Khalil Rountree Defeated Gokan Saki Via KO in Round 1
Both men enter the octagon oozing with confidence, but its Khalil that looks unfazed with the pressure of fighting against the kickboxing legend Saki. Khalil’s strikes are crisp and they land the target as he stands in the pocket and continues to trade. Saki unleashes few leg kicks but is yet to throw some punches. Khalil senses an opening when Saki throws a leg kick and counters with a neat straight left that lands on the button and drops Saki. Its a rare feat to see him go down and cover himself until the referee stops the fight. A big win for Khalil who picks up his 6th win via KO.
KHALIL ROUNTREE JR w/ the straight left drops Saki!#UFC226 pic.twitter.com/wg38uwA3bc
— UFC (@ufc) July 8, 2018
LAS VEGAS' OWN!!@War_Khalil finishes Saki in round 1! Wow! #UFC226 pic.twitter.com/uneaUoTFth
— UFC (@ufc) July 8, 2018
Anthony Pettis defeated Michael Chiesa via Submission in Round 2
After securing the first round in his books with take downs, strikes and pressure Chiesa started to get a bit over confident. He felt he could take Pettis down at his will, but things began to look different. Pettis was able to fend off Chiesa and got control of the distance with his leg kicks. Pettis kept his cool and kept on charging forward with his strikes. A solid body kick stunned Chiesa and put him on his back foot towards the cage. By the time Chiesa could recover from his reaction Pettis lands a quick straight right and jump guard to a guillotine transitions to a tight triangle and finishes with an arm bar.
There's some serious bad blood in this one ..#UFC226 pic.twitter.com/A4eg5eiZkI
— UFC (@ufc) July 8, 2018
The punch that set up the finish ..#UFC226 @ShowtimePettis pic.twitter.com/rJZowkNGiq
— UFC (@ufc) July 8, 2018
PETTIS TAPS CHIESA! PETTIS TAPS CHIESA!
We are off to one CRAZY start at #UFC226! pic.twitter.com/yKddRo8FjS
— UFC (@ufc) July 8, 2018
Mike Perry defeated Paul Felder via Split Decision
Elbows. Spinning Back Fists. Body Shots. Those were the highlights of this intense back and forth fight between these two hard hitting and durable welterweights. An early cut on Felder caused some problems for him but he was still in the fight and caused serious damage to Perry as he snatched the first round for himself. A spinning back fist from Felder resulted in a broken arm and slowed his striking rate. Perry sensed it and tried to finish him with everything he had but Felder just stood right in front of him. A very close fight but Perry picked up the win clearly with his pressure and striking volume.
……. #UFC226 pic.twitter.com/DN9vWpE6Da
— UFC (@ufc) July 8, 2018
Enjoy these final :15 from @FelderPaul and @PlatinumPerry 👏 👏 👏#UFC226 pic.twitter.com/ExX5k73Kjr
— UFC (@ufc) July 8, 2018
🗣 By Split Decision@PlatinumPerry gets back in the win column! #UFC226 pic.twitter.com/n6Piiau8wk
— UFC (@ufc) July 8, 2018
Derrick Lewis defeated Francis Ngannou via Unanimous Decision
What could have been a thrilling heavyweight fight where the winner could call for the title shot, the fight turned out to be the opposite. Both Lewis and Francis spent most of the time circling around and feinting without doing much in any of the three rounds. They both even received a warning for not being active. It was Lewis with a bit more activity with his jumping kicks and attempts to clinch. The fight recorded one of the leased strikes from both the fighters. Surprisingly Francis was not the same with his fight approach. Being so cautious and timid will definitely damage his name in the division.
Everyone in this arena's life just flashed in front of their eyes ..#UFC226 pic.twitter.com/GKjSLhsCvN
— UFC (@ufc) July 8, 2018
The Black Beast gets it done.#UFC226 @TheBeast_UFC pic.twitter.com/MaDb5IKjqo
— UFC (@ufc) July 8, 2018
Daniel Cormier defeated Stipe Miocic via KO in Round 1
Cormier made history and shocked the mixed martial arts world with his performance. He reigned supreme tonight with his excellent striking and clinch boxing. His power was too much for the heavyweight champion who went down with a perfectly timed punch to his chin. Cormier’s heavyweight record stays intact and he’s now the two weight division champion.
They're exchanging in round 1! Miocic and Cormier eating each other's shots! #UFC226 pic.twitter.com/jc0iqemDzC
— UFC (@ufc) July 8, 2018
DANIEL CORMIER IS THE NEW HW CHAMPION! #UFC226 pic.twitter.com/zXBkQm2IVQ
— UFC (@ufc) July 8, 2018
The 2nd Champ Champ@DC_MMA #UFC226 pic.twitter.com/bDzj9p7wkd
— UFC (@ufc) July 8, 2018