jamie Mullarkey. It really could have gone either way, so 29-28 in either direction made sense.
Result
Jamie Mullarkey def. Michael Johnson by Split Decision
Fight #7
Aiemann Zahabi def. Ricky Turcios by Unanimous Decision
Contrary to most of his other fights, Turcios took a patient approach to open this fight. After not much action in the first couple minutes, it was Zahabi that had the first big moment, landing a heavy combo that caught Turcios a bit. He then had a second moment, landing a HEAVY low kick that swept out Ricky’s legs momentarily. It was close, but I’d have scored it for Zahabi thanks to those bigger moments.
The 2nd Round was just as close, but it was Turcios that was landing more strikes early this time. Zahabi started to land more as the round went on, really complicating the scores on the cards. Turcios didn’t necessarily land much, but his antics always help when it comes to the cards. Turcios kicked it up a notch in the final round, getting even more active. It was strange though, he landed only half as many strikes as Zahabi, threw twice as much as him, but still seemed to be making it a close fight on the cards. It was a clear decision for Zahabi in terms of damage, striking and defence, but all the antics could have grabbed Turcios the win. In the end, the judges all scored it 29-28 for Zahabi.
Fight #8
Jared Vanderaa vs. Chase Sherman
This one reminded me of the matchup recently between Josh Parisian and Alan Baudot, being that neither of these men had done well in the UFC and it was probably their last shot at staying here. Vanderaa grabbed his contract from DWCS in 2020, but has since gone 1-4 with a win over Justin Tafa and losses to Spivak, Romanov, Arlovski and Oleinik. Interestingly, Sherman had the exact same record up to that point, going 1-4 with a win over Ike Villanueva in his debut and losses to Arlovski, Porter, Collier and Romanov.
As you may have noticed, not only did they have the same UFC record, they’ve also lost to some of the same people. After watching those matchups, it was pretty clear that Vanderaa was doing a lot better than Sherman. Even though Vanderaa carried about a 20 pound advantage into this matchup, they’re actually both fairly quick for heavyweights. The difference was that Vanderaa is VERY durable and has a more well-rounded skillset. I figured Vanderaa would likely get some clinchwork and grappling going, shredding Sherman every time they get close. That being said, because neither man has a whole lot of power, this was one of the rare occasions I believed a heavyweight fight would go the distance.
BLÜ’s Prediction
Vanderaa by Decision
Sherman landed the first big strike, but, as expected, it didn’t really affect Vanderaa at all. Vanderaa held a CLEAR power advantage, but Sherman, with his speed advantage, was just getting there first. After getting picked apart the whole round, Vanderaa finally landed a big one that stumbled Sherman a bit. That probably wasn’t enough though as Sherman pulled ahead on my card thanks to his extra activity. As the 2nd Round picked up, Vanderaa started to finally lead some of the action, landing some heavy kicks and combos. Then it was Sherman who started to pick up the pace a bit. I may have given to round to Vanderaa with the edge in damage, but it was so dead even, a judge could have had any combination of scores at this point.
After taking it fairly easy at the end of the 2nd Round, Vanderaa started to push it in the final round, landing BOMBS to counter Sherman every time he walked in. Unbelievably, after getting picked apart, Sherman turned the tables, hitting Vanderaa with some HUGE combos. From there he just let loose, throwing out combo after combo until he finally dropped Vanderaa and grabbed a late TKO finish.
Result
Chase Sherman def. Jared Vanderaa by TKO in the 3rd Round
Fight #9
Said Nurmagomedov vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade
This is where the card seemed like it would get VERY interesting. Since debuting in 2018, Said has gone 4-1, grabbing THREE 1st Round finishes along the way over Ricardo Ramos, Mark Striegl and, most recently, Cody Stamann. Silva de Andrade doesn’t have the most impressive UFC record, sitting at 6-4, but he’s competed against some of the best bantamweights in the UFC. He’s beaten ‘Chito’ Vera, Renan Barao and Sergey Morozov, but has lost to Petr Yan, Rob Font and Lerone Murphy.
