The Ultimate Fighting Championship travelled to VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida today for UFC on ABC 5: “Emmett vs Topuria.” The event was headlined by a featherweight showdown between veteran contender Josh Emmett and undefeated finisher Ilia “El Matador” Topuria.
In the flyweight co-main event, Amanda Ribas battled Maycee “The Future” Barber in a bout to determine a future contender. Elsewhere on the main card, Austen Lane faced off against Justin “Bad Man” Tafa in a featured heavyweight matchup. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.
Ilia “El Matador” Topuria vs Josh Emmett
Round 1:
Emmett jabbed early in the fight and Topuria began to counter with right hands. He landed an uppercut and Emmett lunged forward with a one-two. Topuria continued to jab and he landed a leg kick. Another hard leg kick scored for Topuria and both men landed punches in close. Emmett landed a left hook and a leg kick, and Topuria answered with a one-two. 10-9 Topuria.
Round 2:
Topuria stuck to his jab in the second round and he used it to keep Emmett at bay. Emmett threw a few winging right hands, but they landed on Topuria’s shoulder. Topuria landed a combination and finished with a hard leg kick. He dropped Emmett momentarily with a right hook, but Emmett returned to his feet and Topuria kept him on the defensive with jabs. A big right hook dropped Emmett to a knee late in the round. 10-9 Topuria.
Round 3:
In round three, Topuria continued to find success with jabs, but Emmett eventually countered with a solid left hook. Topuria landed a combination of power punches and Emmett’s left eye began to swell shut. More jabs landed for Topuria as the round progressed. Emmett connected with a straight right hand in the final 30 seconds and a right hook to the body, but his face was a bloody mess. 10-9 Topuria.
Round 4:
Topuria mixed up his strikes with jabs and powerful kicks to Emmett’s lead leg. Emmett began to favour his leg after a particularly hard kick from Topuria, who snapped Emmett’s head back with two stiff jabs. Topuria dropped Emmett with a left hook and swarmed on him with punches on the ground. Emmett managed to get back to his feet, but not before eating more punchs on the way up. Topuria sent him down to the mat with another right hook and then followed with punches from mount, but Emmett survived. 10-8 Topuria.
Round 5:
Emmett started strong in the final round with a flurry of punches, but Topuria stayed calm and he jabbed at Emmett’s damaged left eye. Topuria used a right hook to set up a takedown and he moved to half-guard. Emmett got to a knee against the cage and Topuria worked to take his back. Emmett rolled forward, but Topuria maintained back control and he flattened Emmett out with 30 seconds to go. Topuria punched the side of Emmett’s head before the bell. 10-9 Topuria.
Winner: Ilia Topuria by Unanimous Decision (50-42, 50-44, 49-45) after five rounds. He improves to 14-0-0.
Maycee “The Future” Barber vs Amanda Ribas
Round 1:
Ribas was aggressive early on with a spinning back kick and a lead right hook. She landed a stiff jab and countered a left cross from Barber with a right hand. Two straight rights scored for Ribas and Barber countered with a right hook and an elbow. Ribas used a headlock throw to take Barber down, but Barber returned to her feet. Ribas, bleeding heavily from her nose as a result of an earlier elbow from Barber, tried to roll for a kneebar. Barber prevented her from extending the leg and she punched Ribas in the face. More punches scored for Barber late in the round. 10-9 Barber.
Round 2:
In the second round, Ribas bloodied Barber’s nose with an early combination. Barber landed a left hand and clinched, but Ribas threw her to the mat. Barber punched from the bottom and sat up against the cage. She stood and Ribas knocked her down with a counter right hand. Huge punches were exchanged and Barber dropped Ribas with two right hooks. She landed punches and elbows on the ground, and the fight was stopped.
Winner: Maycee Barber by TKO (Punches & Elbows) at 3:42 of round two. She improves to 13-2-0.
Austen Lane vs Justin “Bad Man” Tafa
Round 1:
Lane struck first with two body kicks, but time was called when Tafa was poked badly in his right eye. Tafa’s eye swelled shut and he could not see at all, so the brief fight was waved off.
Result: No Contest (Accidental Eye Poke) at 0:29 of round one. Lane moves to 12-3-0, 1 NC, while Tafa is now 6-3-0, 1 NC.
David “Silent Assassin” Onama vs Gabriel “Mosquitinho” Santos
Round 1:
Hard left hooks were exchanged and Santos tried for a takedown, but he was forced to pull guard. Onama struck from the top and Santos got back to his feet. A combination landed for Onama and Santos threw a spinning back kick. He scored with a left hook and an uppercut, then pulled Onama to the ground with a rolling armbar. Onama escaped and Santos moved from an armbar to a triangle choke. Onama spun free and rose to his feet. He landed two straight rights and Santos tripped him to the mat. Onama stood and landed a combination before the bell. 10-9 Santos.
Round 2:
Round two began with both men landing big punches and Santos took Onama down into back control. Onama turned over into Santos’s guard and he postured up with two elbows. Santos stood against the cage and he landed a body kick. Onama landed a lead elbow and a hard right hook. Seconds later, Onama scored with a big right uppercut that sent Santos crashing backwards to the mat and ended the fight.
Winner: David Onama by KO (Punch) at 4:13 of round two. He improves to 11-2-0.
Brendan “All In” Allen vs Bruno “Blindado” Silva
Round 1:
Allen landed a body kick and he kneed his way into a clinch against the cage. Heavy punches were exchanged on the break and Silva scored with two hooks. Allen fired back with a big flurry and Silva backed up momentarily. Silva pressed forward with hooks and uppercuts, but Allen dropped him with two right hands. He took Silva’s back and locked on a tight rear-naked choke, which forced Silva to submit.
Winner: Brendan Allen by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 4:39 of round one. He improves to 22-5-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)