This event marked the first fight card with the athletes of the UFC sporting the new Venum fight gear after penning an exclusive apparel deal, with the former sponsors of many UFC fighters taking the reigns from the troubled Reebok era.
The first event of the Venum era would not go on without issue as the original main event of this card was scheduled to pit Marvin Vettori against the always-entertaining Darren Till, but the Englishman would be forced out of the bout with a broken collarbone and replaced by the equally outspoken Kevin Holland.
Welsh ‘Tank’ keeps on rolling:
The opening bout of the night was the Las Vegas debut of highly touted Welsh Bantamweight prospect Jack ‘Tank’ Shore against Hunter Azure.
Shore came into this fight with a perfect 13-0 record, including winning the Cage Warriors bantamweight title before making his way to the UFC.
After consecutive victories via rear-naked choke in his opening two bouts in the promotion, it was no surprise to see Shore initiating a lot of the early grappling exchanges and not being gun-shy when it came to attempting takedowns.
Azure would try and stifle the surging Welshman with multiple clinch attempts up against the fence but Shore was able to escape and defend himself on the exit with discipline.
Shore was able to display his dominance in all facets of the fight game as he began to open up on the feet and land combinations that were perfectly in range of his opponent. As Azure leaned more heavily on the clinch, Shore would utilise it to swing the fight further in his favour, taking Azure down and ending the fight in top position after a pair of impressive scrambles.
Shore would be rewarded for his efforts with a 30-27 victory on two of the three judges’ scorecards and improve his record to 14-0.
‘D-Rod’ picks off Perry for UD win:
The curtain-puller of the main card was one that fight fans would have likely put a circle around prior to the event as two Welterweight brawlers in Mike Perry and Daniel Rodriguez took the Octagon.
Rodriguez said in the pre-fight video package that he believed that he was the superior technical boxer and that that would be the difference. That comment would prove prophetic as Rodriguez would snap Perry’s head back repeatedly with a stiff right jab from the southpaw stance.
Perry would look to secure a foothold in the bout towards the end of the first round as he secured a double-leg takedown and managed to effectively clear Rodriguez’s legs to defend an immediate guillotine threat from the California native, signs of his grappling development that was first made apparent in his fight with Mickey Gall.
Perry would end the round in top position but would not be able to replicate that same success over the rest of the fight as his only other successful takedown attempt was too close to the fence, allowing ‘D-Rod’ to put his back up against the cage and push back to his feet.
Rodriguez would continue to effectively utilise the southpaw stance to punish Perry, keeping his lead right foot on the outside of Perry’s left foot to keep his opponents head in line. This coupled with Perry’s lack of head movement allowed for an easy target for Rodriguez, who left the Floridian with plenty of battle scars.
Perry’s durability would not allow him to be finished however, and he would make it to the final horn. Rodriguez would secure the deserved win with three unblemished scorecards, giving him his tenth win in his last eleven fights.
Dern submits Nunes to move forward at 115lbs:
The next fight on the card was the archetypal striker vs grappler matchup as Nina Nunes returned to the Octagon following a maternity leave to take on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu prodigy Mackenzie Dern in a bout that pitted the division’s fifth and eleventh ranked contenders against each other.
After a tentative start on the feet, Dern was able to pressure Nunes up against the fence. Dern would elevate one of Nunes’ legs and sweep the other to take her opponent to the ground.
Dern would start in Nunes’ guard and would posture up to threaten with a heel hook, she would then use Nunes’ defence of that submission as a means to pass her guard and transition into mount.
The Brazilian would immediately shoot for her favoured armbar, with Nunes doing an admirable job at defending the technique by crossing her arms to avoid Dern extending one and completing the submission but Nunes would have no answers to try to escape the situation.
Eventually, Dern broke Nunes’ grip and secured the submission victory, tying the most victories by submission in UFC Women’s Strawweight history with four.
Allen outdances Yusuff to continue lengthy run:
The co-main event was a matchup that could be someday remembered as a showcase of two elite talents in the Featherweight division before they reached their peak as prospects Arnold Allen and Sodiq Yusuff squared off, with both fighters currently sitting at number ten and eleven in the 145lb division, respectively.
It was clear from the off that Allen was not willing to stand and trade with Yusuff as the Nigerian came into this bout with the reputation of a dynamic striker. Allen would land two takedowns early in the fight, but they only served to slow Yusuff as he was able to use the cage to get back to his feet quickly on both occasions.
