UFC on ESPN 7 results: Jairzinho Rozenstruik scores late TKO; tears Alistair Overeem’s lip

It took Jairzinho Rozenstruik nearly 25 minutes at UFC DC, but he got the job done – and tore Alistair Overeem’s lip in the process.

It took [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] nearly 25 minutes, but he got the job done in his first UFC headline fight.

At the 4:56 mark of the fifth and final round of Saturday night’s UFC on ESPN 7 main event, Rozenstruik (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) punched his way to a TKO victory over veteran [autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag], capping an incredible UFC debut year in which Rozenstruik went 4-0 with four finishes.

After minimal striking on the feet in the opening minutes of the first round, Overeem (45-18 MMA, 10-7 UFC) dragged Rozenstruik to the ground. For the majority of the first, Overeem remained in side control.

Throughout the second and third rounds, Overeem’s game plan was apparent – stay on the outside and clinch when possible. On multiple occasions, Overeem landed a hard overhand left. But somehow, Rozenstruik ate Overeem’s hardest shots.

In the third, Overeem secured another takedown. With the clock winding down, Overeem was able to posture up and land his hardest ground-and-pound to that point in the fight.

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Rozenstruik’s best offense came in the fourth round. In two separate flurries, Rozenstruik landed a barrage of punches. The second flurry saw Rozenstruik attempt a flying kick and jumping knee. Overeem hung tough and returned to plodding point-fighting.

With the clock winding down in the final round, Rozenstruik ended the fight seemingly out of nowhere. With one big overhand right, Rozenstruik floored Overeem, tearing his lip in the process.

After the fight, Rozenstruik called out former UFC heavyweight title challenger Francis Ngannou, “If you hear this right now I hope you accept this fight,” Rozenstruik said. “Let’s give these people a real show.”

Rozenstruik has ended all 10 career fights inside the distance. For Overeem, the loss snaps a two-fight win streak. The Dutch heavyweight has a .500 record over the span of his most recent four fights.

The heavyweight fight was the UFC on ESPN 7 main event at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. It aired on ESPN following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

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Twitter reacts to Jairzinho Rozenstruik’s buzzer-beater KO of Alistair Overeem at UFC on ESPN 7

See the top Twitter reactions to Jairzinho Rozenstruik’s win over Alistair Overeem in the UFC on ESPN 7 main event.

[autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] earned his first UFC main event win on Saturday when he defeated [autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 7.

Rozenstruik (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) kept his undefeated record in tact with a fifth-round knockout victory against Overeem (45-18 MMA, 10-7 UFC) in the heavyweight headliner, which took place at Capital One Arena in Washington, and aired on ESPN.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Rozenstruik’s victory over Overeem at UFC on ESPN 7.

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UFC DC bonuses: Of course that twister earned Bryce Mitchell $50k

Bryce Mitchell, Makhmud Muradov, Rob Font and Ricky Simon collected $50,000 bonuses at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 7 event.

WASHINGTON – [autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag], [autotag]Makhmud Muradov[/autotag], [autotag]Rob Font[/autotag] and [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag] collected $50,000 bonuses at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 7 event.

Mitchell and Muradov were given “Performance of the Night” awards, while Font and Simon shared in “Fight of the Night” honors. UFC officials announced the winners following the event, which took place at Capital One Arena.

UFC on ESPN 7 results: Cynthia Calvillo vs. Marina Rodriguez ends in majority draw

Cynthia Calvillo vs. Marina Rodriguez was too close to call for two out of the three judges.

[autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag] is still undefeated.

The Brazilian fighter didn’t lose at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 7, but she didn’t win either. Rodriguez (12-0-2 MMA, 2-0-2 UFC) went the distance with [autotag]Cynthia Calvillo[/autotag] (8-1-1 MMA, 5-1-1 UFC) whereupon the judges scored the fight a majority draw.

The official scorecard was 29-28, 28-28, 28-28 with one scorecard favoring Rodriguez.

The catchweight fight (Calvillo missed the contracted strawweight limit at Friday’s weigh-in) was the UFC on ESPN 7 co-main event at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. It aired on ESPN following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

The first two rounds were all Rodriguez. She landed the best shots of round one, rocking Calvillo with a knee. Calvillo had some moments on the feet and did get a takedown in the last seconds of the round, but that wasn’t enough to outshine Rodriguez’s work with her muay Thai.

The second round was also a good five minutes for Rodriguez. She landed solid strikes and hurt Calvillo with several  times with shots to the body.

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It was in the third round where Calvillo had her best moments. Calvillo got a takedown early in the round and worked from half guard, landing heavy ground-and-pound and mauling Rodriguez for the majority of the five minutes.

