On Saturday afternoon, the UFC held a Fight Night event at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. This marked the UFC’s third card on ABC, and their first since April of 2021. The card was headlined by a bout between two of the top featherweight contenders in the promotion, Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez. Ortega last fought in September of 2021, where he lost to the current UFC Featherweight Champion, Alexander Volkanovski, in what was considered a fight of the year candidate. Rodriguez was coming into this fight off of a loss himself, dropping a decision to Max Holloway in November. Despite this, a win over Brian Ortega could theoretically move Yair Rodriguez to the front of the line for a title shot, as he would be a fresh, markable, challenger for Alexander Volkanovski. The co-main event featured the 10th ranked strawweight contender, Michelle Waterson-Gomez, looking to defend her spot in the top ten against Amanda Lemos.
The commentary team for this card consisted of Jon Anik, Daniel Cormier, and Paul Felder. Performance of the Night bonuses were awarded to Bill Algeo, Dustin Jacoby, Li Jingliang, Amanda Lemos, Ricky Simon, and Punahele Soriano. Fight of the Night bonuses went out to Matt Schnell and Sumudaerji. The reported attendance for this event was 16,979.
QUICK RESULTS:
PRELIMINARY CARD:
*Emily Ducote def. Jessica Penne by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
*Dustin Stoltzfus def. Dwight Grant by unanimous decision (29-28 all)
*Dustin Jacoby def. Da Un Jung by KO at 3:13 of Round 1
*Bill Algeo def. Herbert Burns by TKO at 1:50 of Round 2
*Ricky Simon def. Jack Shore by arm triangle at 3:28 of Round 2
*Punahele Soriano def. Dalcha Lungiambula by KO at 0:28 of Round 2
MAIN CARD:
*Lauren Murphy def. Miesha Tate by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
*Shane Burgos def. Charles Jourdain by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
*Matt Schnell def. Sumudaerji by triangle choke at 4:24 of Round 2
*Jingliang Li def. Muslim Salikhov by TKO at 4:38 of Round 2
*Amanda Lemos def. Michelle Waterson-Gomez by guillotine choke at 1:48 of Round 2
*Yair Rodriguez def. Brian Ortega by TKO at 4:11 of Round 1
JESSICA PENNE (14-5, 115.8) VS EMILY DUCOTE (11-6, 115.6) – STRAWWEIGHT
Ducote tagged Penne with a solid left hook in the opening minute of the fight. Ducote landed a number of leg kicks, and Penne responded with a series of knees to the body. The leg kicks from Ducote added up quickly, resulting in visible redness on the lead leg of Penne. Ducote was able to defend Penne’s attempts to get the fight to the ground. 10-9 Ducote.
The first leg kick of the second round got a big reaction out of Penne, and Ducote caught her with another left hook as Penne attempted to close the distance. Penne was becoming more aggressive in terms of pursuing takedowns, however Ducote’s defence continued to hold up, and the round played out on the feet. Penne began to find success with her jab, but Ducote was still landing the more damaging strikes. 20-18 Ducote.
Ducote really went on the attack in round three, constantly throwing leg kicks until Penne was struggling to put weight on her lead leg. Penne did her best to recover, but her calf had swollen considerably, and she could not hide the extent of the damage. Still, Penne managed to stay on her feet, which was a remarkable display of toughness. Penne attempted to throw back and create an opportunity for herself, however the fight went the distance, and this was another clear round for Ducote. 30-27 Ducote.
WINNER: Emily Ducote by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Penne’s lead leg took an absurd amount of damage throughout this fight. She could barely walk on it by the third round, yet she never went down, and somehow made it to the end of the fight. While Penne’s toughness should rightfully be praised, it was Ducote who ultimately won this fight, and is deserving of the lions share of attention for her performance in this bout, defeating a ranked opponent in her UFC debut. Ducote is clearly a heavy hitter for 115lbs, and it’ll be interesting to see how that power will translate against the higher ranked fighters in the division.
DWIGHT GRANT (11-5, 184.4) VS DUSTIN STOLTZFUS (13-4, 185.6) – MIDDLEWEIGHT
Grant landed a hard right hand to begin the fight, as Stoltzfus pressured forward. Grant was swinging for the fences, and Stoltzfus opted to take the fight to the clinch, as he pressed Grant against the cage. Grant was quickly able to break away from Stoltzfus, and he continued to land the heavier shots when the fighters were separated. Stoltzfus landed his best shot of the round with roughly ninety seconds remaining, a quick counter hook. Grant opened up a cut above the left eye of Stoltzfus before the round ended. 10-9 Grant.
