Join us today on Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, round scoring and play-by-play as UFC Fight Night; Whittaker vs. Brunson takes place at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.
The headliner comes in the middleweight division, with top contenders Robert Whittaker and Derek Brunson looking to get one step closer to a title shot. The original main event was a rematch between Luke Rockhold and Jacare Souza, but a Rockhold injury scuttled that.
Live results and play-by-play will commence with the Fight Pass broadcast at 6:30pm ET/3:30pm PT. They will move to FS1 at 8pm for four prelims fights, and stay there for the main card’s six fights starting at 10pm ET. The full lineup and schedule follows. Check out this week’s MMA Vivisection for predictions, analysis and betting odds on the each match up.
Yao Zhikui vs. Jenel Lausa
Round 1 – Lausa with a nice right hook to start. Zhikui kicking. Lausa with a ounter rght that stunned his opponent a bit. Zhikui went to his back but Lausa told him to get up. Lausa with a hard combo that stuns Zhikui again. Zhikui fires back with a low kick. Lausa with very fast hands. Working the body as well as throwing powerful lead rights. Zhikui fires back with a left hook, but ate a counter. They trade in the pocket! Lausa drops him with a right! Zhikui gets up and fires back but he’s still wobbled. Lausa all over him but the round ends. 10-9 Lausa.
Round 2 – Nice jab from Lausa. Zhikui still working the low kick. Lead right scores for Lausa. Zhikui in on a takedown but gets denied. Huge head kick from Lausa! Delayed reaction but Zhikui went down. Lausa on him with punhes, then switched to a guillotine. Zhikui escaped and worked from top position. Looked to take his back but he’s too high. Lausa stands up and beckons his opponen to do the same. Big combo by Lausa, followed by a right hook. Zhikui looked for a leg but he’s eating hammerfists. Lausa went for a head kick but got taken down. Zhikui postured up to drop some big punches and elbows. Nice elbow from the bottom by Lausa. 10-9 Lausa.
Round 3 – Zhikui with a combo to start. Lausa is not throwing as much early. Nice lead right hook from Zhikui. Stinging jab from Lausa. Another. And again. Zhikui with a low leg kick. Lausa cracked him with a right that put Zhikui down again briefly. He’s back up though, and Lausa isn’t pressing. Triple jab from Lausa. Low kick from Zhikui. Lausa rocked him again! Right when Zhikui winds up to throw, Lausa cracks him with a lightning-fast straight right that catches him off balance. Lausa casually steps away from a takedown attempt. Shikui with a flurry. One more straight right. 10-9 and 30-27 for Lausa, pretty obvious.
Jenel Lausa defeated Yao Zhikui by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Marlon Vera vs. Ning Guangyou
Round 1 – Inside leg kick from Guangyou. And again. Slow pace, lots of feeling out. Front kick from Vera. Guangyou misses with a flashy spinning head kick. He comes back with a spinning back kick to the body that connects. Vera with a leg kick. Head kick from Vera gets blocked. Guangyou just misses with a left hook. Hard body kick from Vera. Vera caught a kick and looked for a takedown. Settles for a body lock and jumps onto the back after Guangyou grabs the fence multiple times. Vera with a very cool move as he pushes his legs off the cage wall while still on Guangyou’s back, forcing his opponent off balance and to the ground. He takes full back mount in the process. Vera’s looking for a choke, but he’s out of time. 10-9 Vera.
Round 2 – Body kicks from each man. Guangyou goes to the legs wth his kicks. Vera with a body kick, but almost got his leg caught. Guangyou with half a dozen leg kicks in a row. Vera finally decides to fire back, but Guangyou is still firing a ton of kicks at both legs. And they’re clearly doing damage. Vera ended up catching one and working the fight to the ground, but Guangyou ended up on top. He landed a few punches before Vera went for a leg lock. Guangyou deftly spun out into side control and dropped some short elbows. Vera went for an armbar but Guangyou spun away again. More punches and he moved to mount. He opened up with punches, but Vera hip-escaped. They got back to their feet before the horn. 10-9 Guangyou.
Round 3 – They trade kicks, but Guangyou’s had more behind it. More kicks. Vera with a head kick and a left hook that drops Guangyou! He’s hurt! Vera swarms with punches, then takes the back. Full back control, but Guangyou squirms free. Vera with a front headlock. The clinch up against the cage briefly, then square up in the center halfway through the round. Spinning elbow from Guangyou. Head kick scores for Vera again. Guangyou is getting tired, but is still throwing spinning stuff. Verea with a hard body kick. Jab from Vera. Knee to the body from the TUF Latin America vet. Guangyou scores to the body and lands two counter rights. Huge knee to the body from Vera, but he ate a left hook. Vera with a left to the body. Another knee. Best round of the fight. 10-9 and 29-28 Vera.
Marlon Vera defeated Ning Guangyou by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Daniel Hooker vs. Jason Knight
Round 1 – Knight bringing pressure right away. Hooker circling on the outside. Knight with a straight left and a right hook that drops Hooker! He’s back up immediately with a smile. Back to circling. Hooker pops him with a jab. Two more. Hard straight left now. Knight still pressing but Hooker has his range down now. Just peppering him with lefts. Hooker has his hands down, dodging Knight’s punches with head movement. More lefts from Hooker, but Knight nailed him back with a combo. Beautiful double leg takedown by Knight. Hooker spun away fairly quickly and got back up, but Knight bullrushed him for another takedown. Knight tied him up with a body triangle and landed some punches, but Hooker spun into his guard at the end. 10-9 Knight.
