Tag: UFC on ESPN 9

Twitter reacts to Gilbert Burns’ dominant decision win over ex-champ Tyron Woodley at UFC on ESPN 9

See how Twitter reacted to Gilbert Burns’ big win over Tyron Woodley.

[autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] picked up the biggest win of his UFC career, and he did it in impressive fashion.

The Brazilian welterweight contender defeated former UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag] in the main event of UFC on ESPN 9, which tool place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Burns (19-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) won 50-45, 50-44, 50-44 on the judges’ scorecards.

“Durinho” topped Woodley (19-5-1 MMA, 9-4-1 UFC) in most aspects of the fight. He battered him on the feet and out-grappled him whenever the fight went into close quarters.

Burns’ dominant performance impressed many watching from home. Check out how the MMA Twitter community reacted to Burns’ biggest career win:

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UFC on ESPN 9 results: Gilbert Burns dominates ex-champ Tyron Woodley, calls for title shot with teammate Kamaru Usman

Gilbert Burns set the tone in the opening seconds of the biggest fight of his career, then seldom let up the next 25 minutes.

[autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] set the tone in the opening seconds of the biggest fight of his career, then seldom let up the next 25 minutes.

Burns (19-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) dominated former welterweight champion [autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag] (19-5-1 MMA, 9-4-1 UFC) from the start. He cut him open early and won the fight both on the feet and on the canvas for a unanimous decision sweep of the judges’ scorecards. Burns won with a pair of 50-44 scores and a 50-45.

After taking out a former champ in Woodley’s return 15 months after losing the 170-pound belt, Burns called for a title shot.

“I’m very happy. I trained so hard for this fight. I knew I could do it. I was calling this guy out for a reason,” Burns told Daniel Cormier in his post-fight interview. “My name now has got to be the No. 1 contender. I love the champ, my training partner Kamaru Usman, but c’mon – give me the shot. I’ve got a lot of love for you, but I’m next. I want to fight for the title. If they want to make the fight in July, I’m injury free. I want to fight for the title.”

The welterweight bout was the UFC on ESPN 9 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

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Burns hurt Woodley quickly into the first round and pounded away in tight quarters. Woodley was wobbled and tumbled to the canvas with Burns following with hammerfists. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu standout jumped to full mount and slowed the pace to look for his best opening. When Woodley got his head popped out, he showed a big cut above his left eye from Gilbert’s fists.

Woodley did his best to play defense with his back on the canvas, and with two minutes left in the round, Woodley nicely managed to scramble out and get back to his feet. Burns tried to work a pair of kicks up high, then went low. Woodley kicked high, too, but had it blocked and circled away trying to find a new opening. With 20 seconds left, Burns drilled Woodley with a body kick and followed it with a left hook.

Woodley put together a big combination early in the second, then landed a right cross that put Burns off-balance. The pace slowed, and both fighters occasionally traded kicks and punches till midway through, when Burns landed a takedown. He put Woodley’s back against the canvas, then landed knees to the body when Woodley tried to wall-walk his way back to his feet. They stayed clinched the rest of the around and traded position late, but it was another round for the Brazilian.

The middle frame showed both fighters being a little more cautious, but it was Burns pushing forward with Woodley’s back to the fence. Burns landed several low leg kicks that seemed to make Woodley uncomfortable and he seldom had counters for them.

In the fourth, Woodley threw a big right hook and Burns ducked under perfectly. He tried to take Woodley to the canvas, but ran into solid takedown defense and they pushed their way to the fence in the clinch, where they traded positions. With three minutes left, referee Herb Dean split them up after not seeing enough activity. On the break, Burns landed several straight left jabs in a row, then drilled Woodley with a knee to the body.

Not long after, Burns exploded almost out of nowhere with a huge series of on-the-money punches that nearly took Woodley off his feet. After a brief clinch, Burns easily dragged Woodley to the canvas and with a minute left in the round, tried to take the former champ’s back. Burns wrapped up a choke late in the frame, but there wasn’t enough time to finish.