The fighters exchanged leg kicks throughout the opening minute of round two. Stoltzfus was waiting a bit too much offensively, and Grant was able to time solid counters as a result. Eventually, Stoltzfus started hunting for takedowns, and he was able to drag Grant down near the cage. Stoltzfus took Grant’s back as Grant attempted to return to his feet, and he started looking for a rear naked choke. He did not secure the choke, however Stoltzfus postured up and did a considerable amount of damage before the end of the round. 19-19.
Grant continued to be a step ahead of Stoltzfus on the feet in the third round. Stoltzfus was just a bit too slow and predictable, which was allowing Grant to stay in this fight despite seemingly being rather tired. Much like the previous round however, the momentum shifted when Stoltzfus got Grant to the ground. This time, he picked Grant up on his shoulder, carried him to the middle of the cage, and slammed him to the ground, where Stoltzfus began to work from half guard. In the final seconds of the round, Stoltzfus moved into top mount, however he was only able to land a few big strikes before time expired. Close round. 29-28 Stoltzfus.
WINNER: Dustin Stoltzfus by unanimous decision (29-28 all)
Grant seemed to have the edge on the feet, however this fight was decided by Stoltzfus’s late dominance on the ground in the latter two rounds. Stoltzfus was very effective from top position, and Grant was unable to return to his feet after being taken down in the second or third rounds. Stoltzfus was in desperate need of a win after going 0-3 to start his run in the UFC, and he secured that win here, fighting in front of a UFC crowd for the first time in the process, as his other bouts in the promotion all took place in the Apex.
DUSTIN JACOBY (17-5-1, 205) VS DA UN JUNG (15-2-1, 205.6) – LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Jung attacked the lead leg of Jacoby early, while throwing numerous lead left hooks. Jung was looking confident on the feet, until a straight right hand from Jacoby found its target, knocking him down hard. Referee Kevin MacDonald immediately stopped the fight, and Jacoby picked up the first-round knockout.
WINNER: Dustin Jacoby by KO at 3:13 of Round 1
Jung looked good early in this fight, successfully implementing the fundamentals of MMA striking while mixing in some wild knees and kicks, but it was ultimately Jacoby who landed the fight ending shot. Jacoby has looked very impressive throughout his last few bouts, and I imagine he will be fighting ranked competition after this big win. Since returning to the UFC in 2020, Jacoby has gone 6-0-1, and he has established himself as a legitimately high-level fighter at 205lbs.
BILL ALGEO (15-6, 146) VS HERBERT BURNS (11-3, 145.4) – FEATHERWEIGHT
The fighters quickly began to wrestle against the cage, where Burns successfully dragged Algeo down to the ground. Burns locked in a triangle choke after chasing an armbar, and Algeo was in a very rough position. Algeo managed to slip out, and he took top position with two and a half minutes remaining in the round. Algeo postured up and started throwing down heavy strikes, and he had Burns rocked with his ground and pound strikes. Burns attempted to crawl back to his feet, but he was grounded by one of Algeo’s shots, and when Algeo decided to allow him to his feet, Burns was extremely slow to pick himself up. Burns made it to the end of the round, but he looked as though he had absolutely nothing left in the tank.
The doctor was brought in to check on Burns between rounds, and it was determined that he could continue. Burns attempted to take Algeo’s back and drag him back to the ground, but Algeo landed in top position, where he got right back to work. Burns rolled for a knee at one point, however Algeo avoided the submission attempt. Once again, Algeo stepped back and allowed Burns to return to his feet, however this time, Burns was unable to return to his feet, and the fight was stopped.
WINNER: Bill Algeo by TKO at 1:50 of Round 2
The first round of this fight was wild. Burns had Algeo in all sorts of trouble early in the round, threatening submissions while doing significant damage by landing heavy elbows with Algeo trapped in his triangle. Eventually, Algeo escaped and started landing heavy ground and pound, and Burns seemingly never recovered from that point onwards. The finish was certainly a bit strange, and the commentary team were speculating that Burns may haver re-injured his knee. I don’t know if he was injured, or simply beat up and exhausted, but either way, it was certainly a tough loss for Burns, who took this fight after his originally scheduled bout against Khusein Askhabov fell apart. In his post-fight interview, Algeo called out Chase Hooper.
