Tag: UFC on ESPN 51

UFC on ESPN 51 results: Takedown, control-happy Vicente Luque outworks Rafael dos Anjos

With a game plan that may have come as a surprise, Vicente Luque’s cage control and grappling were on display in a crucial win.

With a game plan that may have come as a surprise to many, [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag]’s cage control and grappling were on display in a crucial return to the win column.

Luque (22-9-1 MMA, 15-5 UFC) outworked former lightweight champion [autotag]Rafael dos Anjos[/autotag] (32-14 MMA, 21-12 UFC) for a 25-minute unanimous decision Saturday. Luque won with a 49-46 score and a pair of 48-47s in large part thanks to a career-best eight takedowns. The welterweight bout was the UFC on ESPN 51 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Luque needed special approval from the Nevada commission due to a brain hemorrhage that stemmed from his August 2022 knockout loss to Geoff Neal. But he was cleared to compete, and had a win he said was critical for him – and one he was nervous about before he got hit the first time.

The first round featured a lot of back-and-forth for the first half the frame trading positions on the fence. But when dos Anjos broke away, he did so with a lot of power and the Brazilians traded heavy punches in the center of the cage. Luque landed a solid body punch with 90 seconds left, then went to the body with kicks. Dos Anjos answered with a leaping elbow, then tied things up with some wrestling on the fence.

With 45 seconds left in the round, dos Anjos jumped guard and grabbed a guillotine choke, but Luque fought out of it and got his own control at the end of the frame before the horn.

Midway through the second, after a half-round of looking for openings on the fence, dos Anjos got a takedown. But Luque needed only a second to pop back up, and Luque even took dos Anjos down and controlled him a few seconds later. Luque briefly threatened with a standing arm triangle, but dos Anjos broke away just in time to eat an elbow and a few body kicks.

Luque used more control with his grappling in the third round, but went back to the middle midway through and ate a left and some kicks. Dos Anjos started to let his hands go a little more and found success, then shot for a takedown with 70 seconds left. Luque rolled through it and worked for a D’Arce choke and stayed out of danger.

The fourth and fifth rounds, it was evident Luque’s welterweight size may have been more suited for the long haul than dos Anjos’ welterweight size. In the fight, Luque had more than 10 minutes of control time, which was more than three times as much as dos Anjos – a statistic that would have been easy to predict would be flipped.

Luque snapped a two-fight skid in his return to the cage after a year away. Dos Anjos dropped his second fight back at welterweight after a win in his return to the division in 2022.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 51 results include:

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UFC on ESPN 51 results: Cub Swanson wins stunning decision over Hakeem Dawodu, thought he lost

Cub Swanson walked to the center of the octagon after the UFC on ESPN 51 co-main event expecting a loss. The judges felt different.

[autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag] admitted he walked to the center of the octagon at the end of his UFC on ESPN 51 co-main event with [autotag]Hakeem Dawodu[/autotag] expecting a loss.

Instead, all three judges gave Swanson (29-13 MMA, 14-9 UFC) two of three rounds on the scorecards, and he left the fight with a unanimous decision win over Dawodu (14-3-1 MMA, 6-4 UFC) in the featherweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Dawodu seemingly landed the better shots in the first and seconds rounds, bloodying Swanson’s face and carrying the momentum. In the third round, Swanson landed a big takedown and tried to threaten with submissions, but he ran out of time.

The conclusive feeling was Swanson made an admirable late push, but it wouldn’t be enough. Then he wasn’t announced as the winner, which came after he had already congratulated Dawodu and his team.

Nevertheless, Swanson got his 14th victory in UFC featherweight competition, which trails only Max Holloway (19) and Darren Elkins (18) in divisional history.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 51 results include:

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UFC on ESPN 51 video: Khalil Rountree’s big power sends Chris Daukaus to fourth straight loss

Khalil Rountree is on a four-fight winning streak while Chris Daukaus is on a four-fight losing skid after UFC on ESPN 51.

[autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] is on a four-fight winning streak while [autotag]Chris Daukaus[/autotag] is on a four-fight losing skid after UFC on ESPN 51.

Rountree (12-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) was tasked with welcoming former heavyweight Daukaus (12-7 MMA, 4-4 UFC) down to light heavyweight for the first time on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and the fight was one-way traffic.

It was clear Daukaus tasted the power early on, and it wasn’t long before Rountree dropped and stopped him for the TKO at the 2:40 mark of Round 1.

Check out the replay below (via Twitter):

With the longest winning streak of his UFC career under his belt, Rountree is looking for bigger and better. Not only does he want the chance to face a ranked fighter next, but he wants it in a five-round headliner.

“It feels great,” Rountree said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “I would absolutely love to fight somebody ranked above me. I don’t know exactly who. I think the next step for me is a main event. I would love to have a five-round main event. I think that’s a big challenge for me.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 51 results include:

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UFC on ESPN 51 video: 21-year-old Iasmin Lucindo taps out Polyana Viana

Iasmin Lucindo, 21, built more hype about her prospect status with a submission of Polyana Viana at UFC on ESPN 51.

[autotag]Iasmin Lucindo[/autotag] showed again why she’s one of the most intriguing prospects in the strawweight division on Saturday when she submitted [autotag]Polyana Viana[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 51.

The 21-year-old Lucindo (15-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) made it back-to-back octagon victories when she forced her fellow Brazilian Viana (13-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) to tap out at the 3:42 mark of Round 2 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The fight was something of a grind until Lucindo got on top and locked in the choke, which you can watch a replay of below (via Twitter):

After dropping her octagon debut, Lucindo has now pieced together a pair of wins and looks more and more like she has a very bright future at 115 pounds.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 51 results include:

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UFC on ESPN 51 video: Marcus McGhee folds JP Buys for first-round walkoff knockout

Marcus McGhee knew he didn’t need to land another shot after dropping JP Buys in the first round at UFC on ESPN 51.

[autotag]Marcus McGhee[/autotag] knew the fight was over before the referee, and mercifully decided against landing more punches.

In the final preliminary bout of UFC on ESPN 51 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, McGhee (8-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) stopped JP Buys (9-6 MMA, 0-4 UFC) with a vicious right hand. It was a walkoff finish for McGhee, but one that was somewhat awkward due to a slight hesitance from the referee. Ultimately, the fight was declared over at 2:19 of Round 1.

It was a clean striking performance from McGhee, who is known for finishing fights early.

After being on the receiving end of sharp combinations, Buys folded over after a big right hand from McGhee landed. Buys dropped down to one knee on the canvas. McGhee knew he had his opponent out of the fight, and began to walk away with both hands in the air. There was a brief moment of hesitation from referee Jason Herzog, but he waved off the fight as Buys rose to his feet and stumbled into the fence.

McGhee extends his winning streak to four, and has yet to compete in a professional bout that has gone the distance. In his UFC debut in April, McGhee submitted Journey Newson in the second round.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 51 results include:

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 51.

UFC on ESPN 51 video: Terrance McKinney throttles Mike Breeden in 85 seconds

Terrance McKinney snapped a recent rough streak with a near-flawless first-round finish of Mike Breeden at UFC on ESPN 51.

[autotag]Terrance McKinney[/autotag] returned to form in less than two minutes at UFC on ESPN 51.

Filling in for the injured Lando Vanatta on short notice to take on [autotag]Mike Breeden[/autotag] (10-6 MMA, 0-3 UFC), McKinney (14-6 MMA, 4-3 UFC) stepped into the octagon at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas looking to right a few recent wrongs. He would only need 85 seconds to record a TKO stoppage in the lightweight prelim contest.

From the moment the fight began, McKinney poured on the pressure. Breeden could never get anything going, and McKinney didn’t give him any room to find offense. Punch after punch found its mark, including beautiful knees in the Thai clinch that led to the finish. Breeden was hurt and could only cover up against the fence before the referee stepped in to stop the onslaught from McKinney.

