UFC Fight Night Results: Bobby Green knocks out Grant Dawson in under a minute
On Saturday evening, the UFC held a Fight Night event from the Apex Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card was headlined by a bout in the lightweight division, as the tenth-ranked lightweight contender, Grant Dawson, looked to defend his spot in the rankings against Bobby Green. Dawson made his UFC debut in March of 2019 and has had a very successful run in the promotion since, compiling an impressive record of 8-0-1 in the company. Dawson was a massive favorite going into this fight, but Bobby Green has tested himself against some of the very best fighters that the UFC’s lightweight division has had to offer throughout his decade-long run in the promotion, and Green was looking to pull off the upset win here in order to reinsert himself in the lightweight rankings. In the co-main event, Joe Pyfer faced Abdul Razak Alhassan, as Pyfer looked to continue his ascent up the middleweight ladder.
John Gooden provided commentary for this card alongside Paul Felder and Daniel Cormier. Performance of the Night bonuses were awarded to Bobby Green, Joe Pyfer, Drew Dober, and Nate Maness.
QUICK RESULTS:
PRELIMINARY CARD:
- J. Aldrich def. Montana De La Rosa by unanimous decision (30-27 all)
- Aoriqileng def. Johnny Munoz Jr. by unanimous decision (29-28 all)
- Vanessa Demopoulos def. Kanako Murata by unanimous decision (29-28 all)
- Nate Maness def. Mateus Mendonca by TKO at 4:40 of Round 1
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz def. Diana Belbita by unanimous decision (30-27 all)
MAIN CARD:
- Bill Algeo def. Alexander Hernandez by unanimous decision (30-27 all)
- Drew Dober def. Ricky Glenn by TKO at 2:36 of Round 1
- Joaquin Buckley def. Alex Morono by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Joe Pyfer def. Abdul Razak Alhassan by arm triangle at 2:05 of Round 2
- Bobby Green def. Grant Dawson by KO at 0:33 of Round 1
MONTANA DE LA ROSA (12-8-1, 126) VS J.J. ALDRICH (12-6, 125.5) – FLYWEIGHT
The fighters traded hooks in the bout’s opening minute. Aldrich pressured forward, looking to keep De La Rosa in her range, but De La Rosa was countering well, keeping Aldrich from picking up the aggression. Aldrich opted to take the fight to the ground roughly halfway through the round, but De La Rosa defended the attempt, keeping the fight on the feet. There was a clinch exchange towards the end of the round, where De La Rosa landed a knee to the body before partially catching Aldrich with a slapping head kick. 10-9 Aldrich.
The second round played out much like the first. Aldrich was largely the advancing fighter, focusing her attack in on the head of De La Rosa, throwing short combinations, while De La Rosa was a bit more varied with her offense, mixing in the occasional body shot as well while throwing out far more kicks. Still, Aldrich’s boxing seemed sharper than De La Rosa’s, and I thought that she was largely getting the better of the striking exchanges. 20-18 Aldrich.
De La Rosa began the final round with a solid right hand. De La Rosa shot for a takedown, but the attempt was defended, and Aldrich escaped from the clinch without taking any significant damage. Aldrich landed a straight left hand that generated a small reaction from De La Rosa. Aldrich worked her jab throughout the round, mixing in the occasional straight left hand as well, generating visible damage around the nose of De La Rosa as a result. The fight went the distance, and I scored it 30-27 for Aldrich.
WINNER: J.J. Aldrich by unanimous decision (30-27 all)
De La Rosa was the busier fighter, but she was having trouble finding her target, and when she did land, she was not doing significant damage. Aldrich did not attempt to match De La Rosa’s output, but she was far more accurate, and the strike count between the two fighters was fairly similar as a result. Aldrich mainly fought behind her jab, throwing out numerous one-two’s that were doing notable damage, and that strategy ultimately earned her every round of this fight on the scorecards. Aldrich improved to 9-5 in the UFC as a result of this win.
AORIQILENG (24-11, 136) VS JOHNNY MUNOZ JR. (12-3, 136) – BANTAMWEIGHT
Aoriqileng landed the first heavy shot of the fight, an impactful right hand as he stepped forward. Munoz responded with a right hand of his own, and shot for a takedown just moments later, taking Aoriqileng to the ground. Munoz took the back of Aoriqileng on the ground, and he started hunting for a rear naked choke, but Aoriqileng did enough to defend himself from Munoz’s submission attempts for the remainder of the round, although he was unable to improve his position until the rounds final seconds. 10-9 Munoz.
