Edgar (right) beat Stephens (left) on points. (Photo: Getty Images)
In the best fight on the preliminary card, Frankie Edgar overcame Jeremy Stephens in the unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 30×27, 29×28) and recovered from the defeat suffered by José Aldo, in July this year. The fight was marked by twists and turns, including a knockdown applied by Jeremy to Edgar in the second round.
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Edgar started the fight trying for a takedown, but Stephens defended well and threw a knee on the way out. After two failed attempts, Edgar managed to take down his opponent, who quickly got up. With the fight standing, Stephens started to surround Frankie and landed a good kick to the ribs, but hit his opponent in the eye afterwards and the fight was stopped. After a brief break, the two returned looking to strike, with Jeremy having difficulty finding Edgar in the octagon.
In the first minute of the second round, Edgar lands a kick to his rival's “low countries”, who asks for the fight to be stopped. Back in the fight, Edgar gives Jeremy a nice takedown and goes to the 100kg position, but his opponent managed to escape and stay on his feet. Stephens lands a beautiful kick on Edgar, who feels it and falls, but quickly recovers. Visibly shaken, Edgar tries to survive Stephens' attacks, who continues to “hunt” his rival. In the final minute, Edgar took advantage of his opponent's hesitation and tried to apply a guillotine, but Jeremy defended himself well and managed to escape.
In the last round, Edgar returned, showing that he had recovered from the knockdown suffered and controlled the actions from the beginning, taking down his rival with ease. Stephens, from below, tried to apply a kimura, well defended by Edgar, who took advantage of his rival's opening and went to the coast. After some submission attempts from Edgar, Stephens breaks free and fights back to the center of the cage. Tired, Jeremy tried to hit Edgar, who dodged all the blows thrown.
Nurmagomedov beats him and submits Michael Johnson
Khabib ran over M. Johnson and won another one. (Photo: Getty Images)
The undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov He showed, once again, why he is considered by many to be the best lightweight fighter in the world. Impeccably, the Russian delivered a real beating to Michael Johnson and submitted his opponent with a kimura in the third round of the fight, reaching the incredible mark of 24 victories in 24 professional fights. With eight consecutive victories in the organization, Khabib should finally receive the chance to fight for the division's belt. Johnson, meanwhile, lost the third of his last four fights.
The duel began with Johnson controlling the actions and surrounding the Russian. The American unleashed a beautiful sequence of blows, which shook Khabib. However, Johnson's dominance was short-lived. Nurmagomedov shortened, clinched and got the takedown, landing in the 100kg position. On top, the Russian rained down punches and elbows on his rival, who managed to defend himself until the end of the round.
The second round started with Johnson trying to play from distance, while Khabib looked for the takedown. On the Russian's third attempt, Michael grabbed his opponent's neck and pulled him towards the guillotine. Nurmagomedov managed to escape, got back on top and gave the American a real beating, who only survived until the horn sounded.
Right at the beginning of the last round, Khabib rocked Johnson with a beautiful uppercut that went clean for the American. Damn, Johnson was easily taken down. The Russian presses on the railing and continues hitting Michael a lot, who didn't seem to know what to do. Nurmagomedov went to the 100kg position, placed the kimura and forced Johnson to give three taps in withdrawal.
Tim Boestch ruins Rafael Sapo's party
Boetsch (left) knocked out Sapo (right) in the first round. (Photo: Getty Images)
The dream turned into a nightmare for Rafael Natal “Sapo”. After saying that he was fulfilling a dream of fighting at Madison Square Garden, the Brazilian couldn't resist the pressure imposed by Tim Boestch and ended up being knocked out at 3m22s of R1. This is the second consecutive defeat suffered by Sapo, while Boestch won the second in a row and eliminated the risk of dismissal once and for all.
Boetsch started the fight trying a cross, which went empty. Afterwards, Sapo landed a good high kick on the American. Sapo tried to take the fight to the ground, but Boetsch avoided it and started to 'hunt' the Brazilian in the octagon, who responded with a spinning punch. The American closed the distance, cornered Sapo against the fence and unleashed a well-aimed right cross, which took Rafael to the ground. With his opponent groggy, Boestch only had to throw a few more punches, forcing the judge to stop the fight.
Vicente Luque runs over Belal Muhammad |
Luque, in the background, celebrates the knockout of Belal. (Photo: Getty Images)
Overwhelming! This is how the Brazilian's victory can be defined Vincent Luque about Belal Muhammad |. With an impeccable performance, Luque knocked out Belal at 1:19 of the first round and achieved his fourth consecutive victory, the third only in 2016. With just one defeat and four victories in the company – two by submission and two by knockout, Vicente, 24 years old, will consolidating itself as one of the main Brazilian promises in the organization. Belal suffered the second defeat in three fights he had in Ultimate.
