The UFC returns to Vegas after a long hiatus of nearly three months. Amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, all sporting events were banned in the state of Nevada.
The UFC had to take it’s events to Jacksonville, Florida. On the UFC Vegas card, former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is set to take on Gilbert Burns in the main event.
The fights are taking place at UFC’s Apex facility in Las Vegas and all the other UFC cards will take place in this location for an unforeseeable future.
RESULTS:
Preliminary Cards:
Men’s featherweight: Chris Gutierrez (15-3-1, 3-1 UFC) defeats Vince Morales (9-5, 1-3 UFC) via TKO in the second round.
Post-Fight Scrum:
“A couple fights back I made history in Guatemala, I became the first Guatemalan fighter to ever step foot in the Octagon, so just to be making history says a lot and I’m proud to be that person.
“I think the number one thing is to be able to adapt and overcome. I think with the injury and the time I had off, I mostly had to focus on myself, I think that’s what people failed to realize, the time that I took away, I was working on me the whole time. I want to win and be able to help my family, but most importantly spend time with my son. Ultimately, I just want to be with him, I don’t ask for too much, I just want to be in his life.” Gutierrez said after his fight.
Men’s bantamweight: Casey Kenney (14-2-1, 4-2 UFC) defeats Louis Smolka (16-7, 7-7 UFC) via the first-round guillotine
Post-Fight Scrum:
“I am one of the baddest mother f’rs on the planet, you know what I mean. Any organization I’ve been in, I’ve taken their belt, multiple ones, so that’s exactly what I plan to do here in the UFC.
“I’m an exciting fighter, I don’t put on boring fights, anytime I step in there it’s going to be fireworks and that’s why I love this sport. There isn’t anything I’d rather be doing. I want to get right back in there, hopefully, somebody falls out next week and they call me.” Casey Kenney said after the fight.
Men’s flyweight: Brandon Royval (11-4, 1-0 UFC) defeats Tim Elliott (16-11-1, 5-9 UFC) via arm triangle in the second-round
Post-Fight Scrum:
“I want to be able to quit my job first and foremost. I think I’ve been saying it over and over again, but I want to make this my life, I want to be in the gym. I’m in the gym full-time, but I’m there full-time with like three hours of sleep and I’m working these jobs just so that I can make it and pay my mortgage and all this stuff.
“I want to make MMA my full-time life, I’ve put a lot of work in, I’ve been training since I was 16 years old. I just want to get out of this sport what I put in, I put in a lot of stuff, I put in a lot of love, and I just want to get that out of it. You want to see an exciting fight? Watch me stand up, watch me get comfortable in there. That was actually really cool being out there and feeling the canvas, I’ve never been in the Octagon before, so that was cool,” Royval said after the fight.
Light heavyweight: Jamahal Hill (8-0, 2-0 UFC) defeats Klidson Abreu (15-5, 1-3 UFC) via TKO in the first-round
Post-Fight Scrum:
“I think I made a statement, I know I’m not somebody to be taken lightly. A lot of people like to play with my name, but keep on sleeping on me and I’ll let the doctor wake you up. I feel like I had an advantage everywhere, I trained everywhere.
I’m just getting started, people don’t understand, I’m just getting started. When they really see everything I can do, they’ll get the picture. Just getting sharper, keep steadily improving. I work hard every day, my guys they push me and they work hard to give me everything they have and that just keep propelling me forward.” Jamahal Hill said after the fight.
Welterweight: Daniel Rodriguez (12-1, 2-0 UFC) def. Gabe Green (9-3, 0-1 UFC) by unanimous decision
Post-Fight Scrum:
“You know, Holland fell out, I took that fight on two weeks’ notice. This whole time, throughout this whole COVID thing, I stood getting ready, stood working out. I went to the BMF Ranch because it has everything I need out there. I always stay ready all year around so no matter the opponent I’m always ready.
“I want to keep on fighting. They gave me four days off, I’m going to take two days off and I’m going to get right back to it. For the rest of the year hopefully I can finish out my contract, I got two more fights on my contract, win those, re-sign and just keep fighting. That’s what I do, that’s what I live for. I’m 33 years-old, my main goal is to get as many fights in before the f******* show is over you know,” Rodgriguez said.
Women’s flyweight: Katlyn Chookagian (14-3, 6-3 UFC) def. Antonina Shevchenko (8-2, 2-2 UFC) via unanimous decision.
Post-Fight Scrum:
“It feels really good. I don’t think I’ve gotten better since my last fight, I’ve always had this ability, it’s just being confident and doing it. I think the people that are closest with me know that this is what I am capable of, so just seeing that I’m not surprised because I know I can do that, but being able to finally showcase it in the Octagon is a really good feeling.