Aoriqileng took top position early in the second round, but Munoz was far more active off of his back than Aoriqileng was in the prior round, and Aoriqileng was not necessarily in an advantageous position here. Eventually, Aoriqileng just opted to let Munoz up, where he landed a hard calf kick before tagging Munoz with a hard right hand. Munoz was looking slightly uncomfortable on the feet, but did a good job of changing levels to wrap Aoriqileng up in the clinch before pressing him against the cage. They spent the remainder of the round wrestling against the cage, with neither fighter holding the decisive advantage. 19-19.
Munoz caught a kick from Aoriqileng and attempted to take the fight to the ground about a minute into round three, but Aoriqileng defended the initial attempt, keeping the fight on the feet. Munoz was shooting desperately for takedowns, but his attempts were being defended over and over again, and he was taking damage whenever the fighters were both on the feet as well. Eventually, Aoriqileng took top position after following Munoz to the ground and effectively dominated the action until time expired in the fight. 29-28 Aoriqileng.
WINNER: Aoriqileng by unanimous decision (29-28 all)
Munoz was certainly the more dangerous fighter on the ground, and he found early success in this fight by taking Aoriqileng down. As the bout progressed however, Munoz began to fatigue, and Aoriqileng did a good job of defending Munoz’s takedown attempts, all while punishing him on the feet, forcing Munoz to shoot repeatedly, further depleting his gas tank. In both the second and third rounds, Aoriqileng eventually opted to follow Munoz to the ground, which was a questionable decision given his success on the feet, but in the end, Aoriqileng stayed out of danger and won the last two rounds comfortably, earning the victory on each of the judge’s scorecards. Aoriqileng is now 3-3 in the UFC following this win.
VANESSA DEMOPOULOS (9-5, 116) VS KANAKO MURATA (12-2, 115.5) – STRAWWEIGHT
Demopoulos caught a leg from Murata and dragged her into the clinch against the cage, where she landed a series of solid knees to the body. It did not take Murata long to reverse the positioning before she quickly took the fight to the ground with roughly three minutes to work. Demopoulos escaped to her feet without taking much damage, and the fighters exchanged body kicks back on the feet. Murata took the fight back to the ground in the round’s final seconds but was unable to do much with her position before time expired in what was a very close round. 10-9 Demopoulos.
Murata took the fight back to the ground after a quick start to the round on the feet for Demopoulos. Murata was not doing a ton of damage from top position, and while her total control time was certainly starting to add up, she was not doing quite enough offensively to make the most of her positioning. Still, Demopoulos was never able to return to her feet, and Murata likely did just enough from top position throughout this second round to earn her the nod on the scorecards. 19-19.
It did not take Murata long to take the fight back to the ground, as she quickly caught a kick from Demopoulos in the third round, before taking her down. Demopoulos did her best to create offense off of her back and found a measure of success doing so, but Murata refused to give up top position. Murata was more active with her ground-and-pound strikes in this third round, and this was probably the most decisive round of the fight for either fighter, although Demopoulos did manage to return to her feet momentarily before getting thrown back down to end the fight. 29-28 Murata.
WINNER: Vanessa Demopoulos by unanimous decision (29-28 all)
Murata was a fairly sizeable favorite coming into this fight, but Demopoulos was the more aggressive fighter and certainly made me question those odds early in the fight. Murata eventually started hunting for takedowns, and as the fight progressed, those takedowns started to come easier and easier for Murata, who controlled the vast majority of the final two rounds from top position, but her lack of offensive activity killed her on the scorecards, specifically in round two, where Demopoulos seemed to do more damage off of her back than Murata was doing from Demopoulos’s guard. Still, I did think that Murata did enough to secure the last two rounds, and was surprised by the decision, as was the commentary team, who noted that Murata was an astronomical favorite according to the live betting odds when the final horn sounded. Demopoulos improved to 5-4 in the UFC as a result of this win.
