Curtis Blaydes scores second-round TKO win over Junior Dos Santos
Curtis Blaydes dismantled Junior Dos Santos to once again confirm that he is the brightest heavyweight prospect the UFC has on its roster.
The American defeated Brazil’s Dos Santos 66 seconds into round two by TKO.
Dos Santos managed to resist Blaydes’ takedowns in the contest – six of them, in fact – which led to Blaydes showing off his ever-improving arsenal on the feet.
After scoring well with punches in the opening round, Blaydes seemed to change gear in the second stanza.
The beginning of the end came as Dos Santos’ uppercut swung and missed, only to be countered with a big overhand right.
Wobbled, Blaydes stormed in with an assault of knees and punches against the cage to force referee Dan Miragliotta to call a stop to the fight.
Big win for Blaydes, who now adds Dos Santos’ name to his growing resume, which already contains the likes of Alistair Overeem, Mark Hunt and Aleksei Oleinik.
At 28, there’s no rush for Blaydes to get a title shot just yet with the log jam at the top of the division, but he’s certainly a figure in the circles of title contention.
Michael Chiesa decisions Rafael dos Anjos, improves to three fights unbeaten at welterweight
Sometimes moving up a weight class does a fighter the world of good. Case in point with Michael Chiesa.
“Maverick” defeated former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, a fellow weight class mover, by unanimous decision at UFC Raleigh on Saturday night.
Chiesa’s choice to fight at welterweight was forced upon his after a series of weight cut struggles culminated in missing the 155-pound mark against Anthony Pettis ahead of their fight at UFC 226 back in 2018 – a fight he lost.
Ever since, he’s looked totally rejuvenated and that shined in North Carolina.
Dos Anjos was limited to striking success on the outside, peppering Chiesa’s lead leg with kicks. But that was it.
Chiesa totally shutdown the varied attack dos Anjos has had so much success with by utilising his renewed strength in the clinch and in top position.
The fight was totally dictated by Chiesa’s grappling in all aspects as he comfortably won a unanimous decision to make it three victories without defeat as a welterweight.
UFC Raleigh: Curtis Blaydes vs. Junior Dos Santos full results
Heavyweight: Curtis Blaydes def. Junior dos Santos TKO (knees and punches) at 1:06 of round two
Welterweight: Michael Chiesa def. Rafael Dos Anjos Decision by unanimous decision after three rounds
Flyweight: Alex Perez def. Jordan Espinosa by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 2:33 of round one
Women’s Strawweight: Angela Hill def. Hannah Cifers by TKO (elbows and punches) at 4:26 of round two
Light Heavyweight: Jamahal Hill def. Darko Stoši? by unanimous decision after three rounds
Middleweight: Bevon Lewis def. Dequan Townsend by unanimous decision after three rounds
Featherweight: Arnold Allen def. Nik Lentz by unanimous decision after three rounds
Women’s Flyweight: Justine Kish def. Lucie Pudilová by unanimous decision after three rounds
Bantamweight: Montel Jackson def. Felipe Colares by unanimous decision after three rounds
Women’s Bantamweight: Sara McMann def. Lina Länsberg by unanimous decision after three rounds
Bantamweight: Brett Johns def. Tony Gravely by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:53 of round three
Featherweight: Herbert Burns def. Nate Landwehr by KO (knee) at 2:43 of round one
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