The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its way to the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada tonight for UFC Fight Night 74: “Holloway vs Oliveira.” The event was headlined by a featherweight matchup between Max “Blessed” Holloway and Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira.
Also on the card, Neil Magny met Erick “Índio” Silva in the welterweight co-feature. Patrick “The Predator” Côté battled Josh “The People’s Warrior” Burkman, and Maryna “The Iron Woman” Moroz took on Valérie “Trouble” Létourneau. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the main card.
Max “Blessed” Holloway vs Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira
Round 1:
Holloway flurried to the head and body right away and Oliveira countered with a knee. More punches scored for Holloway and Oliveira shot in for a takedown. Holloway stuffed it and Oliveira injured his shoulder in the process. He stood up, then held his collarbone and laid down on the mat, which resulted in the fight being waved off.
Winner: Max Holloway by TKO (Shoulder Injury) at 1:39 of round one. He improves to 14-3-0.
Neil Magny vs Erick “Índio” Silva
Round 1:
Silva wound up on his back after missing with a wild spinning back elbow, but he reversed position and wound up on top in side control. Magny escaped to his feet and secured a takedown into S-mount. Silva stood, but Magny took him right back down into back control and flattened him out. He landed punches until the bell. 10-9 Magny.
Round 2:
Punches were exchanged in round two and Silva missed with wild flailing punches. He countered a knee from Magny with a short left hook. Magny flurried with punches and Silva took him down. Magny scrambled up and he avoided a looping hook from Silva. The round ended with Magny landing a right hand. 10-9 Magny.
Round 3:
Silva picked up the pace and targeted Magny’s lead leg with kicks in the final round. He followed with right hands and Magny jabbed in return. A kick-punch combo landed for Silva and Magny answered with a knee. He picked Silva apart with jabs and one-twos, then dragged Silva down to the ground. Silva stood and threw Magny to the canvas. Magny quickly returned to his feet and landed a hard knee to the body. Close final round. 10-9 Magny, barely.
Winner: Neil Magny by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 16-4-0.
Patrick “The Predator” Côté vs Josh “The People’s Warrior” Burkman
Round 1:
Burkman threw unorthodoz kicks early on and Côté countered by taking his back. Burkman broke free and scored with a three-punch combo. He rocked Côté with a counter right hook and Côté dropped levels for a takedown. Burkman stayed on his feet and the fighters traded more power punches. Burkman held Côté against the fence and landed an elbow, but Côté backed him up with a right hook. A huge right hand rocked Burkman, but he recovered quickly before the end of the round. 10-9 Côté.
Round 2:
Burkman landed a combination early in the second round and he fought off a clinch attempt. Côté landed a variety of kicks and Burkman countered with a nice trip takedown. Côté stood and the fighters exchanged right hooks. Côté backed Burkman up with a right hand and shot in for a takedown, but Burkman stuffed it. Côté finished the round with a jumping body kick. 10-9 Côté.
Round 3:
Huge power punches were exchanged right away in round three and Burkman rocked Côté against the fence. Côté recovered quickly and landed a counter combination. More right hands landed for both men and Côté dropped Burkman with a massive right hand. Burkman held on as Côté dove on him with punches and hammerfists, but referee Jerin Valel intervened after Burkman ate dozens of unanswered shots.
Winner: Patrick Côté by TKO (Punches) at 1:26 of round three. He improves to 22-9-0.
Francisco “Massaranduba” Trinaldo vs Chad “The Disciple” Laprise
Round 1:
Laprise pressed the action with kicks early on and he avoided a lunging overhand left from Trinaldo. Laprise threw more kicks and a combination, but Trinaldo floored him with a huge left hand. Laprise stood and clinched, but Trinaldo muscled him back down to the mat and he took Laprise’s back. Big punches scored for Trinaldo from back control as a stunned Laprise turtled up and the fight was stopped.
Winner: Francisco Trinaldo by TKO (Punches) at 2:43 of round one. He improves to 18-4-0.
Olivier “The Québec Kid” Aubin-Mercier vs Tony Sims
Round 1:
Aubin-Mercier scored two takedowns in the opening half of round one and he transitioned to Sims’s back in search of a rear-naked choke. Sims defended as Aubin-Mercier worked diligently to secure the choke. He kept Sims trapped in a body triangle and continued to hunt for the choke until the bell. 10-9 Aubin-Mercier.
Round 2:
Sims stuffed a takedown early in round two, but Aubin-Mercier got him down on his second try and he struck from Sims’s guard. Sims scrambled up and the fighters traded right hands. Aubin-Mercier took Sims back down again and he closed out the round with short punches from the top. 10-9 Aubin-Mercier.
Round 3:
Sims fought off a prolonged takedown attempt against the cage in round three by landing a series of elbows and hammerfists to the side of Aubin-Mercier’s head. Aubin-Mercier finally dragged him down, but Sims scrambled up. He countered a takedown with a guillotine choke, but Aubin-Mercier freed himself and passed to side control. Sims gave up his back and Aubin-Mercier locked on a body triangle. He spent the remainder of the round working for a rear-naked choke. 10-9 Aubin-Mercier.
Winner: Olivier Aubin-Mercier by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 7-1-0.
Valérie “Trouble” Létourneau vs Maryna “The Iron Woman” Moroz
Round 1:
The fight began with an exchange of right hands and both women threw head kicks. Létourneau landed an uppercut and a body kick, then dropped Moroz with a counter right cross. Moroz collapsed backwards and Létourneau took top position in side control. She threw short punches and elbows until Moroz countered with an inverted triangle choke from the bottom. 10-9 Létourneau.
Round 2:
Moroz rushed in with body kicks and a right hook in round two and she followed with jabs. A big combination and a body kick scored for Moroz, and Létourneau answered with a liver kick. Moroz landed another flurry, but Létourneau countered with a right hook and she followed with a hard one-two. Moroz landed lunging punches and Létourneau cracked her with another counter right hand. She mixed things up with kick-punch combos, but Moroz wobbled her with a right hand. She swarmed on her with more punches, but Létourneau weathered the storm and landed two right hooks. 10-9 Moroz.
Round 3:
Létourneau knocked Moroz off-balance with a right hand early in the final round and she took Moroz down after catching a kick. Moroz looked to counter with a kimura, but Létourneau easily escaped and she struck from Moroz’s guard. Moroz eventually trapped her in a loose triangle choke and landed elbows, but Létourneau stood up and pulled her head free. Moroz landed kick-punch combinations and followed with an uppercut. She finished the round with two more body kicks. 10-9 Létourneau.
Winner: Valérie Létourneau by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 8-3-0.
Undercard Fights:
– Frankie Perez defeated Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout by TKO (Punches) at 0:54 of round one. He improves to 10-2-0 with the win.
– Felipe “Sertanejo” Arantes defeated Yves “Tiger” Jabouin by Submission (Armbar) at 4:21 of round one. He improves to 17-7-1, 2 NC with the win.
– Nikita “Al Capone” Krylov defeated Marcos Rogério “Pezao” de Lima by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:29 of round one. He improves to 19-4-0 with the win.
– Chris “The Greek Assassin” Kelades defeated Chris “The Real Deal” Beal by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 27-30) after three rounds. He improves to 9-2-0 with the win.
– Shane “Shaolin” Campbell defeated Elias “Xuxu” Silverio by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 12-3-0 with the win.
– Misha Cirkunov defeated Daniel “The Werewolf of Texas” Jolly by KO (Punches) at 4:45 of round one. He improves to 10-2-0 with the win.