Talented next-gen featherweights Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira headline tonight’s UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Oliveira card from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. In a welterweight double feature, Neil Magny has stepped up on short notice to face Erick Silva while vets Josh Burkman and Patrick Cote will tangle.
Also on the main card: Francisco “Massaranduba” Trinaldo draws Chad LaPrise, Olivier Aubin-Mercier meets Tony Sims (both lightweight bouts) and Valerie Letourneau meets Maryna Moroz in a women’s strawweight scrap. The full lineup and schedule follows.
Main Card (Fox Sports 1 at 9:00 p.m. ET)
Max Holloway vs. Charles Oliveira
R1: Holloway gets off first with a counter combo. Holloway digs a left into the body of Oliveira, then again but Oliveira counters with a quick knee to the body. From southpaw, Holloway is flinging lead right hooks and tacking on straight lefts to the body to drive Oliveira back. Oliveira shoots a double-leg that Holloway stuffs, and Oliveira comes up lame — he just turns away from Holloway’s punch and drops to the ground with what looks like a shoulder injury. The fight is stopped.
- Max Holloway defeats Charles Oliveira by TKO (injury) R1 1:39
Neil Magny vs. Erick Silva
R1: Ironically, it’s Magny who ducks under a Silva flurry, attacking the hips. Silva circles out and breaks contact. Magny leads with a busy, prodding jab. Silva attemps a Bones-esque fake low single to spinning elbow but Magny changes levels and dumps him, landing in side mount. Silva deftly scrambles back to his feet and takes Magny down from the waist lock, then carves into side control.
Silva rides Magny while stifling his escape attempts and maintaining his base. Magny looks to slip a hook in to retain guard but Silva scampers higher in side mount and lands a short forearm. Now Magny creates a scramble and ends up on top, briefly holding full mount. Silva escapes but get caught in the rear waist cinch; Magny steers him to the fence and lands a few short rights. Magny connects his hands with the waist lock and re-grounds Silva, landing high on his chest while flinging right hands in his face. Silva turns and gets his back taken. 10-9 Magny.
R2: Magny walks Silva into a corner and loosens a lengthy flurry of jabs. Silva glances with a jumping switch kick and heaves a caveman left hook through the guard of Magny. Triple jab and right hook sets up a clean uppercut for Magny. Silva lunges with a wide left that Magny easily dodges. Silva wings a right hook to open up an inside low kick. Magny counters a Silva clinch attempt with knees.
Magny is dictating with volume and finding his rhythm as Silva seems reduced to hurling sloppy one-offs. Magny over-commits on a combo and Silva ducks under to attack with a double leg, and he gets it. Magny is slippery and escapes quickly, then keeps Silva on the fence with a body lock. They separate with 20 seconds left. Silva has a body kick blocked and misses with a wild left. 10-9 Magny.
R3: Silva finds the mark with a counter left and an inside low kick. Silva chops at Magny’s lead leg again and Magny reacts. Silva senses it and marches forward with two more. Magny keeps a safe bubble of space and starts to prod with a long jab again. Silva compensates by charging into range and throwing another low kick that’s almost caught by Magny. The next one lands but Magny counters upstairs. Another slick counter shot from Magny, then more jabs to back Silva off.
Silva misses badly on his next punches-to-low-kick attempt and Magny catches him with an uppercut, then a sharp knee to the body after another salvo of jabs. Silva, frustrated, rushes Magny and gets taken down. Magny can’t keep him there and Silva stands, then counters with his own takedown. Magny pops back up and Silva keeps him on the fence with a halfhearted double-leg attempt. Magny glides into the center and pesters with more long jabs, then sidesteps Silva’s combo. 10-9 Magny. I have it a clean 30-27 sweep for him.
- Neil Magny defeats Erick Silva by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
Josh Burkman vs. Patrick Cote
R1: Cote grazes with a short right. Burkman with a front-leg side kick to the body, then he tries a spinning back-fist but Cote lands another glancing right and ties up in the clinch. Burkman stays upright with double under-hooks and shoves Cote away. Cote pressures Burkman toward the fence and Burkman discharges a trio of hefty punches, one of which lands clean and stuns Cote, forcing him to clinch.
