The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 175: “Weidman vs Machida.” The event was headlined by a UFC Middleweight Championship battle between “All-American” Chris Weidman and Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida.
In tonight’s co-feature, UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey put her title on the line against BJJ black belt Alexis “Ally-Gator” Davis. Uriah “Primetime” Hall took on Thiago “Marreta” Santos in a middleweight bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.
UFC Middleweight Championship
“All-American” Chris Weidman vs Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida
Round 1:
Weidman landed kicks in the opening minute of round one and Machida answered with a body kick of his own. Weidman caught it and tried for a takedown, but Machida stayed on his feet. A solid leg kick landed for Weidman and he followed with a five-punch flurry. Machida countered a leg kick with a quick one-two and the fighters traded kicks to the upper body. A knee to the body scored for Machida late in the round. 10-9 Weidman.
Round 2:
Weidman landed two short right hooks in round two and he remained aggressive with body kicks and lunging punches. Machida answered with a liver kick and he landed more body kicks soon after. Weidman countered an overhand left by taking Machida down against the cage. He landed some nice ground and pound and looked to set up a rear-naked choke. Machida escaped to his feet, but Weidman landed a series of knees before the bell. 10-9 Weidman.
Round 3:
Machida avoided a takedown and landed a kick to the upper body early in round three. He stuffed another takedown, but Weidman got him down on his third try. He struck from the top and tried to take Machida’s back as the fight returned to the feet. Machida broke free from the clinch, but he ate a quick combination from Weidman. Seconds later, Weidman cut Machida with a combination and he countered a knee by taking Machida back down. Machida stood and Weidman suplexed him to the mat. He landed punches from the top and Machida got back to his feet just before time expired. 10-9 Weidman.
Round 4:
The fourth round began with body kicks from Machida and Weidman replied with a knee. He got Machida down briefly and worked for a second takedown against the cage. Machida circled away and cracked Weidman with a vicious left hook. He landed more big punches, but Weidman appeared to be unfazed. Machida kicked to the body once again and he avoided a takedown attempt. Weidman tried for another takedown and Machida stuffed that as well. He rushed forward with punches and attempted a flashy kick late in the round. 10-9 Machida.
Round 5:
Machida opened the final round with more body kicks and punches that kept Weidman guessing. Weidman slowed down and Machida scored with overhand lefts. He stuffed a takedown and attacked with punches and knees. Machida answered back with a hard right hook, but Weidman stunned him with a head kick. Machida regained his balance and pressed forward with a combination.
Weidman staggered Machida with a knee and a standing elbow, but Machida stayed on his feet and the fighters traded punches. Weidman got Machida down and he passed to half-guard. He looked to mount Machida and settled for back control. Weidman briefly flattened Machida out, but Machida scrambled up to his feet. He swarmed with punches and knees in the final seconds. Excellent round. 10-9 Weidman.
Winner: Chris Weidman by Unanimous Decision (49-45, 49-46, 48-47) after five rounds. He improves to 12-0-0 and remains the UFC Middleweight Champion.
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship
“Rowdy” Ronda Rousey vs Alexis “Ally-Gator” Davis
Round 1:
Davis scored with stiff jabs right away, but Rousey cracked her with a big right hook and a knee. She used an beautiful judo throw to get Davis down and unloaded with unanswered right hands from the scarf hold position until referee Yves Lavigne intervened to rescue a barely conscious Davis.
Winner: Ronda Rousey by KO (Slam & Punches) at 0:16 of round one. She improves to 10-0-0 and remains the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion.
Uriah “Primetime” Hall vs Thiago “Marreta” Santos
Round 1:
The fighters traded kicks in the opening 90 seconds and Hall looked to establish his jab. Santos landed more kicks to Hall’s lead leg, but he eventually slipped while throwing one and Hall landed punches on the way up. He scored with a right hook and Santos punished his leg with more kicks. A lead left hook backed Santos up and Hall picked up the pace with more strikes, but Santos snuck in two more leg kicks. Hall attempted a spinning wheel kick before the end of the round. 10-9 Santos.
Round 2:
Hall, whose badly broken toe on his right foot was shown between rounds, scored with punches early in the second stanza. Santos fired back with hard leg kicks and a nice right hand. Hall caught a kick and dumped Santos to the mat, but he could only land two punches before Santos returned to his feet. Santos attempted a head kick and he landed a right cross before Hall could pull away. Hall landed a head kick and narrowly missed with a spinning wheel kick. Santos responded with a wheel kick of his own in the final seconds. Close round. 10-9 Santos, barely.
Round 3:
Hall flurried with punches in the final round and Santos stuck to his strategy of kicking from a distance. He landed a leg kick and a spinning back kick to the body. Hall connected with a hard combination over the top and he continued to get the better of the boxing exchanges, but Santos remained effective with kicks. Hall backed him up with a spinning back kick and a quick flurry. Time was called when Hall was kicked in the groin. The fight resumed and Santos clinched against the cage. Hall dropped down with a kimura attempt and Santos finished strong with punches and elbows. 10-9 Hall.
Winner: Uriah Hall by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 9-4-0.
Russell Doane vs Marcus “The Bama Beast” Brimage
Round 1:
Doane countered early strikes from Brimage by taking him down and he worked for a Brabo choke on the ground. He transitioned to Brimage’s back and looked to set up a rear-naked choke. Brimage defended for most of the round and finally fought back to his feet. Doane blocked a head kick, but Brimage landed a knee and a quick combination before the bell. 10-9 Doane.
Round 2:
Brimage dropped Doane with a right hook in the second round and Doane recovered by shooting for a takedown. Brimage stuffed it and hurt Doane with a hard leg kick. He followed with another one, but Doane got him down. Brimage scrambled up and escaped from a clinch. He kicked at Doane’s lead leg again and Doane replied with a series of knees. He took Brimage down and transitioned to back control, but Brimage rolled free and stood up. He landed more kicks late in the close round. 10-9 Brimage.
Round 3:
Brimage targeted Doane’s other leg in the final round and Doane slowed down. He dropped Doane with a leg kick and knocked him off-balance with another one soon after. Doane landed a knee and Brimage countered by clinching. Doane tried to pull guard with a guillotine choke and Brimage easily escaped. He kicked at Doane’s legs and stuffed a takedown. Doane landed a nice one-two and narrowly missed with a head kick. He kept the pressure on until time expired. 10-9 Brimage, barely.
Winner: Russell Doane by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 14-3-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)