NATHAN MANESS (14-3, 126) VS MATEUS MENDONCA (10-1, 125.5) – FLYWEIGHT
Mendonca opened up with a body kick, before shooting for a takedown, momentarily grounding Maness. Maness quickly popped back to his feet, before taking top position as Mendonca rolled for a leg lock. It did not take long for the fighters to return to their feet once more, where Mendonca attacked the body of Maness before rolling for a leg once again, but this time, when Maness took top position, he started throwing down brutal ground and pound strikes. Mendonca opted to keep hunting for the leg lock despite the damage he was taking, which was a poor decision, as he took some serious punishment for the remainder of this round. Eventually, Maness stood up and began throwing down heavy strikes at the grounded Mendonca until Mendonca was no longer intelligently defending himself, and the fight was stopped.
WINNER: Nate Maness by TKO at 4:40 of Round 1
Mendonca began the fight aggressively, which led to some early success, but after failing to hold Maness down on his initial takedown attempt, Mendonca started hunting for leg locks. Leg locks can be utilized effectively in mixed martial arts to improve one’s positioning on the ground, but have a very low success rate in terms of finishing fights, and to start desperately rolling for leg locks in the fight’s opening round is an extremely questionable game plan. It did not take long for Maness to posture up and start doing significant damage, and unsurprisingly, the finish eventually came as Mendonca refused to abandon his submission attempt. Maness improved to 4-2 in the UFC as a result of this win, and he called out C.J. Vergara in his post-fight interview.
KAROLINA KOWALKIEWICZ (15-7, 116) VS DIANA BELBITA (15-7, 1 NC, 115.5) – STRAWWEIGHT
The fighters wasted little time before they began trading strikes in the center of the cage. Belbita took Kowalkiewicz to the ground with a head and arm throw, but Kowalkiewicz immediately worked her way into top position, mounting Belbita before Belbita escaped to her feet. Both women continued to find success on the feet, trading strikes at a fairly even rate, with both mixing in the occasional knee to the body as well, whenever the fighters clinched. Belbita landed her strongest shot of the round in its final minute, a solid right hand, and Kowalkiewicz responded with a spinning back fist before ending the round with a takedown. 10-9 Kowalkiewicz.
Kowalkiewicz chased after a takedown at the start of the second round, but Belbita defended the attempt well, keeping the fight on the feet. When the fighters separated, Kowalkiewicz laded a pair of uppercuts, before digging into the body with a short combination. Both women worked their jabs effectively, and they both seemed to be putting a bit more behind their heavier strikes in this second round as well. Belbita took Kowalkiewicz down in the final seconds of the round, ending things in top position. This was another close round. 20-18 Kowalkiewicz.
After a fairly even exchange of strikes to start the fight’s final round, Kowalkiewicz shot for a takedown against the cage, which Belbita successfully defended. At one point, Kowalkiewicz attacked Belbita with a lengthy combination of strikes, trapping her against the cage as she unleashed one of the better flurries of the fight for either fighter. Belbita was still throwing with power, but she was overwhelmed by Kowalkiewicz’s output throughout the round, and I thought this was the clearest round of the fight in favor of Kowalkiewicz. 30-27 Kowalkiewicz.
WINNER: Karolina Kowalkiewicz by unanimous decision (30-27 all)
This was a fairly entertaining brawl. From the opening seconds of the fight, both fighters were content to trade shots in the middle of the cage, and they managed to maintain an impressive pace for the bout’s fifteen-minute entirety. The first two rounds were incredibly close, but I think that Kowalkiewicz was just a bit crisper with her strikes, and she focused her attack on the head of Belbita, which can be beneficial in the judge’s eyes when the body shots and leg kicks from the opposing fighter do not lead to notable reactions from the shot’s recipient. The third round was the clearest of the three, as Kowalkiewicz really pulled ahead in terms of activity, and her arm was raised in the end, marking her fourth consecutive victory.
ALEXANDER HERNANDEZ (14-6, 145.5) VS BILL ALGEO (17-7, 146) – FEATHERWEIGHT
Algeo was doing a good job of mixing his strikes up early, striking in combination often, which was keeping Hernandez from unleashing his typical offensive flurries. A kick to the side from Algeo caused Hernandez to stumble mometairly, but he quickly regained his footing. Algeo worked his jab and pressed forward with the occasional kick to the body, keeping Hernandez on the backfoot. Hernandez did his best to attack the body of Algeo but was not chaining his strikes together often, and I thought that Algeo was getting the better of their striking exchanges as a result. 10-9 Algeo.
