On Saturday night, UFC returns to their home of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, for the first of many fight nights to be held at the UFC Apex location. Headlining the card, high ranked welterweights Tyron Woodley and Gilbert Burns battle. Follow along throughout the night for updates on the action.
Quick Results – Click a fight to skip to its part:
Preliminary Card (5PM EDT / 2PM PDT) (ESPN+ / TSN5)
Bout 1: Chris Gutierrez def. Vince Morales via TKO, Kicks (RD 2, 4:27)
Bout 2: Casey Kenney def. Louis Smolka via Submission, Guillotine (RD 1, 3:03)
Bout 3: Brandon Royval def. Tim Elliott via Submission, Arm Triangle (RD 2, 3:18)
Bout 4: Jamahall Hill def. Klidson Abreu via TKO, Punches (RD 1, 1:51)
Bout 5: Daniel Rodriguez def. Gabriel Green via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Katlyn Chookagian def. Antonina Shevchenko via Decision, Unanimous
Main Card (8PM EDT / 5PM PDT) (ESPN / TSN5)
Bout 7: Mackenzie Dern def. Hannah Cifers via Submission, Kneebar (RD 1, 2:36)
Bout 8: Roosevelt Roberts def. Brok Weaver via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 3:26)
Bout 9: Billy Quarantillo def. Spike Carlyle via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 10: Augusto Sakai def. Blagoy Ivanov via Decision, Split
Bout 11: Gilbert Burns def. Tyron Woodley via Decision, Unanimous
Live Coverage:
Burns Gets Scorecard Sweep Over Woodley
Getting a clean scorecard sweep over former UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley, Gilbert Burns became the new top challenger for the 170-pound belt.
Burns got ahead early, dropping Woodley in the first round with strikes. Woodley was able to recover, although through all of the following rounds he did not bounce back in striking or grappling.
Heading into this fight, Woodley was ranked in first place for the welterweight division. The match versus Burns was his return after losing his welterweight belt to Kamaru Usman in 2019.
“Kamaru [Usman], I want to fight for the title … A lot of love and respect for you, but I’m next,” said Burns afterwards, claiming that he’s next for a title shot.
Burns versus Woodley play-by-play.
Sakai Wins Fourth UFC Fight
Going to the scorecards, a close battle saw Augusto Sakai win over Blagoy Ivanov. The striking, which was slow-paced yet also close, favoured Sakai most of the time.
The fight was a split decision, with two judges going in favour of Sakai 29-28. The third scorecard went to Ivanov with a score of 30-27.
“Whoever the UFC sends my way, I just want to fight somebody ranked above me,” said Sakai’s translator in the post-fight interview.
Sakai versus Ivanov play-by-play.
Quarantillo Wins Wild War
A hectic battle went in the way of Billy Quarantillo over Spike Carlyle via unanimous decision. The fast-paced fight saw dozens of takedowns, with Quarantillo heating up more in the two last rounds.
The fight had bizzarre moments, including when Carlyle was hit with a punch due to thinking the fight had ended.
“I want my next fight to be the first fight back with a huge crowd,” said Quarantillo, refusing to call out a specific opponent.
Quarantillo versus Carlyle play-by-play.
Roberts Gets Quick Win
Continuing his early campaign in the UFC, Roosevelt Roberts stopped Brok Weaver in the second round with a rear naked choke.
Roberts avoided the frustrating style of Weaver, which would see him put Roberts against the cage many times throughout the fight.
Weaver missed weight by one-and-a-half pounds for the lightweight battle, and because of that gave up 20 percent of his fight purse.
“Matt Frevola, you my next target,” said Roberts after the fight, calling out who he wants next.
Roberts versus Weaver play-by-play.
Dern Gets Back In Win Column
Bouncing back from her first loss as a pro, Mackenzie Dern caught Hannah Cifers early with a kneebar to win the fight.
“Jiu-Jitsu, of course, is always going to save me,” said Dern after the fight, talking about how the knee bar gave her the win.
Dern versus Cifers play-by-play.
Chookagian Bounces Back
Bouncing back from a failed flyweight championship shot, Katlyn Chookagian put on a dominant performance over Antonina Shevchenko, getting a unanimous decision win.
Chookagian had a fast start, landing lots of punches and putting in a rear naked choke in the first round. She was the better fighter in the following rounds as well.
“I have so much fight fever, but I also have baby fever,” said Chookagian after the fight, stressing that she wants to get in fights soon.
Chookagian versus Shevchenko play-by-play.
Decision Goes To ‘D-Rod’
The first decision of the evening was a unanimous win for Daniel Rodriguez, defeating Gabriel Green. The win was a lopsided kickboxing battle that saw Rodriguez out-strike Green. Despite “D-Rod” being the better striker, Green was the one often pressing forward.
“Let’s keep this going, this is what I do, this is what I love to do … Yeah I was just in a brawl, but I’m good to go,” said Rodriguez after the fight.
The fight was a short notice one for Green, being his first fight in over a year, and his UFC debut.
Rodriguez versus Green play-by-play.
Hill Remains Undefeated
Remaining undefeated, Jamahal Hill stopped Klidson Abreu in the first round with strikes.
Hill landed a knee to the body that dropped Abreu, following up with punches before the referee ended the fight.
“Coming out of the quarantine, this was real tough,” said Hill afterwards.
The fight wasn’t the first appearance at the UFC Apex for Hill, as he made his way into the UFC after winning on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Hill versus Abreu play-by-play.
Royval Has Explosive Debut
Stopping veteran Tim Elliott, Brandon Royval had a successful UFC debut, slipping in an arm triangle choke to win.
The first round of the fight was a fast tempo, with both fighters focused mainly on takedowns. Fatigue clearly played a factor in the second round, with Elliott, who was much more active in the first round moving slow.
“I’m not impressed by myself … Bad peformance man, I’m sorry,” said Royval after the fight, disappointed in his fight against Elliott during his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier.
In his first UFC fight, Royval defeated Elliott, who was within the top 15 ranked flyweight fighters. The win implies he will be ranked come Monday.
“I gotta go to work tomorrow because I didn’t put on a good performance today,” said Royval, thinking he won’t get a performance bonus.
Royval versus Elliott play-by-play.
Kenney Catches Smolka With Guillotine
Casey Kenney got a quick win on the prelims, stopping Louis Smolka in the first round with a guillotine choke.
The win was a bounce back from a loss to Merab Dvalishvili, who gave Kenney his first loss in his now-four fight UFC run.
“I hate fighting 15 minutes,” said Kenney afterwards, who got his first stoppage win in the UFC.
Kenney versus Smolka play-by-play.
Leg Kicks Lead Gutierrez To Victory
Getting his third win in a row, Chris Gutierrez stopped Vince Morales with leg kicks. The dominant striking performance saw Gutierrez land dozens of leg kicks, with damage accumulating, eventually dropping Morales in the second round.
“I kick hard, at least that’s what I’ve been told,” said Gutierrez in his post-fight interview.
The fight was a return for Gutierrez after healing an injury.
“I had seven and a half, eight months to really buckle down,” said the first winner of the evening, talking about how he had time to rehabilitate his injury and work on personal life issues.
Knockdown News 