Burkman again breaks the clinch and sits down on a heated flurry that Cote reciprocates. They clinch and break again; Cote clinches again and off-balances Burkman enough to land a clean knee downstairs. Burkman circles off the fence and keeps Cote there. Cote goes from double under-hooks to a left hook that lands simultaneously with a right elbow from Burkman. Cote measures his steps and blasts Burkman with a straight right to the kisser, and it quite noticeably staggers Burkman. 10-9 Cote.
R2: Cote comes out swinging aggressively but a few heavy counters from Burkman show he’s recovered from the round-one bomb. They trade punches before Cote clinches but Burkman shucks him off and they reset in the center. Half-checked inside leg kick from Burkman. The next one lands clean. Cote answers with a pair of right kicks to the body.
Now Burkman starts dictating the distance, flashing a combo to set up a beautiful outside trip. Cote gets back to his feet and slips free of Burkman’s front headlock. Cote lands a left-right as Burkman scores with a kick and a counter punch. They both trade right hands that land square. Cote stays on the attack and snatches up a single leg but Burkman whizzers to keep his balance and glances with a right hand as they separate. 10-10.
R3: Burkman comes out in a hail of gunfire, stinging Cote with a few punches from range and then sitting down on a succession of right and left hooks as Cote covers up. Cote swings heavy leather back at Burkman but it only causes them to reset after a sportsmanlike glove touch. Burkman takes an extra penetrating step into the pocket and tags Cote with a hard shot. Cote lands a one-two, then crumples Burkman with a monster right hand.
Cote swarms with punches and hammer-fists and Burkman, after a valiant effort to survive, takes too many unanswered shots.
- Patrick Cote defeats Josh Burkman by TKO (punches) R3 1:26
Chad Laprise vs. Francisco Trinaldo
R1: Laprise comes out whirring his hands confidently, steering Trinaldo backwards. Trinaldo tries to fire back but Laprise sits down on a combo to counter. Trinaldo checks an inside low kick but he’s being forced to play defense. Now Trinaldo uncorks a heavy left hand that bombards off the guard of Laprise. Laprise circles into the center and resumes his high-output boxing but Trinaldo hurls another heavy shot and it drops Laprise. Trinaldo pounces with punches, moving to back control and staying on the trigger until the fight is stopped.
- Francisco Trinaldo defeats Chad Laprise by TKO (punches) R1 2:43
Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Tony Sims
R1: Aubin-Mercier strikes first with a left outside low kick, then he changes levels and attacks the hips of Sims, finishing the takedown. Sims over-hooks the head and posts a knee, then switches to double under-hooks. Aubin-Mercier anticipates the transition and hoists Sims off the ground, pausing dramatically before driving him into the canvas. Aubin-Mercier smoothly moves into back control and locks on the body triangle. He gets in rear-naked choke position but his forearm is across the chin.
Sims breaks his grip and then tries to go two-on-one to spin out to no avail. Aubin-Mercier sprinkles in a few short punches before resuming his hunt for the choke. Sims can’t shake the body triangle, allowing Aubin-Mercier to maintain dominant control. 10-9 Aubin-Mercier.
R2: Aubin-Mercier bides his time before diving on another deep single leg. He transitions to a trip to ground Sims, who immediately scrambles back to his feet and breaks Aubin-Mercier’s rear waist lock, but he’s taken down again. Sims boots him away with both feet and regains his footing, curiously relying over and over on the front headlock for his takedown defense.
Aubin-Mercier completes the takedown but Sims scrambles free shortly after. Aubin-Mercier wastes no time in pursuing another takedown and this time Sims stays upright with under-hooks. Aubin-Mercier gets too low and deep, off-balancing Sims and completing another takedown. 10-9 Aubin-Mercier.
