The Ultimate Fighting Championship stayed at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 256: “Figueiredo vs Moreno.” The event featured a UFC Flyweight Championship bout between champion Deiveson “Deus da Guerra” Figueiredo and challenger Brandon “The Assassin Baby” Moreno.
In the lightweight co-main event, Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson took on fellow contender Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira. Also on the main card, Mackenzie Dern met fellow grappler Virna “Carcará” Jandiroba in featured action at strawweight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for UFC 256 tonight.
UFC Flyweight Championship
Deiveson “Deus da Guerra” Figueiredo vs Brandon “The Assassin Baby” Moreno
Round 1:
Figueiredo opened the action with a spinning back kick to the body and he followed with two jabs. Moreno fought off a takedown attempt and he dragged Figueiredo down, but Figueiredo stood up right away. Jabs were exchanged and both men landed hooks to the body. Figueiredo scored with a right hook to the temple and a short left to Moreno’s jaw. He snapped Moreno’s head back with a jab and Moreno fell after missing with a head kick attempt. Moreno countered a Figueiredo right hook with another head kick, but it did not slow down Figueiredo’s offence. A combination and a standing elbow scored for Figueiredo, which led to an exchange of head kicks. Figueiredo cracked Moreno with left and right hooks, but Moreno was unfazed and he circled away. Good round. 10-9 Figueiredo.
Round 2:
Early in the second round, Figueiredo landed a spinning back kick to the body and Moreno quickly fired back with a quick one-two. Figueiredo closed in with heavy punches and he followed with a leg kick. Figueiredo countered a standing elbow from Figueiredo by taking him down. Figueiredo pushed Moreno off and poked him in the eye in the process. Time was called to allow Moreno to recover. The fight continued on the ground and Figueiredo rose to his feet. Hard right hands were exchanged and Figueiredo followed with a lunging left. A body kick scored for Figueiredo, but Moreno responded with a nice right hand. Figueiredo flurried with punches and damaged Moreno’s right eye, but Moreno took him down. Figueiredo stood up and both men landed punches late in the round. 10-9 Figueiredo.
Round 3:
Both men landed body kicks early in round three and Figueiredo chased after Moreno with punches to the head and body. He attacked Moreno’s ribs on both sides with kicks and right hooks, but Moreno landed a nice combination in return and he clinched with Figueiredo against the cage. Figueiredo broke free and he the fighters exchanged left hooks. Figueiredo stepped forward with lead elbows and left hooks, but Moreno was game and he countered with right hands in close. Time was called soon after when Moreno was kicked hard in the groin. The fight did continue after a delay and Figueiredo was docked one point. Figueiredo took Moreno down and he looked for a guillotine choke as Moreno worked back to his feet. Moreno landed an overhand right late in the round. Very close round. 9-9 due to the point deduction.
Round 4:
Hard punches were exchanged in the fourth round and Moreno stunned Figueiredo with a head kick. He took Figueiredo down and briefly struck from the top, but Figueiredo returned to his feet and he landed a lead left elbow and a power hook. Moreno recovered and rocked Figueiredo with a big combination of his own. Figueiredo regained his composure and he teed off with hooks to the body and head. Moreno took him down and Figueiredo threw elbows from the bottom. Figueiredo stood up late in the round and Moreno chased after him with punches. Another close round. 10-9 Moreno.
Round 5:
Figueiredo landed three looping hooks in the opening minute of round five and Moreno’s output slowed way down. He appeared to have suffered a left arm injury at some point in the fourth round and a large lump was visible on his forearm. Figueiredo threw single haymakers and leg kicks as Moreno moved forward. Both men landed jabs and Moreno initiated a clinch. Figueiredo threw Moreno down to the mat and he struck from the top with punches until the end of the fight. 10-9 Figueiredo. Scores could be all over the place due to the point deduction and close rounds.
Result: Majority Draw (48-46 [Figueiredo], 47-47, 47-47) after five rounds. Figueiredo moves to 20-1-1 and remains the UFC Flyweight Champion, while Moreno is now 18-5-2.
Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira vs Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson
Round 1:
Oliveira scored with a powerful leg kick early in the fight and he backed Ferguson up with a combination. Ferguson planted his feet and fired back with a one-two, but Oliveira remained aggressive and he landed a head kick. Ferguson responded with right hooks and an uppercut, but he was slammed down to the ground and Oliveira tried to set up a top-side guillotine choke from mount. Ferguson nearly got back to half-guard, but Oliveira mounted him again after landing a forearm strike from the top. Oliveira landed occasional elbows from mount and he maintained the position as Ferguson tried to buck and escape from the bottom. Oliveira spun into a tight armbar in the final seconds and he switched to a straight armbar that appeared to hyperextend Ferguson’s left arm just before the bell. 10-8 Oliveira.
