Getty Images/UFC
Tofiq
Musayev picked up his first UFC win on Saturday, but it was
definitely a wild ride.
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Longtime
Rizin Fighting Federation lightweight standout Musayev (23-6;
1-1 UFC) faced short-notice foe Ignacio
Bahamondes (17-7; 6-4 UFC) in the top prelim bout of
UFC Seattle, and the two collaborated on one of the bloodiest,
most dramatic bouts we’re likely to see all year. The momentum
swung in Bahamondes’ direction early, as he got the better of most
of the standup exchanges, hurting the Azerbaijani several times en
route to winning a clear but competitive Round 1. The second frame
started off with more of the same, as Bahamondes hurt Musayev with
a hard right hand, then looked to hoist and slam him to the ground.
Musayev recovered—with the help of a couple of egregious fence
grabs—and took Bahamondes down, at which point he cut the Chilean
wide open with an elbow. The bleeding was immediate and profuse,
and Musayev poured it on in search of the stoppage. Bahamondes
somehow kept his composure and despite the blood streaming into his
eyes, stayed active, throwing up armbar attempts from his back.
Musayev stayed in top position for most of the round, landing
sporadic strikes (including a blatant head butt) as Bahamondes did
his best to survive. Survive he did, but the fight could easily
have been stopped between rounds on account of the cuts on
Bahamondes’ face.
The cageside physician allowed the fight to go on, and fans were
rewarded with another wild, violent round. Bahamondes came out
aggressive, landing some hard strikes, but Musayev caught him with
a flurry of punches, then dragged him back to the canvas. We
appeared to be headed for a repeat of Round 2, but Bahamondes swept
his opponent, took Musayev’s back and made it a battle right up to
the final horn. The judges all saw the fight identically, awarding
Musayev the win by 29-28 scores.
Gibson Blows Away Hooper
In the closest thing to a hometown fight at UFC Seattle,
Washington-born Canadian Lance
Gibson Jr. (10-2; 1-1 UFC) took care of business against
Seattle-area native Chase
Hooper (16-5-1; 8-5 UFC). Hooper tried for a takedown almost
immediately, but Gibson defended it well, and set about navigating
the range against the taller, lankier American on the feet. A tense
lightweight scrap turned into a rout midway through the round when
Gibson fought off another takedown attempt, then crushed Hooper
with an elbow on the break.
Hooper was instantly on ice skates and Gibson gave him no quarter,
blasting him with a soccer kick to the chest and face, shucking off
a final, desperate takedown attempt and closing the fight out with
three straight knees to the head. Referee Blake Grice
moved in to save “The Dream” at 2:56 of Round 1, sending the
second-generation UFC fighter off to celebrate his first Octagon
win.
Fortune Outduels Tybura
Tyrell
Fortune (18-3, 2 NC; 1-0 UFC) made a successful UFC debut,
socking away two rounds against Marcin
Tybura (27-11; 14-10 UFC), then holding on for a well-earned
unanimous decision. Fortune, who spent nearly his entire career in
pre-PFL Bellator MMA, quickly showed off the speed and wrestling
chops that made him such an intriguing heavyweight prospect. He
looked close to finishing the fight in the first round, as he
grounded Tybura with a beautiful double-leg, then hammered him with
ground punches against the fence. Tybura showed his grit and
veteran poise in surviving the early onslaught, but he was clearly
a step behind throughout the first two rounds. “Tybur” came on in
Round 3, shutting down Fortune’s first takedown attempt and landing
some good strikes at distance. By the final horn, Tybura was
clearly the fresher man, but nonetheless appeared to have come up
short, two rounds to one. The crowd let its disapproval be heard
when the fight was declared a unanimous decision win for Tybura
(30-27, 29-28, 29-28), but the fighters were called back to the
cage a minute later; the result had been read incorrectly and was
in fact a win for Fortune by those scores.
