MMA Weekly
UFC Vegas 23 results: Marvin Vettori routs Kevin Holland, calls for Israel Adesanya
Streaking middleweight Marvin Vettori topped the UFC Vegas 23 results on Saturday with a rout of Kevin Holland. Following the dominant victory, Vettori called for a rematch with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. UFC Vegas 23 results: Marvin Vettori dominates Kevin Holland for five rounds Marvin Vettori takes down Kevin Holland at UFC Vegas 23 The first round of the main event started with an ugly kick from Holland that delivered flush right into Vettori’s crotch area that would make any man cringe in perceptible pain. After that illegal foray, the first round was a mix between exchanges on the feet between the two middleweight contenders, along with clinch work that for the most part was dominated by the no. 6 ranked Vettori. Toward the end of the first, Vettori secured a takedown and maintained ground control until a beautiful transition from Holland to take the fight back to the feet. The second round was reminiscent of Holland’s fight with Derek Brunson just three weeks ago, with Vettori securing a takedown and maintaining control for roughly four and a half minutes. “The Italian Dream” succeeded with ground and pound strikes and his offensive ground work led to noticeable damage to Holland’s left eye, which eventually led to some significant swelling. Vettori again took Holland back to the ground in the third, maintaining dominant control. Vettori sank in an arm triangle choke, where it appeared to be the beginning of the end. But the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt maintained composure and refused to concede, which led to Vettori resorting to alternatives. Vettori then gained control of Holland’s back before going back to stand-up where the Italian grinded out his opponent with clinch control. Vettori and Holland briefly exchanged strikes in the beginning of the fourth round before Vettori went back to the well and secured yet another takedown, generating offense from dominant ground position for the majority of the round. Holland appeared to shake Vettori with strikes in the beginning of the fifth before the Italian went back to his successful formula that told the story of the majority of the fight, again dominating the round with ground control and frequent ground and pound offense. The fight went to decision with Vettori getting the unanimous decision nod with a 50-44 score from all three judges. Vettori set a middleweight record with 11 takedowns that capped off an incredibly dominant performance in the main event of UFC on ABC 2. After the fight, Vettori called for a shot at UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who defeated Vettori via split decision in 2018. UFC Vegas 23 results: Arnold Allen takes the nod over Sodiq Yusuff Arnold Allen punches Sodiq Yusuff at UFC Vegas 23 The co-main event started with a fast pace, with Yusuff sinking in a tight guillotine choke before Allen rolled to his back and ultimately escaped. Later in the round, Allen dropped Yusuff with a left jab, but was ultimately unable to capitalize. Yusuff made adjustments and came out in the second round with more composure. Rather than loading up with his punches in the beginning of the second, he picked his shots, electing to touch Allen with precision. Allen had highlights of his own in the second, partially connecting on Yusuff with a left high kick followed by a hard left hook that stung him, but the Nigerian featherweight was ultimately able to weather the storm. The third round was a story of stamina, with Yusuff appearing to have more in the gas tank. The two traded control of the clinch against the fence. All in all, the bout went to a decision in a strategic matchup with Yusuff outstriking Allen, despite more significant highlight moments from the featherweight Englishman. Ultimately, those highlight moments culminated in a unanimous decision victory for Arnold Allen. With his victory over the no. 11 ranked Yusuff, the no. 10 ranked featherweight gained his tenth straight victory (seventh straight in the UFC) while also retaining his undefeated record in the UFC. UFC Vegas 23 results: Julian Marquez puts Sam Alvey to sleep Julian Marquez punches Sam Alvey at UFC Vegas 23 Julian Marquez stayed in the win column with a second-round modified rear-naked choke finish of “Smilin’” Sam Alvey. The first couple of minutes in the first round served as a feeling out process before the two middleweights began swinging. Momentum swayed both ways as Marquez wobbled Alvey and briefly dropped him before Alvey regained his wits, even coming back to noticeably hurt Marquez with strikes of his own. Once the second round started, however, Marquez successfully utilized feints and went on to connect with a beautiful combination punctuated by a right jab followed by a left hook that dropped the 50-fight veteran. “The Cuban Missile Crisis” subsequently sank in a rear-naked choke which put Alvey to sleep 2:07 into the second round. Less than two months after submitting Maki Pitolo in a comeback win at UFC 258, Marquez now has two victories inside of two months this year with plenty of time in 2021 to add more wins to his 9-2 record. https://twitter.com/espnmma/status/1380981261867626503 UFC Vegas 23 results: Mackenzie Dern snuffs out Nina Nunes Mackenzie Dern punches Nina Nunes (Ansaroff) at UFC Vegas 23 No. 11 ranked strawweight Mackenzie Dern continued her tear through the UFC strawweight division by submitting no. 5 ranked Nina Nunes (formerly Nina Ansaroff). Dern and Nunes started the fight by trading shots on the feet before Dern quickly got Nunes to the ground and maintained control. From there, Dern exercised patience and isolated Nunes’ left arm. After straightening her arm and securing an armbar, Nunes tapped 4:48 into the first round. With the victory over Nunes, Dern extended her win streak to four. It would not be far-fetched to assume that the BJJ ace will break into the top five of the strawweight division with this victory, as well. https://twitter.com/espnmma/status/1380974110868639757 Bellator 256 results: Ryan Bader pummels Lyoto Machida UFC Vegas 23 Results UFC Vegas 23 Main Card Marvin Vettori def Kevin Holland by unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-44)Arnold Allen def Sodiq Yusuff by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)Julian Marquez def Sam Alvey by technical submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:07, R2Mackenzie Dern def Nina Nunes* by submission (armbar) at 4:48, R1 – *Formerly Nina AnsaroffDaniel Rodriguez def Mike Perry by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26) UFC Vegas 23 Prelims Joe Solecki def Jim Miller by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)Mateusz Gamrot def Scott Holtzman by KO (punches) at 1:22, R2Erin Blanchfield vs. Norma Dumont — Canceled after Dumont missed weightJohn Makdessi def Ignacio Bahamondes by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)Jarjis Danho def Yorgan De Castro by KO (punch) at 3:02, R1Jack Shore def Hunter Azure by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)Luis Saldana def Jordan Griffin by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)Da Un Jung def William Knight by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27) UFC Vegas 23 Early Prelim Impa Kasanganay def Sasha Palatnikov by submission (rear-naked choke) at 0:26, R2 UFC Vegas 23 video coverage on YouTube