Round 2:
Oliveira caught a kick and dumped Ferguson to the mat in round two. He stacked him against the base of the cage and time was called when Ferguson landed an illegal upkick. The strike further opened a cut above Oliveira’s left eye that formed seconds earlier when Ferguson landed an elbow before he was taken down. Action continued with Oliveira on top and he landed elbows before moving to side control. Ferguson rolled for a kneebar and Oliveira threw punches and knees to his ribs. Oliveira moved to North-South position and Ferguson tied him up from the bottom. Oliveira was unable to break Ferguson’s grip, but he threw short right hands to Ferguson’s face until the end of the round. 10-9 Oliveira.
Round 3:
Early in the final round, Oliveira caught another kick from Ferguson and he took him down into half-guard. Oliveira passed to side control and then stepped over to mount. Ferguson kicked off of the cage to escape, but he put himself in a triangle choke. Oliveira threw elbows from the bottom, then released the triangle in favour of taking top position in side control again. He retained the position throughout the final 90 seconds and landed forearm strikes and elbows to Ferguson’s face. 10-8 Oliveira.
Winner: Charles Oliveira by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26) after three rounds. He improves to 30-8-0, 1 NC.
Mackenzie Dern vs Virna “Carcará” Jandiroba
Round 1:
Both women landed punching combinations early in the fight as Dern pressed forward and Jandiroba circled to her right. Dern landed a hard right hook and she followed up soon after with a lengthy flurry of punches. This led to a clinch against the cage and Dern remained aggressive with short punches and knees in close. The fighters traded combinations late in the round and Dern scored again with uppercuts and knees in the clinch. 10-9 Dern.
Round 2:
Dern used her jab to set up right hands in the second round and Jandiroba countered with short right hooks and uppercuts in close. Punches were exchanged and time was called when Jandiroba was poked in the eye. Action eventually resumed and Jandiroba landed a hard knee to Dern’s nose that immediately caused blood to pour out of it. Dern’s nose appeared to be broken and Jandiroba slammed her down to the mat against the base of the cage. Jandiroba landed hammerfists from the top and Dern attempted a heel hook just as time expired. 10-9 Jandiroba.
Round 3:
Despite her damaged nose, Dern was the aggressor again in round three and she landed jab-hook combos early on. Jandiroba responded with lead right hooks, but Dern stunned her with a right hand of her own and that led to a clinch. Jandiroba quickly recovered and she took Dern down. Dern kicked her off and the fight returned to the feet. Jandiroba landed hard jabs and step-in elbows, but Dern responded with a body kick. She landed another one soon after and both women scored with jabs. Dern clinched and Jandiroba threw elbows to the side of her head. Jandiroba jumped into an omoplata and Dern used hammerfists from the top to escape. Close, back-and-forth final round. 10-9 Dern by a slim margin.
Winner: Mackenzie Dern by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 10-1-0.
Kevin “Trailblazer” Holland vs Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza
Round 1:
Souza caught a leg kick and took Holland down in the opening seconds, but Holland attacked with elbows from the bottom and he rose to his feet against the cage. Souza postured for a guillotine choke and Souza slammed him down to the ground. Holland hurt him with one right hand from the bottom, then followed with two more and Souza flopped backwards unconscious. Sensational victory for Holland.
Winner: Kevin Holland by KO (Punches) at 1:45 of round one. He improves to 21-5-0.
Ciryl “Bon Gamin” Gane vs Junior “Cigano” dos Santos
Round 1:
Gane secured a front headlock early in the fight and he used it to back dos Santos up against the cage. Gane landed a knee and dos Santos circled away. Gane threw kicks to dos Santos’s leg and body as dos Santos was content to counter with punches. Gane threw a head kick and he just missed with an uppercut. Time was called when dos Santos was kicked in the groin. The fight continued and Gane targeted dos Santos’s lead leg with chopping kicks. He followed with a liver kick and both men landed right hooks at the same time. In the final minute, Gane landed jabs and leg kicks from a distance, but dos Santos cracked him with two hard right hands late in the round. 10-9 Gane.
Round 2:
The second round began with Gane landing more kicks to the inside and outside of dos Santos’s left leg. A clinch followed and Gane held dos Santos against the fence momentarily. The fighters separated and Gane hurt dos Santos with a hard leg kick. He followed with an overhand right and a stiff jab that stunned dos Santos, who circled to his right. Gane dropped him with an elbow to the side of the head and he landed two punches on the ground before the fight was stopped.
Winner: Ciryl Gane by TKO (Elbow & Punches) at 2:34 of round two. He improves to 7-0-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)