Cody “No Love” Garbrandt vs Takeya Mizugaki
Round 1:
The fight began with an exchange of punches and Garbrandt hurt Mizugaki with a right hand. Mizugaki fell backwards, but recovered quickly and tried to get back to his feet. Garbrandt floored him with another right hand and Mizugaki was badly dazed. Garbrandt continued to unload with left and right hands until the bout was waved off.
Winner: Cody Garbrandt by TKO (Punches) at 0:48 of round one. He improves to 10-0-0.
Raquel “Rocky” Pennington vs Elizabeth Phillips
Round 1:
Phillips struck from a distance with leg kicks and right hands that mostly came up short early on. She landed a hard kick to Pennington’s lead leg and the fighters clinched against the fence. A battle for position ensued and both women landed knees to the body. Phillips eventually circled away and Pennington walked forward with lead left hooks. She landed a nice knee to the body and took Phillips down in spite of a blatant Phillips fence grab. Phillips stood and jumped into a flying guillotine choke. Pennington escaped and flurried with punches before the bell. Close round. 10-9 Pennington.
Round 2:
Pennington initiated a clinch in round two, but Phillips countered by taking her down against the cage. Pennington worked for a guillotine choke from the bottom, but Phillips escaped and she took Pennington’s back as the fight returned to the feet. Pennington turned into the clinch and fought off Phillips’s takedown attempts with knees and hammerfists. Phillips tried for takedowns throughout the final three minutes, but Pennington defended well and she slammed Phillips to the mat late in the round. She landed punches from the top until time expired. 10-9 Pennington.
Round 3:
Pennington landed a nice one-two in the final round and she backed Phillips up against the cage. Pennington dumped her to the mat and moved from mount to back control. She worked for rear-naked chokes and transitioned back to mount again. Pennington flurried with punches from the top, but Phillips scrambled and wound up in Pennington’s guard. Pennington attempted an arm-triangle choke from the bottom and Phillips almost put herself in a triangle choke. Pennington stood and tripped Phillips once before the end of the fight. 10-9 Pennington.
Winner: Raquel Pennington by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. She improves to 8-5-0.
Artem “The Russian Hammer” Lobov vs Chris Avila
Round 1:
Both men landed kicks in the opening minute and Lobov threw short uppercuts in a brief clinch. He landed hard leg kicks and lunged in with lead right hooks. Avila struggled to find his range and Lobov landed more leg kicks and right hands. He finished the round with a body kick and a left cross. 10-9 Lobov.
Round 2:
Lobov kept the pressure on with chopping leg kicks and straight left hands in round two. Avila was unable to land anything and Lobov fought off clinch attempts. Lobov cracked him with a nice one-two and more leg kicks in the late stages of the round. 10-9 Lobov.
Round 3:
Avila opened round three with a leg kick, but Lobov continued to win the striking exchanges with a much higher volume of kicks and punches. Time was called when Lobov sustained a cut on his forehead from an accidental clash of heads, but action resumed and Lobov threw more leg kicks. Avila attempted a head kick and Lobov chopped away at his lead leg. He fell while throwing a kick and Avila looked to strike from the top, but Lobov used a heel hook attempt to scramble back up to his feet. He landed more leg kicks before the bell. 10-9 Lobov.
Winner: Artem Lobov by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 12-12-1, 1 NC.
Cortney “Cast Iron” Casey vs Randa “Quiet Storm” Markos
Round 1:
After an early exchange of punches, Casey landed hard kicks to the lead leg that prompted Markos to close the distance. Casey initially shrugged her off, but Markos secured a throw takedown into the scarf hold position. She landed a series of short left hands to Casey’s face as Casey tried to buck and escape. Casey eventually took Markos’s back and she unloaded with elbows and punches. Markos rolled over and Casey landed more elbows from the top in half-guard. Markos eventually initiated a scramble and wound up in Casey’s guard, but Casey quickly locked on a belly-down armbar and Markos verbally submitted.
Winner: Cortney Casey by Submission (Armbar) at 4:34 of round one. She improves to 6-3-0.
Undercard Fights:
– Lorenz “The Monsoon” Larkin defeated Neil Magny by TKO (Punches) at 4:08 of round one. He improves to 18-5-0, 1 NC with the win.
– Colby “Chaos” Covington defeated Max “Pain” Griffin by TKO (Punches) at 2:18 of round three. He improves to 10-1-0 with the win.
– Marvin Vettori defeated Alberto Emiliano “Uda” Pereira by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:30 of round one. He improves to 11-2-0 with the win.