The Ultimate Fighting Championship stayed at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC Fight Night 182: “Felder vs dos Anjos.” The event was headlined by a lightweight bout between Paul “The Irish Dragon” Felder, who stepped in as a late replacement, and former champ Rafael dos Anjos.
In the welterweight co-main event, Abdul Razak “Judo Thunder” Alhassan squared off against Kalin “Khaos The Ox Fighter” Williams. Elsewhere on the main card, Ashley “The Spider Monkey” Yoder met Miranda “Danger” Granger at strawweight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.
Rafael dos Anjos vs Paul “The Irish Dragon” Felder
Round 1:
Felder began the fight with a right hook and a leg kick and dos Anjos responded with a kick to the body. He followed with a nice left hook, but Felder cut him above his right eye with a counter left. Dos Anjos took Felder down against the cage and worked from Felder’s half-guard. Felder scrambled up to his feet and dos Anjos held him in a standing arm-triangle choke. Felder escaped and he landed a knee and a right hand. The fighters traded leg kicks and Felder narrowly missed with a spinning back elbow. A clinch followed and dos Anjos used a front headlock to pull Felder down to the mat. Felder rose to his feet and dos Anjos landed two looping hooks before the bell. 10-9 dos Anjos.
Round 2:
Both men landed straight punches to begin the second round and Felder mixed in elbow strikes. Dos Anjos mixed up his strikes with kicks and he clinched with Felder against the cage. Dos Anjos ducked into a hard knee from Felder, but he was unfazed and flurried with punches before backing away. A body kick and a straight left hand scored for dos Anjos, who followed with a head kick and a left hook to the liver. Dos Anjos shot in for a takedown against the cage and he dragged Felder down to the mat. Just as in round one, Felder stood up and escaped from a standing arm-triangle choke attempt. Dos Anjos took Felder’s back and he landed a body kick as Felder spun around. Both men connected with two-punch combos in the final seconds. 10-9 dos Anjos.
Round 3:
Felder opened round three with a body kick and dos Anjos answered with punches before clinching with Felder against the fence. The fighters briefly separated and Felder held dos Anjos against the cage after re-engaging. Dos Anjos spun him around and tripped him to the mat. He struck from the top with short punches until Felder worked back to his feet and the clinch battle continued. Dos Anjos landed an elbow on the break and he followed with a straight left before shooting in for a takedown. Felder initially defended, but dos Anjos slammed him down with just over 30 seconds remaining and he used punches to set up a late-round kimura attempt. 10-9 dos Anjos.
Round 4:
Dos Anjos landed a hard kick to the liver in the opening minute of the fourth round. Felder answered with a right hook and followed with a lead left that reopened the cut above dos Anjos’s right eye. Dos Anjos clinched and held Felder against the cage. Felder prevented him from securing a takedown and he eventually reversed the clinch. Both men threw punches to the body and Felder landed two knees in a Thai clinch before the fighters separated. A big left hand landed for Felder, but dos Anjos cut him in the centre of his forehead with a counter left hand. Blood immediately poured out of the cut, but Felder took dos Anjos down against the cage. Dos Anjos reversed late in the round and he landed right hands as the fighters returned to their feet. 10-9 dos Anjos by a slim margin.
Round 5:
The final round began with an exchange of punches and dos Anjos looked for a takedown against the cage. He eventually slammed Felder down and worked from the top in Felder’s half-guard. A bloodied Felder defended from the bottom as dos Anjos looked to set up a shoulder choke. He gave it up and targeted Felder’s cut with elbows, then moved to North-South position. Felder scrambled up to his knees and then stood up against the cage as dos Anjos held him in place. The fighters exchanged knees to the body and dos Anjos scored one more takedown late in the round. 10-9 dos Anjos.
Winner: Rafael dos Anjos by Split Decision (50-45, 50-45, 47-48) after five rounds. He improves to 30-13-0.
Kalinn “Khaos The Ox Fighter” Williams vs Abdul Razak “Judo Thunder” Alhassan
Round 1:
Hard leg kicks were exchanged early in the fight until Williams landed a massive right hook that sent an unconscious Alhassan crashing to the mat. Brutal knockout win for Williams.
Winner: Kalin Williams by KO (Punch) at 0:30 of round one. He improves to 11-1-0.
Ashley “The Spider Monkey” Yoder vs Miranda “Danger” Granger
Round 1:
Toder punched her way into an early clinch and Granger countered with knees against the fence. She reversed the clinch and landed a hard elbow strike before Yoder jumped into a flying armbar attempt. Yoder lost her grip and fell to the mat, then stood and walked forward with punches. Granger countered with two hooks and Yoder took her down with a headlock throw. Granger scrambled from the bottom and got back to full guard. Yoder rolled with Granger and attempted a kneebar, but Granger freed her leg and she threw punches to Yoder’s body as Yoder got back to full guard. Granger landed hammerfists from the top and Yoder countered with a triangle armbar from the bottom. Granger defended well and she used her own legs to pin Yoder’s head and arm against the mat as time expired. Back-and-forth round. 10-9 Yoder.
