UFC 218 Results: Holloway Breaks-Apart Aldo again to retain the belt. Francis Annihilates Overeem, Gets the Title Shot

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High octane martial arts action was on full display in front of 17,587 screaming fans as 9 of the 13 fights didn’t go the distance including the co-main event and main event fights. Two fights of the night bonuses ($50,000) were announced for Yancy Medeiros vs. Alex Oleveira and Eddie Alvarez vs. Justin Gaethje.

 

PRELIMINARY CARD

 

Justin Willis defeated Allen Crowder via knockout: Justin Willis welcomed the new comer heavyweight Allen Crowder into the UFC with bruise marks right into the first minute of the opening round. Every time Crowder threw a leg kick, Willis was quick enough to counter them with punches. Crowder’s efforts to kick got back fired when Willis caught his leg and repeatedly threw left hooks. Half way through the fight, when they both engaged in a fist fight a left hook from Willis hurt Crowder and he receded to the cage where Willis unloaded another left hook that sealed the deal at 2:33 secs.

 

What’s Next: Justin Willis is now 2-0 in the UFC and improves his record to 7-3. He has shown significant striking game, but he is yet to be tested against a solid competitor. A couple of more wins and he could be seen cracking the top 15.

 

Dominick Reyes defeated Jeremy Kimball via submission: It took a while for Reyes to get in the fight mode as Kimball opened the round with an initial pressure that saw Reyes move back and get slammed on the canvas. But then it was all Reyes, who got his takedown once he got back up forcing Kimball to give up his back in the process and locking his body with a body triangle. It was evident, Reyes was going for a rear naked choke, and so he did by forcing Kimball to tap at 3:39 secs of the opening round.

 

 

What’s Next: Reyes continues his undefeated streak (8-0) as he gets his seventh win inside the first round. With a submission win over an aggressive opponent, Reyes has proven that his ground game is as lethal as his striking. He’s definitely a prospect to be watched for in the light heavyweight division.

 

Abdul Razak Alhassan defeated Sabah Homasi via TKO: It was meant to be a promising welterweight clash but ended in a controversial manner when referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight as he saw Homasi drop limp to the canvas. Both Alhassan and Homasi engaged in an early slugfest, which Anik dubbed as phonebooth fighting as they traded wild punches. Alhassan seemed to have rocked for a moment but in the flurry dropped Homasi. It looked his punch just grazed Homasi, his knees giving up and he looked to grab the legs. The fight was called off at 4:21 secs of the first round and the crowd erupted to the early stoppage.

 

 

 

What’s Next: With this win Alhassan rebounded from his previous split decision loss. Alhassan got lucky tonight against a tough brawler like Homasi, but he needs to reconsider his fighting approach if he wants to make a mark in this division.

 

Amanda Bobby Cooper defeated Angela Magana via TKO: It was a clear dominant performance for the native Amanda Cooper right from the start of the first round. Amanda looked more focused as she set her mind to grind Angela with an early takedown. Even as Angela held on to the fence, that didn’t keep Amanda from taking her down and almost coming to finish as the opening round came to close. In the second round, Amanda got another takedown and took the control from the back. From there she unloaded a series of strikes to which Angela had no response. The referee had seen enough and stepped in to wave it off at 4:34 secs.

 

 

 

What’s Next: A dominant win puts back Amanda on the win column, but she is far from the top 10 bracket. She needs to keep a consistent win ratio to be taken seriously despite her skills. While for with a five-fight losing skid, this should be Angela’s last UFC appearance as she has lost all her three fights inside the octagon.

 

Felice Herrig defeated Cortney Casey-Sanchez via split decision: It was a razor close fight to call as both the strawweight’s put on an exciting performance where neither of them backed down. Felice displayed her improved boxing as she got the better of Cortney as she closed the distance and avoided much of Cortney’s punches with her inside fighting. Felice secured a takedown in the first-round while Cortney attempted a kimura from the bottom. Cortney being the taller fighter, tried to keep Felice away with her long punches.

 

 

 

What’s Next: Felice rides on a four-fight win streak and has shown significant improvement in her fight game. It’s a long way for Felice to even fight for the no1. Contender position, but with a few more wins she can get a top 5 ranked fight to prove herself worthy of the contention.

 

David Teymur defeated Drakkar Klose via unanimous decision: It was David’s striking that put him ahead in the scorecard as he landed accurate strikes outworking Drakker Klose in all the three rounds. As David kept on landing strikes at his will, Drakkar seemed to grow restless and unable to respond back over committed in the process. Drakkar’s response came in the form of takedowns but he was unable to make the most of it. As the fight approached in the third, Drakkar displayed signs of losing composure and made more mistakes which Daivd kept on capitalizing with his combinations.

 

 

 

What’s Next: David keeps his UFC undefeated streak and improves to 7-1 as he handed Drakkar his first UFC loss. He could hang in with any of the 10-15 ranked fighters including Evan Dunham, James Vick proving a legit lightweight prospect.