RICKY SIMON (19-3, 135.6) VS JACK SHORE (16-0, 136) – BANTAMWEIGHT
Shore was able to defend a deep takedown attempt from Simon early in the bout, but found himself with his back pressed against the cage. Shore successfully broke away from Simon, and the fight continued on the feet. Simon was fighting aggressively, and he really dug into the body with a powerful left hand before shooting for another takedown, unsuccessfully. They wrestled against the cage for some time, with Shore eventually creating separation yet again. Shore landed a number of jabs before the end of the round.
The fighters continued to wrestle against the cage in the second round, and it was Simon who landed the first big shot of the round, a hard elbow on the break. Eventually Simon was successful in bringing Shore to the ground, picking him up, running across the octagon, and slamming him to the ground. Shore quickly picked himself up, and he landed a big elbow of his own before the fighters broke apart. Simon landed a right hand that rocked Shore badly, and Shore stumbled to the ground as a result. Simon followed him to the ground, locked in an arm triangle, and forced Shore to submit.
WINNER: Ricky Simon by arm triangle at 3:28 of Round 2
Simon was constantly pursuing takedown attempts throughout this fight, but Shore’s takedown defence largely held up. Instead, Simon was able to get the fight to the ground with a heavy right hand, rocking Shore badly before securing the submission finish on the ground. It was a great finish, and a huge win for Simon, handing Shore his first professional loss. Simon has now won five consecutive fights, and in his post-fight interview, he called out Sean O’Malley.
PUNAHELE SORIANO (8-2, 185.6) VS DALCHA LUNGIAMBULA (11-4, 185.6) – MIDDLEWEIGHT
There were some wild exchanges early in this fight, with both men swinging heavy hands. A leg kick from Lungiambula swept Soriano off of his feet, and he followed Soriano to the ground momentarily. Lungiambula’s corner urged him to return to his feet, and he obliged, as the fighters exchanged knees in the clinch before separating. Lungiambula was doing a good job of catching Soriano on his way in, but Soriano did not let up, and Lungiambula eventually decided to take him to the ground. Lungiambula was able to control Soriano on the ground until time expired.
Soriano knocked Lungiambula to the ground with a left hand in the opening seconds of round two, and he immediately followed up on the opportunity, hitting Lungiambula with a right hand that caused Lungiambula to fall face first to the ground.
WINNER: Punahele Soriano by KO at 0:28 of Round 2
Lungiambula looked good in the first round, but he got caught by a bomb from Soriano in round two, and was given no time to recover, as Soriano immediately moved in to finish the fight. The stoppage may have been a bit late here, as Lungiambula ate a number of hard ground and pound strikes after he had already been knocked out, but it happened rather quickly, so you cannot fault the referee much. Following this win, Soriano improved to 3-2 in the UFC, with all three of those wins coming by way of knockout.
LAUREN MURPHY (15-5, 125.2) VS MIESHA TATE (19-8, 125.8) – BANTAMWEIGHT
Murphy began the fight with a right hook over the top. Murphy defended a takedown attempt from Tate, and caught her with a pair of knees as Tate worked her way up. Tate landed a hard right hand of her own, before the fighters traded jabs. Murphy decided to change levels and take Tate down, but she was unable to keep Tate down for any sustained amount of time. The fighters wrestled against the cage, where they traded knees to the body. Close round. 10-9 Murphy.
The fighters continued to trade jabs in the second round, and Tate’s nose was busted up as a result. Murphy took Tate down with a double leg, and landed numerous left hands as Tate picked herself up against the cage. Tate landed a number of knees in the clinch, before the fighters exchanged heavy elbows. Tate shot for a takedown of her own at one point, but ate an uppercut in the process. Tate ended the round with a strong elbow. 20-18 Murphy.
There was significant swelling beneath the left eye of Tate. Murphy defended an early takedown attempt from Tate, and she landed a knee to the head as Tate flurried forward with body shots. They continued to trade heavy elbows, as the damage continued to accumulate on the face of Miesha Tate. There were a couple times in the latter portion of the round that Tate attempted to turn on the pressure in pursuit of a finish, but Murphy was able to hold her own and slow the pace. The fight went the distance, and I scored the bout 30-27 in favour of Lauren Murphy.
WINNER: Lauren Murphy by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Miesha Tate was nearly unrecognizable by the end of this fight. She took a great deal of damage throughout these fifteen minutes, but despite this, the fight was competitive from the first minute to the last. Both fighters did great work in the clinch, but the difference maker was Murphy’s power, as that was the one category that Tate couldn’t quite match her in. Despite the loss, Tate did not seem depleted at flyweight, and it would not surprise me if she stuck around at 125lbs after this fight, assuming she wishes to continue her MMA career. After the fight, Murphy called out the winner of Jessica Andrade/Manon Fiorot, however Jon Anik stated that Jessica Andrade was forced to withdraw from that fight.
