The Ultimate Fighting Championship wrapped up its latest series of events at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada today with UFC Fight Night 196: “Costa vs Vettori.” The event was headlined by a light heavyweight matchup between Paulo “The Eraser” Costa and Marvin “The Italian Dream” Vettori.
In the lightweight co-main event, Grant “KGD” Dawson took on Ricky “The Gladiator” Glenn. Elsewhere on the main card, Jessica-Rose “Jessy Jess” Clark battled Joselyne “La Pantera” Edwards Laboriel in a bantamweight bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for UFC Fight Night 196.
Marvin “The Italian Dream” Vettori vs Paulo “The Eraser” Costa
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Jason Herzog. Costa landed three body kicks in the opening minute, but Vettori knocked him off-balance with a counter left cross. Costa returned to his feet and Vettori landed another hard left hand. Costa landed a body kick and ate a one-two. Vettori flurried with punches and finished with a knee, and he kept the pressure on Costa with jabs and straight lefts. Another combination scored for Vettori and Costa was already noticeably slowing down. He landed a body kick and Vettori backed him up with a jab. Vettori landed two more quick combinations late in the round. 10-9 Vettori.
Round 2:
The second round opened with both men landing body kicks. Vettorifollowed with a flurry to the head and body, but Costa answered back with a hard right hook and a head kick. Vettori retreated, but he recovered quickly and landed a counter knee. Soon after, Vettori landed a body kick and an overhand left. Costa responded with a left hook to the liver and three more punches. Vettori countered a Costa left hook with a takedown into back control, but Costa stood back up. He turned into the clinch and the fighters separated. Time was then called when Vettori was poked in his left eye. Costa was docked one point and the fight continued. Vettori landed a combination and the fighters exchanged body kicks. Costa went high with a kick that Vettori blocked. Vettori backed Costa up to the cage with punches to the body and two elbows to Costa’s face. Vettori landed a left hand and Costa immediately fired back with a right hook. Close round. 9-9 due to the point deduction.
Round 3:
Vettori was the aggressor in the third round and he landed punches to Costa’s head and body. Costa just barely missed with a spinning wheel kick and landed a follow-up right hook. Vettori jabbed and Costa landed a body kick. Vettori followed up on a body kick with two straight lefts. Costa overcame a hard knee from Vettori and took him down. He stood over Vettori and landed punches, then tried to pull guard with a guillotine choke as Vettori stood up. Costa lost the position and wound up on the bottom. Vettori spent the final minute on top. 10-9 Vettori.
Round 4:
Costa opened round four with a hard kick to the body, but Vettori barely flinched and he punched his way into a clinch. Costa pushed him away and both men landed left hooks. Vettori followed with a knee to the body and Costa grazed with a head kick. Vettori backed Costa up again with a flurry of punches to the body. Costa weathered the storm and he landed two big right hands in return. Vettori used his jab to set up a left cross and Costa continued to land body kicks. Vettori landed a knee to Costa’s groin, but the fight was allowed to continue and Vettori cracked him with a hard left hand. Costa stuffed a takedown and he landed another body kick. 10-9 Vettori.
Round 5:
The final round began with Costa landing a right hook and a head kick, which Vettori promptly countered with a combination. Costa landed a vicious kick to the body and Vettori took a step backwards. Costa attacked with more body kicks and he stuffed a takedown attempt. Vettori tied him up in a clinch, but Costa was able to break free and he landed a strong right hand to Vettori’s jaw. Vettori tried again for a takedown and Costa defended well once more. Body kicks were exchanged and Costa landed two right hooks. He went high with a head kick that was partially blocked. Costa landed another right hand and a solid leg kick, but Vettori clinched and held him against the fence until the end of the fight. 10-9 Costa.
Winner: Marvin Vettori by Unanimous Decision (48-46, 48-46, 48-46) after five rounds. He improves to 18-5-1.
Grant “KGD” Dawson vs Ricky “The Gladiator” Glenn
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Mike Beltran. Glenn landed a hard liver kick early in the fight and Grant responded by taking him down into side control. He took Glenn’s back and trapped him in a body triangle while throwing punches to the sides of Glenn’s head. Dawson tried to set up a rear-naked choke and he briefly flattened Glenn out in the final minute. Glenn rolled, but Dawson maintained the body triangle all the way until the bell. 10-9 Dawson.
Round 2:
Glenn fought off two takedown attempts in the second round, but Dawson got him down on his third try and struck from the top with short punches to Glenn’s head and body. He eventually passed to side control with two minutes to go and landed more elbows to Glenn’s face. Dawson secured a shoulder choke that had Glenn in some trouble, but Glenn held on and Dawson remained on top. 10-9 Dawson.
Round 3:
Glenn stuffed two takedowns and landed knees to Dawson’s chest in round three. Dawson resorted to trying to pull guard, but Glenn landed hammerfists from Dawson’s half-guard. He tried to set up a shoulder choke of his own, which Dawson had attempted in the previous round, but Dawson easily avoided danger. Glenn punched from top position and he switched to elbows in the final minute. An exhausted Dawson tried to kick Glenn off, but Glenn battered him with right hands and then locked on a Brabo choke until the bell. 10-8 Glenn due to the dominant final round.
