UFC 255 results: Tim Means busts up Mike Perry, gets unanimous decision win in back-and-forth battle

Tim Means busted up Mike Perry en route to a unanimous decision victory Saturday.

[autotag]Tim Means[/autotag] overcame a difficult first round at UFC 255 and stormed back to pick up a decision victory over [autotag]Mike Perry[/autotag] on Saturday.

Means (31-12-1 MMA, 13-9 UFC) defeated Perry (14-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC) by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in a catchweight bout (Perry missed the welterweight limit).

The fight was part of the UFC 255 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2/ESPN+.

Despite Perry and Means’ striking prowess, much of Round 1 took place on the ground. After a few striking exchanges, Perry dragged Means to the canvas and worked for a rear-naked choke. Means escaped and worked his way back to the feet.

In Round 2, the two welterweight fighters traded blows for the vast majority of the five minutes. Means utilized his crisp jab, which usually came in bunches. Perry had his moments, too, and landed a few big shots.

With the fight possibly tied entering Round 3, it was anyone’s fight. The two fighters stood in the pocket right in front of each other and traded blows until Means shot for a takedown. Perry, with his face busted up, defended successfully. Means took over in the second half of Round 3. As the clock wound down, both fighters chucked knuckles until the final horn.

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A winner of three of his past four, Means extended his winning streak to two. In his fight prior to UFC 255, Means won a unanimous decision over Laureano Staropoli.

Perry’s loss is his third in four fights. Prior to his win over Mickey Gall in June, Perry dropped back-to-back fights to Geoff Neal and Vicente Luque.

UFC 255 marked the first time Perry had competed since reportedly going to anger management and alcohol rehabilitation after a video of him involved in a bar altercation surfaced on social media. Shortly after the video went viral, Perry’s ex-wife Danielle Nickerson spoke to MMA Junkie and accused Perry of physically abusing her on multiple occasions. Perry denied any wrongdoing when he spoke to MMA Junkie on Wednesday.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 255 results include:

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UFC 255 results: Paul Craig makes ‘Shogun’ Rua tap to strikes in rematch

Paul Craig left no questions in his rematch with former UFC champion Mauricio Rua.

[autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] left no questions in his rematch with former UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Mauricio Rua[/autotag] at UFC 255 on Saturday.

Craig (14-4-1 MMA, 5-5-1 UFC) used a wrestling-heavy game plan and eventually got “Shogun” (27-12-1 MMA, 11-10-1 UFC) in an inescapable back mount, where he reigned down shots until it was waved off at the 2:36 mark of Round 2.

The light heavyweight bout opened up the UFC 255 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2/ESPN+.

Craig started the fight with a kick-heavy strategy. Rua bided his time to explode with big combinations, but his aggression led him right into Craig’s takedowns. Craig threatened with multiple submission attempts, but Rua managed to get a key reversal that gave him top control for the remainder of the round.

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Rua connected with a big right hand in the opening stages of the second round. Craig didn’t like it, so he went back to the wrestling and got a takedown. Rua scrambled upright, but got taken back down to the mat in short order. Craig advanced position, and eventually made the Brazilian give up his back. He locked down the rear mount, then battered Rua into a submission from the punches.

“He’s a legend and we’ve seen that tonight,” Craig said in his post-fight interview. “I’m very glad for the win.”

With the victory, Craig gets resolution to his first encounter with Rua in November 2019, which ended in a split draw.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 255 results:

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UFC 255: Joaquin Buckley post-fight interview

UFC 255: Joaquin Buckley post-fight interview

UFC 255: Joaquin Buckley post-fight interview

UFC 255 results: Brandon Moreno stops Brandon Royval following agonizing shoulder injury

An agony-inducing shoulder injury led to a finish with one second left in the opening round of the UFC 255 featured prelim.

Top flyweight contender [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] continued his recent success on Saturday, but did so in an unusual fashion.

An action-packed UFC 255 featured preliminary bout between Moreno (18-5-1 MMA, 6-0-1 UFC) and [autotag]Brandon Royval[/autotag] ended after Royval (12-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) suffered a shoulder injury in the closing seconds of Round 1.

The fight was stopped at the 4:59 mark when Royval, who was in agonizing pain after his shoulder popped out of the socket, stopped defending himself from Moreno’s ground-and-pound.

The injury came after some wild exchanges on the feet and a takedown by Moreno. Once on the mat, Moreno worked for submissions from the back but was unable to sink in a rear-naked choke attempt. After Royval returned to guard, he attempted to grab hold of Moreno’s leg. When torquing on the limb, Royval’s shoulder popped and led to the stoppage.

