The Ultimate Fighting Championship headed back to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC Fight Night 228: “Fiziev vs Gamrot.” The event featured a lightweight matchup between Rafael “Ataman” Fiziev and Mateusz “Gamer” Gamrot, as both looked to move closer to a title shot.

In the featherweight co-main event, Bryce “Thug Nasty” Mitchell faced Dan “50K” Ige. Elsewhere on the card tonight, Marina Rodriguez met Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson-Gomez in a featured women’s strawweight clash. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for UFC Fight Night 228.

 

Mateusz “Gamer” Gamrot vs Rafael “Ataman” Fiziev

Round 1:
Gamrot connected with a jab-cross combo after a cautious opening 90 seconds and Fiziev landed a hard flurry in response. He countered a level change from Gamrot with an uppercut and stuffed a takedown. Gamrot landed a right cross and Fiziev responded with a body kick. Another body kick scored for Fiziev and he spun Gamrot around with a leg kick. Gamrot tried for a takedown and he managed to get Fiziev down just before the bell sounded. Close round. 10-9 Fiziev.

Round 2:
Fiziev landed a body kick in the second round and Gamrot took him down. Fiziev got to a knee against the cage and then stood up. The fighters separated and Fiziev threw a kick that landed on Gamrot’s elbow. In the process, his other leg buckled and he fell to the mat. Gamrot landed a few punches before the fight was stopped due to Fiziev’s left knee injury.

Winner: Mateusz Gamrot by TKO (Knee Injury) at 2:03 of round two. He improves to 23-2-0, 1 NC.

 

Bryce “Thug Nasty” Mitchell vs Dan “50K” Ige

Round 1:
Ige stuffed a takedown from Mitchell and he cut him below his right eye with a right hand. Mitchell briefly got him down on his second try and Ige returned to his feet. Soon after, Ige landed a right uppercut as Mitchell dropped levels. Mitchell took his back in a standing clinch and then secured a takedown into mount position. Mitchell landed punches and elbows while preventing Ige from rolling over. 10-9 Mitchell.

Round 2:
The second round began with Ige landing a hard left-right combo and Mitchell kneed him in the body during a clinch. The fighters separated and time was called to check on Mitchell’s right eye, which was now significantly more damaged than in the first round. Action was allowed to continue and Ige reversed a takedown. The fighters stood and both men landed left hooks at the same time. Mitchell took Ige down into mount and then transitioned to his back as Ige got to his knees. Mitchell sunk in both hooks and flattened Ige out. Ige rolled over and Mitchell attempted an arm-triangle choke, but Ige escaped. Close round due to Mitchell’s strong rally. 10-9 Ige by a slim margin.

Round 3:
Mitchell took Ige’s back and tried to take him down. Ige almost took top position in Mitchell’s guard, but Mitchell maintained back control and secured a body triangle. At the midway point in the round, Mitchell took mount, but Ige was able to power out from the bottom and he got to his feet. Mitchell picked Ige up and slammed him down. Ige swept into top position when Mitchell attempted a kimura. Ige mounted Mitchell with ten seconds to go, but he time expired before he could land anything significant. 10-9 Mitchell. Decision could go either way due to the closeness of the first two rounds.

Winner: Bryce Mitchell by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 16-1-0.

 

Marina Rodriguez vs Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson-Gomez

Round 1:
Waterson-Gomez took Rodriguez down immediately and she landed a few punches before standing over Rodriguez, who landed an upkick and stood up. Rodriguez kneed Waterson-Gomez in the body and face, then followed with elbows. She hurt Waterson-Gomez with another knee and a flurry of punches, but Waterson-Gomez countered with a brief takedown. The fight returned to the feet and Waterson-Gomez’s face was a bloody mess. Rodriguez landed knees, elbows and punches as Waterson-Gomez backed up. Time was finally called to check on Waterson-Gomez’s multiple cuts around her eyes. The doctor allowed the fight to continue and Rodriguez reversed a takedown into Waterson-Gomez’s half-guard. 10-8 Rodriguez.

Round 2:
The second round began with a clinch and both women landed knees to the body. Rodriguez landed two hard knees and prevented Waterson-Gomez from taking her down. Rodriguez reversed a takedown into mount and immediately landed right hands. Waterson-Gomez rolled to her side and the fight was quickly stopped.

Winner: Marina Rodriguez by TKO (Punches) at 2:42 of round two. She improves to 17-3-2.

 

Bryan “The Butcher” Battle vs A.J. “The Ghost” Fletcher

Round 1:
Fletcher landed a hard leg kick to begin the fight and Battle threw body kicks in response. The smaller Fletcher circled on the outside and jabbed as Battle landed front kicks. This continued until the final minute when Fletcher clinched in search of a takedown. He wobbled Battle with an elbow to the temple and Battle fell to a knee. He stood and recovered quickly, and the round ended with Battle countering jabs from Fletcher with two more front kicks. Close round. 10-9 Fletcher due to the knockdown.

Round 2:
Fletcher held Battle against the cage in the second round and Battle reversed the clinch. He kneed Fletcher in the body and took him down, but Fletcher countered with a front choke on the way down. Battle escaped into Fletcher’s half-guard and hunted for a kimura on his left arm. He opted to throw punches instead and landed several left hands to Fletcher’s face. Fletcher gave up his back as he got to his knees and Battle locked on a rear-naked choke. Fletcher fought it initially, but he was forced to tap.

Winner: Bryan Battle by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 4:32 of round two. He improves to 10-2-0.

 

Charles “Air” Jourdain vs Ricardo “Carcacinha” Ramos

Round 1:
Action opened with an exchange of upper body kicks and Jourdain landed a lead right hook. Ramos secured a takedown and he escaped from a Jourdain guillotine choke attempt. Ramos looked to secure a shoulder choke from the top, but gave up on it and passed to side control. A scramble ensued with both fighters trying to somersault for leglocks, but Jourdain wound up locking on another guillotine choke and this time he pulled full guard with it. Ramos was trapped and tapped out almost immediately.

Winner: Charles Jourdain by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 3:12 of round one. He improves to 15-6-1.

 

Undercard Fights:

– Miles “Chapo” Johns defeated Dan “The Determined” Argueta by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 14-2-0 with the win.

– Tim “The Dirty Bird” Means defeated Andre Fialho by TKO (Knee & Punches) at 3:15 of round three. He improves to 33-15-1, 1 NC with the win.

– Cody Brundage defeated Jacob “Mamba” Malkoun by DQ (Illegal Elbow) at 4:15 of round one. He improves to 9-5-0 with the win.

– Mohammed “The Motor” Usman defeated Jake “The Prototype” Collier by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 10-2-0 with the win.

– Mizuki Inoue defeated Hannah “24K” Goldy by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 15-6-0 with the win.

– Montserrat “Monster” Rendon defeated Tamires “Tratora” Vidal by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. She improves to 6-0-0 with the win.