Escape, Escape, Escape.
Yousef Zalal vs. Ilia Topuria
Featherweight Fight
This was a very entering fight to watch, it had a bit of everything and was mostly even. The only facet of it that wasn’t even was ground game. Topuria absolutely owned that part of the fight, he even had several submission attempts, but Zalal found a way out of every single one. It was very impressive. Topuria’s wrestling was enough to get him a unanimous decision, but the 3 scores of 29-28 aren’t a surprise given Zalal’s ability to survive.
Rating: 9/10
Result: Unanimous Decision for Ilia Topuria
Leading Man from Liverpool
Tom Aspinall vs. Alan Baudot
Heavyweight Fight
This one didn’t take long, and to me personally it’s not a surprise. Big guys from Liverpool have a history of being tough as hell. Aspinall landed a big leg kick to start things off and pounced. Baudot had no answers when the hands started flying. Aspinall got Baudot down with a big shot and followed up with some ground and pound for the finish. Gotta love heavyweights, were always only one shot away.
Rating: 8/10
Result: 1st Round TKO for Tom Aspinall
South African Smackdown
Markus Perez vs. Dricus Du Plessis
Middleweight Fight
Markus Perez was taken completely off guard by a hard left hand that took him down. The fight was over right at that moment, the only reason more shots were landed was because the ref was a couple steps away. It’s not always this common that you see a big shot landed in the “feeling-out” stage, but Du Plessis caught one. A nice feather in his cap.
Rating: 8/10
Result: 1st Round KO for Dricus Du Plessis
Heavyweights Throw Heavy Weight
Ben Rothwell vs. Marcin Tybura
Heavyweight Fight
This was a classic big hoss fight. For the first 13 minutes of this fight it was two giant guys standing toe to toe throwing bombs. Tybura got a takedown at the end of the 3rd after a devastating uppercut. These two behemoths threw around 600 strokes between the two of them, and the punching advantage in the 2nd and big takedown in the 3rd was more than enough to get Tybura the win. Poland knows how to grow em’ big.
Rating: 8.5/10
Result: Unanimous Decision for Marcin Tybura
Edson Barboza vs. Makwan Amirkhani
Featherweight Fight
The first round of this fight was as you’d expect, a lot of feeling out. Barboza took control in the second round, scoring a knockdown with a big shot and following up with some solid control from top position after a failed submission attempt. After Amirkhani escaped, Barboza caught him for a knockdown again with the same strike as before. Barboza went for another submission but Amrikhani got away again as the round ended. Amirkhani finally got top position in the third, but he couldn’t do much to capitalize on it. Overall a great fight to watch, and it should put Barboza back on the first page of the higher-ups featherweight favorites.
Rating: 9/10
Result: Unanimous Decision for Edson Barboza
Main Event
Mr. Sandman Bring Me a Dream
Marlon Moraes vs. Cory Sandhagen
Bantamweight Fight
The first round had a good pace to it for a fight that might potentially last 25 minutes. Sandhagen had a million different looks to throw at Moraes in a showing of unorthodox precision, while Moraes showed more classical discipline complete with a takedown at the end of the 1st round. The 2nd round didn’t last very long. Sandhagen used his length advantage he had over Moraes to perfection. He landed a gorgeous kick to take down Moraes. Sandhagen is back in the mix for a shot at the belt after taking down the number 1 ranked guy in the Bantamweight division.
Rating: 9/10
Result: 2nd Round KO for Cory Sandhagen
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