Jeremy Stephens knocks out Josh Emmett
Jeremy Stephens prides himself as the hardest-hitting featherweight in the UFC and he did his billing justice on Saturday evening. But it wasn’t plain sailing for the Alliance MMA man.
Predictably, the two power punchers were throwing leather from the very get go. The more experienced Stephens managed to back Emmett to the cage and attempted to land his trademark giant right uppercut, only to get countered with the retreating Emmett’s left hook. Stephens was sent crashing down to the canvas, but managed to withstand Emmett’s strikes on the ground and the first round drew to a close.
Filled with confidence, Emmett led the charge in the second round and once again both men were throwing hooks with reckless abandon. However, this time it was Emmett who was sent sprawling with a big punch. Stephens weaved out the way of Emmett’s right hook to land a big left which left Emmett on the floor.
Stephens followed up with some big strikes on the floor – including a number of elbows which looked to have landed on the back of Emmett’s head – before throwing an illegal knee, which also appeared to strike the downed Emmett’s head – before landing more punches and a huge elbow which rendered Emmet unconscious and prompted referee Dan Miragliotta to call a stop to the action.
As expected, it was a fun fight while it lasted. Stephens called for a shot at UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway. Once Frankie Edgar finally gets another crack at the belt, you’d be hard pressed to not give the Iowan a title shot, controversial finish aside.
Jessica Andrade uses size advantage to dominate Tecia Torres on way to decision
Tecia Torres showed plenty of grit and toughness, but it wasn’t enough to withstand the power of former bantamweight Jessica Andrade.
Torres arguably had the better of each striking exchange, scoring plenty of punches in the first round.
But Andrade addressed the issues posed by Torres on the feet by taking the fight to the mat. On the ground, Andrade had her way with Torres and remained fresh as a daisy throughout despite throwing plenty of leather from on top.
Somehow, Torres also looked like she could go another couple of rounds despite Andrade’s constant pressure from on top. But that remaining energy was in vain as Andrade battled her way to a unanimous decision victory.
Ilir Latifi chokes Ovince Saint Preux unconscious
Is it possible not to love Ilir Latifi?
The squat, hulking Albanian Swede may have been severely undersized against Ovince Saint Preux, but that meant little in the fight.
Latifi showed a lot of patience as “OSP” circled around him, looking to land his trademark power punches – namely his big left hook. Stockholm-based Latifi bided his time to launch an assault of punches which wobbled the bigger man.
With Saint Preux staggering with his back to the cage and looking to avoid damage, Latifi grabbed a hold of his neck for a nasty-looking guillotine choke. Haitian-American OSP tapped, but the referee in charge missed it as Saint Preux slumped to the ground unconscious at the feet of Latifi.
The win now ensures Latifi will now be a leading figure considered for title contention once UFC Light Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier returns from his brief pitstop at Heavyweight.
Max Griffin gets judges’ nod over Mike Perry
He may have been the card’s biggest underdog, but Max Griffin put in a smart, cerebral performance to keep the ever-entertaining Mike Perry at bay on his way to unanimous decision victory.
Griffin used his reach and Perry’s aggression to his advantage. As Perry looked to constantly advance upon his opponent, Griffin had a reply in the form of jabs and straight punches.
The underdog handily took the first two rounds, bloodying Perry and landing a huge counterpunch to floor the Floridian in the dying embers of the second round.
Knowing he needed to finish the fight to take home the win, Perry came out with guns blazing the third round. Perry managed to wobble Griffin on multiple occasions, but Griffin gutted it out and showed a lot of composure to withstand the heavy pressure put upon him.
Griffin cemented his position as a welterweight to watch out for in a rankings sense, while Perry reaffirmed his role as one of the UFC’s most entertaining fighters on the roster.
UFC on FOX Emmett vs. Stephens full results:
Featherweight bout: Jeremy Stephens defeats Josh Emmett by KO (punches and elbows) at 1:35 of round 2.
Women’s Strawweight bout: Jessica Andrade defeats Tecia Torres by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds.
Light Heavyweight bout: Ilir Latifi defeats Ovince Saint Preux by submission (guillotine choke) at 3:48 of round 1.
Welterweight bout: Max Griffin defeats Mike Perry by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds.
Bantamweight bout: Brian Kelleher defeats Renan Barao by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds.
Women’s Bantamweight bout: Marion Reneau defeats Sara McMann by submission (triangle choke) at 3:40 of round 2.
Women’s Strawweight: Angela Hill defeats Maryana Moroz by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds.
Welterweight bout: Alan Jouban defeats Ben Saunders by KO (punch) at 2:38 of round 2.
Light Heavyweight bout: Sam Alvey defeats Marcin Prachnio by TKO (punch) at 4:23 of round 1.
Bantamweight bout: Rani Yahya defeats Russell Doane by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 2:32 of round 3.
Catchweight (126.5lbs) bout: Alex Perez defeats Eric Shelton by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds.
Bantamweight bout: Manny Bermudez defeats Albert Morales by submission (guillotine choke) at 2:33 of round 2.
