Tatiana Suarez vs Nina “The Strina” Ansaroff
Round 1:
Suarez shot in for an early takedown and Ansaroff sprawled against the base of the cage. Suarez muscled her down and landed short punches and elbows from the top in Ansaroff’s half-guard. Ansaroff scrambled up and avoided a brief guillotine choke attempt. Suarez slammed her back down and passed to half-guard again. Ansaroff pushed her off and landed some decent upkicks to the face before Suarez settled back into Ansaroff’s guard. She dropped hammerfists from the top and prevented Ansaroff from standing up. 10-9 Suarez.
Round 2:
The fighters traded kicks in round two and Suarez dropped levels for another takedown attempt. She got Ansaroff down and avoided a guillotine choke attempt in the process. Ansaroff escaped to her feet and she threw elbows to Suarez’s temple. Suarez secured another takedown and finally managed to land some strikes from the top before Ansaroff kicked her off and stood up. Time was called after Ansaroff was kneed in the groin, but action resumed soon after and both women landed body kicks late in the round. 10-9 Suarez.
Round 3:
Ansaroff stuffed a takedown and landed counter hooks in the final round. A hard left cross landed for Suarez and Ansaroff responded with a right hook. Suarez shot in for a takedown and Ansaroff defended with knees. She broke free once, but Suarez secured another clinch soon after. Ansaroff circled away and landed a spinning hook kick. More kicks were exchanged and Ansaroff scored with a right hook and a head kick. She hurt Suarez with one more head kick and a barrage of punches at the bell. 10-9 Ansaroff.
Winner: Tatiana Suarez by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 8-0-0.
Aljamain “Funk Master” Sterling vs Pedro “The Young Punisher” Munhoz
Round 1:
Sterling was very aggressive with leg and body kicks right away. He followed with more kicks and a looping one-two. Munhoz landed body kicks of his own, but Sterling tagged him with jabs and combinations while taunting and circling side-to-side. Munhoz stuffed a takedown and landed a left hook to the temple. Sterling stpped in with jabs and elbows, but Munhoz found success with more body kicks in response. Sterling continued to score with punches, but he ate two head kicks late in the round and Munhoz briefly threatened with a guillotine choke. 10-9 Sterling.
Round 2:
A spinning back elbow landed for Sterling in round two, but Munhoz hurt him with a body kick. Sterling recovered quickly and fired off wild punches. He landed lead right hands and Munhoz countered with more body kicks. After another exchange of body kicks, Sterling teed off with punches and Munhoz briefly backed up. Sterling followed with a knee and a spinning back elbow, but Munhoz stayed on his feet. He dropped Sterling with a leg kick and dove on a guillotine choke, but Sterling escaped to his feet. Munhoz landed more leg kicks, but Sterling closed out the round strong with a hard combination. 10-9 Sterling.
Round 3:
Munhoz scored with kicks to Sterling’s damaged lead leg and body in the final round, but Sterling fired back with heavy punches and a standing backfist. Munhoz pressed forward with kicks and he used them to set up quick flurries of punches. More kicks landed for Munhoz and Sterling answered with two lead right hands. Munhoz easily stuffed a takedown, but Sterling landed stiff jabs and a combination in return. Both men scored with leg kicks and looping punches late in the close fight. 10-9 Sterling by a slim margin.
Winner: Aljamain Sterling by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 18-3-0.
Alexa Grasso vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Round 1:
Grasso darted in with a quick one-two right away and she followed with more fast punches. Kowalkiewicz fired back with combinations, but Grasso held a clear speed advantage. Both women landed punches and Grasso mixed in kicks to the body. She continued to set up right hands with jabs and avoided most of Kowalkiewicz’s counters. Body kicks were exchanged and Grasso countered an elbow from Kowalkiewicz with a clinch. She landed knees and a combination late in the round. 10-9 Grasso.
Round 2:
Both fighters landed punch-kick combos early in round two and Grasso once again scored with the quicker strikes. She landed looping lefts and rights and narrowly avoided a head kick. Grasso stunned Kowalkiewicz with a counter hook, but Kowalkiewicz recovered and she responded with a spinning backfist. The fighters clinched and Grasso landed knees to the body before circling away. Kowalkiewicz chased her down with punches, but Grasso ducked and parried while countering with one-twos in return. Grasso closed out the round with one more flurry and a body kick. 10-9 Grasso.
Round 3:
Grasso struck first with a head kick in the final round and she fought off a clinch attempt with three knees to the body. More knees and a combination landed for Grasso, but Kowalkiewicz held her ground and answered back with two hooks. Jans and left-right combos continued to score for Grasso, who avoided another clinch attempt with more powerful knees to the midsection. Big punches landed for both women in an exchange and Grasso scored with a hard flurry. The pace quickened in the final 30 seconds as both fighters teed off with punches and Grasso jumped into a flying guillotine choke as time expired. 10-9 Grasso.
Winner: Alexa Grasso by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. She improves to 11-2-0.
Calvin “The Boston Finisher” Kattar vs Ricardo “The Bully” Lamas
Round 1:
Kattar threw single punches early in the fight and Lamas responded with leg kicks and a one-two. He shot in for a takedown attempt, but Kattar easily avoided it and he scored with a nice left hook to the body. A leg kick and a stiff jab from Kattar forced Lamas to retreat. He regained his footing, but Kattar pressed the action with front kicks and quick flurries. Lamas landed a hard body kick, but Kattar floored him with a one-two and finished with a barrage of punches on the ground as the referee dove in to stop the fight.
