By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist

UFC Fight Night: Imavov vs. Borralho was this past weekend and featured some exciting fights and finishes. Who won and who lost?
Let’s get to the rundown.

UFC Fight Night: Imavov vs. Borralho
GOOD- William Gomis vs. Robert Ruchala
They start off trading kicks and body shots as the Paris crowd sings.
Ruchala gets a takedown but Gomis is quickly back to his feet. They clinch and trade knees before separating and trading a few strikes before the first round ends. The second round begins with the fighters
trading kicks and a few punches before Ruchala gets another takedown
and they grapple until the second round ends. The third round starts
with Gomis poking Ruchala in the eye like he’s Ric Flair. A point should have been taken for such an obvious foul. After they restart,
they trade strikes for a while before Gomis gets a takedown and a mat
return after Ruchala stands then the fight ends. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Gomis wins the decision to improve to 15-3 while Ruchala drops to 11-2. It’s a win for Gomis, though it should have been at best a draw for him.

GOOD- Axel Sola stops Rhys McKee
They’re trading heavy strikes early before Sola tries for a takedown.
They clinch for a while with some knees and back elbows flying before
the first round ends. The second round begins with both fighters landing more heavy strikes that are marking up their faces. Sola tries
for another takedown and eventually gets it but McKee is right back up
and the second round ends. The third round starts with McKee swinging
for the fences with his punches. Sola returns fire and he crushes
McKee with a tremendous body shot that drops him. The referee jumps in
to stop the fight as Sola is raining down hammerfists but McKee is
upset, saying that he was recovering. The stoppage did look a bit
early but I think an early stoppage is better than a late stoppage.
That’s easy for me to say, though.
Regardless, Sola improves to 11-0-1 and has won 4 straight fights
while McKee drops to 14-7-1. Great win for Sola.

GOOD- Mason Jones stops Bolaji Oki
Jones hits Oki with a head kick but Oki fires back with a big right
hand that sends Jones flying across the cage. Jones is right back up
but Oki drops him again. Oki pounces but Jones survives and stands.
They’re both swinging heavy leather now, and Jones drops Oki. This is
wild. Oki stands but Jones gets a takedown and starts hunting for a
submission but the first round ends. The second round begins with more
incredibly powerful strikes being exchanged. Jones gets a takedown and
starts crushing Oki with repeated elbows until the referee jumps in to
stop the fight not quite three and a half minutes into the second round.
Jones improves to 17-2 with 1 No Contest while Oki drops to 10-3. Good win for Jones.

GOOD- Modestas Bukauskas stops Paul Craig
They’re trading dangerous strikes early, as tension fills the air. Now
they’re trading kicks, with Craig throwing an oblique kick. They clinch and start trading knees. They go to the ground and Bukauskas
begins using some heavy ground-and-pound. Craig turns to try to defend
and gets demolished with a devastating elbow that knocks him out right
as the first round ends. Wow.
Bukauskas improves to 19-6 and has won 4 straight fights while Craig
drops to 17-10-1 with 1 No Contest. Good win for Bukauskas.

GOOD- Paul Craig retires
Craig retires with eight Performance of the Night bonuses, third most,
and the second most submission wins in UFC Light Heavyweight history with six.
I wish him well in his life after retirement.

GOOD- Benoit Saint-Denis submits Mauricio Ruffy
Saint-Denis starts off throwing kicks before getting a takedown and
throwing some ground-and-pound. Ruffy explodes back to his feet after
a bit but Saint-Denis gets another takedown and starts hunting for a
submission. Ruffy works his way back to his feet, though, and they
trade strikes for the rest of the first round. The second round begins
with Saint-Denis throwing kicks while Ruffy responds with jabs.
Saint-Denis gets a takedown but Ruffy reverses it and is now on top
but doesn’t want to engage so he stands up. Saint-Denis gets a takedown shortly after that and goes to work as the French crowd goes
berserk. Saint-Denis tightens a nasty face crank that eventually
forces Ruffy to tap out almost three minutes into the second round.
Saint-Denis improves to 15-3 with 1 No Contest while Ruffy drops to
12-2 and has his 7 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Saint-Denis.

GOOD- Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho
They’re trading strikes from a distance early and this continues until
the first round ends. The second round begins with more of the same,
though things are heating up a little bit as Imavov outpunches his
opponent. The third round starts with some heavy strikes landing. This
has the feel of a fight that could turn at any moment, as tension
hangs in the air. Borralho knees his opponent in the groin early while
Imavov pokes Borralho in the eye later.
The fourth round opens with Imavov landing some powerful elbows but
Borralho is tough and keeps coming and they continue to trade. Imavov
is getting the better of the exchanges but it’s close. The fifth round
commences with continued power striking from both men. Imavov pokes
Borralho in the eye just after getting wobbled. Lame. What’s also lame
is the referee only issues a “hard warning” to Imavov about the repeated fouls. Take some points, ref. I’m sick and tired of this garbage. All they’ve done is incentivize fouls because there’s no
repercussions. You’re able to get away with at least one eyepoke and
one low blow and even then you’re probably still not going to get
deducted a point unless you make it blatantly obvious.
Anyway, the fight ends so we go to the judges.
Imavov wins the decision to improve to 17-4 with 1 No Contest and has
won 5 straight fights while Borralho drops to 17-2 with 1 No Contest.
It’s a win for Imavov.

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Thanks for reading and have a good day.