Calvillo is 2-0-1 since her first professional loss to former UFC and Invicta strawweight champ Carla Esparza in 2017. Meanwhile, Rodriguez picked up her second draw in her four-fight UFC career.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 7 results include:

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UFC DC attendance: Promotion’s return to nation’s capital outdraws 2011 debut

The UFC’s return to the nation’s capital drew an announced attendance of 10,816 fans for a $932,593.20 live gate.

WASHINGTON – The UFC’s return to the nation’s capital drew an announced attendance of 10,816 fans for a $932,593.20 live gate.

UFC officials announced the totals following Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 7 event, which took place at Capital One Arena. While the number of complimentary tickets distributed was not revealed, the numbers represent an average revenue of $86.22 generated per ticket issues.

In the night’s main event, Jairzinho Rozenstruik (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) remained undefeated with a shocking final-round knockout over Alistair Overeem (45-18 MMA, 10-7 UFC). Down on the cards, Rozenstruik was able to land a crushing right hand that split open Overeem’s lip and sent him falling to the canvas with just four seconds left in the fifth frame, the third-latest stoppage in UFC history.

The UFC has visited Washington D.C. just once previously, for “UFC on Versus 6” in October 2011, where then-UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz defeated No. 1 contender Demetrious Johnson by unanimous decision. That fight card drew an announced attendance of 9,380 fans for a gate of $706,775 – or $75.35 per ticket issued – to the same venue, which at the time was known as Verizon Center.

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UFC on ESPN 7 results: Ben Rothwell low blows then TKOs Stefan Struve

Ben Rothwell won at UFC DC, but not without some controversy.

Ben Rothwell won at UFC DC on Saturday night, but not without controversy.

After landing multiple fight-pausing groin shots, Rothwell (37-12 MMA, 7-6 UFC) defeated Stefan Struve by TKO by punches in the second round.

The heavyweight fight was part of the UFC on ESPN 7 main card at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. It aired on ESPN following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

Midway through the opening round, Struve (29-11 MMA, 13-9 UFC) landed a massive head kick, which wobbled Rothwell. Seconds later, Rothwell landed a hard kick of his own – but directly to Struve’s groin.

The low blow sent the seven-foot Netherlands native tumbling to the canvas. For almost the full timeout allotment of five minutes, Struve writhed in pain. Every time Struve showed a sign of progress by rising to his feet and putting his head up, he was met with cheers. Every time he regressed or put his head back down, he was booed.

As his allotted recovery time wound down, Struve agreed to continue and the action resumed.

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In the second round, it was deja vu. Attempting a body kick, Rothwell once again went low. Struve went through a similar recovery process.

While Struve was trying to decide whether or not to continue, referee Dan Miragliotta added some editorial to the situation. Miragliotta told Struve he believed he was up two rounds to nothing and if the fight was stopped, a no contest would be his ruling.

Struve consented for the fight to continue and Miragliotta deducted a point from Rothwell. The point deduction seemingly lit a fire under Rothwell.

When the action resumed, Rothwell charged across the cage winging strikes at Struve. A hard checked leg kick by Rothwell put Struve on his back foot. As Rothwell swarmed, Struve crumpled to the canvas and Miragliotta waived off the bout.

After the fight, Rothwell voiced his displeasure with the way things went down and gave props to Struve’s toughness.

With the victory, Rothwell snapped a three-fight losing streak. His previous victory came against Josh Barnett at UFC on FOX 18 in January 2016.

At the start of training camp for this fight, Rothwell reunited with his old coach Duke Roufus at Roufusport in Milwaukee.

As for Struve, “The Skyscraper” has lost four of his past five fights.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 7 results include:

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UFC on ESPN 7 results: Aspen Ladd bounces back from first loss, stops Yana Kunitskaya

Aspen Ladd bounced back from her first pro loss in impressive fashion at UFC on ESPN 7.

[autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag] wasn’t going to let the judges decide her fate on Saturday night.

The young UFC bantamweight scored a TKO win over Yana Kunitskaya in the main card of UFC on ESPN 7 in Washington, D.C. Ladd (9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) stopped Kunitskaya (12-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) at the 0:33 mark of the third round to bounce back from her first professional defeat back in July.

The first two rounds of the fight were very competitive. In the first, Kunitskaya controlled the action in the clinch and against the cage, but was taken down halfway through the round. Ladd then worked to get Kunitskaya’s back and managed to land ground-and-pound, but was then reversed and put on her back with a few seconds remaining.

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The second round went similar to the first. Kunitskaya controlled a good portion of the fight by using her strength and clinch work. Ladd took down Kunitskaya with about a minute and a half left in the round but was unable to do much damage, as the Russian fighter did a good job tying up Ladd.

