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your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. Derek
Brunson paid no attention to all the extracurricular activity
associated with Kevin
Holland. The
Sanford MMA representative on Saturday executed takedowns in
four of the five rounds, piled up copious amounts of control time,
applied his ground-and-pound and ignored the interminable trash
talk, as he took a unanimous decision from Holland in the
UFC on ESPN 21 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores
were 49-45, 49-46 and 49-46, all for Brunson (22-7, 13-5 UFC).
Holland (21-6, 8-3 UFC) was effective while he remained upright.
However, Brunson withstood his bursts of violence and used his
aggression against him, closing the distance to either clinch or
pursue takedowns. Holland did what he could to hide his
frustration, but his deficit grew with each passing round. He
opened a cut near Brunson’s right eye in the fifth round and even
recorded a takedown of his own. Success was short-lived and empty.
Brunson returned to his feet, secured his final takedown with a
little more than a minute left in the match and chewed up the
remaining time.
The defeat was Holland’s first since 2019, snapped a fight-fight
winning streak and established a clear ceiling within the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s middleweight division.
Griffin Short-Circuits Song
Former Tachi
Palace Fights and
West Coast Fighting Championship titleholder Max Griffin
chopped down Kenan Song
with punches in the first round of their welterweight co-main
event. Song (16-6, 4-2 UFC) succumbed to blows 2:20 into Round 1,
putting a stop to his modest two-fight winning streak.
Griffin (17-8, 5-6 UFC) blitzed the Phuket Top Team rep with early
activity, settled into a rhythm after eating a few jabs and
unleashed his hands. He backed up Song with a clubbing right,
corralled him along the fence and cut loose with punches. Griffin uncorked hooks from both hands, burying the
31-year-old in a facedown heap.
The 35-year-old Griffin has delivered back-to-back victories since
his split decision loss to Alex
Oliveira a little more than a year ago.
Ruiz Stymies Frustrated Buys
Repeated head-and-arm throws paired with suffocating control
carried Montserrat
Ruiz to a unanimous decision over Fortis
MMA’s Cheyanne
Buys in a three-round women’s strawweight feature. All three
cageside judges scored it for Ruiz (10-1, 1-0 UFC): 29-28, 29-28
and 29-27.
Buys (5-2, 0-1 UFC) was the superior fighter in space but could not
keep the
Invicta Fighting Championships veteran at bay. Ruiz swarmed
into the clinch repeatedly, snatched the head-and-arm throw and
threatened with the scarf hold armlock once the hit the mat. An
increasingly frustrated Buys freed herself on occasion—she climbed
to full mount late in the second round—but spent too much time
eating punches and worrying about being submitted while pinned
underneath her opponent.
The setback snapped a four-fight winning streak for Buys.
Surging Yanez KOs Lopez
Metro Fight Club prospect Adrian
Yanez wiped out former Combate
Americas champion Gustavo
Lopez with a devastating right hook in the third round of their
bantamweight showcase. Victimized by one of the rising stars in the
135-pound weight class, Lopez (12-6, 1-2 UFC) bowed out 27 seconds
into Round 3.
Yanez (13-3, 2-0 UFC) made it clear from the start that he was the
vastly superior tactician on the feet. Lopez elected to exchange
with him—he did not attempt a single takedown—and paid a steep
price, eating one counterpunch after another. Yanez dropped him to
a knee with a right hook in the second round, stayed composed and
drew his prey further and further into his traps. Perhaps sensing
he was down on the scorecards, Lopez threw caution to the wind at
the start of the third and ran into another counter. The impact of the exquisitely timed hook spun him
around, left him in a dazed state on the canvas and prompted
referee Chris Tognoni to intervene on his behalf.
The 27-year-old Yanez has won six fights in a row, five of them by
knockout.
Tuivasa Waylays Newcomer Hunsucker
Former
Australian Fighting Championship titleholder Tai Tuivasa
cut down Harry
Hunsucker with punches in the first round of their heavyweight
feature. Tuivasa (11-3, 5-3 UFC) drew the curtain 49 seconds into
Round 1, authoring the fifth sub-minute finish of his career.
Hunsucker (6-4, 0-1 UFC) connected on a clean two-punch
combination, only to have his counterpart barely acknowledge it.
Tuivasa marched down the Kentucky native with leg kicks, floored him with two overhand rights and pounced
with follow-up punches and hammerfists until referee Herb Dean had
seen enough.
Tuivasa, 28, has recorded back-to-back wins since enduring
consecutive losses to Junior dos
Santos, Blagoy
Ivanov and Sergey
Spivak.
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