“I will fight anyone. After my last fight, I was asking for fights and people were booked and then when all the fights started getting canceled, I didn’t have a fight booked so it’s going to be a long time before. I don’t want a long layoff, honestly I’m getting older, so I want to get as many fights in as I can, I’m not injured. What I see in the future, anyone, I don’t care who it is, anyone I’ll fight, I don’t care what their rankings are, who they just beat, who they just lost to, just give me a fight and I’ll take it.” Chookagian said after the fight.
MAIN CARD:
Mackenzie Dern vs Hannah Cifers
ROUND 1: Cifers immediately starts pushing Dern back to the cage and lands couple of knees to the body. Both fighters then trade punches, but Dern gets the upper hand as she lands an uppercut and a clean right hand.
Mackenzie Dern then follows up with a leg lock and submits Cifers in the first round.
Mackenzie Dern submits Hannah Cifers with a kneebar in the first round #UFCVegas https://t.co/WQ1qv0vJ1G
— MMA India (@MMAIndiaShow) May 31, 2020
Result: Mackenzie Dern def. Hannah Cifers via submission (kneebar) – Round 1, 2:36
Post-Fight Scrum:
“I think that’s a start, a good step forward in making history, showing my potential, that’s really what I wanted. My UFC debut was with Ashley Yoder, a really tough girl, south paw, it went three rounds to a judge’s decision. A lot of people said she has all this hype behind her, this Jiu-Jitsu girl, but it changes when you are in MMA and getting punched in the face. Amanda Cooper was a good fight, but I had the weight problem.
“Then I came back from the pregnancy, I fought Amanda, I fought good with Amanda Ribas, but I wasn’t able to really show how I was, Amanda was better than me that day, so I think nothing better than to do a submission that no one has ever done and show that hey I’m a Jiu-Jitsu girl and yes I’m here and ready to be in the UFC and yes I’m coming for the belt.” Dern said.
Brok Weaver vs Roosevelt Roberts
ROUND 1: Roberts uses his range and lands a straight jab and Weaver tries to push him towards the cage. Weaver is trying to land punches while he has Roberts pinned to the cage with an undertook.
Roberts follows up with a lovely combination followed by a right hand and a body shot. Roberts follows up with a nice 1,2 combination and he is utilizing his jabs and speed to the fullest. He is able to land straight light jabs and right hand at will on Weaver.
Weaver now backs up Roberts against the fence and lands a couple of punches. Weaver dives in and Roberts grabs the standing guillotine. Weaver spins out and falls to the mat, Roberts ends the round on his back.
ROUND 2: Weaver gets caught with a hard right hand from Roberts as soon as the fight starts. Weaver lands a couple of body shots as he had Robers up against the cage. Robert lands a straight right hand and then manages to takedown Weaver via a body lock takedown. He is now maintaining a top position against Weaver and now is in full mount and sinks in the rear-naked choke, but Wever manages to escape.
Roberts sinks in the RNC for the second time and manages to score a submission win.
Roosevelt Roberts submits Brok Weaver in the second round#UFCVegas https://t.co/Ojp6wysT00
— MMA India (@MMAIndiaShow) May 31, 2020
RESULT: Roosevelt Roberts def. Brok Weaver via submission (rear-naked choke) in the second round
Post-Fight Scrum:
“I’m the real deal, everybody, all you 155ers out there, I’m ready and I’m about it, whoever wants it, sign that contract, send it over and you know my signature is going to be on there.
“It feels good, this whole COVID-19 thing, I really didn’t know when I was going to fight, Dana made it happen, so it feels good to come back here and get a finish finally and keep the win streak going. I don’t post a lot of social media, I don’t talk a lot, but just know that when it’s time for me to fight, I’m going to show up and I’m going to fight and bring everything that I got.” Roberts said.
Billy Quarantillo vs Spike Carlyle
ROUND 1: Carlyle stars the fight with a flying kick that missed, then follows up with a series of elbows and now is trying to get Quarantillo is a submissive position. Carlyle now attempting RNC but hasn’t managed to sink it yet. He then follows up with good amount of ground and pound.
Now it’s Billy Quarantillo’s time to return the favor as he is now on the back of Carlyle. Quarantillo trying to land punches on his back. Carlyle landed some hard ground and pound on Quarantillo and then as he was leaving for his corner, Quarantillo dropped Carlyle with a right hand.
ROUND 2: Carlyle starts with a low kick and now Billy gets back with a low kick of his own and then follows up with a right hook. As Billy jumps in to land follow up shots, he gets rocked but manages to take Carlyle down to the mat.
Billy lands a hard knee to the body that seemed to hurt Carlyle and then manages to take him down. Carlyle is exhausted and now jumps for a single leg takedown. But Billy follows upon with a triangle choke and Carlyle is showing a lot of heart at this moment and the round ends.
ROUND 3: Spike Carlyle takes down Billy with a body lock takedown. But Carlyle fails to keep Quartantillo grounded. It’s now Billy’s time to land the heavy shots and he now has Carlyle in an RNC position, but he twists out of it and is on top in guard.
