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The
Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the UFC Apex in Las
Vegas for
UFC Vegas 121, an entertaining event that featured nine fights
ending inside the distance, including one by disqualification.

The headliner of the event, also known as
UFC Fight Night 289, saw up-and-comer Raul Rosas
Jr. compete in his first UFC main event against Octagon veteran
Raoni
Barcelos. In the opening rounds, Rosas Jr. (13-1, 7-1 UFC)
looked lighter on his feet and quicker with his punches. Barcelos,
in turn, relied on his wrestling background to take the action to
the canvas. Even when put on his back, Rosas Jr. stayed active and
worked his way back to his feet.

Raul Rosas Jr. Scores Bizarre Knockout in UFC Vegas 121 Main
Event

Still, Barcelos (22-6, 11-5 UFC) connected with hooks and short
punches in his unorthodox but effective style. The back-and-forth
exchanges continued into Round 3, when Barcelos threw “El Niño
Problema” to the canvas and briefly took his back, but Rosas Jr.
escaped the difficult position and returned to his feet.

Both fighters showed signs of fatigue entering Round 4, when the
pace slowed. Barcelos took the action to the ground, but Rosas Jr.
did all he could to stay out of serious danger. The Brazilian
eventually took his opponent’s back and went for a rear-naked
choke, but Rosas Jr. resisted every submission attempt, even after
Barcelos locked in a body triangle.

In the fifth and final round, Rosas Jr. appeared to catch a second
wind and stuffed his opponent’s takedown attempts. Midway through
the frame, Rosas Jr. landed an inside trip of his own. Barcelos
crashed to the canvas and was immediately knocked out, appearing to
land on his head during the takedown.

The official time was 1:38 of Round 5. Barcelos was immediately
taken from the cage to receive medical attention. Riding a
six-fight winning streak, Rosas Jr. can continue his quest to
become the youngest champion in UFC history. Paramount
Brazil’s Vevy Rodrigues reported that Barcelos was alert and
getting checked at a local hospital.

The co-main event featured Norma
Dumont and Ailin Perez
in the women’s bantamweight division. The pair made no secret of
their dislike for one another at the weigh-ins, and when they
finally met in the Octagon, they skipped the glove touch. The
fight, however, ultimately failed to live up to expectations.

In the opening stanza, “Fiona” caught one of Dumont’s kicks and
took her opponent down, working from inside her guard. Dumont
(13-4, 9-4 UFC) appeared to find her rhythm in the second frame.
The fight looked fairly even entering Round 3, when the fighters
spent most of their time working against the cage.

When the dust settled, Perez was awarded a unanimous decision via
three 29-28 scorecards. With her seventh straight win, Perez (14-2,
7-1 UFC) may have also earned a shot at the divisional championship
against the winner of the Kayla
Harrison–Amanda
Nunes clash.

Earlier on the card, Luis
Hernandez (9-0, 1-0 UFC) forced fellow DWCS graduate Sedriques
Dumas (10-6, 1 NC; 3-6, 1 NC UFC) to tap to a standing
guillotine choke in their 185-pound affair. A last-minute
replacement for Mickey
Gall, “The Stache” stepped confidently into the Octagon and

earned his second win in 11 days by submitting his opponent 57
seconds into the fight. Hernandez recorded the sixth
submission of his career and has finished all nine of his
professional victories.

In “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 34 bantamweight final, Ilimbek
Akylbek Uulu (10-3, 1-0 UFC) defeated
Mehemmedali Osmanli (11-2, 0-1 UFC) after his opponent

was disqualified for landing an illegal knee at 2:19 of Round 1
while the Kyrgyz fighter was grounded. Despite the
anticlimactic ending, Akylbek Uulu secured his fourth straight
victory.



In the first fight on the main card, “Tina Black” Valesca
Machado (16-4, 1 NC; 1-0 UFC) made history by becoming the
first Brazilian woman to win “The Ultimate Fighter” after she
overwhelmed Melissa
Amaya (8-1, 0-1 UFC) with punches
at 3:19 of Round 2 in the Season 34 women’s strawweight
final. Machado also extended her winning streak to
four.

Earlier on the preliminary card, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 29
finalist Brady
Hiestand (9-2, 4-1 UFC) extended his winning streak to four by
forcing Road to UFC Season 1 bantamweight winner Rinya
Nakamura (10-2, 4-2 UFC) to tap to
a rear-naked choke at 4:07 of Round 2.

Five-time International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation world
champion Rodolfo
Vieira (12-5, 7-5 UFC) defeated Robert
Bryczek (18-8, 1-3 UFC) on all three scorecards (30-27, 30-27,
30-27) in their 185-pound contest, snapping a two-fight losing
streak.

Bellator MMA veteran Christian
Edwards (9-5, 1-1 UFC) bounced back from an underwhelming
promotional debut by blitzing DWCS graduate Rodolfo
Bellato (13-4-1, 1 NC; 2-2-1, 1 NC UFC) with punches at 1:47 of
Round 3 in their light heavyweight clash,
recording the seventh finish of his career.

Brazilian lightweight Elves
Brener (17-6, 4-3 UFC) snapped a three-fight skid by stopping
Ohio Combat League veteran Josiah
Harrell (11-2, 0-2 UFC) with punches at 4:14 of the opening
round,
recording the 10th first-round finish of his
career.

At bantamweight, Montel
Jackson (16-4, 10-4 UFC) avenged a 2018 loss to former Legacy
Fighting Alliance champion Ricky Simon
(22-8-1, 10-7-1 UFC) by
stopping his opponent with punches at 2:39 of Round
2.

In another 135-pound bout, “The Mongolian Knight” Heili
Alateng (18-10-2, 6-3-1 UFC) edged former Combate Global
champion John
Castaneda (21-9-1, 4-5-1 UFC) via split decision (29-28, 29-28,
28-29).

In the opening women’s strawweight matchup, former Ultimate Warrior
Challenge Mexico titleholder Yazmin
Jauregui (12-2, 4-2 UFC) stopped former LFA champion Vanessa
Demopoulos (11-9, 5-6 UFC) with punches just 62 seconds into
the fight,
handing her opponent a fourth consecutive loss.

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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