The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada today for UFC Fight Night 210: “Sandhagen vs Song.” The card was headlined by a bantamweight clash between Cory “Sandman” Sandhagen and Yadong “Kung Fu Kid” Song, as both looked to enter title contention.
In the middleweight co-main event, Chidi “Bang Bang” Njokuani took on Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues. Elsewhere on the main card, Andre “Touchy” Fili looked for a much-needed victory when he battled Bill “Senor Perfecto” Algeo at featherweight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.
Cory “Sandman” Sandhagen vs Yadong “Kung Fu Kid” Song
Round 1:
Punches were exchanged in the opening minute and Song landed the first significant strike with a hard right uppercut. Sandhagen responded with a jumping switch knee attempt and he shot in for a takedown. Song stuffed it and pushed Sandhagen down to the ground. He briefly worked from the top and Sandhagen got back to his feet. Song held on in a back clinch until Sandhagen broke free and landed a body kick. He followed with a straight left hand and both men landed jabs. Song landed a lead left hook and Sandhagen answered with a leg kick. Close round. 10-9 Song.
Round 2:
Sandhagen attempted a flying knee that missed in round two and Song hurt him with a left hook. Sandhagen stumbled back against the cage, but he recovered quickly and missed with another flying knee attempt. Song prevented Sandhagen from taking him down, but Sandhagen landed an elbow on the break and it opened a bad cut above Song’s left eye. After a clinch against the cage, Sandhagen landed two more elbows and a body kick. Blood poured down into Song’s eye as the round continued. Sandhagen threw a front kick to Song’s face and then clinched with him against the cage. Song pushed him away and closed out the round with a three-punch combo. 10-9 Sandhagen despite the early struggles.
Round 3:
Song landed a combination and sprawled out of a Sandhagen takedown attempt. He walked Sandhagen down and Sandhagen landed a knee to his chest. The cut re-opened above Song’s eye and Sandhagen jabbed at it. Song broke free from a clinch by landing a left hook and Sandhagen replied with a straight right. Song lunged forward with a left hook and Sandhagen landed one of his own while circling to his right. Sandhagen landed two jabs and faked a takedown, then jumped in with a flying knee that landed. 10-9 Sandhagen.
Round 4:
Sandhagen landed a body kick and switched stances frequently in the fourth round. Song countered a kick with a right hand, then swept out Sandhagen’s leg and took him down. Sandhagen turned to his side and worked back to his feet. He held Song against the cage and tripped him to the mat. Song stood up and landed a nice right cross. Sandhagen circled to his right and Song pursued with a body kick. Sandhagen took him down against the cage and targeted Song’s cut with short left hands and elbows. 10-9 Sandhagen.
Between rounds, during the third doctor check, the fight was finally waved off due to the severity of the cut above Song’s eye.
Winner: Cory Sandhagen by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at 5:00 of round four. He improves to 15-4-0.
Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues vs Chidi “Bang Bang” Njokuani
Round 1:
Huge power punches were exchanged right away in the opening round and Njokuani opened a bad cut on Rodrigues’s face with a knee. He landed an elbow as well and that cut Rodrigues a second time. Rodrigues’s face became a bloody mess, but he landed a counter right uppercut and that led to a clinch. After the fighters separated, Njokuani backed Rodrigues up with a right hand. Rodrigues recovered quickly and he dropped Njokuani with two right hooks. He closed in with more right hands as Njokuani got back to his feet. Njokuani was dropped to his knees again, but he rose to his feet and landed a knee in a clinch. Knees to the body were exchanged until the bell. 10-9 Rodrigues due to the knockdowns.
Round 2:
Rodrigues closed in with a flurry of punches in the second round and then took Njokuani down. He moved to half-guard and postured up with hammerfists. Njokuani covered up and Rodrigues dropped numerous right hands to his face until the fight was stopped. Excellent fight.
Winner: Gregory Rodrigues by TKO (Punches) at 1:27 of round two. He improves to 13-4-0.
Andre “Touchy” Fili vs Bill “Senor Perfecto” Algeo
Round 1:
Fili grazed with an early head kick and the fighters traded inside-leg kicks. Algeo landed a spinning back kick to the body and Fili fired back with a lead right hook. Fili landed two left hands and then wobbled Algeo with a head kick. Algeo dropped levels and Fili held him in a front headlock. Algeo escaped and appeared to have recovered. Fili landed another head kick and this one cut Algeo on his forehead. Fili landed a liver kick and Algeo answered back with an overhand right. He landed a hook kick to Fili’s face, but Fili was unfazed and he tied Algeo up in a clinch. A bloodied Algeo broke free and he landed a solid leg kick late in the round. 10-9 Fili.
