The Ultimate Fighting Championship remained at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 258: “Usman vs Burns.” The event was headlined by a UFC Welterweight Championship bout between champion Kamaru “The Nigerian Nightmare” Usman and challenger Gilbert “Durinho” Burns.
In the flyweight co-main event, Maycee “The Future” Barber returned to face off against standout striker Alexa Grasso. Elsewhere on the main card, Kelvin Gastelum took on Ian “The Hurricane” Heinisch in middleweight action. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s UFC 258 card.
UFC Welterweight Championship
Kamaru “The Nigerian Nightmare” Usman vs Gilbert “Durinho” Burns
Round 1:
Burns rocked Usman with an early right hook and he connected with another right hand soon after as Usman bought time to recover. Burns slipped while throwing a head kick and Usman stood over him while kicking at his legs. Burns kicked at Usman’s left knee and Usman responded with three more leg kicks. Burns stood up and he landed a knee in close before separating from Usman. Both men landed leg and body kicks, with Burns following up by landing a knee and an overhand right. Usman blocked a head kick, but Burns tagged him with a combination of uppercuts late in the round. 10-9 Burns.
Round 2:
The second round opened with both men landing leg kicks. Burns scored with an overhand right and just missed with an uppercut. Usman landed three stiff jabs that backed Burns up and he hurt him with a hard right hook to the temple. Usman closed in with jab-hook combos as Burns covered up against the cage. Usman switched stances and threw a head kick, then a three-punch combo. He dropped Burns with a counter jab and allowed him to stand back up. Burns landed a right-left combo and he tried for a late takedown, but Usman stuffed it. 10-8 Usman.
Round 3:
Usman dropped Burns immediately in round three with a right hand and he pummelled him with punches to the face while standing over him. Burns tried to get to his knees, but Usman pushed him back down and landed more unanswered punches until the fight was stopped.
Winner: Kamaru Usman by TKO (Punches) at 0:34 of round three. He improves to 18-1-0 and remains the UFC Welterweight Champion.
Alexa Grasso vs Maycee “The Future” Barber
Round 1:
After an early exchange of lead hooks, the fighters clinched and battled for position against the cage. Grasso threw knees to Barber’s thigh and backed away. A right-left combo scored for Grasso and she prevented Barber from taking her down. Grasso landed an elbow over the top and Barber countered with two knees to the body. Barber broke free from the clinch with an elbow and a right hook. Grasso landed a knee to the body and both women scored with powerful right hooks. Grasso held Barber against the cage and landed another knee to the body. Close opening round. 10-9 Grasso.
Round 2:
Both women landed punching flurries early in the second round and Grasso hurt Barber with a big one-two. Barber clinched and Grasso landed more punches in close. Barber recovered and landed an elbow over the top and a knee to the body. Grasso circled away and Barber landed a three-punch combo. Grasso fell while throwing a body kick and Barber took top position, but Grasso kicked from the bottom and then spun into a belly-down armbar. Barber escaped and Grasso chained into an arm-triangle choke and then a rear-nacked choke. Barber defended, but Grasso maintained back control until the bell. 10-9 Grasso.
Round 3:
Grasso countered a lead right hook from Barber with three quick punches and that led to a clinch against the cage. Grasso held Barber in place and landed a series of knees to the body. Barber tripped Grasso and punched from the top, but Grasso kicked her off and stood up. Barber chased after Grasso with looping punches and Grasso responded with two right hands. Barber kept the pressure on with more punches that led to another clinch. Grasso landed a knee to the body and Barber threw elbows and knees in return. Grasso reversed the clinch and she landed more knees to Barber’s midsection. In the final 20 seconds, Barber rushed forward and ate a counter hook from Grasso. She took Grasso down shortly before the end of the fight. Another close round. 10-9 Barber.
Winner: Alexa Grasso by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 13-3-0.
Kelvin Gastelum vs Ian “The Hurricane” Heinisch
Round 1:
Heinisch attacked Gastelum’s lead leg with two kicks right away and then took him down. Gastelum scrambled up to his feet and scored a takedown of his own, but Heinisch countered with a kimura from the bottom. Gastelum stayed calm and worked his way free. He stood up and took Heinisch down into mount. Heinisch again tried for a kimura from the bottom, but Gastelum escaped again and he worked from the top until Heinisch kicked off of the cage and scrambled up. Following a brief striking exchange, Gastelum tripped Heinisch and took his back as Heinisch rose to his feet. Heinisch broke free with just over 30 seconds to go and Gastelum landed a body kick. Both men missed with head kick attempts in the dying seconds. 10-9 Gastelum.
Round 2:
Gastelum countered a flying knee from Heinisch by taking him down in the second round. He landed left hands to Heinisch’s face as Heinisch stood against the cage. The fighters separated and both men landed leg kicks. Gastelum punched his way into another clinch, but Heinisch separated with one minute remaining and he landed a right hook and a body kick. Two more kicks scored for Heinisch and Gastelum tied him up in a clinch. 10-9 Gastelum.