Billy Quarantillo now attempts multiple RNC positions un the final minutes but fails to execute anything. However, he staggers Carlyle with some hard shots at the end of the round.
RESULT: Billy Quarantillo def. Spike Carlyle via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Post-Fight Scrum:
“Based on damage, I felt confident. I felt like, if it wasn’t based on rounds, I knew that I beat him up more than he beat me up. I almost finished him a couple of times, I had a tight choke in there, he didn’t really come close to finishing me, he punched me a few times pretty hard, but nothing I haven’t seen before. Round by round, you just never know what they are going to look at.
“Are they looking at him being on top or are they looking at me throwing up submissions? You never know with judges, that’s why I hate leaving it in the hands of the judges. ‘No judges needed’ is my moniker. Next time, I’m going to look for the finish even more and me and my coaches will go home and study this fight for a long time.” Billy Quarantillo said.
Blagoy Ivanov vs Agusto Sakai
ROUND 1: Both fighters start the round slow as they feel each other round. Neither fighter has landed anything so far.
An inside low kick landed for Sakai and is constantly throwing 1-2 punch combination. A high kick landed for Sakai, but Ivanov lands two back to back overhand rights. Ivanov is trying to punch and Sakai is trying to fight behind his kicks. The Brazilian is constantly throwing leg kicks and the outside of Blagoy’s leg has reddened.
ROUND 2: Blagoy Inavov starts the round with a hard right hand. He is catching Sakai with his punches, but Sakai lands a counter punch that lands on the Bulgarian, but he seems unfazed.
With a minute passed, both fighters exchange heavy punches, and a couple of them landed for both the fighters. Sakai is now firing hard shots, his legs kicks are causing some damage by the looks of it. With 40-seconds left on the clock, Ivanov manages to score a takedown, and Sakai ends the round on his back.
ROUND 3: Sakai landing inside leg kicks and couple of combinations. Sakai is now catching Ivanov frequently in the final round. He is landing the fresher fighter of the two so far and both fighters grapple along on the fences.
Ivanov catches Sakai with a hard right hand, but the Brazilian had a dominant final round.
Result: Augusto Sakai def. Blagoy Ivanov via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Post-Fight Scrum:
“This is what I’ve been waiting for, to be ranked top ten and now I’m ready to move forward. It was extremely hard training during this pandemic but I made the adjustments. I’m very dedicated and my will power is second to none, I knew I could get the job done.
“I absolutely do not think it was a split decision I clearly won two rounds and I think it was a mistake by the judges. I’m not sure who I want to fight next, that’s not my job. I’m going to go home and rest but I will fight anybody in the top ten.” Sakai said.
Tyron Woodley vs Gilbert Burns
ROUND 1: Woodley throws an overhand right but misses by a large margin, then Burns follows up with inside leg kick.
The moment Gilbert Burns dropped Tyron Woodley in the first round#UFCVegas #MMA https://t.co/fUDUAftX80
— MMA India (@MMAIndiaShow) May 31, 2020
Burns then drops Woodley with a hard right hand which was followed by ground and pound. Burns follows up with an RNC but fails to follow through. Woodley is now bleeding from above his right eye as Burns follows up with a guillotine.
Tyron Woodley has a deep cut 😱😱#UFCVegas https://t.co/JQ7kmL0qQ1
— MMA India (@MMAIndiaShow) May 31, 2020
With two minutes remaining on the clock, both fighters are now back on the feet. Burns looks phenomenal in the opening round as he dominated Woodley who is making his first appearance in the final round.
ROUND 2: Woodley starts the round with a hard 1-2 early on. Woodley then goes for another 1-2 punch combination, but it ends badly for him as he gets taken down by Burns and now the Brazilian is maintaining a top guard position.
ROUND 3: Straight jab pushes Burns back and now both fighters are feeling each other out. Woodley circling the round and occasionally gets on the inside to throw the punch. Burns standing in the middle of the Octagon with his hand’s down. Burns is trying to take the fight to the ground, but Woodley wants to fight on his feet.
ROUND 4: A solid left hook from Burns to start round 4. Woodley swings wild and then Burns shoots for a takedown and Woodley manages to stuff it and push him to the fence. Burns lands a huge kick to the body that hurt Woodley and he is stumbling across the Octagon. Burns then ends the round with a tight guillotine choke, but Woodley is saved by the bell.
ROUND 5: Burns picking Woodley apart with leg kicks and the former champion throws a wild swinging right hands that miss by a wide margin. Both fighters battling in a clinch and now referee Herb Dean intervenes and breaks the fight. Burns is continuously landing inside leg kicks with less than 30-seconds left on the clock.
A completely dominant performance by Gilbert Burns as he completely shut off Tyron Woodley.
Results: Gilbert Burns def. Tyron Woodley via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-44)
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