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After watching everyone's performance tonight fans can confidently say the UFC is still home to the best fighters in the world!
America's favorite promotion delivers a stunning card that's been anticipated for months now that was everything we hoped for. In the first match of the night Karine Silva (17-4-0) submits Maryna Moroz (11-5-0)at the end of the first round speeding up the night.
Andrea Lee (13-8-0) takes a loss to Natalia Silva (16-5-1) via Split Decision. Silva delivered a heartfelt speech to the crowd thanking Jesus for getting her this far.
Andre Petroski (10-2-0) has not had an easy time in the UFC being forced to come outside his box usually to go to war with his opponents. He defeats Gerald Meerschaert (35-17-0) after a complete dogfight. Gerald seemed so much bigger, Petroski might be thinking of going down to welterweight.
Fans of The Ultimate Fighter will remember the friendly-looking Brad Katona (15-2-0) as he took on Cody Gibson (20-9-0) finally after weeks of talking and going through a whole reality show together the two finally made it to the octagon. Brad and Cody might be looking at the fight of the night after going toe to toe and still making it to the finish line. Brad, originally on team Chandler, earns his win tonight for Conor Mcgregor who voiced his support and compliments online. Seems like a successful year for Brad especially after also breaking another record after becoming the first two-time TUF winner.
As for the lightweight finally, for this TUF season, Kurt Holobaugh (21-7-0) submits Austin Hubbard (16-7-0) keeping team Chandler's honor intact.
Gregory "Robocop" Rodrigues (14-5-0) puts away Denis Tiuliulin (10-8-0) in round one with just over a minute remaining in the first round. Rodrigues goes on to say he's just getting started and that you haven't seen the best of him yet.
In the featured prelim of the night, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman (15-7-0) shows his guts and returns to the UFC after sustaining a horrific leg injury two years ago. He shook the rust off against Brad Tavares (20-9-0) who showed no mercy and might not have been the best fighter to comeback against. Tavares threw leg kicks all night wobbling Weidman multiple times and forcing him to go southpaw. Brad gets the unanimous decision deservingly proving he's not someone to take lightly.
The awesome Marlon "Chito" Vera (21-8-1) goes to war with another fan favorite Pedro Munhoz (20-8-0). I think Chito's reach really helped him tonight it was something that made it hard for Munhoz to land flush on him while catching check hooks and long punches all night. Marlon Vera has now set himself up for a rematch with his rival Sean O'Malley win or lose tonight.
Some fighters go their whole careers trying to earn a number next to their name. Mario Bautista (13-2-0) gets one step closer tonight and with his performance, it seems he'll have on in no time.
Ian Garry (12-0-0) has been on a tear in the welterweight division since he started fighting in the UFC and for good reason. Tonight he made the veteran Neil Magny (28-11-0) look like he had just started in the promotion. Garry's leg kicks were key to the match setting the pace early and accumulating damage on his opponent. Everything else came easily after that and in round three he makes it rain as Magny tries to advance. Unanimous decision Garry.
"I come to dominate"-Ian Garry
It feels almost like yesterday that Weili Zhang (23-3-0) joined the UFC and became champion. She's since lost and regained that title outlasting the rest of her rivals. Zhang dominated round one against Amanda Lemos (13-2-1) but the fight became competitive in round two as Lemos finally started lander her own shots. One of the best rounds of the night has to be round two of this fight it gave us everything. Lemos had a chance in round four but loses it get dominated in round five. Weili retains her title in an impressive match against a very deserving opponent.
Finally, after years of back and forth, Sean O'Malley (16-1-0) steps up and gets his title shot, a journey the martial arts world has been watching for a while now. We've seen O'Malley grow into the fighter he is today and he came into this fight laser focused against his biggest challenge yet the reigning champion Aljamain Sterling (23-3-0). After a round and a half of high-level chess, O'Malley found Sterlings' chin just like he said he would. After a precise shot, O'Malley goes for the kill on the floor making it rain strikes forcing the ref to stop it. A beautiful ending to this chapter of O'Malley's career but it's just the beginning of the long game.
"I'm running things 'til 2035"-Sean O'Malley
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