R3: Aubin-Mercier bull-rushes Sims but he’s surprisingly met with effective resistance; Sims keeps his footing and slithers to the side of Aubin-Mercier, threatening with a choke. Aubin-Mercier turtles to defend the choke and eats a lengthy succession of hammer-fists from Sims, who’s holding an ankle pick to keep him in place. Aubin-Mercier patiently frees his leg and they separate.
Aubin-Mercier predictably changes levels and Sims, reverting to the front headlock defense, goes down easily. Aubin-Mercier transitions to back control and cinches on the body triangle with 90 seconds left. Sims ignores the body triangle and hand-fights the choke. 10-10: first half Sims, second half Aubin-Mercier. I have it 30-28 Aubin-Mercier.
- Olivier Aubin-Mercier defeats Tony Sims by unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
Valerie Letourneau vs. Maryna Moroz
R1: Letourneau lands a crisp inside low kick and Moroz backs her off with a fast and tight combo. Letourneau with a quick right. Moroz throws a high kick betwixt punches and Letourneau shells on the combo nicely. Letourneau comes high with a left high kick and then over the top with a pair of rights. Now Letourneau times another right and plugs Moroz, dropping her. Letourneau lands in side control.
Side-mount headlock for Letourneau as Moroz tries to hook a leg in to get a semblance of guard. Letourneau steps over the right arm of Moroz and into crucifix position, hammering down a succession of elbows. Moroz, showing impressive flexibility, manages to secure an inverted triangle from the bottom, and wrenches it hard enough to force Letourneau into defending. Now Moroz works to secure an arm to threaten with the transition into an armbar. 10-9 Letourneau.
R2: Step-in body kick leads things off for Moroz, who throws her hands aggressively, undaunted from the first-round knockdown. Moroz works her lateral movement while countering Letourneau’s straight-line pressure with fast combos. Moroz tags Letourneau with a right and Letourneau answers in kind. Letourneau lands a body kick and then dings Moroz with a right hand.
They clinch up at the halfway mark with Letourneau jamming a Moroz uppercut elbow. Letourneau steps back and lands a straight right and Moroz whiffs on a spinning strike. Moroz goes away from straight punches and gets countered twice while swinging hooks. Moroz plasters Letourneau with a straight right and her legs buckle from the impact. Moroz attacks but it only leads to another pair of clean counters from Letourneau. Laudable gameness from both women. Two glancing rights from Letourneau. Moroz lands a front kick to the body and Letourneau responds with a left. 10-9 Moroz in a close round.
R3: Letourneau scores with a right and hits a takedown. Moroz rolls onto one hip in search of a kimura, then lets it go to graze with a back-elbow to the head. Moroz keeps hand control and angles for an armbar but Letourneau’s strong base won’t allow it. Letourneau lands a few short lefts from on top.
Moroz alternates between wrist control and wild elbows from a closed guard. Knee-pin pass by Letourneau into half guard, still maintaining her rock-solid base. Moroz threads her left leg through Letourneau’s arms to threaten with a triangle; Letourneau stands up and slips free. Moroz lands a left kick and glancing right hand. Another Moroz body kick slips underneath the right arm of Letourneau, who returns fire with a front kick and a right. 10-9 Letourneau. I have it 29-28 her way.
- Valerie Letourneau defeats Maryna Moroz by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2)
Fox Prelims (Fox Sports 1 at 7:00 p.m. ET)
Frankie Perez vs. Sam Stout
R1: Perez lands a glancing outside low kick. Stout answers with one inside that causes Perez’s leg to buckle, but he regains his balance and responds with a right. Stout shrinks the distance behind a jab but walks directly into the epicenter of a beefy right hand that Perez scorches down the center of the pocket. Stout goes down and cannot defend intelligently as Perez swarms with punches.
- Frankie Perez defeats Sam Stout by TKO (punches) R1 0:54
Felipe Arantes vs. Yves Jabouin
R1: Arantes peels off a long front kick from range. Jabouin unbolts a crisp flurry and follows with a man-size double leg, landing in side control. A shoulder and elbow strike from Jabouin after he stabilizes his base. Arantes raises Jabouin’s hips and rolls him over but Jabouin deftly plants him on his back easily. Arantes is stifled on his next attempt to escape and Jabouin’s wrestling is looking good.
