Almost five years ago, Al Iaquinta and Kevin Lee fought to a decision at UFC 169, with the former awarded the win.
On Saturday night, Iaquinta reigned supreme once again with a unanimous decision victory in the rematch with Lee in a back-and-forth five-round battle.
Lee had success in the fight’s early stages, but Iaquinta was resilient as ever and gritted through some tough spots on the ground and against the cage.
The first round could have been either fighter’s, though it appeared Lee got the better of his rival in the second and third stanzas.
Iaquinta’s jab looked sharp and this looked to have worn on Lee over time and was visibly tired by the fourth round.
With 10 minutes of the fight remaining, Iaquinta looked fresher and poured on the pressure behind his jab with draining bodywork and punches to the head.
After five rounds, Iaquinta was awarded the unanimous decision, much to Lee’s chagrin.
Edson Barboza makes statement with TKO win over the tough Dan Hooker
How the fight between Edson Barboza and Dan Hooker reached the two-minute point of the third round is anyone’s guess.
Hooker is beyond tough. The New Zealander took knees, punches, spinning back kicks, and the proverbial kitchen sink from Barboza, but he never stopped walking forward to take the fight to the Brazilian.
But Barboza looked in top form and his creative striking arsenal was on full show.
In what looked like an act of mercy, Barboza kept attacking the body of the beleaguered Hooker, who was offering little offence or defence as the punishment he had absorbed had taken its toll.
Finally, a punch to the body folded Hooker, forcing the referee to call a stop to the fight in the third round.
An argument could be made that the referee should have stepped in much sooner as you’ll hear from Daniel Cormier in the above video.
The cageside doctor asked Hooker what year it was, only to hear “2019” from the Kiwi. However, the fight still went ahead regardless.
Charles Oliveira avenges defeat to Jim Miller in rematch
Eight years ago, Jim Miller spoiled Charles Oliveira’s then-unbeaten record with a first-round kneebar. Oliveira avenged that early-career defeat against Miller on Saturday, grabbing a first-round submission win of his own.
Lasting just 75 seconds, the fight looked well matched but Oliveira’s speed and range edged the pair in terms of physicality.
But Oliveira is a submission machine. After taking New Jersey’s Miller down, the Brazilian quickly took his back with both hooks in and earned his third submission win in a row with a rear-naked choke.
Oliveira now has 12 submission wins in the UFC – the most in the promotion’s history in any weight class.
UFC on FOX 31: Kevin Lee vs. Al Iaquinta II full results
Lightweight: Al Iaquinta defeats Kevin Lee by unanimous decision after five rounds.
Lightweight: Edson Barboza defeats Dan Hooker by TKO (punch to the body) at 2:19 of round three.
Bantamweight: Rob Font defeats Sergio Pettis by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Lightweight: Charles Oliveira defeats Jim Miller by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:15 of round one.
Welterweight: Zak Ottow defeats Dwight Grant by split decision after three rounds.
Lightweight: Drakkar Klose defeats Bobby Green by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Lightweight: Joaquim Silva defeats Jared Gordon by knockout (punches) at 2:39 of round three.
Middleweight: Jack Hermansson defeats Gerald Meerschaert by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:25 of round one.
Middleweight: Zak Cummings defeats Trevor Smith by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Featherweight: Dan Ige defeats Jordan Griffin by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Light Heavyweight: Mike Rodriquez defeats Adam Milstead by TKO (knee to the body and punches) at 2:59 of round one.
Heavyweight: Juan Adams defeats Chris de la Rocha by TKO (punches) at 0:58 of round three.