O’Neill Blasts Fernandes
Casey
O’Neill (11-2; 6-2 UFC) returned to the cage after nearly two
years on the shelf and things could not have gone much better, as
she stunned Gabriella
Fernandes (11-4; 3-3 UFC) in the first round of their flyweight
matchup, then closed things out with authority. The fight started
routinely enough, as they seemed to take their time to find their
range. After a couple of minutes of both women coming up short on
kicks and jabs—time during which “King” was apparently shaking off
the rust—O’Neill essayed a level change, only to give up on it
almost immediately and blast Fernandes with a short right hand.
The Brazilian was badly hurt, and O’Neill gave her no room to
breathe, following her to the fence and unleashing a withering
sequence of punches. Fernandes appeared to go in and
out of consciousness more than once as her legs gave out underneath
her. As Fernandes slumped to the canvas in a daze, referee Mike
Beltran moved in for the save a 3:11 of the first round, while
O’Neill stomped off, screaming, “I’m back.” Indeed she was.
Stirling Butchers Lopes
Navajo
Stirling (9-0; 4-0 UFC) entered the cage as a 5-to-1 favorite
over Bruno Lopes
(14-3; 1-2 UFC), the kind of odds that imply that simply winning
might not be enough to impress, and he clearly understood the
assignment, as he broke the fight wide open—to say nothing of his
opponent’s face—with a torrent of vicious ground strikes in the
second round of their light heavyweight prelim. Stirling was
aggressive from the jump, quickly overwhelming Lopes’ attempts to
trade strikes at range and putting him on his heels. The second
half of Round 1 saw Lopes try and haul the bigger man to the
canvas, but Stirling remained on his feet and punished each of the
Brazilian’s attempts, winning the round definitively. The second
frame began similarly, as Lopes came out with the intent to strike,
only to have it go against him once again, but this time Stirling
was not about to let him off the hook.
He rocked Lopes with a right hand, dropped him with a left, then
slid into mount, where he unleashed a torrent of deliberate,
accurate elbows, punches and hammerfists that turned his opponent
into a bloody mush. Referee Keith Peterson gave Lopes
every chance to survive and recover, but as the blood sprayed
across the canvas, he had no option but to intervene, giving
Stirling a well-deserved TKO win at 4:05 of Round 2.
Simon, Yanez Fight to Mystifying Draw
In a matchup of bantamweights who could both use a win, neither
Ricky
Simon (22-7-1; 10-6-1 UFC) nor Adrian
Yanez (17-6-1; 6-3-1 UFC) got one, as their fight was ruled a
draw despite most observers viewing the fight as a win for
Yanez. While conversation in the wake of UFC Seattle is likely
to include some pointed critique of the judges, none of that should
reflect negatively on Simon or Yanez, who delivered a fun,
fast-paced scrap and did their level best to win. The first two
rounds were competitive, with both men hurting the other with
boxing combinations, and Yanez defending most of Simon’s determined
attempts to take him down. Yanez pulled away in Round 3, however,
as his superior hand speed and cleaner combination punching allowed
him to hurt Simon badly late. Yanez rocked Simon with a right hand,
then dropped him to his knees, and went for broke in search of the
stoppage. As referee Blake Grice
watched closely, Yanez beat Simon nearly unrecognizable in the
final 60 seconds of the fight. As it turned out, Yanez was wise to
sprint to the finish line, as a pair of 10-8 scores in the final
round pulled the affair to a majority draw (28-28, 28-28, 29-28
Simon).
Thainara Gets Revenge on Brasil
In the strawweight opener, Alexia
Thainara (14-1; 3-0 UFC) avenged her lone career defeat,
sweeping all three rounds against Bruna
Brasil (11-7-1; 3-5 UFC). Their first meeting was nearly seven
years ago and early enough in both women’s careers that Thainara
was the biggest favorite on Saturday’s card, and it played out that
way. Thainara employed a swarming approach, constantly crowding the
taller woman, shoving her into the fence and looking to drag the
fight to the floor. Brasil was game, fighting to stay upright and
popping back up quickly on several of the occasions that she was
taken down, but the younger woman gained momentum as the fight went
along and appeared to win each successive round in clearer fashion.
The cageside judges agreed, awarding Thainara 30-27 scorecards
across the board. The win extended Thainara’s win streak to a dozen
straight fights, while Brasil has now lost back-to-back fights for
the first time in her career.