Jabouin buries his head in the chest in Arantes’ full guard, then eats an up-kick from Arantes as he’s posturing up to strike. Still no luck for Arantes as Jabouin maintains control. Arantes angles his hips and explodes into a tight armbar; first he uses it to sweep, then he falls back to torque the hold, eventually going belly-down to finish it.
- Felipe Arantes defeats Yves Jabouin by submission (armbar) R1 4:21
Nikita Krylov vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
R1: They trade left body kicks and de Lima clubs Krylov with an overhand right. Krylov charges, deflecting a combo from de Lima, and hits a takedown as de Lima falls back for a loose guillotine. Krylov pulls his head out and torques a neck crank until de Lima spins to face him and stands. Krylov changes levels and de Lima again falls back for the sacrifice guillotine but this one is much tighter. Krylov stays patient and throws a few body punches; de Lima closes his guard.
Krylov slips out and throws a few punches as de Lima rolls into a leg lock. Krylov steps out of danger (he’s warned by te ref for grabbing the fence) and pounces on de Lima’s back. He puts both hooks in and laces on the mata leao.
- Nikita Krylov defeats Marcos Rogerio de Lima by submission (rear-naked choke) R1 2:29
Chris Beal vs. Chris Kelades
R1: Kelades ducks under Beal’s opening one-two and puts Beal on the cage. Beals circles off and takes Kelades down, landing in half guard. Beal sits up for one forearm, then completely postures up and heaves a nasty flurry of hooks before falling back into the full guard of Kelades. Another separation and quick burst of strikes from Beal, who passes to half guard. Kelades resorts to heel strikes to the calf and he commits long and hard enough to make the flurry somewhat effective.
Kelades tries to scramble free and Beal nearly gets full mount, but opts for a vicious elbow to the face of Kelades, who gets back to his feet. Kelades dings Beal with a left to back him off, and it might have stunned him. Beal keeps the fight at close range and eventually corners the flurrying Kelades with another takedown, posturing up with strikes in methodical intervals. 10-9 Beal.
R2: Kelades is a little more strategic from range, throwing some angle jabs and staying wary of the takedown. Kelades follows a wild one-two with a takedown that fails, but he sneaks in a quick and solid knee as Beal defends. Beal heaves a right meatball down the center of the pocket as a counter to Kelades’ low kick. No dice on Kelades’ next double-leg attempt but he puts Beal on the fence and switches to a single.
Beal keeps strong balance and a whizzer to stay upright and force a stalemate. Kelades switches to a body lock and throws a few heel stomps. Beal circles off as Kelades lands a knee to the body, and they separate. Kelades, who’s pace has heightened as Beal’s has declined, slips in a strong jab. Beal corners Kelades and hoists him for a slam takedown but Kelades immediately takes a knee and reverses, keeping Beal in the front headlock. They break with 20 seconds left and Kelades flurries wildly, forcing Beal to turn his head and jog away. 10-9 Kelades.
R3: Kelades lands a left body kick but Beal snaps his head back with a sharp counter. Outside low kick lands for Kelades, who anticipates Beal’s flurry and changes levels nicely. Beal hits a slick reversal at the last second and ends up on top in Kelades’ open guard. Kelades opens his guard and just misses with an up-kick as Beal stands, causing Beal to dive back into guard.
Beal slips behind Kelades into the rear waist lock but Kelades pummels under to break the grip, and they reset in the center. Kelades unbolts a one-two and catches Beal with an uppercut before half-completing a takedown; Beal is right back up and firing leather. They trade grazing punches to the jaw. Kelades scores with a one-two, then plugs Beal with a body shot. They both stand and unload with Kelades landing the better and higher quantity of blows. Beal might be out of gas. He flashes his hands and backs Kelades off. 10-9 Kelades. I have it 29-28 his way.