SHANE BURGOS (14-3, 145.8) VS CHARLES JOURDAIN (13-4-1, 145.6) – FEATHERWEIGHT
Burgos pressured forward to begin the fight, and his forward pressure was proving effective early. Burgos took Jourdain down against the cage, and he took the back of Jourdain as Jourdain picked himself up against the cage. Burgos started hunting for a rear naked choke, but lost the position, and the fight returned to the feet. Jourdain tripped Burgos to the ground, and cracked him with a big left hand as Burgos picked himself back up. Jourdain caught Burgos with some heavy knees in the clinch, largely targeting the body. This was a very competitive opening round. 10-9 Burgos.
Burgos began the second round as he began the first, pressuring forward, before taking Jourdain’s back against the cage. Jourdain attempted to roll out of the position, but he was unsuccessful, and Burgos was able to maintain his position, as he continued to look for a rear naked choke. While Burgos could not get the choke under the chin of Jourdain, Burgos squeezed the jaw while cranking the neck, which certainly created a great deal of discomfort, although it did not lead to a finish. 20-18 Burgos.
Jourdain held his ground in the third round, abandoning his movement and instead choosing to stand and trade with Burgos. He found a great deal of success here, and was able to stop a takedown attempt from Burgos. They fighters wrestled against the cage for some time, before Jourdain opted to break away. Jourdain was swinging wildly at Burgos, catching him repeatedly, and Burgos appeared ill-equipped to deal with Jourdain’s speed. Burgos was taking a beating against the cage, but his chin held up, and just when he was starting to get overwhelmed, he was able to take Jourdain’s back on the feet, successfully holding him against the cage until the fight’s conclusion. 28-28.
WINNER: Shane Burgos by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
Unsurprisingly, this was a very entertaining fight. Burgos’s pressure gave Jourdain problems early, but as Jourdain adjusted and realized he had a considerable speed advantage, Burgos was forced to change his own strategy, and instead found a great deal of success grappling with Jourdain. After the second round, Burgos’s legs were gassed from holding a body triangle throughout the round, allowing Jourdain to roar back with a dominant third round, putting an absolute beating on Jourdain against the cage. I thought that round was rather clear 10-8, but none of the judges saw it the same way, and the one 28-28 scorecard was a result of one judge giving Burgos a 10-8 round in the second. Scoring controversies aside, this was a great fight, and I would love to see them run in back in the future.
MATT SCHNELL (15-6, 1 NC, 126) VS SUMUDAERJI (16-4, 125.8) – FLYWEIGHT
Both men found early success on the feet, however it did not take long for Schnell to change levels, and he successfully brought Sumudaerji to the ground against the cage. Schnell worked his way to the back of Sumudaerji, however Sumudaerji was able to turn into Schnell’s body triangle and take top position. Schnell chased after Sumudaerji’s arm, and in response, Sumudaerji lifted Schnell into the air with that arm, before slamming him back down to the ground. Schnell took back top position moments later, and he ended the round on top, throwing down ground and pound.
Sumudaerji caught Schnell with a low blow just moments into the second round, and Schnell was given time to recover. The fighters started brawling when the action resumed, and Sumudaerji seemed to be getting the better of the exchanges, stumbling Schnell with some of his shots. Eventually, a left hand from Sumudaerji dropped Schnell, and a standing elbow from Sumudaerji rocked him again. Sumudaerji landed about three of these elbows, and each one looked as though it shut the lights off for Matt Schnell, yet he was somehow able to stay on his feet, and he rocked Sumudaerji himself just moments later with a straight right hand. Schnell took Sumudaerji down, and he started throwing down brutal ground and pound shots, and I am not exaggerating when I say this fight was about a millisecond away from being stopped. Somehow Sumudaerji rolled into top positon, but Schnell caught him in a triangle choke, and Sumudaerji passed out in the hold.
WINNER: Matt Schnell by triangle choke at 4:24 of Round 2
The second round of this fight was one of the craziest rounds in UFC history. Schnell was practically knocked out about four times throughout the round, yet somehow came back to win the fight in brutal and decisive fashion. This was a complete lock for fight of the night, and at the end of the year when we look back and discuss round of the year, this should be a front runner. Schnell called out Matheus Nicolau in his post-fight interview.
