Tai “Bam Bam” Tuivasa vs Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve
Round 1:
Struve kept his distance and threw front kicks in the opening minute. Tuivasa closed in and landed two hooks before clinching with Struve against the cage. The fighters separated and both men landed right hooks. Struve landed a head kick and Tuivasa clinched once more. He landed punches over the top and Struve pushed him away. Both men landed leg kicks in the final minute and Tuivasa’s kicks had significantly greater power behind them. He backed Struve up with a hard flurry of punches and Struve dropped to a knee. Tuivasa continued to land hard punches as Struve rose to his feet and a crushing uppercut sent Struve crashing to the mat just before the end of the round.
Winner: Tai Tuivasa by TKO (Punches) at 4:59 of round one. He improves to 10-3-0.
Casey Kenney vs Nathaniel “The Prospect” Wood
Round 1:
After an early exchange of leg kicks, Wood landed a three-punch combo and both men continued to land leg kicks as the frenetic round progressed. Wood connected with a flurry and Kenney responded with a body kick. Wood landed three leg kicks and he countered a spinning back elbow attempt from Kenney with another one-two. Both men landed power punches and Wood scored with front kicks to the body. Kenney landed a leg kick and an overhand left late in the round, and both men scored with flurries before the bell. Excellent round. 10-9 Casey by a slim margin due to the late rally.
Round 2:
The pace remained very high in the second round and Kenney took an early lead in the striking exchanges with kick-punch combos. Wood responded with two leg kicks and a right hook. He continued to target Kenney’s lead leg and backed him up with a long jab. Kenney’s output began to slow down, but he connected with three punches to Wood’s jaw and then clinched in search of a takedown. Wood shrugged him off and Kenney lunged forward with a combination. Wood stayed out of Kenney’s range and landed a combination late in the close round. 10-9 Wood.
Round 3:
Kenney landed a left hook to the body in round three and both men scored with punches until Kenney took Wood’s back and dragged him down to the mat. Wood tried to stand up against the cage and Kenney stayed on his back while throwing short right hands to his face. Wood eventually stood up and broke free from Kenney’s grasp. He stuffed a takedown and both men landed jabs. Kenney backed Wood up with a left cross, but Wood responded with a lead left hook. Kenney pressed forward with two overhand punches and clinched with Wood before the bell. 10-9 Kenney. Decision could go either way.
Winner: Casey Kenney by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 16-2-1.
Shavkat “Nomad” Rakhmonov vs Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira
Round 1:
Oliveira opened the fight with an overhand right to the left eye of Rakhmonov, who kept his distance as Oliveira threw leg kicks and more lunging rights. This continued until Rakhmonov landed a hard knee to the bodyand he followed with punches as Oliveira backed up against the cage. A clinch followed and both men landed knees as Oliveira reversed the clinch and held Rakhmonov against the fence. The clinch battle continued until the final 30 seconds when Rakhmonov jumped into a guillotine choke as he pulled Oliveira down to the mat. Rakhmonov tightened the choke while trapping Oliveira in full guard and Oliveira tapped out.
Winner: Shavkat Rakhmonov by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:40 of round one. He improves to 13-0-0.
Da Un Jung vs “Smile’n” Sam Alvey
Round 1:
Alvey circled on the outside and countered Jung’s right hands with leg kicks and lead right hooks in the opening minute. Jung continued to chase Alvey down and he landed a hard flurry followed by a nice right hook. Soon after, Alvey landed another lead right hand and he followed with three punches in close. Alvey was poked in the left eye, but the fight continued on and Jung pressed forward with a combination. Power punches were exchanged late in the round and Alvey landed another right hook. He was poked in the right eye, but once again action continued on and Alvey connected with a final flurry before the bell. Close round. 10-9 Alvey.
Round 2:
The second round began with Alvey landing a hard one-two and Jung responded with three punches in return. The fighters continued to trade punches until Jung landed a body kick and Alvey backed him up with two lunging hooks. Alvey followed up on a leg kick with another one-two and he continued to throw right-left combos. He charged forward with a looping left hook and then resumed attacking Jung’s lead leg with kicks. Jung responded with three power hooks and Alvey began to bleed from his nose. He snapped Jung’s head back with a lead right uppercut and attempted a spinning back kick before the end of the round. 10-9 Alvey.
Round 3:
Jung dropped Alvey with an elbow early in the final round and he attacked with punches as Alvey got back to his feet against the cage. Alvey broke free from a clinch and he landed an uppercut followed by a series of punches while moving forward. Alvey landed two more uppercuts, but Jung stunned him with a forearm strike and a follow-up combination. The fighters clinched against the cage and Jung attempted a leg sweep takedown. Alvey defended well, but Jung cracked him with a hard elbow strike and Alvey backed up late in the round. 10-9 Jung. Close to a 10-8.
Result: Split Draw (29-28 [Jung], 29-28 [Alvey], 28-28) after three rounds. Jung moves to 13-2-1, while Alvey is now 33-14-1, 1 NC.
Miranda “Fear The” Maverick vs Liana “She Wolf” Jojua
Round 1:
Jojua countered early kicks from Maverick with overhand rights and she followed with a quick combination. Maverick changed tactics and flurried with punches that caused Jojua’s nose to begin to bleed. Strong left hands landed for Maverick, who mixed in body kicks as Jojua continued to throw overhand rights. In the final minute, Maverick scored with left hands and two step-in elbows that opened a big gash on the bridge of Jojua’s nose. Blood poured from her nose as the fighters traded punches before the bell. 10-9 Maverick.
Between rounds, the ringside doctor advised that the fight needed to be stopped, as the severe cut on the bridge of Jojua’s nose continued to bleed heavily and could not be sealed.
Winner: Miranda Maverick by TKO (Doctor Stoppage – Cut) at 5:00 of round one. She improves to 8-2-0.
Joel “El Fenomeno” Alvarez vs Alexander “Russian Thunder” Yakovlev
Round 1:
Alvarez landed a series of leg kicks early in the fight and he countered a Yakovlev takedown with a tight guillotine choke. Yakovlev stayed calm and eventually worked his way free. Both men landed punches on the ground and Alvarez spun into an armbar from the bottom. Yakovlev tried to pull his arm out, but Alvarez adjusted his grip and pulled back on the arm again, forcing Yakovlev to submit.
Winner: Joel Alvarez by Submission (Armbar) at 3:00 of round one. He improves to 18-2-0.