Burns didn’t let up in the fifth, even knowing Woodley was going to need to find a way to finish the fight to win. He moved in quickly with kicks and pushed Woodley to the fence again. Midway through the round, Dean separated the two – and again Burns got right in Woodley’s face. Woodley landed a right that was partially blocked, but still had to contend with Burns pressuring him the rest of the way.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 9 results include:

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UFC on ESPN 9 results: Augusto Sakai continues unbeaten UFC run, outpoints Blagoy Ivanov

Augusto Sakai remained undefeated in the UFC with a split decision win over Blagoy Ivanov.

[autotag]Augusto Sakai[/autotag] remains undefeated in the UFC.

The Brazilian heavyweight picked up his fourth UFC win Saturday night, outpointing [autotag]Blagoy Ivanov[/autotag] in a split decision. The official decision read 27-30, 29-28 and 29-28.

The heavyweight bout was the UFC on ESPN 9 co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

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Sakai (15-1-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) used his kickboxing and takedown defense to outpoint Ivanov (18-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC).

The first round between the two heavyweights was an even contest. Ivanov did appear to do most of the pressing and landed the better shots in the round, but Sakai also had his moments.

In Round 2, it was clear Sakai’s leg kicks and boxing were taking a big toll on Ivanov. The Bulgarian seemed to slow down and lose Round 2 despite getting a late takedown and finishing the round on top.

The third was mostly Sakai’s, but he did have a controversial moment. Sakai was doing most of the damage on the feet, but Ivanov turned it up late, making up some ground. In a clinch position, Ivanov looked to secure a throw on Sakai, but the Brazilian grabbed fence to defend the takedown. The referee didn’t penalize Sakai for the illegal move.

Sakai is unbeaten in his past five bouts. The last time he lost was against Cheick Kongo in 2017 in Bellator.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 9 results include:

Video: Spike Carlyle walks off before end of round, gets punched from behind at UFC on ESPN 9

Protect yourself at all times.

[autotag]Spike Carlyle[/autotag] now knows the reason behind one of MMA’s most important rules: Protect yourself at all times.

“The Alpha Ginger” walked away from his opponent, [autotag]Billy Quarantillo[/autotag], before the bell signaled the end of their first round at UFC on ESPN 9 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

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Carlyle (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) had top position on Quarantillo (14-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) and decided to get up and walk away with seconds remaining in the round. With the time still ticking, Quarantillo took the opportunity to get up and strike Carlyle as he walked away. The shot caught Carlyle by surprise and dropped him to the canvas just as the round came to an end.

The two continued to fight for two close, competitive rounds. The catchweight bout went to the judges’ scorecards, and Quarantillo took a unanimous decision.

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Check out the video below of the shot from behind by Quarantillo:

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UFC on ESPN 9 results: Mackenzie Dern taps gritty Hannah Cifers for first leg submission in women’s UFC history

Mackenzie Dern had to work through a relentless Hannah Cifers in the early going, but ultimately did what she does best.

[autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] had to work through a relentless [autotag]Hannah Cifers[/autotag] in the early going, but ultimately did what she does best.

Dern (8-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) made relatively quick work of Cifers (10-5 MMA, 2-3 UFC) – but only after she was able to get the fight to the canvas, where she forced Cifers to tap with a kneebar. The finish for Dern, the biggest favorite on the card, came at the 2:36 mark of the opening round.

The women’s strawweight bout opened up the UFC on ESPN 9 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

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Cifers wasn’t shy about moving in quick against Dern and tied things up. She made the fight dirty right away with dirty boxing and knees and seemed to throw Dern a little out of her element. After a minute of it, she pushed Dern away and went back to the middle. There, Dern landed a couple solid right hands.

But Cifers fired right back, and when Dern wanted to take the fight to the canvas into her domain, it was the beginning of the end. Cifers initially was able to roll through the takedown and was on top for just a moment. But Dern went after Cifers’ leg, and once she had it, Cifers quickly had to tap.

Dern’s win was the first leglock submission of any kind in a UFC women’s fight. It brought her back to the win column after a loss to Amanda Ribas this past October, which was the first setback of her pro career and came in her return after a pregnancy and birth of a child.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 9 results include:

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