In the final round, Ladd came out looking to finish the fight. She connected with a big left had just seconds into the round. She then dropped Kunitskaya and ended things with heavy ground-and-pound.

Ladd successfully bounced back from her first professional defeat, to Germaine de Randamie at UFC on ESPN+ 13.. The 24-year-old fighter remains one of the most promising contenders in her division.

The fight was part of the UFC on ESPN 7 main card at Capital One Arena. It aired on ESPN following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 7 results include:

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Photo: See the kiss-your-sister scorecard from the Stamann-Yadong draw at UFC on ESPN 7

In sports, the old adage is that a tie is like kissing your sister. That’s what Cody Stamann and Song Yadong got to experience Saturday.

In sports, the old adage is that a tie is like kissing your sister. That’s what [autotag]Cody Stamann[/autotag] and [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] got to experience Saturday.

Stamann (18-2-1 MMA, 4-1-1 UFC) and Yadong (15-4-1 MMA, 4-0-1 UFC) settled for a majority draw in their bantamweight fight at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., in a fight broadcast on ESPN.

The broadcast crew of Jon Anik, Daniel Cormier and Paul Felder sure seemed to think Stamann had done enough to win the fight – especially considering Yadong had a point taken away in the first round due to an illegal knee. And the fans in Capital One Arena seemed to respond with a bit of surprise when Bruce Buffer read the scores, as well.

Check out the official scorecard above. What did you think of the fight? Who did you have winning? Sound off in our poll below.

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UFC on ESPN 7 results: Cody Stamann vs. Song Yadong ends in majority draw

A point deduction spelled the difference on the scorecards in the fight between Cody Stamann and Song Yadong.

[autotag]Cody Stamann[/autotag] and [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] fought for 15 minutes on Saturday night, but neither walked away the victor.

At UFC DC, Stamann (18-2-1 MMA, 4-1-1 UFC) and Yadong (15-4 MMA, 4-0 UFC), a point deduction against Yadong made the difference as the duo fought to a majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28).

The bantamweight fight was part of the UFC on ESPN 7 main card at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. It aired on ESPN following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

Controversy struck in the first round in the form of an illegal knee by Yadong. When trying to lock in a standing front choke, Yadong kneed Stamann, who was grounded, in the head. Stamann wasn’t fazed by the knee, but it’s blatancy resulted in a point deduction from referee Kevin Mulhall.

For the remainder of the fight, Stamann utilized his wrestling and strength to control Yadong. During the bout’s progression, the gap in those two departments became more and more evident. Stamann’s most dominant work during the fight came in the third round, when he was able to land hard shots from the top.

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When the scores were tallied, Stamann seemed confident he had done enough. But the judges thought otherwise. The bout was ruled a majority draw — with the 29-28 score going Stamann’s way — leaving both men without a win bonus.

Prior the fight, Stamann had split his previous two UFC appearances. Outside of a 2018 defeat to Aljamain Sterling, Stamann hasn’t suffered a loss since April 2014.

With the draw, Yadong’s unbeaten streak stays alive. Entering UFC on ESPN 7, Yadong had defeated Felipe Arantes, Vince Morales, and Alejandro Perez in his promotional tenure.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 7 results include:

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UFC on ESPN 7 results: Rob Font fights through early knockdown, outpoints Ricky Simon

Rob Font shook off a bad first round and rallied past Ricky Simon as UFC DC’s main card got off to an action-packed start.

[autotag]Rob Font[/autotag] had to battle through early adversity to get his 17th professional win on Saturday night.

Font (17-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) came back from getting dropped in the first round to outpoint Ricky Simon in a unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 7 in Washington, D.C. The judges’ scores were 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27.

The bantamweight fight opened up the main card at Capital One Arena. It aired on ESPN following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

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Simon (15-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) looked his best in the first round. Although Font was winning and controlling the exchanges on the feet, Simon was able to rock Font and follow up with a takedown about halfway through the round. Simon dominated the rest of the action following the takedown.

Things took a turn in round two. Appearing fully recovered from the shot, Font stuffed Simon’s takedowns and outboxed him on the feet. It was a clinical performance. Simon had his moments, but Font was clearly the dominant force on the feet. The third round was no different, as Font tagged up Simon with the jab while avoiding the takedowns.

The 32-year-old Bostonian is now on a two-fight win streak and 3-1 in his last four bouts, with his lone loss coming to longtime bantamweight contender Raphael Assuncao. Meanwhile, Simon is now on a two-fight skid after a 3-0 start in the UFC.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 7 results include:

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