Chris Kelades defeats Chris Beal by split decision (27-30, 29-28 x 2)
Fight Pass Prelims (UFC Fight Pass at 6:00 p.m. ET)
Shane Campbell vs. Elias Silverio
R1: Campbell catches a Silverio kick but it’s Silverio who works the takedown from the quick tie-up. Campbell stays slippery and gets back to this feet with Silverio latched on in the rear waist cinch. Campbell looks to hand-fight the grip and Silverio slickly off-balances him by pushing off the fence with his foot, landing in Campbell’s guard. Campbell goes to butterfly guard after stabilizing position.
Silverio ejects briefly but a few sharp up-kick attempts from Campbell persuade him to dive back into his guard, which is now closed. Not a lot cookin’ here with 90 seconds left. Campbell tries to hip bump and Silverio slithers into back control with a single hook in. Campbell disallows the second hook and spins into Silverio’s guard. Silverio boots him off with both feet and gets back up, eating a knee from Campbell in the process. Another knee from Campbell and they’re the best shots of the round. 10-10 for Silverio’s lengthy control and Campbell’s brief outburst of effective striking.
R2: They trade kicks to the stomach, both landing with the foot. Campbell throws a punch and follows with a low kick. Silverio torques over a low kick that takes Campbell off his feet; he’s back up quickly but Silverio’s adhered with a rear waist lock. Campbell spins with perfect timing and flings Silverio onto his back. Silverio pops back up but goes right back down due to a crafty throw from Campbell. Silverio scrambles again and Campbell is able to maintain top position.
Cross-knee guard for Silverio as Campbell holds a left cross-face. Silverio takes a knee and nearly hits a counter whizzer throw but Campbell keeps his base and gets the front headlock. Campbell separates and starts slicing in combinations and a few kicks. Silverio tries to time a counter takedown but Campbell stays upright, then hits a takedown of his own in the next sequence. Now it’s Campbell who anticipates the escape, slipping onto Silverio’s back with both hooks in. Campbell looks to finish the round with control, holding under-hooks from back mount, rather than pursue the choke. 10-9 Campbell.
R3: Silverio lands an outside low kick and Campbell answers in kind with two of his own. Counter jab lands for Campbell, then a short counter knee downstairs as Silverio shoots. Silverio can’t finish the takedown and returns to the rear waist lock, again kicking off the fence to off-balance Campbell. Campbell tripods and lands a back-elbow to Silverio’s face, who holds the rear waist lock with one grapevine.
Another short back-elbow lands for Campbell, and the next one grazes. Silverio seems to content to hold position until Campbell turns into him with a single-leg attempt. He doesn’t get it but they separate, allowing Campbell the space to strike. Silverio immediately telegraphs a takedown that Campbell reverses. Feet-on-hips for Silverio as the clock ticks away. Campbell is able to free his hands and land a few ground strikes before the round ends. 10-9 Campbell. I have it 30-28 his way.
- Shane Campbell defeats Elias Silverio by unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
Misha Cirkunov vs. Daniel Jolly
R1: No dice on Jolly’s opening high kick and Cirkunov lands a quick, short right hook. Jolly flinging out erratic kicks from the fringe but has yet to connect. Cirkunov whiffs on a high kick but follows with a spinning back strike that glances as Jolly pounces. They tie up in the over-under and Cirkunov hits a head-and-arm throw. Jolly scrambles back to his feet momentarily as Cirkunov looks to pass but Cirkunov shows solid grappling in retaining position.
Cirkunov on top in north-south and again gets careless on his attempt to advance position, allowing Jolly to reverse. Jolly backs out and away and they reset on the feet. Double right side kicks from Jolly before they clinch and Cirkunov re-grounds Jolly easily with a throw. Jolly turtles after the scramble and Cirkunov, more cautiously this time, sinks in a hook and gets back control. Both hooks in now with Cirkunov attempting a choke. Cirkunov stifles another escape attempt and this time takes to wailing away at Jolly from back control until the ref waves it off.
- Misha Cirkunov defeats Daniel Jolly by KO (punches) R1 4:45
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