The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC on ESPN 39: “dos Anjos vs Fiziev.” The event was headlined by a lightweight matchup between former UFC champion Rafael dos Anjos and Rafael “Ataman” Fiziev, who had won five straight fights.
In the middleweight co-main event, Caio Borralho faced off against Armen “Superman” Petrosyan. Elsewhere on tonight’s main card, Douglas “D’Silva” Silva de Andrade took on Said Nurmagomedov in a featured bantamweight matchup. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for UFC on ESPN 39.
Rafael “Ataman” Fiziev vs Rafael dos Anjos
Round 1:
The fight opened with an exchange of body kicks and dos Anjos just missed with a left hook. He clinched with Fiziev against the fence, but Fiziev broke free with just over two minutes remaining. Fiziev landed a body kick and he flurried with punches. Dos Anjos landed a leg kick and he shot in for a takedown, but Fiziev stayed on his feet. The fighters separated late in the round and Fiziev backed dos Anjos up with a hard three-punch combo. 10-9 Fiziev due to damage.
Round 2:
Fiziev caught a body kick from dos Anjos and clinched momentarily. When the fighters separated, dos Anjos was poked in the eye and time was called. Action resumed soon after and dos Anjos blocked a head kick. He took Fiziev’s back and Fiziev turned into the clinch. Fiziev broke away and dos Anjos jabbed. Fiziev flurried to the body and head, but dos Anjos clinched after landing a body kick. Fiziev reversed a takedown attempt and the fighters clinched against the cage. Dos Anjos landed a knee to the body on the break. With just over 30 seconds to go, Fiziev landed an overhand left and a three-punch combo to the body. 10-9 Fiziev.
Round 3:
Dos Anjos was bleeding very heavily from his right forearm between rounds due to blocking a kick from Fiziev late in round two. That did not deter him from clinching with Fiziev and working for a takedown in round three. He got Fiziev down to a knee very briefly, but Fiziev stood and dos Anjos held him against the cage. Fiziev reversed the clinch and dos Anjos landed a knee to the body on the break. Fiziev held dos Anjos in another clinch and dos Anjos circled away again. A jumping knee landed for Fiziev, who flurried to the body and then landed leg and body kicks. Right hooks were exchanged late in the round. 10-9 Fiziev.
Round 4:
Fiziev fought off two takedown attempts from dos Anjos in the fourth round. He held dos Anjos against the cage until dos Anjos pushed him away. Dos Anjos landed a jumping switch knee and a left hook, which prompted Fiziev to tie him up in another clinch. After the fighters separated, dos Anjos almost got a takedown. Fiziev balanced on one leg and escaped from dos Anjos’s grasp. Dos Anjos picked Fiziev up seconds later and slammed him down. Fiziev only managed to get back to his feet with a few seconds remaining and dos Anjos cracked him with an elbow. 10-9 dos Anjos.
Round 5:
Dos Anjos landed a left hand early in the final round, but Fiziev dropped him with a counter left hook. Dos Anjos collapsed and Fiziev landed two right hands that appeared to knock him out for a second, which prompted referee Mark Smith to stop the fight.
Winner: Rafael Fiziev by KO (Punches) at 0:18 of round five. He improves to 12-1-0.
Caio Borralho vs Armen “Superman” Petrosyan
Round 1:
Borralho struck first with a head kick and a one-two combo before taking Petrosyan down. He took Petrosyan’s back and worked for rear-naked chokes. Petrosyan defended and Borralho spent the entire remainder of the round hunting for chokes from back control. 10-9 Borralho.
Round 2:
Petrosyan began round two with kicks to Borralho’s upper body. Borralho took him down and he passed to side control. Borralho then mounted Petrosyan, but Petrosyan swept into top position and then stood up. Petrosyan kicked at Borralho’s legs until Borralho was stood up. Petrosyan landed a leg kick and a right hook. Borralho secured another takedown and he took back control again. Once more, Borralho spent the remainder of the round trying to set up a rear-naked choke. 10-9 Borralho.
