Frankie “The Answer” Edgar vs Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens

Round 1:
Edgar shot in for an early takedown, but Stephens stuffed it and he fought off another takedown soon after. A nice right cross scored for Edgar and he followed with knees while trapping Stephens in a front headlock. Edgar twice dumped Stephens to the mat, but Stephens stood and broke away. Time was called after Edgar was poked in the eye. Action resumed and Edgar landed right hands. 10-9 Edgar.

Round 2:
Time was called early in round two after Stephens was punched in the groin, but the fight continued and both men landed kicks. Edgar mixed up his punches to the head and body, and he took Stephens down three more times in succession. Stephens worked back up to his feet and Edgar flurried to the body. Stephens dropped Edgar with a head kick and followed with an illegal knee, but it went undetected and a wobbly Edgar returned to his feet. He jabbed and Stephens clipped him behind the ear with two right hooks. Edgar scored a big takedown and attacked with a mounted guillotine choke. Stephens narrowly escaped before the bell. Fantastic round. 10-9 Edgar, barely.

Round 3:
Stephens opened round three with a leg kick and a straight left hand. Edgar caught a leg kick and took him down into half-guard. Stephens countered with a kimura from the bottom and Edgar punished him with elbows to the body. He took Stephens’s back and slammed him down after Stephens momentarily stood up. Stephens rose again and broke free from Edgar’s grasp. Hooks were exchanged and Stephens stuffed a takedown. He landed a right hook to the chest and Edgar countered with a lead left hand. Both men landed combinations late in the fight and Edgar got the better of the exchange. 10-9 Edgar.

Winner: Frankie Edgar by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 21-5-1.

Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov vs Michael “The Menace” Johnson

Round 1:
The fight began with an exchange of punches and Johnson repeatedly scored with left hands. He rocked Nurmagomedov with a left hook and cracked him with more lefts until Nurmagomedov shot in for a takedown. He got Johnson down and trapped him in a top-side crucifix. Nurmagomedov landed short elbows, but Johnson scrambled back to half-guard. Hard punches landed for Nurmagomedov and he continued to punish Johnson with big shots from S-mount. Johnson tried to escape to his feet before the bell, but Nurmagomedov landed two more big right hands. 10-9 Nurmagomedov.

Round 2:
Johnson fought off Nurmagomedov’s takedown attempts in the second round and eventually pulled guard with a guillotine choke, but Nurmagomedov pulled his head free and moved back to a top-side crucifix. He pinned down Johnson’s arms and landed punches and elbows from the top. Johnson got back to half-guard and ate a series of left hands to the jaw and temple. Nurmagomedov continued to land vicious punches from the top until the end of the round. 10-8 Nurmagomedov.

Round 3:
After a brief exchange of power punches in round three, Nurmagomedov took Johnson down and resumed striking from the top. He mounted Johnson and looked for an arm-triangle choke, but Johnson kicked off of the cage and got back to side control. Nurmagomedov locked on a kimura and Johnson reluctantly tapped out.

Winner: Khabib Nurmagomedov by Submission (Kimura) at 2:31 of round three. He improves to 24-0-0.

Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch vs Rafael “Sapo” Natal

Round 1:
Boetsch opened a cut below Natal’s left eye with a series of overhand rights in the opening minute. Natal kicked at his lead leg and Boetsch answered with a hard leg kick of his own. Big punches were exchanged and both men landed left uppercuts. A huge right hand sent Natal crashing to the canvas and Boetsch finished him off with more shots on the ground.

Winner: Tim Boetsch by KO (Punches) at 3:22 of round one. He improves to 20-10-0.

Vicente “The Silent Assassin” Luque vs Belal “Remember The Name” Muhammad

Round 1:
Luque switched stances frequently in the opening minute and landed quick kicks to the body. Muhammad fired off a combination and Luque landed another body kick. He dropped Muhammad with a counter left hook and dove in with more punches that left Muhammad unconscious on the mat.

Winner: Vicente Luque by KO (Punches) at 1:19 of round one. He improves to 11-5-1.

Jim Miller vs Thiago “Pitbull” Alves

Round 1:
Miller landed a solid combination in the opening minute and Alves replied with a knee. Miller lunged in with a one-two and he took Alves down after catching a kick. Alves used the cage to work back to his feet, but Miller landed left hands and took Alves’s back. Alves exploded out and stood up. Miller landed hard kicks to the body and the lead leg, and he followed with a flurry. Alves landed two knees and a right hand late in the round. 10-9 Miller.

Round 2:
Miller opened round two with straight left hands and Alves answered with kicks to the upper body. He continued to score with kicks until Miller took him down. Miller tried to pass to mount, but Alves scrambled from the bottom and eventually stood up, but not before Miller threatened with guillotine chokes. Both men landed power punches and Alves fought off a takedown attempt. 10-9 Miller.

Round 3:
Alves landed a nice body kick in round three and he countered Miller’s leg kicks with hard punches that knocked Miller off-balance. Alves kept the pressure on with left and right hooks, but Miller took him down. Miller tried for a guillotine choke and Alves stood up. Both men landed powerful body kicks and Miller secured another takedown. He attacked with a series of choke attempts and nearly mounted Alves in the final minute. Alves wound up in top position and he rained down punches until the bell. 10-9 Miller.

Winner: Jim Miller by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 28-8-0, 1 NC.

Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche vs Katlyn “Blonde Fighter” Chookagian

Round 1:
Chookagian kept her distance and landed jabs and leg kicks early on. Carmouche responded with two hard leg kicks of her own. She scored with a body kick and a pair of right hands in an exchange. Carmouche took Chookagian down against the base of the cage, but Chookagian countered with elbows and battled back to her feet. The fighters traded short strikes in close and Carmouche dumped Chookagian to the mat again. She landed punches and elbows to Chookagian’s temple until the bell. 10-9 Carmouche.

Round 2:
Carmouche punched her way into a clinch in round two, but she was unable to take Chookagian down. Carmouche caught a kick and used a side suplex to get Chookagian down into half-guard. She attacked with a top-side guillotine choke in a scramble, but Chookagian pulled her head free. The fight returned to the feet and Carmouche was relentless in her pursuit of takedowns. She countered Chookagian’s jabs with leg kicks, but Chookagian finished the round strong with a right hand. 10-9 Carmouche.

Round 3:
The final round began with Carmouche landing kick-punch combos, but Chookagian dropped her with a head kick and swarmed on her with punches. Carmouche clinched and bought time to recover against the cage. Chookagian broke free and landed flurries of punches. Carmouche tripped her against the cage and landed a knee to the face as Chookagian stood up. She scored with a series of leg kicks, but Chookagian cracked her with hard right hands. Carmouche shot in for a takedown before time expired. 10-9 Chookagian. Could be a 10-8.

Winner: Liz Carmouche by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. She improves to 11-5-0.