The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada today for UFC Fight Night 88: “Almeida vs Garbrandt.” The event was headlined by a bantamweight bout between top prospects Thomas “Thominhas” Almeida and Cody “No Love” Garbrandt.
In the featherweight co-main event, former UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan “Barao” Pegado battled Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens. Tarec “Sponge” Saffiedine took on Rick “The Horror” Story in welterweight action. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the UFC Fight Night 88 card.
Cody “No Love” Garbrandt vs Thomas “Thominhas” Almeida
Round 1:
Garbrandt countered Almeida’s strikes with quick flurries of punches in the opening minute. Almeida landed an overhand right, but Garbrandt rocked him with a left hook and swarmed on him with more punches. Almeida stayed on his feet and appeared to recover, but his face turned red and swelled up. Another big flurry landed for Garbrandt that was punctuated by a right hook. The strike froze Almeida in place and he fell face-first to the mat.
Winner: Cody Garbrandt by KO (Punch) at 2:53 of round one. He improves to 9-0-0.
Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens vs Renan “Barao” Pegado
Round 1:
Action began with an exchange of punches and leg kicks. Barao landed quick three-punch flurries and avoided Stephens’s counters. He shot in for a takedown, but Stephens stayed on his feet. Barao landed a left hand and a body kick. Big punches were exchanged and Barao backed Stephens up against the cage. Stephens stuffed a takedown attempt, but Barao took his back. 10-9 Barao.
Round 2:
Stephens landed a nice right cross in round two and he shrugged off two takedown attempts. Stephens rocked Barao with uppercuts and straight left hands. He followed with another vicious uppercut and Barao retreated. Stephens connected with a hard one-two and he stuffed a takedown. The fighters separated and Stephens blocked a spinning back kick. He landed a right cross that backed Barao up again. Stephens picked Barao apart with hooks and leg kicks. Barao caught a kick and tripped him in the final seconds, but Stephens stood up before the bell. 10-9 Stephens.
Round 3:
The final round began with both men landing two- and three-punch combinations. Stephens cut Barao with a right hand and he followed with an uppercut. Barao took Stephens down and tried to take his back, but Stephens scrambled up to his feet. The fighters separated and Barao countered punches from Stephens with a spinning back kick. Stephens stuffed a takedown and landed uppercuts and a right hook. He landed more power punches before the end of the fight. 10-9 Stephens.
Winner: Jeremy Stephens by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 25-12-0.
Rick “The Horror” Story vs Tarec “Sponge” Saffiedine
Round 1:
Story flurried with quick punches and leg kicks in the opening minute. He caught a body kick from Saffiedine, who circled away. The fighters clinched against the cage and Saffiedine landed a right hook and a kick to the upper body. Story lunged in with a right hook and attempted a lateral drop. Saffiedine wound up on top, but Story reversed and scrambled up to his feet. He held Saffiedine against the cage and landed short punches and knees. 10-9 Story.
Round 2:
Story slipped while throwing a kick in round two, but he quickly regained his footing and pinned Saffiedine against the fence. The fighters separated and Story landed a counter hook as Saffiedine drove in for a takedown. Story reversed position and held Saffiedine against the cage wall again. He unloaded with punches to the body, but Saffiedine halted his offence with a knee to the face. The fighters were eventually separated and Saffiedine landed a grazing head kick. He followed with another one, but Story clinched again before the bell. 10-9 Story.
Round 3:
Story cracked Saffiedine with two left hooks and a leg kick to begin round three. He flurried to the body and Saffiedine answered with a knee. Story continued to throw punches to Saffiedine’s body and Saffiedine fired back with punches and elbows over the top. Two head kicks landed for Saffiedine, but Story was unfazed. He held Saffiedine against the fence and landed a series of knees to the legs and body in the final 30 seconds. Close round. 10-9 Story.
Winner: Rick Story by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 19-8-0.
Chris Camozzi vs Vitor “Lex Luthor” Miranda
Round 1:
Camozzi pressed the action with single punches and leg kicks in the opening two minutes while Miranda countered from a distance. Camozzi closed in and landed a series of standing elbows in a clinch. Miranda caught a head kick and took Camozzi down, but Camoizz countered with kneebar and heel hook attempts. Both men landed punches on the ground while Camozzi looked to set up a submission hold. 10-9 Camozzi.