Hernandez seemed to be fighting more aggressively to start the second round, and he was finding more success offensively as a result. A shot from Algeo grazed the eye of Hernandez, and Hernandez was given time to recover as a result. The doctor was brought in to check on Hernandez, and it was ultimately determined that he could continue fighting. Hernandez pressed forward when the action resumed, tagging Algeo with a series of hard right hands before Algeo responded with a short left hook that dropped Hernandez. Algeo pressed forward as he attempted to capitalize on the moment, but Hernandez was able to wrap Algeo up in the clinch, buying himself time to recover. I thought that Hernandez fought the better round, but the knockdown was likely enough for Algeo to steal the round on the scorecards. 20-18 Algeo.
The fighters continued to trade at a remarkable pace in this third round. Hernandez attempted to take the fight to the ground at one point, but Algeo successfully defended the attempt. Hernandez appeared to be packing a bit more into each of his punches, but Algeo was still doing a better job of striking in combination. Hernandez pushed forward, knowing that he was likely in need of a finish in order to win this fight, and I thought he did a good job of trying to force one, but Algeo matched Hernandez’s pace and continued to land creative strikes to keep Hernandez from overwhelming him. I thought that Hernandez won this round, but scored the fight 29-28 Algeo.
WINNER: Bill Algeo by unanimous decision (30-27 all)
Hernadez is typically a quick starter who struggles as his fights progress into the later rounds, but he paced himself well here, perhaps due to Algeo’s awkward style giving Hernandez pause early in the bout. While this resulted in Hernandez still being in this fight as it progressed, it also resulted in Algeo pulling ahead in this fight early, as his constant activity earned him the opening round. I actually thought that Hernandez fought the better fight throughout the second and third rounds of this fight, but the late knockdown from Algeo in round two earned him the second round, and Hernandez was unable to secure the finish in the third, resulting in Algeo earning the nod unanimously from the judges (who all saw the third round in Algeo’s favour as well). Algeo improved to 5-3 in the UFC as a result of this win, and called out numerous fighters in his post-fight interview, including Billy Quarantillo, Kron Gracie, and Nate Landwehr.
DREW DOBER (26-12, 1 NC, 155.5) VS RICKY GLENN (22-7-2, 155.5) – LIGHTWEIGHT
Dober immediately went on the attack, throwing countless powerful hooks Ricky Glenn’s way. It did not take long before Glenn went down from Dober’s offensive onslaught, and while he was able to pick himself up momentarily, Dober just continued to wing hooks at Glenn until he went down hard once again. This time Dober followed Glenn into his guard, and he threw down brutal left hands until the fight was stopped.
WINNER: Drew Dober by TKO at 2:36 of Round 1
Dober wasted no time in going on the attack and quickly overwhelmed Glenn, really just overwhelming him on the feet before securing the first-round finish. The fight was not competitive, and Dober’s power was clearly too much for Glenn to absorb at this stage of his career. The matchmaking was certainly somewhat suspect here, but regardless, this was a strong win for Dober, who was in need of a decisive victory like this after being stopped quickly in his last fight against Matt Frevola. Dober now holds a record of 13-8, 1 NC in the UFC.
ALEX MORONO (23-8, 1 NC, 170.5) VS JOAQUIN BUCKLEY (16-6, 170) – WELTERWEIGHT
Buckley sprinted across the octagon to start the fight, taking Morono down momentarily, but the fighters quickly returned to their feet. Buckley was really loading up on each of his strikes, which was allowing Morono to dodge the attacks with regularity, but Morono seemed hesitant to close the distance as well, leading to very little offensive activity on either side. In the rounds final minute, Buckley took Morono to the ground, but Morono threatened an armbar, forcing Buckley to return to his feet. 10-9 Buckley.
A right hand from Morono caught Buckley off balance at the start of the second round, knocking him off balance momentarily. Buckley continued to be the busier fighter in terms of offensive activity in the second round, but he was still having trouble finding his target, leading to long periods without any significant moments for either fighter. As the round progressed, I thought that Morono began to show more willingness to trade with Buckley, but Buckley seemed to be getting the better of these exchanges, landing his shots with a significant edge in power. 20-18 Buckley.