JINGLIANG LI (18-7, 170.6) VS MUSLIM SALIKHOV (18-2, 170.8) – WELTERWEIGHT
Salikhov opened up with a spinning head kick. Salikhov opted to take Li to the ground, however he was fairly inactive from top position, and Li eventually returned to his feet. Both fighters were having trouble finding their range on the feet, although their leg kicks were landing with power. This was a fairly uneventful round. 10-9 Salikhov.
Salikhov caught a kick from Li, and knocked him off balance with a straight right hand. The pace of the fight was not picking up in the second round, as Li continued to struggle with Salikhov’s movement. Eventually Li took Salikhov to the ground, where he began to work from half guard. Salikhov escaped to his feet, but ate a number of body shots in the process. Late in the round, Li hurt Salikhov with a big right hand, and he backed Salikhov into the cage, where he landed another hard one-two that knocked Salikhov out, ending the fight.
WINNER: Jingliang Li by TKO at 4:38 of Round 2
This was largely a slow fight; however, Li began to find success around halfway through the second round, and he rode that wave of momentum to the finish. Li Jingliang has legitimate power, and he is actually tied for second all time in the UFC Welterweight division in terms of knockout finishes. Following a tough loss to Khamzat Chimaev in his last bout, this was exactly the type of win that Li needed to get back on track, and he became the first fighter to finish Salikhov with strikes here (ending a five-fight win streak for Salikhov as well).
MICHELLE WATERSON-GOMEZ (18-9, 115) VS AMANDA LEMOS (11-2-1, 116) – STRAWWEIGHT
Waterson-Gomez was throwing out a lot of feints early in the fight, and Lemos seemed to be focused on attacking the body with kicks. Lemos started swinging for the head a bit later in the round, but she was really loading up, and as a result, Waterson-Gomez was able to avoid her bigger shots. Regardless, Lemos was certainly landing the more damaging strikes, and Waterson-Gomez seemed hesitant to engage with her on the feet. Eventually Waterson-Gomez took Lemos to the ground, but Lemos escaped the position before time expired.
Lemos caught Waterson-Gomez with some heavy right hands early in the second round, and she jumped on a guillotine attempt following a takedown from Waterson-Gomez. The choke was in tight, and Waterson-Gomez was forced to submit.
WINNER: Amanda Lemos by guillotine choke at 1:48 of Round 2
The referee missed the tap from Waterson-Gomez, and Lemos let go of the hold after Waterson-Gomez tapped. Waterson-Gomez was honest about the tap thankfully, and both fighters deserve credit for how they handled this situation, as not every fighter would be as honest as Waterson-Gomez, nor as merciful as Lemos was in letting go of the hold before the referee officially stepped in. This was a big win for Lemos, who will take Waterson-Gomez’s spot in the top ten following this outcome. Personally, I’d like to see Lemos fight one of the higher ranked strawweight’s in her next bout, such as Rose Namajunas or Marina Rodriguez, however Lemos’s recent loss to Jessica Andrade may slow her ascent of the strawweight ladder.
BRIAN ORTEGA (15-2, 1 NC, 146) VS YAIR RODRIGUEZ (13-3, 1 NC, 145.4) – FEATHERWEIGHT
The fighters hugged to start the main event. They wasted very little time before they started trading hands, with Rodriguez seemingly having the speed advantage early. Ortega connected with a heavy left hand, and he opened up a cut below the right eye of Rodriguez. Ortega engaged Rodriguez in the clinch as he attempted to take him to the ground. Ortega was unable to get Rodriguez down, but he racked up a solid amount of control time before Rodriguez broke away. In the final minute of the round, Ortega successfully took Rodriguez down, but his shoulder popped out in the process, ending the fight.
WINNER: Yair Rodriguez by TKO at 4:11 of Round 1
The ending of this fight was certainly anti-climatic; however, I do think you have to give credit to Yair Rodriguez for the stoppage as opposed to writing the fights ending off as a fluke. Rodriguez’s armbar attempt directly led to Ortega’s injury as he escaped it, and while it was not a typical stoppage, it was a legitimate one. That being said, I’d love to see them run this fight back in the future, as this really had the potential to be a fight of the year candidate. For the time being however, Ortega will likely be out while he recovers from his injury, and Rodriguez has possibly lined himself up for a world title shot. If not Volkanovski, I could see Rodriguez fighting Josh Emmett next, in a bout that would certainly determine who would be next in line to challenge Alexander Volkanovski for his title.