Despite the odds, it seemed like this was actually a fairly even matchup. Douglas is HUGE for the division and is one of heaviest hitters at 135. He’s also not too bad on the ground, but he was outwrestled by Lerone Murphy in their fight. The problem for him was that “not too bad” isn’t good enough against Said. It seemed like Douglas could do some damage on the feet, but that once Said took the fight to the canvas, it would be all over. Even though I thought this fight was going to be explosive and VERY entertaining, I said Said would be able to take this fight to the ground where he’d probably get a finish.
BLÜ’s Prediction
Nurmagomedov by Finish
It was Silva de Andrade who grabbed the momentum early, clinching up with Said and pinning him along the fence with brute strength. After an explosive throw, Said managed to get him off and return to striking. From there he started to use his insane kicking skills to keep Douglas at a distance. Said then closed out the round with some more kicks and a late takedown. It was dead-even with all the striking and honestly, I have no idea who I would have given it to. Douglas was trying to pressure Said in the 2nd Round, but he kept getting countered by HUGE shots. Said shot in for a takedown at one point, but Silva de Andrade was determined to keep this fight on the feet. Then, out of nowhere, Douglas landed a BOMB of a spinning back-fist that dropped Said on his back. Thanks to that, it was either tied or Douglas was up 2-0.
Instead of working on his striking, Silva de Andrade opened the final round by picking Said up and slamming him into the canvas. With those grappling skills though, Said was quick to get back up. After a quick stop from a groin strike, Said ran in and grabbed himself his first takedown of the fight. They got back up but Said made the interesting decision of lying on his back and throwing upkicks as Douglas was standing there. Thanks to some extra activity and the quick takedown, it may have been enough for Said to take the final round on the cards. I still scored the fight for Silva de Andrade, but I could have seen the judges go either way with it. Incredibly, the judges went the other way with it, scoring it 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 for Nurmagomedov.
Said Nurmagomedov def. Douglas Silva de Andrade by Unanimous Decision
Co-Main Event
Caio Borralho vs. Armen Petrosyan
Borralho had a rocky start to his UFC journey, failing to grab a contract in his first DWCS, but turned it around with a sensational performance in his second. He then made his debut, absolutely dominating his undefeated opponent: Gadzhi Omargadzhiev. Also hailing from the Contender Series, Petrosyan made his debut this year, winning a narrow, split decision win over Gregory Rodrigues.
Both of these men are just starting their UFC careers, but one man has been making the much bigger statements so far. Caio is fast, has pretty solid striking and absolutely sensational wrestling. The only problem is that he gets hit a lot. In this matchup, that favoured the striker, Petrosyan, but he was taken down fairly easily in both of his fights. Thanks to that huge wrestling advantage, I thought Borralho should have been able to dominate this fight on the ground and probably grab another finish.
BLÜ’s Prediction
Borralho by Finish
Borralho exploded early, landing a head kick, some combos and a HUGE takedown to open the fight. From there he took Petrosyan’s back to start working for a submission. He was defending fairly well, but Caio was absolutely dominating him with nearly 4 minutes of control time. After a minute of close striking in the 2nd Round, Borralho dragged Petrosyan to the ground once again. Petrosyan managed to return to his feet and get back to his striking, but Caio dragged him back down and easily won the 2nd Round on the cards, putting himself up 2-0.
The 3rd Round was much slower to start with only some clinchwork from Borralho. It seemed as though Borralho was starting to slow down quite a bit, leading to Petrosyan shutting down most of Caio’s offence. In spite of that, Borralho still grabbed enough control time to solidify his win on the cards.
Result
Caio Borralho def. Armen Petrosyan by Unanimous Decision
Main Event
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev
Saving the best for last, RDA attempted to shut down the rise of one of the best strikers in the division: Rafael Fiziev.
Dos Anjos has been a staple of both the welterweight and lightweight divisions of the UFC for over a decade, joining all the way back in 2008. Being ranked for a lot of that time, he’s beaten some of the best fighters in UFC history like Felder, Lawler, Magny, Anthony Pettis and Nate Diaz.
