UFC Fight Night 159: "Rodriguez vs Stephens" Play-By-Play & ResultsThe Ultimate Fighting Championship came to Mexico City Arena in Mexico City, Mexico tonight for UFC Fight Night 159: “Rodriguez vs Stephens.” The card was headlined by a featherweight matchup between Mexican standout Yair “El Pantera” Rodriguez and veteran Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens.

In tonight’s co-main event, former UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza battled highly-touted striker Alexa Grasso. Brandon “The Assassin Baby” Moreno met Askar “Bullet” Askarov at flyweight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s UFC card.

 

Yair “El Pantera” Rodriguez vs Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens

Round 1:
Time was called almost immediately when Stephens was poked in the eye during an exchange. He could not open his eye and the cageside doctor was forced to wave off the fight.

Result: No Contest (Accidental Eye Poke) at 0:15 of round one. Rodriguez moves to 11-2-0, 1 NC, while Stephens is now 28-16-0, 1 NC.

 

Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza vs Alexa Grasso

Round 1:
Quick punches were exchanged in the opening seconds of the fight and Esparza followed with a front kick as Grasso put together combinations. Esparza dove in with a hard one-two and Grasso countered with a straight right hand. Esparza shot in for a takedown and Grasso nearly reversed into mount, but Esparza muscled her down and worked from the top in Grasso’s guard. She landed punches until Grasso exploded up to her feet. Esparza landed a left hand and tried for another takedown, but Grasso stayed on her feet and the fighters battled in a clinch. Esparza took her down with a headlock takedown and tried for a scarf hold, but she lost the position. The fight returned to the feet and both women landed strikes before the bell. 10-9 Esparza.

Round 2:
Esparza took Grasso down in round two and she struck from the top as Grasso looked to set up a submission from her back. Esparza punched to the body and she prevented Grasso from getting back to her feet. Esparza landed more punches from the top and she mixed in short elbow strikes before taking Grasso’s back. Grasso turned into Esparza’s guard and scrambled up to her feet, with Esparza following. Grasso landed a hard right hand and Esparza answered with one of her own. She took Grasso down again and punched from the top until Grasso attacked with an armbar just before time expired. 10-9 Esparza.

Round 3:
Esparza struck first with a right hand in the final round, but Grasso hurt her with a counter left hand and a follow-up flurry. Esparza circled away and bought time to recover, but Grasso continued to pressure her with punches. Esparza managed to take Grasso down, but Grasso countered with a tight armbar. She fully extended Esparza’s arm, but Esparza rolled through and wound up on top again. Grasso attacked with more submission attempts as well as elbows from the bottom. She tried to sweep into top position, but Esparza prevented her from doing so. The fight returned to the feet and both women teed off with punches. Grasso landed a hard punch to Esparza’s nose, which began to bleed heavily as the fight came to an end. 10-9 Grasso.

Winner: Carla Esparza by Majority Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28) after three rounds. She improves to 15-6-0.

 

Brandon “The Assassin Baby” Moreno vs Askar “Bullet” Askarov

Round 1:
Askarov closed the distance and took Moreno down into back control early on. Moreno scrambled free once, but Askarov took his back again and worked for a rear-naked choke. Moreno spun into Askarov’s guard and fought off a triangle choke and an armbar. Moreno punched from the top and Askarov responded with elbows from the bottom. Moreno stood up and rained down more punches. Askarov got to his feet and Moreno flurried as Askarov appeared to be wobbled. He recovered quickly and chased Moreno down with a lunging left hand that missed. Close round. 10-9 Moreno.

Round 2:
Moreno scored with two hard left hooks early in the second round and Askarov responded by taking him down. Moreno escaped to his feet and he used more left hooks to try to keep Askarov at bay. Askarov slammed him down into side control and he landed punches after standing up, but Moreno used an ankle pick to trip Askarov and he got back to his feet. Askarov tripped Moreno and once again could only hold him down for a few seconds. Askarov threw a knee to the body and a right cross that set off an exchange of punches. Askarov ducked into a head kick and fell to his knees. Moreno tried to frame up an inverted triangle choke and Askarov defended until the bell. Another close, back-and-forth round. 10-9 Moreno, barely.

Round 3:
The final round began with Moreno landing two overhand punches and he followed by taking Askarov down. Askarov attempted an omoplata from his back and Moreno punched his way free. He continued to strike until Askarov gave up his back. Moreno immediately worked for a rear-naked choke and Askarov had to act quickly to escape. Moreno kept him trapped in a body triangle and continued to work for chokes until Askarov turned into his guard just before the end of the round. 10-9 Moreno. Could be a 10-8.

Result: Split Draw (30-27 Moreno, 29-28 Askarov, 28-28) after three rounds. Moreno moves to 15-5-1, while Askarov is now 10-0-1.

 

Irene Aldana vs Vanessa “Miss Simpatia” Melo

Round 1:
Melo pressed the action with punches right away and Aldana countered with jabs and a hard leg kick as she circled to the side. Melo continued to walk her down, but Aldana remained effective with her counterpunches and kicks. Straight right hands landed repeatedly for Aldana, who mixed in left hooks to the liver. She attacked Melo’s lead leg with more kicks and picked her apart with punch-kick combos until the bell. 10-9 Aldana.

Round 2:
Melo continued to walk Aldana down in round two and she landed punches early on. Aldana circled to the side and countered with jabs and leg kicks. She followed with a spinning back kick to the body and easily shrugged off a takedown attempt. Aldana punished Melo with punches including two quick counter right hands as Melo pressed forward. Melo finally scored with three lunging punches, but Aldana stayed composed and fired back with a combination. She just missed with a head kick and Aldana tagged her with left and right hooks before the end of the round. 10-9 Aldana.

Round 3:
Aldana opened the final round with jabs and Melo countered with a clinch. Aldana broke free and landed a knee before circling to the side again. She scored with punches and narrowly missed with a spinning wheel kick. Left hooks to the liver and two leg kicks scored for Aldana, who remained the aggressor in the striking exchanges. Both women landed hooks and Aldana picked up the pace in the final minute as the crowd cheered her on. She landed a knee and four hard right hands that stunned Melo late in the fight. 10-9 Aldana, if not a 10-8.

Winner: Irene Aldana by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26) after three rounds. She improves to 11-5-0.

 

Steven “Ocho” Peterson vs Martin “El Toro” Bravo

Round 1:
Following an exchange of punches on the feet, Bravo scored a takedown and he struck from the top until Peterson battled back to his feet. Bravo pressured him with punches and a body kick, and he tripped him to the mat after catching a kick. Peterson stood and Bravo kept him on the defensive with one-twos, leg kicks and overhand rights. Bravo landed another leg kick and an overhand right as Peterson looked to slow Bravo down with jabs. A hard right cross scored for Peterson late on the round and that led to another exchange of punches. 10-9 Bravo.

Round 2:
The second round began with Bravo landing punches and he took Peterson down. Peterson quickly returned to his feet and Bravo cracked him with a combination. Peterson responded with punches of his own and then unleashed a vicious spinning backfist that sent an unconscious Bravo crashing to the canvas.

Winner: Steven Peterson by KO (Spinning Backfist) at 1:31 of round two. He improves to 18-9-0.

 

(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)