The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona tonight for UFC on ESPN 1: “Ngannou vs Velasquez.” The event was headlined by a heavyweight contender’s bout between Francis “The Predator” Ngannou and returning former champion Cain Velasquez.
In the lightweight co-main event, James “The Texecutioner” Vick took on Paul “The Irish Dragon” Felder. Cortney “Cast Iron” Casey battled Cynthia Calvillo in strawweight action, and Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Caceres met Kron Gracie at 145. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the main card.
Francis “The Predator” Ngannou vs Cain Velasquez
Round 1:
Velasquez rushed at Ngannou with punches right away, but he ate a counter hook on the way in and fell awkwardly on his left knee. Ngannou landed two hammerfists on the ground and the brief fight was immediately stopped.
Winner: Francis Ngannou by TKO (Punches) at 0:26 of round one. He improves to 13-3-0.
Paul “The Irish Dragon” Felder vs James “The Texecutioner” Vick
Round 1:
A big right hook landed for Felder early on and Vick responded with a lead left hand. Both men connected with one-twos and Vick began to establish his jab. Felder chopped away with leg kicks and he mixed things up with punch-kick combos. Vick jabbed and missed with a head kick attempt, but he reversed a clinch against the cage and circled away. Felder scored with a spinning backfist and a lunging left hook that wobbled Vick late in the round. 10-9 Felder.
Round 2:
Felder just missed with a spinning hook kick in the second round and Vick took advantage by locking on a guillotine choke. Felder broke free, but Vick maintained a clinch against the fence and he landed a nice right hand before backing away. Vick landed a one-two and Felder fired back with leg kicks and an overhand right. Vick landed his best combination of the fight, but Felder recovered quickly and the fighters clinched again. Felder broke free and he lunged in with left-right combos that came up short. He landed a hard leg kick, however, and Vick switched stances. 10-9 Vick.
Round 3:
The final round began with Felder landing more leg kicks and he followed with a spinning back kick to the liver. Vick walked forward with punches and Felder clinched briefly. He kicked at both of Vick’s legs and Vick began to noticeably limp. He landed a right hand and ate a one-two from Felder in return. A big left hook rocked Vick, but he recovered quickly and circled away. Vick scored with a right hook and clinched against the cage. Felder pushed him away and landed a spinning back elbow to the jaw as Vick jumped in with a knee. Vick stayed on his feet and Felder initiated a clinch. Vick broke free and landed two body kicks late in the round. 10-9 Felder.
Winner: Paul Felder by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 16-4-0.
Cynthia Calvillo vs Cortney “Cast Iron” Casey
Round 1:
Calvillo opened the fight with leg kicks and followed with a knee-punch combo. Looping hooks were exchanged and both women landed leg kicks. Calvillo followed with another punch-hook combo and Casey replied with short flurries. Calvillo caught a kick and dumped Casey to the mat, but allowed her to stand and began to target the body with punches. Calvillo connected with a handful of punches in the final 30 seconds. 10-9 Calvillo.
Round 2:
Calvillo mixed up her strikes with jabs and leg kicks in the second round, and she followed with an overhand right. Calvillo caught a kick and landed two punches before Casey broke free. Calvillo clinched and tried to take her back in search of a rear-naked choke. Casey turned into the clinch and backed away, but Calvillo continued to oustrike her with one-twos and jabs. Both women landed leg kicks and Casey landed the more damaging strikes. Calvillo cracked her with a hard right hand shortly before the bell. 10-9 Calvillo.
Round 3:
Casey targeted Calvillo’s lead leg with kicks in round three, which kept Calvillo off-balance and prevented her from landing any damaging punches. More kicks landed for Casey and Calvillo was unable to take her down. Casey landed a combination and Calvillo responded with a lunging right hand. Power punches were exchanged and Casey landed another hard leg kick. Calvillo connected with a right hook just as Casey cracked her with a lead left hand. The fight ended with both women throwing heavy punches. 10-9 Casey.
Winner: Cynthia Calvillo by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 8-1-0.
Kron Gracie vs Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Caceres
Round 1:
Caceres landed a chopping leg kick to open the fight and Gracie fired back with a one-two that forced Caceres to retreat. Gracie took his back and dragged him down to the mat. He locked on a tight rear-naked choke and Caceres reluctantly tapped out.
Winner: Kron Gracie by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:06 of round one. He improves to 5-0-0.
Vicente “The Silent Assassin” Luque vs Bryan “Bam Bam” Barberena
Round 1:
Power punches were exchanged in the opening 30 seconds and Luque followed with leg kicks. Barberena landed jab-kick combos in return, but Luque backed him up against the cage with big flurries of left and right hooks. Barberena weathered the storm and stepped in with an elbow, but Luque landed again with two left hooks and a straight right. Barberena ate another right hand and dropped Luque with a counter left. He followed with more punches on the ground, but Luque quickly recovered and scrambled into back control. He trapped Barberena in a rear-naked choke, but Barberena refused to submit and spun his way free. Luque secured a Brabo choke and Barberena freed himself with a salvo of elbows at the bell. 10-9 Luque.
Round 2:
Barberena struck first with a combination in round two and he backed Luque up with another lengthy flurry. Luque countered with two standing elbows that halted Barberena’s forward momentum. Both men landed elbows and Barberena mixed up his strikes with punches to the head and body. He outstruck Luque with combinations and continued to throw varied punches. Barberena landed two combinations and Luque finally dropped him with a knee. 10-9 Barberena.
Round 3:
Luque landed a spinning hook kick in the final round, but Barberena was unfazed and he pressed forward with left and right hooks. A nice one-two landed for Barberena and he followed up with a long combination of punches and a back elbow. Both men landed one-twos and elbows, and Luque followed with a head kick. Barberena countered a head kick with a left cross and Luque responded with a hard right hand. Barberena peppered him with punches, but Luque pressed forward with a combination and landed two huge knees in the final ten seconds that dropped Barberena to the mat. He swarmed on a dazed Barberena with left hands until referee Jason Herzog waved off the fight.
Winner: Vicente Luque by TKO (Knees & Punches) at 4:54 of round three. He improves to 15-6-1.
Andre “Touchy” Fili vs Myles “Fury” Jury
Round 1:
Fili opened the action with leg kicks and a nice right hand. Jury eventually connected with an overhand right of his own, but his noce began to bleed heavily from the force of Fili’s jabs. Punch-kick combos continued to land for Fili and the fighters traded jabs. Fili countered two jabs from Jury with a leg kick and a right hand over the top. A left hook landed for Jury and Fili responded with a head kick. Both men landed right hooks late in the round. 10-9 Fili.
Round 2:
The second round began with Fili targeting Jury’s damaged nose and he landed quick combinations early on. Jury struggled to land anything as Fili kept him at bay with his jab. Jury finally connected with an overhand right and two jabs that bloodied Fili’s nose. More jabs were exchanged and both men landed body kicks. A spinning backfist dropped Fili and Jury dove on him with punches and hammerfists. Fili held on as Jury passed to mount and dropped elbows. Fili scrambled back to full guard before the bell. 10-9 Jury.
Round 3:
Fili jabbed to begin the final round and Jury replied with leg kicks. More jabs and one-twos scored for Fili as Jury once again struggled to find his range. Jury lunged in with a left hook and Fili snapped his head back with two jabs. The round progressed with Fili continuing to land jabs that stifled Jury’s offence. In the final 45 seconds, Jury landed a right hook and the fighters traded combinations shortly before the end of the fight. 10-9 Fili.
Winner: Andre Fili by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 19-6-0.