In between the stoppage and the official decision, Factory X head coach Mark Montoya was seven on camera popping Royval’s shoulder back into place.

With the victory, Moreno is now 3-0-1 in his past four fights dating back to September 2019. Moreno was originally scheduled to fight Alex Perez on Saturday, but Perez was elevated to the main event title fight against champion Deiveson Figueiredo after Cody Garbrandt withdrew due to health issues.

As for Royval, the loss is his first defeat since he signed with the promotion in early 2020. His four-fight winning streak dating back to May 2019 was snapped.

The flyweight bout closed out the UFC 255 preliminary card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It aired on ESPN2/ESPN+ ahead of the main card on pay-per-view.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 255 results include:

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UFC 255 results: Joaquin Buckley KOs Jordan Wright with brutal onslaught

Viral star Joaquin Buckley picked up where he left off with a brutal finish of Jordan Wright at UFC 255.

Viral star [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] picked up where he left off on Saturday with a brutal finish of [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] at UFC 255.

Just over one month after he scored the probable “Knockout of the Year” with a one-legged spinning back kick, Buckley (12-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) made the quick turnaround to fight Wright (11-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and attempt to continue his momentum.

Buckley did just that, finding a home with his heavy hands in the opening moments of the second round to drop and stop Wright just 18 seconds into the frame.

The middleweight bout was part of the UFC 255 preliminary card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It aired on ESPN2/ESPN+ ahead of a main card on pay-per-view.

Buckley applied pressure on Wright from the opening bell of the first round. He had some good moments, and nearly got the finish at the end of the frame. Wright showed his toughness, though, and survived to the end of the round.

When the fight resumed in the second, however, Buckley charged with more hard strikes and landed a hard right hand to Wright’s head that knocked him out.

After his finish, Buckley told UFC commentator Joe Rogan he wants to make his grudge match with James Krause happen next.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 255 results include:

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UFC 255 video: Big underdog Sasha Palatnikov earns TKO, is first from Hong Kong with UFC win

After a “Round of the Year” candidate, Sasha Palatnikov put Hong Kong on the UFC map with a TKO win.

Hong Kong debuted in highlight-reel fashion at UFC 255 on Saturday.

In the evening’s curtain jerker, [autotag]Sasha Palatnikov[/autotag] became the first fighter in UFC history to represent Hong Kong – and also the first to record an octagon victory. As the second-biggest underdog on the entire card, Palatnikov (6-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) picked up the TKO victory over [autotag]Louis Cosce[/autotag] at 2:27 of Round 3.

With the victory, Palatnikov proved the oddsmakers wrong. On average, across major online sportsbooks, Palatnikov closed a +422 (per BestFightOdds).

After a tough opening round, in which he ate dozens of hard punches, Palatnikov survived and dished out his fair share of punishment in a potential “Round of the Year” candidate.

Cosce (7-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who seemingly winded himself with the high-output Round 1, ate a big right hand midway through Round 3. From there, Palatnikov finished Cosce with a series of lefts and rights on the canvas.

Check out Palatnikov’s finish of Cosce in the video below:

The victory was Palatnikov’s second in a row and was his third career win by TKO. Palatnikov’s lone professional loss came to fellow UFC fighter Mounir Lazzez when the two were on the regional scene.

UFC 255 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card streamed on pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN+/ESPN 2/UFC Fight Pass.

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UFC 255 play-by-play and live results

Check out live play-by-play and official results from UFC 255 in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Saturday’s UFC 255 event, and you can join us for live play-by-play and official results beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. PT).

The event takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2/ESPN+.

In the main event, flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo (19-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) puts his title on the line for the first time against Alex Perez (24-5 MMA, 6-1 UFC). And in the co-feature, women’s flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko (19-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) is a massive favorite of -1250 against challenger Jennifer Maia (18-6-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC).

Follow along with our round-by-round updates and official results beginning at approximately 6:30 p.m. ET for the early prelims on ESPN2/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET for additional prelims on the same channels, and 10 p.m. ET for the main card on pay-per-view.

To discuss the show, be sure to check out our UFC 255 discussion thread. You can also get behind-the-scenes coverage and other event notes from on-site reporters John Morgan (@MMAjunkieJohn) and Ken Hathaway (@kenshathaway) on Twitter.

Enjoy the fights, everyone.