Round 3:
Petrosyan pressed the action with leg and body kicks in the final round. Borralho clinched with him and threw knees to Petrosyan’s thigh. Borralho used an ill-advised leglock attempt to try to pull Petrosyan down to the ground. That failed, and Petrosyan stood over Borralho while kicking at his legs. Borralho was stood up and he got Petrosyan down with a double-leg takedown. Petrosyan stood against the cage and Borralho held him in place while kneeing him in the thigh. Petrosyan pushed him away and landed a body kick just before the bell. Lacklustre final round and fight. 10-9 Borralho, barely, but the round could easily go to Petrosyan.
Winner: Caio Borralho by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 12-1-0, 1 NC.
Said Nurmagomedov vs Douglas “D’Silva” Silva de Andrade
Round 1:
Silva de Andrade tied Nurmagomedov up in a clinch against the cage until Nurmagomedov reversed it and landed a left hook on the break. Nurmagomedov grazed with a head kick and then threw a spinning back kick to the body. Silva de Andrade lunged forward with a left uppercut as Nurmagomedov ducked for a takedown and that briefly dropped Nurmagomedov to a knee. Another left hand landed for Silva de Andrade and Nurmagomedov jumped into a flying head kick attempt. He took Silva de Andrade down into side control just before the bell. Close round. 10-9 Nurmagomedov.
Round 2:
Nurmagomedov opened round two with a leg kick and a right hook. Silva de Andrade ducked his head and walked forward with a winging overhand right. He attempted another one, but Nurmagomedov sidestepped. Nurmagomedov landed a head kick and a liver kick, but Silva de Andrade continued to move forward. Nurmagomedov threw a question mark kick that landed behind Silva de Andrade’s ear. Silva de Andrade caught another kick, but Nurmagomedov landed two right hooks while balancing on one leg. Two more right hands scored for Nurmagomedov, but he was not able to take Silva de Andrade down. Silva de Andrade ducked into a knee, but he dropped Nurmagomedov with a spinning backfist late in the round. Another close round due to the late knockdown. Still 10-9 Nurmagomedov.
Round 3:
Silva de Andrade took Nurmagomedov’s back in a standing clinch and suplexed him down to the mat. Nurmagomedov stood and he escaped from Silva de Andrade’s grasp by landing a knee. Nurmagomedov partially landed with a spinning backfist and time was called when he was kicked in the groin. Action resumed after a moment and Nurmagomedov took Silva de Andrade down. He landed elbows and punches from the top in half-guard, but Silva de Andrade sprung up to his feet. Nurmagomedov fell after a spinning back kick attempt and Silva de Andrade stood over him. Nurmagomedov upkicked from the ground and Silva de Andrade kicked at his legs. Referee Herb Dean eventually stood Nurmagomedov up and Silva de Andrade landed a hard one-two. He stuffed a Nurmagomedov takedown and Nurmagomedov landed two head kicks. Very close fight. 10-9 Nurmagomedov.
Winner: Said Nurmagomedov by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 16-2-0.
Chase “The Vanilla Gorilla” Sherman vs Jared “The Mountain” Vanderaa
Round 1:
Sherman landed an overhand right early in the fight and Vanderaa answered with a lead left hook. Vanderaa kicked at Sherman’s lead leg and Sherman landed two kicks to Vanderaa’s body. After trading left hooks to the body, Sherman went high with two left hands to Vanderaa’s face, which backed him up momentarily. Sherman jabbed and followed with a combination. He threw body-head combos, but Vanderaa avoided the head punches and he landed a hard right hook. Vanderaa kicked at Sherman’s lead leg and the round ended with Sherman landing two overhand rights while showboating. 10-9 Sherman.
Round 2:
Vanderaa used his jab to set up two leg kicks in round two. More jabs landed for Vanderaa and he followed with another hard leg kick. A cut opened on Sherman’s right cheek, but he landed a left-right combo. Vanderaa pressed forward with two jabs, then cracked Sherman with a big combination. The fighters resumed trading jabs and Sherman landed an overhand right. Vanderaa took a step forward and Sherman countered with a lead left hook. He prevented Vanderaa from clinching, but Vanderaa landed a long jab and a leg kick late in the round. 10-9 Vanderaa.