Round 2:
The second round began with another clinch and Granger landed a nice knee as the fighters battled for position against the cage. Granger followed with elbows over the top and she reversed a Yoder throw attempt into a modified Twister position. Yoder freed herself and she wound up on top in Granger’s half-guard. Yoder looked to be setting up for an arm-triangle choke from the top, but Granger countered with a kimura and then a straight armbar attempt on Yoder’s right arm. Both fighters threw short punches to the body until the bell. 10-9 Granger.
Round 3:
Both fighters landed leg kicks early in round three and Granger followed with a combination. Yoder took her down into side control and landed a hard knee to the body as Granger held on from the bottom. Yoder mounted Granger with three minutes to go and she worked to set up an armbar. Yoder gave up on it and resumed punching from the top. Granger gave up her back and Yoder tried to sink her left arm under Granger’s chin. She gave it up and rained down more punches before trapping Granger in a body triangle. Yoder attacked with a series of left hooks and she locked on a tight rear-naked choke, but Granger was saved by the bell. 10-8 Yoder.
Note: One 29-27 Yoder scorecard was initially misread as 27-26.
Winner: Ashley Yoder by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-27) after three rounds. She improves to 8-6-0.
Sean “Tarzan” Strickland vs Brendan “All In” Allen
Round 1:
The fighters traded strikes in the opening minute and Strickland tripped Allen to the mat. He briefly struck from the top and Allen scrambled up to his feet against the cage. Strickland landed a knee and a left hand while maintained back control. He eventually released his grip and landed a flurry of punches before backing away. Strickland jabbed and followed with a combination until Allen pressed forward with punches and clinched. Strickland circled away and Allen cracked him with an overhand right. Strickland used his jab to set up one-twos and he guarded against Allen’s overhand rights. Strickland landed a hard right hook and a front kick to Allen’s face, which set off an exchange of power hooks late in the round. 10-9 Strickland.
Round 2:
Strickland kept the pressure on Allen with one-two combos in the second round and Allen slipped while moving backwards. He returned to his feet and the fighters traded punches. Strickland used his jab to set up a right-left combo to both of Allen’s temples. A wobbled Allen fell to his knees and Strickland attacked with rapid-fire right hands as Allen stood up and stumbled against the cage, prompting referee Herb Dean to wave off the fight.
Winner: Sean Strickland by TKO (Punches) at 1:32 of round two. He improves to 22-3-0.
Cory “Poppins” McKenna vs Kay Hansen
Round 1:
McKenn scored with a nice right hand early in the fight and Hansen’s left eye immediately began to swell up. Hansen landed a quick flurry and McKenna responded with one of her own. She targeted Hansen’s damaged eye with more right hands and the fighters clinched against the cage. Hansen briefly tripped McKenna to the mat and landed an uppercut on the break. McKenna scored with another flurry and swelling began to form around Hansen’s right eye. McKenna looked for a takedown against the cage and Hansen countered with elbows. She trapped McKenna in a front headlock and landed knees until McKenna dropped down to the ground. Hansen took McKenna’s back and McKenna threw numerous punches behind her head that landed between Hansen’s eyes. 10-9 McKenna.
Round 2:
Both women landed jabs to begin the second round and McKenna followed with a one-two that prompted Hansen to clinch. McKenna stayed on her feet against the cage and Hansen landed a right hand on the break. She attacked McKenna’s body with a kick and a knee. The fighters traded punches and Hansen landed another body kick and a knee. McKenna landed a nice right hand and Hansen responded by taking her down into back control. She tried for a rear-naked choke, but McKenna managed to break her grip and escaped. Hansen transitioned to an armbar attempt from the back, but she lost the position and McKenna wound up on top in Hansen’s guard. McKenna punched to the body and she postured up with an elbow. 10-9 McKenna due to the late rally.
Round 3:
Quick right hands were exchanged in the final round and Hansen followed with jab-cross combos before shooting in and taking McKenna down into half-guard. Hansen’s nose was bloodied on the way down, but she maintained top position and looked to set up a Brabo Choke. McKenna got back to full guard and threw elbows from the bottom, then attempted a kimura on Hansen’s right arm. Hansen pulled her arm out and she immediately locked on a tight arm-triangle choke from the top. McKenna held on and swept into top position in order to break Hansen’s grip. McKenna landed short left hands to Hansen’s body and head until the final bell. Close round and a very close fight. 10-9 Hansen.
Winner: Cory McKenna by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 6-1-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)