Paul Craig Def. Jamahal Hill Via TKO
Paul Craig defeated Jamahal Hill in a light heavyweight fight via TKO with 3:01 still left in the first round. The first fight went out with a bang by seeing Paul Craig put Jamahal Hill into an arm submission and severely injuring his arm. I thought it was for sure broken but after the fight it was confirmed to be only a fracture. The referee was forced to stop the bout, but I believe that he should have done it even sooner. You could see Hill’s arm just flopping on the mat and after the fight you could see his elbow being out of place. It was a very “gross” finish, but it made the fans go nuts on Twitter and set the stage on what came after in the next fights on the card. After the fight, this brought Craig’s record to 16-4-1 and brought Hill’s record to 8-2 with 1 NC.
(#12) Belal Muhammad Def. (#9) Demian Maia
Belal Muhammad defeated Demian Maia in a welterweight fight via unanimous decision after three rounds. Maia prevented Muhammad from getting in any significant offense in the opening round but that changed in rounds two and three. Time and time again, Muhammad’s takedown defense was too much for Maia. Maia is clearly not the same fighter as he used to be. This marked Maia’s 33 UFC fight, but still is trying to get another win so he can tie Donald Cerrone at 23. However, I thought that this was the weakest fight on the card tonight. After the fight, this brought Muhammad’s record to 20-4 with 1 NC and brought Maia’s record to 28-12.
#3 Leon Edwards Def. Nate Diaz
Leon Edwards defeated Nate Diaz in a welterweight fight via unanimous decision after five rounds. This was a five-round fight, the first time that happened in the UFC when it was not a title bout or main event. This wasn’t even a co-main, just the third fight on the card. As usual with all Diaz’s fight, by the end he was a bloody mess. His whole body down to his legs was in blood. Edwards dominated that fight until the fifth round. Diaz hammered Edwards with a straight left hand in the closing moments of the fifth round, and he came so close to landing that knockout punch before the bell. I believe that if Diaz had a minute or two more, he would have knocked out Edwards because he was hurting after the fifth round. Third-ranked Edwards furthers his case for a title shot in the future. Diaz once again shows why he is one of the most beloved fighters in the world and this fight grew his popularity even more. I think this fight was the fight of the night. After this fight, this brought Edwards’ record to 20-3 with 1 NC and brought Diaz’s record to 21-14.
#1 Brandon Moreno Def. (C) Deiveson Figueiredo
Brandon Moreno defeated Deliveson Figueiredo in a flyweight fight via submission with 2:34 left in the third round. We have a new flyweight in Brandon Moreno. He took control of the fight from the very beginning. He gave Figuiredo amazing leg kicks throughout this fight. You could see how it was effecting Figueiredo’s movement and speed going forward. Moreno got him on a rear naked choke, causing Figueiredo to tap out. He got his revenge after the first fight in 2020, after the fight ended in a draw. It is crazy how much he had to overcome in his career, since he was once cut by the UFC. Moreno is now the first-ever Mexico-born UFC champion. After this fight, this brought Moreno’s record to 20-5-2 and Figuiredo’s record to 20-3-1.
(C) Israel Adesanya Def. (#3) Marvin Vettori
Israel Adesanya defeated Marvin Vettori in a middleweight fight via unanimous decision after five rounds. Adesandya was looking to rebound after his failed attempt to become “champ-champ” with his first career loss against Jan Blachowicz. He defeated Vettori back in 2018 and did once again on Saturday. It was a striking clinic by Adesanya. Vettori tried to take him down many times but he could never capitalize. Adesanya would either elbow or punch him in the side of the head or in the fourth round, reversed his takedown and took Vettori down. Adesanya then put a beating on Vettori’s right leg, pounding him with leg kicks over and over again. Vettori never adjusted and let him do it throughout the fight. This main event showed the dominance that Adesandya has had ever since he debuted in 2018. I think the UFC are setting up him to face Robert Whittaker in a rematch, for the middleweight title.