Result: Majority Draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28) after three rounds. Dawson moves to 17-1-1, while Glenn is now 22-6-2.
Jessica-Rose “Jessy Jess” Clark vs Joselyne “La Pantera” Edwards Laboriel
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Keith Peterson. Clark immediately clinched and took Edwards down into half-guard. Edwards got to full guard and then tied Clark up from the bottom. Clark landed short left hands to Edwards’s face and the fighters were stood up. Clark clinched and took Edwards down again, but this time Edwards rolled through and she quickly escaped to her feet. Edwards landed knees to Clark’s thigh and just missed with a head kick on the break. Clark countered a flurry of punches from Edwards with another takedown late in the round. 10-9 Clark.
Round 2:
The second round began with a clinch against the cage as the fighters battled for position and exchanged knees to the body. Clark got Edwards down into half-guard and then passed to full mount with just over two minutes remaining. She landed short elbows from the top until Edwards scrambled and kicked her off. Edwards stood and threw a switch kick to the body before the bell. 10-9 Clark.
Round 3:
Early in the final round, Clark took Edwards down and she held her there as Edwards offered occasional elbows from the bottom. Clark passed to half-guard and she prevented Edwards from getting back up, but very little offence occurred on the ground. Clark remained on top until the end of the fight. 10-9 Clark.
Winner: Jessica-Rose Clark by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 11-6-0, 1 NC.
Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Caceres vs Seung Woo “Sting” Choi
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Jason Herzog. Choi landed a hard right cross in the opening minute and Caceres quickly circled away as Choi looked to follow up with more punches. As Caceres threw a body kick, Choi floored him with a big right hook. Choi dove in with more punches on the ground, but a dazed Caceres got to his knees and tried to stand up. While Caceres still had one knee down on the canvas, Choi landed an illegal knee to his face. Caceres was badly rocked by the illegal blow. Time was called and Choi was docked one point. Caceres was given time to recover and the fight continued. Choi landed a right cross and a body kick. Caceres landed a kick to Choi’s ribs and he followed that with an overhand left. Choi landed a hard right cross as the round entered its final minute. He knocked Caceres off-balance with a counter right in the dying seconds. 9-9.
Round 2:
Caceres landed a left cross and fell while attempting a head kick in round two. He rose to his feet and Choi closed the distance with a three-punch combo. Neither fighter landed anything significant until the midway point in the round when Choi scored with a head kick. Caceres took his back and jumped into a standing body triangle. He locked on a rear-naked choke and pulled Choi down to the mat, forcing Choi to submit.
Winner: Alex Caceres by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:31 of round two. He improves to 19-12-0, 1 NC.
Francisco “Massaranduba” Trinaldo vs Dwight “The Body Snatcher” Grant
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Chris Tognoni. Trinaldo landed a straight left hand early in the fight, but Grant fired back with a right cross and a lead left hook. Both men landed lead leg kicks and Trinaldo connected with an overhand left. Grant blocked a head kick and the fighters traded single punches as Grant circled to his left. Trinaldo scored with a left cross and he backed Grant up with an overhand left. Grant blocked another head kick, but Trinaldo closed out the round with a lead right hook. 10-9 Trinaldo due to the strong second half of the round.
Round 2:
Trinaldo was warned for outstretching his fingers in the second round and Grant countered a head kick attempt with a right cross. Seconds later, as Trinaldo attempted another head kick, Grant dropped him with a counter right and followed with more punches on the ground. Trinaldo recovered very quickly and he got back to his feet. Grant resumed circling to his left and Trinaldo landed a leg kick. He clinched and took Grant’s back, but Grant remained on his feet and Trinaldo threw knees to his thigh. Grant turned into the clinch and he broke free with 15 seconds remaining. Trinaldo landed a combination and Grant responded with a right-left combo at the bell. Close round. 10-9 Grant.
Round 3:
Time was called seconds into the final round when Grant was kicked in the groin. The fight continued after a minute and Grant was immediately poked badly in the eye by one of Trinaldo’s outstretched fingers. He dropped to the ground in obvious pain and time was called again. Trinaldo was docked one point for the infraction. Action eventually resumed and Trinaldo landed a lead right hook. He countered a right hand from Grant with a takedown into Grant’s half-guard. Trinaldo passed to mount in the final 90 seconds, but Grant scrambled back to half-guard. Trinaldo took mount once more and he landed an elbow and a punch before Grant gave up his back. He rolled over again and Trinaldo landed a few more punches from mount. 9-9.
Winner: Francisco Trinaldo by Split Decision (29-27, 29-27, 27-29) after three rounds. He improves to 27-8-0.
Nicolae “Nick” Negumereanu vs Isaac “Hurricane Ike” Villanueva
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Mike Beltran. Negumereanu clinched earl in the fight, but Villanueva punched his way free. The fighters continued to trade heavy punches and both men landed big shots. As Villanueva backed up, Negumereanu landed a hook behind his ear that dropped Villanueva to his knees. Negumereanu then unloaded with hammerfists to the side and back of Villanueva’s head, including three that appeared to be illegal strikes, and the fight was waved off. Villanueva protested the stoppage due to strikes hitting the back of his head.
Winner: Nicolae Negumereanu by TKO (Punches) at 1:18 of round one. He improves to 11-1-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)