He’s also lost to some of the best, including Khabib, Ferguson, Covington, Usman and Edwards. Fiziev is MUCH newer to the UFC, but came into this week with an incredible 11-1 record. He lost his UFC debut to Magomed Mustafaev from an insane, 1st Round spinning back kick, but bounced back with 5 straight wins. His most recent wins were sensational striking performances over Bobby Green, Brad Riddell and, RDA’s last opponent, Renato Moicano.
Once again, the odds weren’t telling the whole story. It was clear that Fiziev was the better striker here; he’s pretty big, as some of the best kicks in the UFC, is FAST and has great fight IQ. But, RDA is a former champ and is one of the best at both lightweight AND welterweight. He’s also very much known for his relentless cardio and his grappling. Not to mention, he’s also got one of the best chins in the UFC.
If the fight reached the 4th and 5th Rounds, it seemed like that’s where RDA would have a CLEAR advantage and possibly pull ahead on the cards. The thing was, he gets hit a lot when he faces great strikers and he couldn’t afford to do that with Fiziev. That’s why I picked Fiziev to grab a finish, most likely in the second half of the fight.
BLÜ’s Prediction
Fiziev by Finish
Fiziev opened the striking early with his classic: HUGE kicks. After a minute of that, RDA jumped forward with his grappling, pushing Fiziev into the fence. Sadly for him, he couldn’t quite get anything going and Fiziev went back to landing some crisp combos. After breaking out of a second clinch along the fence, Fiziev finally landed a big one, giving RDA the spaghetti legs. Considering RDA never really did anything all that significant, I’d say Fiziev grabbed the 1st Round on the cards.
After some crisp combos from Fiziev to open the 2nd Round, dos Anjos shot in for another takedown. He got a lot closer this time, but was still shut down. He then went for a second attempt and looked like he was gonna grab it, but then Fiziev reversed him and ended up on top. After getting up, interestingly it was Fiziev that was winning the clinch along the fence. As the round went on, he really started to land more of strikes, stunning RDA a couple of times.
Once again, RDA opened the round with some grappling, really fighting HARD for a takedown. He sat him down for half a second, but clearly couldn’t do anything with it. He couldn’t quite do anything with his control time, but since Fiziev never really landed all that much this time, it was like 2-1 for Fiziev after three rounds.
Fiziev landed some crisp combos to open the 4th Round, but RDA continued to push his grappling along the fence. Then, after some big strikes from RDA it was Fiziev that started to push the clinch along the fence. That was when it looked as though Fiziev was slowing down. For the first time in the fight, RDA grabbed a HUGE takedown, kept Fiziev down on the canvas and kept him there. Likely tied going into the final round, either man could have won the fight at that point. Just as the round was starting, Fiziev landed a BOMB, dropped RDA and the ref stopped it, giving him a late TKO win.
Result
Rafael Fiziev def. Rafael dos Anjos by TKO in the 5th Round
The Future
We’ll have to wait and see what happens with the top 5 in their next matchups to pick fights for Fiziev. Poirier seems to want Chandler and Gaethje may get Gamrot. Most likely, the winner of Dariush and Islam gets a title shot. That leaves the loser of Islam and Dariush open. It’d actually be similar to facing RDA in either matchup. He did mentioned Gaethje at the press conference though. Personally I think that’s a clear main event, brawl of the night winner right there, but are we going to lucky and see that? I don’t know. As for RDA, that shuts down his title run. I still think he’s a perfect matchup for Conor McGregor when he returns, but who knows what’s going on there. Instead, we’ll probably see Tsarukyan and RDA because they’re similar matchups to both of their last opponents and they’ll be close in the rankings.
BLÜ’s Record for the Night
Prelims: 0-1
Lawrence (L)
Main Card: 4-1
Mullarkey (W)
Vanderaa (L)
Nurmagomedov (W)
Borralho (W)
Fiziev (W)
BLÜ BONUSES
KO of the Night: Rafael Fiziev
Sub. of the Night: David Onama
Brawl of the Night: Michael Johnson vs. Jamie Mullarkey
Most Valuable Fighter
Rafael Fiziev
Some people questioned his cardio going into this fight. Some people questioned his grappling going into this fight. Not only did he show that he can shut down one of the best lightweight grapplers of all time, he can go 5 rounds with him and get a finish in the final round. He’s already one of, if not THE best strikers in the division. Now he shut down takedowns and he can go all 5 rounds. This guy’s well on his way to a title shot.
