Headlined by two women both in title contention for the flyweight title, the UFC returned to Atlantic City as Erin Blanchfield took on Manon Fiorot in the 125lb division. Elsewhere on the main card, a welterweight showdown between Vicente Luque and Joaquin Buckley was the co-main event at Boardwalk Hall in New Jersey. Chris Weidman returned for the second time since his horrific leg break during his fight with Uriah Hall at UFC 261 as he faced Bruno Silva, with the Brazilian looking to get back to winning ways following back-to-back defeats. Read below for a recap of last night’s main event in Atlantic City, the first time the UFC had returned to the area since April 2018.
Main event – Erin Blanchfield vs. Manon Fiorot (flyweight)
First began the fight well and was fast with her hands as she caught Blanchfield early. She landed a takedown, but Blanchfield did well in reversing the threat by securing a guillotine choke. They get back to their feet and Fiorot continued to beat her to the punch for the remainder of the round.
In round two, Blanchfield does well in the clinch and has more success in this round with her strikes, landing a couple of check hooks in between and eating more shots from Fiorot. It’s a closer round, but Fiorot is likely two up on the judge’s scorecards. Rounds three and four follow a similar pattern as Blanchfield struggles with range, and Fiorot slowly but surely picks her off with body kicks and impressive counters. Blanchfield will need a stoppage going into the final round if she wants to win the fight.
Realizing she needs to put her foot on the gas, Blanchfield lands a nice combo as she tries to be the aggressor. An unsuccessful takedown attempt against the cage allows Fiorot to land a flying knee before asserting her dominance once more with the striking. Manon Fiorot wins via unanimous decision, with all three scores reading 50-45. The win will leapfrog Fiorot above her opponent into the #2 position in the rankings and will likely secure her a title shot against the winner of Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko.
Co-main – Vicente Luque vs. Joaquin Buckley (middleweight)
Luque targets Buckley’s body early on, and Buckley struggles to connect. Not much happens for the rest of the round. The second round begins with Luque trying a headkick before landing a nice counter. Buckley throwing bombs but struggling to land too many.
A takedown attempt from Luque is rebuffed, and he pulls half-guard. Buckley takes this opportunity and throws more bombs, this time having success due to being in a dominant position. The onslaught continues, and Luque does not offer much resistance apart from covering up, and the fight ends just over halfway into round two. Joaquin Buckley wins via TKO.
Chris Weidman vs. Bruno Silva (middleweight)
Weidman attempts a high kick off the bat, and although he’s fully recovered from his leg break, it’s fair to say that many people will be wincing. He succeeds with another head kick, and the pair exchange against the fence, during which time Weidman grabs Silva’s head and repeatedly knees him. A great first round by Weidman as he also secures a takedown.
The second round is another strong one from Weidman as he lands repeated body kicks. Silva is also landing shots and attempts a takedown, but it’s halted before we have a break in the action due to an eye poke from Weidman. With a minute left of the round, Silva lands a nice knee from inside the pocket, but Weidman takes control of the stand-up, showing impressive head movement reminiscent of Anderson Silva as he dodges punch after punch. He then blitzes Silva until the buzzer sounds.
A simultaneous eye poke from both in the third round as they look to land, and both men are warned by the referee. Not long after we resume, Silva closes the distance and falls to the ground from what looks like a punch. The replay showed that Weidman poked him twice in a row, once with each hand, before landing the overhand left. The referee doesn’t stop the action, and Weidman unloads and gets the finish in a controversial fashion. Originally given as a TKO win for Weidman, it’s later changed to a win by technical decision.
Nursultan Ruziboev vs. Sedriques Dumas (middleweight)
Nice right-hand counter from Ruziboev. He looks for an uppercut, and the pair consistently ends up in close proximity. Dumas struggles to establish a rhythm and claims he is poked in the eye; the referee waves off the protest and tells him to continue.
Capitalizing on the distraction, Ruziboev succeeds with an uppercut after multiple attempts prior, sending Dumas to the canvas. Strikes rain down from Ruziboev, and he gets the TKO victory in the first round.
Bill Algeo vs. Kyle Nelson (featherweight)
Nelson tries to fire the overhand right a couple of times but misses. A nice kick from Algeo, but he takes a heavy shot this time and falls to the mat. He gets up soon after, and Nelson initiates the action towards the fence, throwing his knees to Algeo’s legs. As the pair separate, Algeo throws some nice kicks of his own, including a spinning wheel kick. Entertainment all around, as the output from both has been high until now.
A right hand from Nelson lands and puts Algeo into disarray. More punches land and the referee has seen enough of Algeo’s unsteadiness and steps in to prevent any further damage from being absorbed. Kyle Nelson wins by TKO in round one.
Elsewhere on the card
Middleweight – Chidi Njokuani defeated Rhys McKee via split decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Featherweight – Nate Landwehr defeated Jamall Emmers via KO in round two (punches)
Women’s Strawweight – Virna Jandiroba defeated Loopy Godinez via UD (29-28 x2, 30-27)
Catchweight (147.25lb) – Julio Arce defeated Herbert Burns via TKO in round one (punches)
Featherweight – Dennis Buzukja defeated Connor Matthews via TKO in round two (punches)
Light Heavyweight – Ibo Aslan defeated Anton Turkalj via TKO in round three (punch)
Middleweight – Jacob Malkoun defeated Andre Petroski via TKO in round two (body kick)
Bantamweight – Caolán Loughran defeated Angel Pacheco via UD (30-27 x2, 30-26)
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