Entering on a two-fight skid, McKinney bounced back in quick fashion. The UFC lightweight is known for getting the job done quickly. In fact, his last 10 wins have all come in the first round.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 51 results include:

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UFC on ESPN 51 video: Martin Buday extends streak with first-round kimura of Josh Parisian

Martin Buday made it 4-0 in the octagon with a dominant finish of Josh Parisian on the UFC on ESPN 51 prelims.

[autotag]Martin Buday[/autotag] kept on rolling in the heavyweight division when he delivered his most impressive octagon performance to date against [autotag]Josh Parisian[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 51.

Buday (13-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) needed just a matter of minutes to hurt Parisian (15-7 MMA, 2-4 UFC) on the feet and force his opponent into a takedown attempt at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. He countered, took top control and locked in a tight kimura for the verbal submission at the 4:11 mark of Round 1.

Check out the replay of the final sequence below (via Twitter):

With 12 consecutive victories overall, Buday’s assent continued. His four-fight UFC winning streak in the heavyweight division trailed only Sergei Pavlovich (six), and Buday said he’s pleased to get the job done quickly after fighting to a decision in his past two outings.

“It’s the best feeling,” Buday said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “I wanted to deliver a finish, and now it happened. I’m very happy.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 51 results include:

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UFC on ESPN 51 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC on ESPN 51 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.

LAS VEGAS – UFC on ESPN 51 took place Saturday with 13 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

You can hear from all the UFC on ESPN 51 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 51.

UFC on ESPN 51 video: Da’Mon Blackshear pulls off third twister submission in promotion history

Da’Mon Blackshear locked in the third twister submission in UFC history, and did it in the first round.

[autotag]Da’Mon Blackshear[/autotag] spoiled the promotional debut of [autotag]Jose Johnson[/autotag] in a rare fashion.

The second fight of UFC on ESPN 51 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas saw just the third twister submission in promotional history, courtesy of Blackshear (14-5-1 MMA, 2-1-1 UFC).

Jose Johnson (15-8 MMA, 0-1 UFC) found himself in a precarious position shortly after a very nice second takedown from Blackshear. While trying to scramble back to his feet, Johnson gave up his back. Blackshear began working on securing the rare and extremely painful submission hold. At 3:47 of Round 1, the twister was locked in and Johnson had no choice but to tap.

Check out video of the finish below (via Twitter):

Blackshear continues his finishing ways, keeping the momentum going following his June second-round TKO stoppage of Luan Lacerda. Eleven of Blackshear’s 14 pro career wins have ended early, proving “Da Monster” is a true finishing threat to his opponents.

The first twister submission in UFC history belongs to “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, who tapped Leonard Garcia with the technique in 2011. It would be another eight years before another fighter accomplished the feat; Bryce Mitchell pulled off the second against Matt Sayles in 2019.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 51 results include:

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UFC on ESPN 51 video: Luana Santos scores standing TKO of sloppy Juliana Miller in debut

Luana Santos shared a message to the flyweight division after stopping Juliana Miller less than four minutes into her UFC on ESPN 51 debut.

[autotag]Luana Santos[/autotag] got her octagon tenure off to a promising start on Saturday when she put away [autotag]Juliana Miller[/autotag] inside the first round at UFC on ESPN 51.

After Miller (3-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) came out of the gate with some serious aggression and pressure, Santos (6-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) showed composure in waiting for her time to land a big shot.

That changed the momentum of the women’s flyweight bout, because Miller was hurt and could only cover up as Santos poured on the punches until referee Jason Herzog had seen enough and waved it off at the 3:41 mark of Round 1 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Check out a replay of the finish below (via Twitter):

After the fight, an ecstatic Santos called for UFC president Dana White to pay her a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. She also put the rest of the 125-pound division on notice.

“I’ve always been known as Luana the judo girl, but I knew I could bring something,” Santos told Daniel Cormier through an interpreter in her post-fight interview. “I brought the striking. To the girls in the division, it’s not just Luana the judo girl.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 51.