Other Fight News: BFL 73
Thanks to UFC Fight Pass and Battlefield Fight League we saw another fantastic night of Canadian MMA. The night was headlined by Navid Zanganeh who, in his very first MMA fight, won the interim lightweight title. In the co-main we were treated to a thrilling grappling matchup between Ali Wasuk and Oguzhan Yalcin. We also saw impressive finishes from Ash Mashreghi and Adam de Freitas, plus an INSANE, BLOODY brawl between Brandon Lebrecque and Samson Bieri to open the card.
All the fights, along with the BLÜ BONUSES for the night, are described below.
Fight #1
Brandon Lebrecque def. Samson Bieri by Unanimous Decision
Bieri came in heavy with his striking, but Labrecque shut it down, clinching with Bieri along the fence. They separated from there, leading to some back and forth striking with both men landing some crisp combos and heavy shots. It was close but with his forward pressure, Bieiri was the one who started to land the heavier shots.
But that’s when the fight took a brutal turn. Labrecque landed a knee to split open Bieri BAD. The doctor came in in the middle of the opening round, but the cut was on the bridge of his nose so they continued from there. Bieri didn’t let that cut slow him down; he came into the 2nd Round, kept that forward pressure and landed some bombs. Labrecque wasn’t letting that pressure stop him as he started to land some BOMBS as well.
Halfway into the 2nd Round and it already looked as though this was going to be the fight of the night. From there, Bieri had his biggest moment of the fight, dropping Labrecque with a HUGE shot. That’s when the fight hit the canvas for the first time… mostly because both men were slipping on all of Bieri’s blood.
At the end of the round, Bieri landed a flurry of beautiful strikes, maybe taking the round on the cards. At this point, both of them had landed so much it was pretty hard to tell who had taken the round. Both of these guys looked exhausted in the final round, but were still landing huge shots. Labrecque then decided to switch it up, pinning Bieri along the fence and grabbing a fair bit of control time. It could have gone either way, but the judges all gave it 29-28 to Labrecque.
Fight #2
Makinde Adeyemi def. Raphael Ouellet by Unanimous Decision
The first noticeable thing was the HUGE size advantage that Adeyemi brought into this matchup. He used that immediately, dropping Ouellet with a BOMB less than 30 seconds in. Knowing he had a clear advantage on the ground, Ouellet pulled guard multiple times letting Makinde on top of him. He was throwing out some pretty slick submission attempts and some elbows, but it’s always a risky strategy.
Trying to get Raphael off of him, Adeyemi stood up with him still wrapped around him and SLAMMED him into the canvas with one of the hardest slams I’ve ever seen. Ouellet was still determined to keep that position though. Adeyemi opened up with his heavy striking once again, landing a wild spinning backfist. There was a couple more minutes of striking, but the fight once again moved to the ground with Adeyemi on top.
In the final round, Makinde landed a rare CLEAN question mark kick, straight to the face of Ouellet and he looked ROCKED. Interestingly, maybe not realizing how hurt Raphael was, Adeyemi didn’t follow up with any more shots. Instead they moved towards the canvas once again with Ouellet openly taking the bottom position.
With such bizarre exchanges, it’s tough to score a fight like that. I’d have given the opening round to Ouellet, but Adeyemi really threw out some damage in the final two rounds. I’d have probably scored it 29-28 for Adeyemi but a judge could have gone in any direction with it. In the end, they went 29-28 with Adeyemi.
Fight #3
Ash Mashreghi def. James Foster by Submission after the 1st Round
Neither man wanted to take it slow this time as both of them exploded with HUGE shots. Foster landed the big one first with his hands down, taunting Mashreghi. However, Mashreghi fought back by throwing out some bombs of his own. But Foster walked straight at him and landed so many shots along the fence that it looked like Ash was going to get finished. Amazingly, the action flipped again as Foster was quickly dropped by a big counter. After that, Mashreghi pushed for some grappling and ended up finding Foster’s back. He quickly got under Foster’s chin and made him tap to end one of the fastest-paced fights I’ve ever seen.
