The Ultimate Fighting Championship remained at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC on ESPN 21: “Brunson vs Holland.” The event was headlined by a middleweight contender’s bout between Derek Brunson and Kevin “Trailblazer” Holland, who both brought impressive winning streaks.
Due to a late fight cancellation, Kenan “The Assassin” Song squared off against Max “Pain” Griffin in the weltwerweight co-feature. At strawweight, Cheyanne “The Warrior Princess” Buys faced Montserrat “Conejo” Ruiz. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s UFC on ESPN 21 card.
Derek Brunson vs Kevin “Trailblazer” Holland
Round 1:
Brunson struck first with a body kick and Holland landed a front kick to his face in return. Holland slipped soon after and Brunson dropped him with a straight left. He entered Holland’s guard and punched from the top while Holland looked to set up a submission from his back. Brunson continued to work from Holland’s guard throughout the second half of the round and he stayed busy with short punches and elbows. In the final ten seconds, Brunson landed two left hands as Holland finally got back to his feet. 10-9 Brunson.
Round 2:
Brunson secured a body lock in the second round and he landed a knee to the body before Holland broke free and spun around. Holland hurt Brunson with two right hooks and Brunson fell to a knee after missing with a looping hook in return. He rose to his feet and landed two hard punches of his own, then took Holland down into mount. Holland gave up his back and Brunson transitioned from there to a far-side arm-triangle choke in Holland’s half-guard. He passed to side control and tightened the choke, but Holland threw his legs up and he was able to roll backward and stand up. Brunson scored another takedown and he stayed on top until the bell. 10-9 Brunson.
Round 3:
The third round began with Holland landing a nice right hand and he followed with another one. Brunson clinched and took Holland down, then fought off an armbar and tried to pass to side control. Holland retained full guard and Brunson landed occasional hammerfists from the top. Holland used a body triangle to prevent Brunson from posturing up. Brunson was more active with his ground and pound in the final minute, and he landed punches to both sides of Holland’s head. 10-9 Brunson.
Round 4:
Holland landed a lead left hook that appeared to wobble Brunson in round four, and he followed up with right hands until Brunson secured a clinch and a takedown. Brunson moved from side control to Holland’s back. Holland stood up very briefly and Brunson took him down again. From the top, Brunson stayed just busy enough with punches to Holland’s face and body to avoid being stood up. A hard elbow scored for Brunson and Holland battled back to his feet. The round ended with a clinch battle against the cage. 10-9 Brunson.
Round 5:
Brunson landed a left hook and a head kick early in the final round and he clinched after landing two more left hands. Holland countered with a takedown of his own and he threw hammerfists from the top. Brunson tried to tie Holland up from the bottom and Holland responded with punches to the body. He picked Brunson up from the mat and slammed him back down. Holland postured up with harder punches and Brunson kicked him off. The fight returned to the feet and Brunson scored a takedown against the cage. Brunson stood up late in the round and he threw a head kick that was blocked before the bell. Close final round. 10-9 Holland.
Winner: Derek Brunson by Unanimous Decision (49-45, 49-46, 49-46) after five rounds. He improves to 22-7-0.
Max “Pain” Griffin vs Kenan “The Assassin” Song
Round 1:
Both men landed power punches in the opening minute and Song broke free from a clinch after Griffin tied him up against the cage. Song landed a jab, a right hook and a body kick, but Griffin countered a leg kick with an overhand right. Song backed up to the cage and Griffin faceplanted him with a brutal left-right combo to end the fight.
Winner: Max Griffin by KO (Punches) at 2:20 of round one. He improves to 17-8-0.
Montserrat “Conejo” Ruiz vs Cheyanne “The Warrior Princess” Buys
Round 1:
Big punches were exchanged right away and Ruiz clinched with Buys against the cage. Ruiz got Buys down into the scarf hold position and threw short left hands to Buys’s face. Ruiz prevented Buys from scrambling free and she continued to land punches as Buys’s face turned red. Ruiz switched to a scarf hold choke position and Buys could do little more than hold on. Throughout the final minute, Ruiz continued to try for scarf hold chokes. She rolled over just before the bell and Buys took her back. 10-9 Ruiz. Could be a 10-8.
Round 2:
Buys fought off a clinch attempt and landed a six-punch combination early in the second round. Ruiz punched her way into another clinch and got Buys down into the scarf hold position again. Ruiz resumed throwing short left hands to Buys’s face and she trapped her in a scarf hold armlock. Buys got her legs up around Ruiz’s head to alleviate pressure and that allowed Buys to briefly scramble up to her feet. Ruiz took her right back down into the scarf hold position, but Buys was able to escape out the back and she took top position in mount just before the bell. 10-9 Ruiz.
Round 3:
The final round began with Buys landing a one-two and Ruiz responded with a lead right hook. Ruiz landed a counter uppercut and another right hook as Buys moved forward. Buys answered with a body kick and a knee soon after. Another right hand scored for Buys, but Ruiz landed a combination in return and threw her back down into the scarf hold position. Buys clasped her hands together to prevent Ruiz from securing a scarf hold armlock and a scramble for position followed. Buys wound up on the bottom and Ruiz scored with hammerfists from Buys’s full guard. 10-9 Ruiz.
Winner: Montserrat Ruiz by Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 10-1-0.
Adrian Yanez vs Gustavo Lopez
Round 1:
Lopez landed an early left hook and he just missed with an overhand left as Yanez scored with a body kick. A hard right hand landed for Yanez, who followed with another one soon after. He lunged forward with a lead right hook and ate a strong right hand in return that stopped him in his tracks. Yanez closed the distance and landed a left-right combo that knocked Lopez off-balance momentarily. Yanez followed up with a lead left hook and a combination late in the round. 10-9 Yanez.
Round 2:
Yanez countered Lopez’s forward pressure with jabs and lead left hooks in the second round. He dropped Lopez with a three-punch combo and followed with more punches after Lopez returned to his feet. Lopez recovered quickly and circled away as Yanez stayed calm and threw single strikes. In the final minute, Yanez targeted Lopez’s body with kicks. 10-9 Yanez.
Round 3:
Seconds into the final round, Lopez darted forward with a one-two and Yanez countered perfectly with a right hook that dropped Lopez face-first and prompted referee Chris Tognoni to wave off the fight.
Winner: Adrian Yanez by KO (Punch) at 0:27 of round three. He improves to 13-3-0.
Tai “Bam Bam” Tuivasa vs Harry “The Hurricane” Hunsucker
Round 1:
A lead right hook landed for Hunsucker early on, but Tuivasa responded with four hard leg kicks and he hunt Hunsucker with an overhand right. Another right hand sent Hunsucker crashing to the canvas and Tuivasa rained down punches until the brief fight was stopped.
Winner: Tai Tuivasa by TKO (Punches) at 0:49 of round one. He improves to 11-3-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)