Round 2:
Camozzi continued to pressure Miranda with punches in round two, but Miranda answered with leg kicks. Camozzi caught a kick and dumped Miranda to the mat. Miranda kicked him off, but Camozzi took his back in a scramble. Miranda fought off Camozzi’s submission attempts, but Camozzi stayed on top and he cut Miranda’s eyebrow with elbows. 10-9 Camozzi.
Round 3:
Miranda was more aggressive with his punches in the final round, but Camozzi took his back and slammed him down. He moved to side control and targeted Miranda’s left eyebrow with elbows. Miranda battled back to his feet and threw head kicks and right hands. Camozzi picked his shots with jabs and left hands after easily stuffing a takedown attempt. He continued to outstrike Miranda until the final bell. 10-9 Camozzi.
Winner: Chris Camozzi by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 24-10-0.
Lorenz “The Monsoon” Larkin vs Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal
Round 1:
Masvidal established his jab early in the fight and Larkin chopped away at his lead leg with kicks. He followed with a liver kick and an overhand right. Lead left hooks and another overhand right scored for Larkin. Masvidal replied with a spinning back kick and a left hand. He clinched and the fighters traded knees until Masvidal broke away with a right hand. Larkin chased him down with punches, but time was called when Masvidal was badly poked in the right eye. The fight ultimately resumed and both men landed leg kicks at the bell. 10-9 Larkin.
Round 2:
Larkin opened round two with a jumping switch kick to the face that elicited a smile from Masvidal. The fighters traded kicks and Larkin threw a step-in uppercut. He mixed things up with standing uppercuts and a variety of kicks. Masvidal answered with right hands over the top and Larkin clinched. Masvidal broke free and landed a punch-kick combo. Larkin reversed a clinch against the cage and he snapped Masvidal’s head back with a right cross. Larkin followed with an uppercut and Masvidal landed a trio of right hands. Larkin took him down as time expired. 10-9 Larkin.
Round 3:
A vicious liver kick landed for Larkin early in the final round and he followed with a stiff jab and an uppercut. Masvidal bloodied Larkin’s nose with a counter right hand and he locked on a standing guillotine choke. Larkin pulled his head out and unloaded with punches. Masvidal pulled half-guard with another guillotine choke, but Larkin escaped to his feet. Masvidal took his back in a clinch, but Larkin punched his way free. He landed a body kick and stuffed a Masvidal takedown attempt. Masvidal landed elbows and knees late in the close round. 10-9 Masvidal, barely.
Winner: Lorenz Larkin by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 17-5-0, 1 NC.
Paul “The Irish Dragon” Felder vs Joshua “The People’s Warrior” Burkman
Round 1:
Burkman targeted Felder’s lead leg with kicks in round one and Felder fired back with punches and a head kick. Burkman continued to score with leg kicks and he unloaded with a huge combination. Felder stayed on his feet and fired back with punches of his own as the crowd came alive. Burkman took Felder down and pinned him against the cage on the way up. 10-9 Burkman.
Round 2:
Felder threw more kicks in the second round, but Burkman countered effectively from a distance with leg kicks and a combination. Felder clinched and looked for a takedown against the cage, but Burkman defended and the fighters separated. A flurry from Burkman was answered by a barrage of power punches from Felder, who clinched again. Burkman reversed against the cage, but Felder took his back and landed a knee to the face before the bell. 10-9 Felder.
Round 3:
Felder lost his balance while throwing a kick in the final round and Burkman cracked him with a right hook. Both men landed punches and Felder kicked at Burkman’s leg. Burkman replied with kicks of his own, but Felder’s strikes were more effective and Burkman clinched in search of a takedown. He briefly slammed Felder to the mat, but Felder stood and landed an elbow. Burkman began to bleed profusely from the nose as a result of the elbow strike. He got Felder down into half-guard in the final few seconds of the fight. Close round. 10-9 Felder.
Winner: Paul Felder by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 12-2-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)