Daniel Cormier retains heavyweight championship, submits Derrick Lewis in the second round
Derrick Lewis’ puncher’s chance was ultimately nullified by Daniel Cormier’s top-tier wrestling credentials.
Cormier made his intentions very clear from the outset, scoring a takedown inside the first minute of the fight. The rest of the opening round largely remained on the mat, as Cormier sought to tire Lewis and avoid any of his big punches.
As the second round begun, Lewis came close to landing a couple of his patented power shots, drawing noise from the crowd each time he wound up a big haymaker.
But, again, Cormier’s wrestling proved too much for Lewis as the champion used his experience to his advantage.
Cormier landed some nasty ground and pound which forced Lewis to offer up his back. “DC” gladly accepted said offer, taking the back and a rear-naked choke in the process, forcing the tap.
Light work for Cormier, who proudly wore both his heavyweight and light heavyweight belts as he called out Brock Lesnar once again.
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza knocks out Chris Weidman in middleweight war
After stepping in as a late replacement for Luke Rockhold, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza took a fight with Chris Weidman which would surely do more for his credentials as a future middleweight title contender.
It paid off.
Given Jacare’s reputation as a world-class grappler and Weidman’s as a top-level wrestler, it’s surprising that the majority of the fight took place on the feet.
Jacare had his nose busted up early as Weidman looked to edge things in the striking stakes, but the Brazilian landed plenty of hooks and punishing body shots of his own.
The fight was anyone’s going into the third round, but Souza appeared to step things up a gear, culminating in a looping right hand which landed on Weidman’s temple and sent him reeling.
With Weidman flattened on his back, Jacare did not want to land any further undue punishment as he rightly knew the fight was done.
Unfortunately, despite initially rushing in, referee Dan Miragliotta didn’t realise the fight should have been called off, thus leading to Jacare landing further shots before its overdue end.
Massive win for Jacare, who is the third middleweight of the night to earn an impressive victory which could lead to a future title shot.
Jared Cannonier finishes David Branch inside two rounds in middleweight debut
He’s fought at heavyweight and light heavyweight, but it’s middleweight where Jared Cannonier looks totally at home.
David Branch perhaps edged the first round, scoring a few takedowns which Cannonier largely did well to spring back to his feet. However, you could sense the level of Cannonier’s power at 185lbs being a little too much for Branch over time.
That sense proved to be the case. Early in the second round, Cannonier put Branch on the deck with a big right straight after disengaging from a takedown attempt.
From there, it was all Cannonier as he rained down some brutal ground and pound to force the stoppage.
Big win for Cannonier, who announced his presence in the top 10 of the UFC middleweight division. A big addition to a division which is starting to look very, very interesting.
Israel Adesanya knocks out Derek Brunson
If you, somehow, had any doubts about the striking abilities of Israel Adesanya, those were surely put to bed on Saturday night at UFC 230.
Nigeria-born Kiwi Adesanya stylishly put Derek Brunson to the sword and the American failed to keep up with the kickboxer’s striking output.
As the first round drew to a close, Adesanya poured on the pressure with a series of punches and crushing knees with his unique sense of striking flair.
That final salvo proved too much for Brunson, who duly crumbled to the canvas to give Adesanya the biggest win of his MMA career thus far.
This victory could well see Adesanya fast tracked to a UFC middleweight title shot.
UFC 230: Daniel Cormier vs. Derrick Lewis full results
Heavyweight Championship: Daniel Cormier (c) defeats Derrick Lewis by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:14 of round two.
Middleweight: Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza defeats Chris Weidman by TKO (punches) at 2:46 of round three.
Middleweight: Jared Cannonier defeats David Branch by TKO (punches) at 0:39 of round two.
Middleweight: Karl Roberson defeats Jack Marshman by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Middleweight: Israel Adesanya defeats Derek Brunson by TKO (knee and punches) at 4:51 of round one.
Featherweight: Jordan Rinaldi defeats Jason Knight by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Catchweight: Sijara Eubanks defeats Roxanne Modafferi by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Featherweight: Sheymon Moraes defeats Julio Arce by split decision after three rounds.
Welterweight: Lyman Good defeats Ben Saunders by KO (punches) at 1:32 of round one.
Lightweight: Matt Frevola and Lando Vannata fought to a majority draw after three rounds.
Featherweight: Shane Burgos defeats Kurt Holobaugh by submission (armbar) at 2:11 of round one.
Heavyweight: Marcos Rogerio de Lima defeats Adam Wieczorek by unanimous decision after three rounds.
