When Rafael Dos Anjos got injured, and the main event had to be changed, very few would’ve imagined that the PPV would become one of the greatest nights in MMA history. Two of the biggest upsets took place on the card, which saw Holly Holm defending her UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship against Miesha in the co – main event.
Here’s a quick recap of the fights that went down during the night.
Prelims card:
Teruto Ishihara defeated Julian Erosa via KO in round 2
Jason Saggo defeated Justin Salas via TKO in round 1
Diego Sanchez defeated Jim Miller via Unanimous Decision
Many people believed that it would be a tossup between the veterans, Diego Sanchez and Jim Miller. Sanchez dominated in the first round before Miller got back into the thick of things in the second. However, Sanchez did enough to get the nod from the judges.
Darren Elkins defeated Chas Skelly via Unanimous Decision
Vitor Miranda defeated Marcelo Guimaraes via TKO in round 3
Nordine Taleb defeated Erick Silva via KO in round 2
The first upset of the night saw Taleb defeating the dangerous Erick Silva. Silva started the fight with an unpopular but legal jab after touching gloves, but Taleb countered a kick with a right cross, dropping Silva to the mat in the second round. Taleb then rained down with hammer fists before the referee stepped in to stop the fight.
Siyar Bahadurzada defeated Brandon Thatch via submission (arm triangle) in round 3
The final match of the FS1 prelims saw Thatch going up against Bahadurzada. Bahadurzada controlled in the clinch before Thatch came out swinging in the second round. However, Bahadurzada kept up the pressure and eventually finished Thatch with an arm triangle in the final round.
Main card:
Amanda Nunes defeated Valentina Shevchenko via Unanimous Decision
The fight started as everyone expected, with Shevchenko standing back and letting Nunes charge her. Shevchenko is known to not expend too much in the first couple of rounds, but that came back to haunt her, as Nunes controlled the first two rounds. While Shevchenko pushed the pace in the third round, “The Lioness” picked up the UD and asked Dana to give her the next shot at the UFC Bantamweight title.
Corey Anderson defeated Tom Lawlor via Unanimous Decision
Lawlor started smartly while Anderson couldn’t get going. Anderson couldn’t close the gap and take Lawlor down, while Lawlor continued working on Anderson. Anderson got back into the fight in the second and third rounds, while most of the pundits thought it could go down to the wire. However, no one expected a UD, but Anderson continued his resurgence by stopping Lawlor.
Ilir Latifi defeated Gian Villante via Unanimous Decision
“The Sledgehammer” walked in as the odds-on favorite, with his sheer brute power giving him the edge. Latifi controlled the fight and took Villante down with a suplex, and then landed some good rights. However, Villante stayed in the fight and went for the counter punches. In the end, Latifi proved to be more than a handful, as picked up a victory via yet another UD.
Miesha Tate defeated Holly Holm via RNC in round 5 for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship
The co-main event saw Holly defending her title for the first time against the perennial number one contender, Miesha Tate. As expected, Holly tried keeping the distance between herself and Miesha, while Miesha tried to close the gap by working in clinches and taking Holly to the ground. Miesha almost got the RNC locked in during the second round, but Holly managed to hang on.
Holly did enough to take the first, third and the fourth rounds, while Miesha had to finish Holly to have a chance of winning the fight. Eventually, Miesha did just that by getting Holly’s back and locking in the RNC. Holly tried to shrug her off and tried to slam her to the mat, but Miesha hung on and took Holly to the ground, where Holly passed out, giving the victory to Miesha Tate. In the process, Miesha managed to win the UFC Bantamweight title for the first time in her career.
Nathan Diaz defeated Conor McGregor via RNC in round 2
The biggest upset of the night came when Conor took on the last minute replacement, Nate Diaz. Conor and Nate got into a fist fight in the first round, with Conor slicing Nate open near his eye. However, Nate kept countering Conor’s charges and rocked the Featherweight champion in the second round. Nate eventually took Conor to the ground, and as expected, used his jiu-jitsu to put Conor in deep trouble. Nate locked Conor in the RNC, as Conor tapped out, giving the submission victory to Nate in the second round.
