Lightweight Fight
Luis Pena vs. Alexander Munoz
The 1st round of this fight was pretty wild and furious. Both of these men want a KO to their name to move up the division’s rankings. Pena seemed to have control in this fight while Munoz appeared to be playing catch up. The fight certainly evened out as time went by. This was a great showing of how the lightweight division truly is wide open. Pena just just enough to make sure he seemed like he was in control. The biggest factor was the 3rd round, where Pena hit some good shots on Munoz.
Rating: 8/10
Result: Split Decision for Luis Pena
Women’s flyweight Fight
Justine Kish vs. Tracy Cortez
The 1st round was certainly Cortez’s round, and Kish actually seemed like she wasn’t ready for what Cortez brought. Kish got some of her ground back as the 1st went on. The 2nd looked like it was going to be Cortez’s round, but Kish found a way out of being on bottom position and got herself back to her feet. Kish seemed to adapt as the fight went on. The fight seemed even going into the 3rd round. I would slightly give it to Cortez on points, but much like the opener, it’s another close contest. This was another very close fight, to the point where coming back from the commercial break the fighters weren’t waiting for a decision, it took a couple extra seconds. Both fighters were deserving of a win, but Cortez did just enough to get over the line and one 30-27 gave her the split.
Rating: 8/10
Result: Split Decision for Tracy Cortez
Middleweight Fight
Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Jacob Malkoun
Abdul Razak Alhassan or ARA clearly had trouble in the first round after the fight went to the ground. Malkoun’s plan was clearly to neutralize the knockout power of ARA, and he executed beautifully. 6 takedowns in the first 6 minutes was a big deal and ARA had no answer to get up from the bottom position. The 3rd round was more of the same, Kalhoun in control the whole time. ARA had one last shot as the fight came to a close, but the numbers showed the clearest picture possible, and ARA only landed just over 20 strikes in the entire fight. This was a fantastic performance by Malkoun.
Rating: 8.5/10
Result: Unanimous Decision for Jacob Malkoun
Heavyweight Fight
Andrei Arlovski vs. Chase Sherman
This is a classic big guy slugfest. Sherman landed a serious bunch of strikes on Arlovski as the halfway point of the 1st round, but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. Not a bad chin for a guy who made his UFC debut last century. Arlovski definitely adjusted in the 2nd round and got more control. I think it definitely brought the fight back to even. Sherman tried to goad Arlovski into coming after him in the last 10 seconds of the fight. Arlovski didn’t bite. This one went to the numbers as it was completely devoid of takedown attempts or anything else to make a decision as neither of the fighters ever appeared hurt or even off balance.
Rating: 8/10
Result: Unanimous Decision, All 3 judges 29-28 for Andrei Arlovski
Main Event
Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Whittaker certainly got the advantage in the 1st round. He landed a serious combo and then got control and the top position. Whittaker absolutely dominated the second round and had an answer for everything that Gastelum threw. Gastelum kept coming as the fight went on, Whittaker even had a busted nose in the 4th. It was a crazy fight, but the control of the fight was consistently with Whittaker.
Rating: 8.5/10
Result: Unanimous Decision for Robert Whittaker
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