Round 3:
A right-left combo landed for Sherman early in the final round. Vanderaa scored with a leg kick and a jab, then two right hooks. He targeted Sherman’s body with a lead left hook and both men landed hard right hands during an exchange. Sherman rocked Vanderaa with punches and Vanderaa retreated to the cage. Sherman wobbled him twice as he blasted Vanderaa with left and right hooks. Vanderaa finally sat down and covered up, and the fight was stopped.
Winner: Chase Sherman by TKO (Punches) at 3:10 of round three. He improves to 16-10-0.
Aiemann Zahabi vs “Pretty” Ricky Turcios
Round 1:
Zahabi blocked a head kick during a relatively uneventful first two minutes. Turcio threw another kick to Zahabi’s upper body. Zahabi chased after Turcios and he landed a left hook after fighting off a Turcios takedown attempt. Turcios backed Zahabi up with a right hook, but Zahabi recovered quickly. He landed a hard leg kick and a right hand, then followed up with a liver kick. Zahabi ducked under a spinning wheel kick from Turcios and Turcios threw a series of jabs. Zahabi landed an overhand left late in the round. 10-9 Zahabi, just barely.
Round 2:
The second round began with Zahabi landing a body kick and Turcios blocked a head kick. Zahabi countered Turcios’s forward movement each time with lead left hooks. Both men attempted head kicks that were blocked and Zahabi landed another lead left hand. Turcios connected with an overhand right and Zahabi kicked at his leg and body. Two more strong leg kicks landed for Zahabi and the round ended with Turcios pressing forward with quick jabs. 10-9 Zahabi.
Round 3:
Turcios jabbed and tried to close the distance in the final round as Zahabi kicked at his lead leg and circled on the outside. Turcios landed two leg kicks of his own and a nice right hook. Zahabi jabbed and threw lead left hooks as he continued to circle to his left. Two hard jabs landed for Zahabi Late in the fight, Zahabi blocked two head kicks and he landed a right hook. Turcios pressed forward with jabs that all came up short and he missed with a left hook at the bell. 10-9 Zahabi.
Winner: Aiemann Zahabi by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 9-2-0.
Jamie Mullarkey vs Michael “The Menace” Johnson
Round 1:
Mullarkey jabbed and landed a leg kick in the opening minute. Johnson answered with a quick combination and circled to his left. One more leg kick landed for Mullarkey and Johnson countered with a one-two. Another one-two combo dropped Mullarkey and Johnson followed with more punches on the ground. Mullarkey got to his knees and Johnson allowed him to stand up. Mullarkey wobbled Johnson with a right-left combo and he landed elbows to the side of Johnson’s head as Johnson dropped to his knees and tried for a desperation takedown. He stood up and the fighters traded looping hooks until the bell. Excellent round. 10-9 Johnson despite the late rally from Mullarkey.
Round 2:
A hard right hand landed for Mullarkey in the second round and Johnson answered with a left cross to the body. Mullarkey mixed in leg and body kicks, then went high with a head kick. He backed Johnson up with a knee and a right hook. Mullarkey clinched and threw more knees and elbows. That opened a cut above Johnson’s right eye and Mullarkey continued to have success with leg kicks as the round progressed. Johnson shot in for a takedown and Mullarkey countered with knees to the body. Mullarkey landed a right hook and Johnson fired back with straight lefts late in the round. 10-9 Mullarkey.
Round 3:
Mullarkey struck first with a right cross in the final round and Johnson used his jab to set up a left hand. He stepped forward with a lead right hook and then countered a Mullarkey leg kick with an overhand left. Mullarkey landed a head kick, but Johnson barely flinched and he scored with two powerful left hooks. Mullarkey shot in for a takedown and Johnson easily thwarted it. Mullarkey began to bleed from his mouth and he failed with another takedown attempt. Johnson landed a lead right hook and two stiff jabs. He blocked a head kick and cracked Mullarkey with two left hooks before the final bell. 10-9 Johnson.
Winner: Jamie Mullarkey by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 15-5-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)