Winner: Calvin Kattar by TKO (Punches) at 4:06 of round one. He improves to 20-3-0.
Xiaonan “Fury” Yan vs Angela “Overkill” Hill
Round 1:
Yan opened the action with overhand rights and kicks to Hill’s lead leg and body. Hill responded with a knee and secured a takedown after eating more of Yan’s kicks. Yan battled back to her feet and landed two hard punches before reversing a takedown into top position. Hill regained full guard and locked on a tight triangle choke late in the round, but time expired. Close round. 10-9 Hill by a slim margin due to the late rally.
Round 2:
The second round began with Yan landing more body kicks and a three-punch combination to Hill’s face. Hill slowed down considerably and Yan landed lead left hands and chopping leg kicks. A side kick to the face also landed for Yan and she stuffed a takedown attempt. Yan landed two more overhand rights and took Hill down in the final minute. Hill stood up and Yan landed a hard right hand following an exchange of strikes in the clinch. 10-9 Yan.
Round 3:
Yan scored with jabs and right hands in the final round. She mixed things up with side kicks and overhand punches, but Hill fired back with a hard right hook. Yan remained aggressive and she pressed forward with more combinations. Hill connected with two more right hooks and Yan responded with an uppercut in a brief clinch. Leg kicks and jabs landed for Yan and Hill returned fire with a side kick and two right hands. In the final seconds, Yan landed a nice flurry of punches and a body kick. 10-9 Yan.
Winner: Xiaonan Yan by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 11-1-0, 1 NC.
Darren “The Dentist” Stewart vs Bevon “The Extraordinary Gentleman” Lewis
Round 1:
Stewart dropped Lewis twice with his first two leg kicks of the fight and a clinch battle ensued against the cage. Both men landed body shots and Stewart followed with a knee to the face. With two minutes remaining in the round, Stewart hurt Lewis with a combination and Lewis clinched once more. Stewart landed another hard leg kick late in the round and Lewis stunned him with a right hook that landed just after the bell. 10-9 Stewart.
Round 2:
The pace slowed way down in the second round until Stewart landed a leg kick and a spinning backfist. Stewart fought off a takedown attempt, but Lewis landed a solid knee soon after. Action was sparse in the final minute and the crowd began to boo. The round ended with an exchange of strikes. 10-9 Stewart.
Round 3:
Stewart stuffed a takedown and the fighters battled for position against the cage in round three. Lewis briefly took Stewart’s back and threw knees to Stewart’s legs as the crowd booed again. Stewart landed a final one-two before the bell sounded to end the uneventful fight. 10-9 Lewis, barely.
Winner: Darren Stewart by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 10-4-0, 1 NC.
Eddie Wineland vs Grigory Popov
Round 1:
Wineland was very aggressive right away and Popov used front kicks to try to keep his distance. Wineland scored with three hard punches and one opened a cut beside Popov’s left eye. Popov responded with leg and body kicks and a knee to the jaw. More body kicks landed for Popov and Wineland countered with overhand punches. He stunned Popov with a combination in the final minute and landed two more hard right hands before the bell. 10-9 Wineland.
Round 2:
Popov wobbled and dropped Wineland with right hands early in the second round, but Wineland recovered and he threw jabs to combat Popov’s onslaught of body kicks. Both men landed punches and Wineland fired off a big three-punch flurry. Wineland scored a brief takedown, but Popov immediately returned to his feet. Wineland dropped him with three consecutive right hands and tried to finish the fight with a power guillotine choke on the ground. Popov escaped to his feet and ate two more right hands. A final right hook sent Popov to the canvas and the fight was stopped.
Winner: Eddie Wineland by KO (Punch) at 4:47 of round two. He improves to 24-13-1.
Katlyn “Blonde Fighter” Chookagian vs Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood
Round 1:
The fight began with an exchange of leg and body kicks and Chookagian scored with jabs that caused Calderwood’s right eye to swell up. Calderwood continued to attack Chookagian’s lead leg with kicks and Chookagian fired back with a one-two. More leg kicks landed for Calderwood and Chookagian began to limp and step awkwardly on her front foot. Both women landed punches in the final seconds. 10-9 Calderwood.
Round 2:
Chookagian mixed things up with kick-punch combos early in round two, but Calderwood dumped her to the mat and the fighters traded knees in a brief clinch after returning to their feet. A one-two landed for Chookagian and Calderwood responded with an overhand right. Chookagian set up right hands with jabs and she followed with a front kick to the face. Calderwood caught a kick and tripped Chookagian to the mat again. Chookagian used a high guard to try to limit Calderwood’s offence from the top and she tried for an armbar late in the round. 10-9 Chookagian.
Round 3:
In the final round, Chookagian struck first with one-twos and kick-punch combos. Calderwood landed occasional kicks in return, but her offensive output slowed down. Chookagian threw a kick and Calderwood took her down, but she allowed Chookagian to stand and Chookagian resumed landing combinations. The fighters traded flurries and Calderwood began to taunt throughout the final minute. 10-9 Chookagian.
Winner: Katlyn Chookagian by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 12-2-0.