Round 2:
Time was called in the second round to fix loose tape on Fili’s glove. Action resumed and Fili landed a left hook and a jab. He followed with a body kick and just missed with a looping head kick attempt. Algeo landed a lead left hand and a knee to the body. Punches were exchanged and Algeo landed a left hook, but Fili countered with a right hand and a hard kick to the body. Algeo used his jab to set up a spinning back kick to Fili’s ribs. A spinning wheel kick connected on Fili’s jaw, but he barely flinched. Fili landed a straight left hand and he doubled up with jabs. Both men landed liver kicks and Algeo finished the round with a knee and a spinning back kick. 10-9 Algeo.
Round 3:
The final round began with Fili landing an upper body kick and Algeo quickly countered with one of his own. Fili grazed with a head kick and he backed Algeo up with two left hands. Fili took Algeo down and almost passed to mount. Algeo gave up his back and Fili almost trapped him in an arm-triangle choke from the side. He took Algeo’s back again and locked on a tight rear-naked choke. Algeo broke Fili’s grip twice and he threw punches backward that landed on Fili’s face. Fili eventually began to throw punches to the side of Algeo’s face as well, but Algeo was surprisingly effective with backward punches to the face of Fili. Likely a 10-9 round for Fili, but Algeo was very active on the ground.
Winner: Andre Fili by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 22-9-0, 1 NC.
Joseph “Bodybagz” Pyfer vs Alen Amedovski
Round 1:
Pyfer jabbed and then landed two right hands. He closed in with more punches, but Amedovski countered with a hard right hook. He landed a leg kick and attempted a head kick that Pyfer blocked. Left hooks scored for both fighters and Amedovski landed another leg kick. Pyfer floored Amedovski with a right hook. Amedovski was held up by the cage and the fight was not immediately stopped, so Pyfer landed another right hand on the ground and referee Chris Tognoni intervened.
Winner: Joseph Pyfer by TKO (Punches) at 3:55 of round one. He improves to 10-2-0.
Rodrigo “Yogi Bear” Nascimento Ferreira vs Tanner “The Bulldozer” Boser
Round 1:
Nascimento took Boser down into half-guard in the opening minute and he looked to pass to mount. Boser used the opportunity to get to full guard and he held on from the bottom. Nascimento eventually postured up with hammerfists, but Boser battled back to his feet and he briefly took Nascimento’s back. When the fighters separated, Nascimento landed a hard right hand. Boser clinched and Nascimento landed a knee. Late in the round, Boser landed a leg kick and a left-right combo. 10-9 Nascimento.
Round 2:
After an exchange of right hands, Boser circled on the outside in round two and he landed a right hook to the body. Soon after, Boser wobbled Nascimento with a right hand to the jaw and he immediately followed up with a barrage of punches. Nascimento recovered and resumed his march forward. He shot in for a takedown and got Boser down against the cage. Nascimento secured a rear-naked choke and Boser indicated that he was okay. He turned over and Nascimento wound up on top in Boser’s half-guard. Close round due to Nascimento’s rally. 10-9 Boser.
Round 3:
Nascimento landed a three-punch combo and took Boser down in round three. He passed to half-guard and landed an elbow as Boser punched from the bottom. Boser got back to full guard and continued to throw short punches from his back. Nascimento was not very active from the top and the fighters were stood up with 30 seconds to go. Boser landed hooks to Nascimento’s head and body before the final bell. 10-9 Nascimento, but not by much.
Winner: Rodrigo Nascimento Ferreira by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 9-1-0, 1 NC.
Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez vs Marc-André “Power Bar” Barriault
Round 1:
Hernandez opened the fight with two hard punches and he clinched. Barriault reversed it and the fighters separated. Hernandez landed two more punches and he countered a Barriault jab with a right hook. When Hernandez dropped levels for a takedown, Barriault countered with a guillotine choke attempt. He took Hernandez’s back and hopped into a standing rear-naked choke, but Hernandez quickly shook him off and pushed Barriault down to the mat. Hernandez punched the side of Barriault’s head and Barriault worked back to his feet. He landed a strong right cross and Hernandez circled to his left. He landed a knee and an elbow, then dumped Barriault to the mat. Hernandez eyed a guillotine choke from the top and Barriault managed to get back to his feet. Hernandez landed elbows and took Barriault down once more. 10-9 Hernandez.
Round 2:
Barriault indicated between rounds that he had sustained a rib injury, but he connected with a nice right hand early in round two. Hernandez took Barriault down and he landed two hard elbows from the top. Barriault tried to get to his feet and Hernandez kept him down against the base of the cage. Hernandez cut Barriault with an elbow to the top of his head. Barriault briefly stood up and was immediately taken down into half-guard again. Hernandez landed a knee to Barriault’s body and took his back again. He hunted for a rear-naked choke, but Barriault rolled over and got to his feet. He landed an uppercut before the bell. 10-9 Hernandez.
Round 3:
Hernandez took Barriault down seconds into the final round. Barriault stood and Hernandez slammed him down on his head. Hernandez moved to side control and then locked on an arm-triangle choke. Barriault was choked unconscious within seconds and the fight was waved off.
Winner: Anthony Hernandez by Technical Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 1:53 of round three. He improves to 10-2-0, 1 NC.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)