Round 3:
The fighters traded leg kicks to begin the final round and Heinisch landed a counter elbow as Gastelum moved forward. Heinisch took Gastelum down very briefly, but Gastelum stood and held him against the cage. After the fighters separated, Heinisch landed two punches and Gastelum responded with a combination and a body kick. He took Heinisch down into side control, but Heinisch quickly scrambled out from the bottom and he took Gastelum’s back. Gastelum turned into Heinisch guard and the fighters stood back up. Gastelum chased after Heinisch with looping punches and he followed with a knee in the clinch. Both men scored takedowns in the final seconds and Gastelum closed out the fight with punches from the top. 10-9 Gastelum.
Winner: Kelvin Gastelum by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 16-6-0, 1 NC.
Ricky Simón vs Brian “Boom” Kelleher
Round 1:
Following an exchange of left hooks, Simón took Kelleher down and he cut him between the eyes with a hammerfist. Kelleher tried to get back to his feet and Simón tried for a modified arm-triangle choke. Kelleher, bleeding into his eyes, escaped to his feet. Simón took him back down and he worked for another arm-triangle choke from the top. Kelleher scrambled free and got back to his feet as blood continued to trickle into his right eye. Simón scored another takedown and attempted a third arm-triangle choke. Kelleher defended well and got back to his feet. Both men landed leg kicks late in the round. 10-9 Simón.
Round 2:
Kelleher opened round two with a leg kick and Simón fired back with a right hand. Kelleher landed a front kick to the body and he followed with one to Simón’s face. Simón was unfazed and shot in for a takedown, but Kelleher stayed on his feet. He landed a combination and Simón responded with four punches and a leg kick. He took Kelleher down and quickly escaped from Kelleher’s guillotine choke attempt. Kelleher battled back to his feet and both men landed right hands. Closer round. 10-9 Simón.
Round 3:
The final round opened with Simón landing a quick flurry of punches and two back elbow strikes to the cut between Kelleher’s eyes. He clinched and tried to take Kelleher’s back against the cage. Kelleher turned into the clinch and jumped into a guillotine choke, but Simón freed his head almost immediately and took top position on the ground. Kelleher remained active and worked for a kimura on Simón’s right arm. Simón broke Kelleher’s grip and attempted a kimura of his own. Kelleher used the opportunity to get back to his feet, but Simón took his back and dragged him down again. He landed knees to Kelleher’s thighs and threw more as Kelleher got back to his feet. Kelleher broke free and landed a jumping switch kick to the body. 10-9 Simón.
Winner: Ricky Simón by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 18-3-0.
Julian “The Cuban Missile Crisis” Marquez vs Maki “Coconut Bombz” Pitolo
Round 1:
Pitolo pressed forward with punches right away and a clinch battle ensued against the cage. Pitolo landed a slashing uppercut over the top and he took Marquez down into half-guard. Marquez tried to use the cage to get back to his feet and Pitolo hunted for a rear-naked choke. Marquez stood up and was tripped to the mat once more. Marquez rose to his feet again and he trapped Pitolo in a tight standing guillotine choke. Pitolo broke Marquez’s grip and Marquez landed a hard combination before the bell. 10-9 Pitolo.
Round 2:
Marquez rushed forward with short right hands in the second round and the fighters traded punches until time was called when Pitolo was kicked in the groin. The fight resumed and both men landed power punches. Marquez slipped after throwing a head kick and Pitolo clinched on the way up. He dragged Marquez down and tried to take his back, but Marquez got back to his feet. Pitolo landed two punches and shot in for another takedown. Marquez countered with a power guillotine choke and Pitolo dropped to his knees. Marquez stood over him and landed punches to the sides of Pitolo’s head. He tried to jump on Pitolo’s back, but Pitolo shook him off and he mounted Marquez. As Pitolo worked for an arm-triangle choke, Marquez shrimped back to half-guard. Pitolo closed out the round with left hands to Marquez’s face. 10-9 Pitolo.
Round 3:
The final round began with an exchange of right hooks and Pitolo dropped Marquez to a knee with a leg kick. Marquez responded with a right hook and he cut Pitolo below the right eye with a left hand. Marquez stunned Pitolo with a knee in a clinch, but Pitolo backed away and recovered. He shot in and took Marquez down, then transitioned to back control. Pitolo locked on a rear-naked choke, but Marquez escaped and the fighters stood up. Marquez landed knees in the clinch and he prevented Pitolo from taking him down. With just over a minute remaining, Marquez landed a barrage of punches and a knee that forced Pitolo to shoot in for a takedown. Marquez countered with an Anaconda Choke, which he tightened by rolling to his right. Pitolo could not escape and tapped out.
Winner: Julian Marquez by Submission (Anaconda Choke) at 4:17 of round three. He improves to 8-2-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)