 

Yancy Medeiros defeated Alex Oliveira via TKO: What a Fight! This could be the contender for the Fight of the Night as both the welterweights put on an amazing fight. Yancy tasted initial success as he knocked down Oliveira but that’s when things got heated as Oliveira came back and dropped Yancy twice in the round. Their nasty exchanges saw blood pouring from Oliveira’s nose, but he kept coming back. Oliveira found his mark with knees as Yancy tripped him to the ground unleashing heavy elbows. Another takedown from Oliveira in the third round after following Yancy on the feet tagging him. With just two minutes left in the final round Yancy dropped Oliveira and unloaded heavy shots that had he in covered up with no response. The referee stopped the fight at 2:02 secs of the third round.

 

 

 

What’s Next: Yancy has won three fights in a row and looks unstoppable in this new weight division and few bigger challenges await him. Oliveira snaps his four-fight win streak but should be proud of the performance tonight.

 

Paul Felder defeated Charles Oliveira via TKO: Charles got the better of Paul early in the first round with his submission attempts, but the Irish survived to see the second round. The submission attempts saw Charles gassing out and unable to keep up with Paul’s pressure. Paul soon realized the submissions are coming his way and began keeping distance to land his own strikes. Just a minute under the second round he found an opening and unloaded elbow strikes to which Oliveira tapped until the referee wanted no more at 4:06 secs.

 

 

 

What’s Next: Paul has won his third straight fight now after defeating some known names in the division. But big-name fights are where he fell short in the past and needs to get past few more with improved ground game next year.

 

MAIN CARD

 

Tecia Torres defeated Michelle Waterson via unanimous decision: The strawweight clash between the #5 and #6 ranked fighters went the distance with Tecia getting the better of Waterson in these three rounders’ back and forth action. Tecia found success with her crisp and lightning fast strikes as Michelle relied on her trademark kicks. But it was clear that strength and cardio was on Tecia’s side who kept the pressure on despite being taken down couple of times by Michelle. By the end of the final round, Michelle barely stood in front of Tecia who kept on tagging her with her combinations.

 

What’s Next: A title contention fight for Tecia could be on the horizon next year and with two more wins could challenge the champion.

 

Eddie Alvarez defeated Justin Gaethje via KO: Undoubtedly the fight of the night performance by both the lightweights. This had barn burner turned into a brutal war as both the fighters fought to be recognized as the most violent guy. Justin’s leg kicks did the initial damage as Eddie hardly checked any of wicked leg kicks and it came to a point where he had to switch stance. Eddie had to change his strategy going in the second round – stick and move, land more body shots and avoid the leg kicks. The body shots made a stark difference as Justin became more stationary in the middle of the fight but kept on countering with leg kicks in the clinch. Heading in the third it was unclear who would fall first as both the fighters gave everything they had while absorbing each other’s shots. As they continued to trade in the clinch, Eddie lands a perfectly timed knee sending Justin to the ground.

 

https://twitter.com/McDuckMMA/status/937172955460550657

 

 

What’s Next: Eddie becomes the first fighter to stop Justin and snap his 17-fight streak. With few more fights in the division that are to decide the contender ship, Eddie can sit back and watch how things unfold in the first four months of the next year.

 

Henry Cejudo defeated Sergio Pettis via unanimous decision: Henry was in total control of the fight right from the start as he took down Pettis with a lightning fast takedown in the first round. Petties tried to get back up but was pulled down by the Olympian as he controlled four minutes of the first round. Except few kicks, Pettis was unable to put Henry in any danger. It was a complete wrestling display and schooling in the wrestling department by Henry Cejudo.

 

 

What’s Next: Herny Cejudo remains the #2 ranked flyweight and with a win over the #4 ranked Sergio is just a win away from another title shot.

 

Francis Ngannou defeated Alistair Overeem via KO: Francis continues his reign of dominance in the heavyweight division with a scary first round knockout of the #1 ranked Overeem. The Demolition Man rushed towards Francis trying to catch him off guard – a wrong move that costed him his contention. Francis was quick to react and from there on relied on his fists. Overeem looked concerned but nonetheless engaged in trying to avoid the punches. But eventually got caught in the KO of the year at 1:42 secs.

 

 

Max Holloway defeated Jose Aldo via TKO: In the highly anticipated rematch Jose Aldo promised to bring his ace boxing and kickboxing game. But it was only until the late second round, that we started to see Jose Aldo landing some brutal leg kicks. Max Holloway stayed kept on landing short jabs and counters that saw Jose Aldo’s face bruised and bloody. Clearly the body shots and head shots had taken a toll on Jose Aldo who seemed breathing heavy in the third. Holloway sensing his opponents slow speed dragged him in the slug fest where he landed the most strikes. Once on the ground, Holloway locked Jose Aldo with a top position and kept on dropping bombs until the referee had to stop the fight at 4:51 secs of the third round.

 

 

What’s Next: Max Holloway is on a 12-fight win streak, the most impressive and dominant in this division. The next inline for him could be a well recovered Frankie Edgar or Cub Swanson. Jose Aldo has not looked the same since his last fight with Holloway. He has clearly shown signs of fading in the third round and unable to keep up with the pressure.

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