Fight #4
Adam de Freitas def. Christian Tremayne by Submission in the 1st Round
Adam de Freitas opened it early with a couple of crisp combos. Sadly, Tremayne responded with a BAD groin kick, pausing the action for a couple minutes. Less than a minute later, there was ANOTHER bad one straight to the groin of de Freitas. That soon in between the two blows… two HARD blows, he really took his time this time and it seemed like the ref should take a point. The ref didn’t take a point, but it didn’t matter! Tremayne went for a takedown and found himself on top, but it was de Freitas who locked in a DEEP guillotine. A few seconds later and Tremayne tapped a couple minutes into the fight.
Fight #5
Maxime Soucy def. Josh Kwiatkowski by Unanimous Decision
Soucy seemed to be leading the action early, but Kwiatkowski was still doing well trying to counter his striking. After some back-and-forth striking, it was Soucy that switched it up, dragging Josh down to the ground.
Kwiatkowksi, knowing he lost the opening round came out hard in the second, lighting up Soucy with wild shots along the fence. As the round went on though, Soucy started to regain his momentum. After getting kicked in the groin for a second time, Kwiatkowski was the one who started to take the momentum back with his striking. He kept that going into the final round, but Soucy was really turning up the heat and landing some pretty heavy strikes. Josh was getting hammered by some massive shots, but he managed to save it by dragging Soucy down to the ground.
After a couple of rough minutes on the bottom, Soucy managed to reverse positions and get on top. It looked as though Kwiatkowski was going to grab the round on the cards after the takedown, but since Soucy finished on top and had all the damage at the start of the round, it seemed clear that Soucy had clinched the decision. The judges agreed, scoring it 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for Soucy.
Co-Main Event
Ali Wasuk def. Oguzhan Yalcin by Unanimous Decision
It was immediately obvious that these were the two most skilled fighters on the card up until this point. They were both cautious, crisp and technical. Interestingly, it was Wasuk who threw the first takedown against the Turkish wrestling champion. He didn’t get the takedown, but he was doing very well in the clinch, controlling Yalcin and landing a bunch of knees. Using his slick moves, it was Yalcin who dragged Wasuk to the ground, but couldn’t keep him there for long.
After some clinching on the fence, Yalcin, with a WILD display of skill and strength, threw Wasuk down to the canvas and finished the round in the dominant spot. Right at the start of the round, they found themselves on the ground. Yalcin was on top, but Wasuk had sunk in a pretty deep guillotine from the bottom. From there, they returned to their feet, but Wasuk took the fight to the ground and found himself on top for the first time in the fight. Yalcin managed to get up after a couple of minutes, but had clearly already lost the round on the cards, leaving it tied 1-1.
Maybe starting to tire out, Yalcin found himself in some trouble early getting out-grappled along the fence and taken down to the canvas. Wasuk took his back and started to really threaten submissions and punches. He couldn’t quite lock in a finish, but he had about 4 minutes of control time from Yalcin’s back, grabbing a clear win on the cards.
Main Event (Interim Lightweight Title Fight)
Navid Zanganeh def. Austin Batra by Submission in the 1st Round
They stayed on their feet for a while, favouring Batra, but eventually, just as expected, the wrestling champion, Zanganeh, shot in and threw Batra to the ground. Batra tried to defend for a bit, but it was just a matter of time before Zanganeh made him tap to a wicked rear naked choke.
BLÜ BONUSES
Sub. of the Night: Navid Zanganeh
Brawl of the Night: Brandon Lebrecque vs. Samson Bieri
Most Valuable Fighter
Ash Mashreghi
Not only was he on a 4 fight losing streak, he hadn’t fought in 4 years, PLUS he had multiple surgeries. He overcame all of that, plus a rough start to the fight, to grab an incredible 1st Round finish.
Navid Zanganeh
There’s a reason that 7 opponents cancelled on this guy before this fight happened. In his MMA DEBUT he was thrown into a title fight. Not only did he win a belt in his first MMA fight, he dominated his opponent and grabbed a VERY impressive 1st Round submission. Expect HUGE things from this guy.