The Englishman did not only use his grappling to stifle his opponent however, as while coming out of a clinch exchange on the fence, Allen would land a stiff left straight from the southpaw stance to drop Yusuff.
Yusuff was able to recover though, and Allen would grind out the rest of the round with Yusuff against the cage, clearly content with his work in the first.
In the second, the differences between both fighters’ footwork would come into focus as Yusuff would come out aggressive to try to regain a foothold in the fight. Yusuff would advance forward in a straight line, pushing Allen back towards the cage but the Englishman was able to stay fleet-footed and slip out of trouble, a testament to his training under esteemed coach Firas Zahabi, and the guidance of MMA great Georges St-Pierre.
To Yusuff’s credit, after some prompting by his corner, he made effective adjustments to swing the fight towards his favour. His corner suggested that he stop throwing his shots with as much intensity, as the trajectory of Yusuff’s shots were clearly being anticipated by Allen. The Nigerian would respond by landing efficient, low risk strikes when cornering Allen after that point, leading to his most successful spell of the bout to that point.
Allen would steal the round however, with a massive head kick that wobbled Yusuff and while he would once again endure, the strike immediately overshadowed all of the positive work he had done in that round and left him needing a finish in the third.
Despite heavy pressure, Allen was able to survive to the final horn and secured a unanimous decision victory, a victory that gives him the longest winning streak in the division with eight wins in a row, one more than current UFC Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Vettori mirrors Brunson to dismantle Holland:
The main event was contested between the number six and ten ranked contenders in the UFC’s Middleweight division, Marvin Vettori and Kevin Holland.
Holland came into this fight with plenty of fan scepticism surrounding his status among the elite’s in the 185lb division following a frustrating five-round performance against Derek Brunson only a month prior to this fight. Brunson would take Holland to the ground at will to avoid his dynamic and rangy offence and Holland seemingly had no answer for the strategy.
There was some optimism that this fight would play out under different circumstances as Vettori has the reputation of an aggressive fighter that pushes the tempo on the feet and Holland held a seven-inch reach advantage over his Italian adversary so Holland keeping out of range seemed like his best chance at victory.
The first round would be encouraging as Holland would throw a host of kicks, mixing up his attacks to keep Vettori but as soon as Vettori was able to get on the inside, the fight was practically over. Vettori took Holland to the ground but Holland would execute an impressive sweep to reverse the position and get back to his feet.
Unfortunately, that would be the last time that Holland would look as adept on the ground as the next four rounds all seemed to blend together. Holland would start with trying to keep Vettori out of range and catch him with counter strikes but as Vettori advanced and overwhelmed his opponent, the takedowns came thick and fast as Vettori set a Middleweight record for the number of takedowns in a single fight by a fighter.
Vettori would stifle Holland from top position for the entire twenty-five-minute fight en route to a straightforward unanimous decision victory, with all three judges scoring the fight 50-44. This victory could put Vettori in pole position for a title fight with UFC Middleweight champion Isreal Adesanya, but he is not the only contender with a chance to lobby for a fight with ‘The Last Stylebender’ as next weekend’s Fight Night event is headlined by another Middleweight bout at the top of the division’s rankings as former champion Robert Whittaker takes on former interim champion Kelvin Gastelum.
Full Card Results:
Main card
Middleweight – Marvin Vettori def. Kevin Holland via Unanimous Decision
Featherweight – Arnold Allen def. Sodiq Yusuff via Unanimous Decision
Middleweight – Julian Marquez def. Sam Alvey via Technical Submission (Rear-naked choke, Round 2 – 2:07)
Women’s Strawweight – Mackenzie Dern def. Nina Nunes via Submission (Armbar, Round 1 – 4:48)
Welterweight – Daniel Rodriguez def. Mike Perry via Unanimous Decision
Preliminary card
Lightweight – Joe Solecki def. Jim Miller via Unanimous Decision
Lightweight – Mateusz Gamrot def. Scott Holtzman via KO (Round 2 – 1:22)
Catchweight (156.75lbs) – John Makdessi def. Ignacio Bahamondes via Split Decision
Heavyweight – Jarjis Danho def. Yorgan De Castro via KO (Round 1 – 3:02)
Bantamweight – Jack Shore def. Hunter Azure via Split Decision
Featherweight – Luis Saldana def. Jordan Griffin via Unanimous Decision
Light Heavyweight – Da Un Jung def. William Knight via Unanimous Decision
Early preliminary card
Welterweight – Impa Kasanganay def. Sasha Palatnikov via Submission (Rear-naked choke, Round 2 – 0:26)
The Inbound Observer 