Buckley landed a hard left hook to start the fight’s final round, opening up a cut on the clip of Morono. Morono remained somewhat elusive, but by this point in the fight, Buckley was connecting at a high enough rate that Morono was clearly starting to feel the effects of Buckley’s power. Buckley realized that Morono was hurt and fatigued, and he really started going on the attack in an attempt to force a finish, landing some heavy hooks that seemed to rock Morono. Morono started desperately looking for takedowns late in the fight, desperately trying to escape Buckley’s onslaught, but it was eventually Buckley who took top position, ending the fight on the ground. 30-27 Buckley.
WINNER: Joaquin Buckley by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Morono’s movement and awkward rhythm seemed to give Buckley pause early in the fight, but he was not active offensively himself, and as the fight wore on, Buckley began to grow in confidence, finding more and more success as the bout progressed. Buckley threw each of his strikes with considerable power, and when he started landing consistently, he was clearly doing significant damage to Morono. In the past, cardio has been an issue for Buckley, but it did not seem to be an issue for him here despite putting so much power into each of his shots, which is certainly a good sign for Buckley going forward. In the end, it was a strong win for Buckley and he now holds a record of 7-4 in the UFC as a result of this win.
JOE PYFER (11-2, 185) VS ABDUL RAZAK ALHASSAN (12-5, 184.5) – MIDDLEWEIGHT
Pyfer took Alhassan down in seconds but attempted to catch him with a standing arm triangle as Alhassan worked his way up, which allowed Alhassan to separate. Alhassan seemed to be swinging for a knockout, and Pyfer opted to take him right back down instead of trading with him. Alhassan threatened a guillotine, which allowed him to return to his feet once again, but now Pyfer was the advancing fighter, and he tagged Alhassan with a heavy right hand that seemed to hurt him. Alhassan covered up with his back to the cage, and he ate some shots from Pyfer as a result but seemed to have recovered by the end of the round.
Pyfer dodged a right hand from Alhassan before wrapping him up in a body lock early in the second round. The fighters separated before Pyfer could take the fight to the ground, and Alhassan attacked the lead leg of Pyfer before he started to pressure forward. Pyfer responded by lifting Alhassan high up into the air before throwing him down to the ground, and he quickly jumped on an arm triangle, forcing Alhassan to submit.
WINNER: Joe Pyfer by arm triangle at 2:05 of Round 2
Alhassan is a very dangerous fighter, but Pyfer was several steps ahead of him here, largely getting the better of the action on the feet as well as on the ground. Pyfer ran through both of his first two opponents in the UFC and while Alhassan offered Pyfer a bit more of a challenge here, the result was ultimately the same, with Pyfer picking up the second-round finish, earning his third consecutive victory in the promotion. This marked Pyfer’s first submission victory in the UFC, and he showcased another aspect of his game here, which I think answers further questions regarding his potential ceiling in the division. Middleweight is not currently the deepest division in the company, and honestly, there are multiple ranked fighters I would favor Pyfer against at middleweight right now, so I would not be opposed to seeing Pyfer jump the line and get matched up against a ranked opponent for his next fight.
GRANT DAWSON (20-1-1, 156) VS BOBBY GREEN (30-14-1, 1 NC, 156) – LIGHTWEIGHT
Just seconds into the fight, Green caught Dawson with a straight left hand that dropped him, and Green immediately followed him to the ground, throwing down ground and pound strikes until the bout was stopped.
WINNER: Bobby Green by KO at 0:33 of Round 1
The thirty-seven-year-old, unranked Bobby Green was a massive underdog going into this fight, but he made quick work of Dawson here, timing a perfectly placed straight left hand to drop Dawson and secure the quick finish. At UFC 291 in July, Green submitted Tony Ferguson in what was his most high-profile win to date, and he followed that win perfectly here by stopping Grant Dawson, who was viewed as a legitimate contender on the rise going into this fight, riding an unbeaten streak that dated all the way back to 2016 prior to this loss. When the rankings are updated on Monday, Bobby Green will be a ranked fighter once more, and I imagine he’ll have another big fight lined up coming out of this one, given that there is no shortage of big names and exciting fighters at 155lbs.