Luque started the duel by taking the center of the octagon and constantly changing his base, in an attempt to confuse Belal. And he succeeded. After a few empty blows, Luque landed a beautiful left cross on his opponent, who already fell in surrender. Vicente still landed some ground and pound blows before the referee stopped the fight.
Miller controls on the ground and defeats Thiago Pitbull
Miller controlled Pitbull on the ground and won on points. (Photo: Getty Images)
First Brazilian to take action at UFC 205, Thiago Pitbull was unable to impose his standing game and was dominated by Jim Miller, who controlled much of the duel on the ground and won the unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 29×28, 30×27). Thiago, who would have his first fight at lightweight – the fighter did not reach the category limit and the fight was held at catchweight – suffers his second defeat in a row and finds himself in a delicate situation within the organization. Miller, in turn, achieved his third victory in a row and once again dreams of ranking in the division.
Miller started taking the center and trying to bother him with jabs, but received a knee on the counterattack. Pitbull tried a high kick, but Miller timed it and took the Brazilian down. The American tried to strike, but Thiago defended himself well. After Miller tried to take the back, Thiago exploded and managed to get up. Standing up, Miller landed a nice kick to Pitbull's ribs, who reacted well. At the end of the round, Thiago still tried to apply pressure and landed some good blows.
Thiago came back better for the second stage, controlling the center of the octagon and firing powerful shots at his opponent. Miller tried to take the fight to the ground, but Thiago defended him. On the second attempt, the American was successful and landed a beautiful takedown on the Brazilian. On the ground, Miller punished the Brazilian with elbows and punches. Miller tried to land a guillotine, well defended by Thiago, who managed to get up. In the final minute, the two went for a frank exchange, with Thiago having the advantage until the end of the round.
In the last round, Pitbull returned, cornering the American against the fence, but he got careless and ended up being taken down again. On top, Jim tried, again, to transition to the back, but Thiago turned well and managed to get out from below. The fight returned to striking, but for a short time, as Miller took down again. Visibly tired, Thiago tried to defend himself anyway, but was unsuccessful. Controlling the actions, Miller tried a guillotine, but it didn't fit. In the final seconds, Thiago swept and was on top, but he had little time to work.
Liz Carmouche opens the preliminary card with victory
Carmouche (right) overcame Katlyn (left) in the first fight of the night. (Photo: Getty Images)
In the first fight of the night, Liz Carmouche defeated Katlyn chookagian in the judges' split decision (29×28, 28×29, 29×28)). Carmouche, who had already been the first woman to fight in the UFC – when she faced Ronda Rousey at UFC 157, now she can also say that she is responsible for the first victory of the historic edition held at Madison Square Garden. This was Liz's second consecutive victory, while Katlyn suffered her first career defeat.
The fight began with Carmouche taking the center of the octagon early on. After a few seconds without much action, Liz cut it short and put the fight down. Leaning against the fence, Katlyn threw a few elbows, but they had no effect on her opponent. Katlyn managed to get up, but was taken down again by Carmouche who remained on top until the end of the round.
The second round was tepid, without much action on both sides. After remaining on the floor for almost two minutes, without much effect, the audience booed. but the fight was once again fought standing up. Katlyn landed two good punches on Carmouche, who felt it, but the round came to an end.
In the third round, aware of the disadvantages in the first ten minutes, Chookagian started going forward and landed a good sequence of blows on Carmouche, who shook. With a bloody nose, Liz managed to survive her opponent's “blitz” and put the fight down again, but Katlyn managed to get up. Aggressive, Chookagian applied another combination of blows, but Carmouche defended well and pressed her opponent against the fence until the bell sounded.
PRELIMINARY CARD
Feather weight: Frankie Edgar won Jeremy Stephens by unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 30×27, 29×28)
Lightweight: Khabib Nurmagomedov won Michael Johnson via submission (kimura) at 2m31s of R3
Middleweight: Tim Boetsch won Rafael Sapo by technical knockout at 3:22 of R1
Welterweight Weight: Vincent Luque won Belal Muhammad | by technical knockout at 1:19 of R1
Lightweight: Jim Miller won Thiago Pitbull by unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 29×28, 30×27)
Bantamweight: Liz Carmouche won Katlyn chookagian by split decision of the judges (29×28, 28×29, 29×28)
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