Round 2 – Knight charging forward with combos again. Hooker cracks him with the right in response. Knight in on a single but couldn’t get anything. Straight left snaps Knight’s head back. And again. Knight with a right hook. Good inside leg kick from Hooker. Knight shoots in, looks for a suplex, and takes Hooker’s back on the ground. Body triangle, and Knight is looking for a choke. He managed to get an arm under the chin with a palm-to-palm grip but Hooker pulled his arm off. He’s still stuck though. Hooker is acting way too relaxed, and it’s costing him. Once again Knight sunk a choke and looked to have him dead to rights, but he managed to fight it off again. Punches from Knight. 10-8 Knight.
Round 3 – Hooker comes out with an immediate head kick. Knight just smiles. Knight with a right hook. And another. Hooker is just standing there eating straight left/right hook combos. Knight scoops a single and presses Hooker against the cage. They separate and Hooker is pressing now. Front kick to the body from Knight. Right hook from Hooker now. Hooker swats off a takedown attempt. Another combo from Knight connects. Two more. Hooker is walking into them. Knight jumped in with a 12-6 elbow that just looked weird. Hooker pushed Knight to his butt and almost kicked him in the face. Knight just spamming takedown attempts. They trade shots in the pocket. Hooker wobbles him with some big shots, but Knight stayed in the pocket and traded some more. He scores a late takedown. 10-9 and 30-26 Knight.
Jason Knight defeated Daniel Hooker by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-26)
Ben Nguyen vs. Geane Herrera
Round 1 – Herrera charged immediately across the cage with a flying kick! Wow! Nguyen was coming out to touch gloves and he got put on his butt. Herrera with a nice lateral drop right afterward, but they quickly square up in the middle. Nguyen with a combo. Now a low kick/left hook combo. Jab from Herrera. Body kick from Nguyen. Nguyen chases Herrera down and crackshim with a head kick, then a left hook that drops him. Herrera up and throwing back. Ball shot from Nguyen. The Cornuts Cam confirms that it was a glancing shot. Body shots galore from Nguyen. Nguyen with a leg kick and a winging right hook that only partially connected. Hard body kick from Nguyen, but Herrera fired back with a right hook. Now he’s kicking to the body. Right hook/straight left from Herrera. Now Nguyen charges forward with a kick and six-punch combination. Herrera looking for a takedown against the cage. Nguyen spins away and they battle to the bell. Good round. 10-9 Nguyen.
Round 2 – Left jab from Nguyen. Hard right hook and two straight lefts from Nguyen send Herrera stepping backwards. Hguyen with a step-in knee and a hard outside leg kick. Herrera sitting back a bit, letting Nguyen dictate the action. Herrera stepped up with a body kick, but ate a couple of uppercuts when they briefly tied up. Body/head from Nguyen. Herrera with a flying knee. Spinning back kick from Nguyen. Herrera with a knee. Herrera shoots in on a double and gets a big slam takedown just before the horn. 10-9 Nguyen.
Round 3 – Nguyen throwing everything early in the third. Ripping to the body and head, kicking low, and just putting it on Herrera. Herrera finally lookedf or a takedown but got swatted away. Nguyen with a lead right hook, ducks the counter, and cracks Herrera with a straight left. Nguyen dictating the action. Herrera with a nice low kick and connected with a left hook that Nguyen felt. Nguyen continues to step in, throw a three-punch combo, and get out of the way. Herrera misses with the home run right. Body kick from Nguyen. Herrera presses late and scores with a right hook. He landed a shot after the horn too, but it didn’t matter. 10-9 and 30-27 Nguyen.
Ben Nguyen defeated Geane Herrera by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
Rich Walsh vs. Jonathan Meunier
Round 1 – Walsh with an inside leg kick. Meunier returns it. Two more low kicks from Walsh. Walsh scores with a right but eats a counter. Meunier with a low kick while staying out of range of Walsh’s hands. Meunier with a knee to the body after a whiff by Walsh. Spinning backfist by Walsh. Hard leg kick for Walsh, and he scores with a right when Meunier tries to clinch. They both land rights at the same time. Spinning backfist from Meunier scores hard. Meunier with a late takedown. 10-9 Meunier.
Round 2 – They clinch up quickly. Meunier with a couple of knees. Walsh looking for a takedown, but couldn’t get anything going. Walsh with a body kick but Meunier caught his leg. Another takedown attempt stuffed by Meunier. Meunier with a lead right, Walsh rips back with the counter. A straight right connects for Walsh. Meunier kicks high and low. Another spinning backfist from Meunier. Walsh with a kick but Meunier shot in on a double. Walsh fought him off though. Spinning hook kick from Meunier. Walsh ducked a punch and looked for a takedown, but Meunier pushed it off. They clinch up briefly. Meunier with a knee, followed by a few kicks. Front kick and two jumping knees by Meunier late. 10-9 Meunier.
Round 3 – Walsh with a leg kick and a brief takedown. Meunier slid back to his feet against the cage and they engaged in a clinch battle. They battled for 90 seconds there without a lot happening. Spinning kick from Meunier as they separated. Meunier looked for a takedown but briefly ended up in a guillotine. He scrambled out and worked from side control. Walsh back up with two minutes to go. Overhand right rocks Meunier! He’s still there though, throwing knees. Meunier throwing range kicks, looking to stay away from Walsh’s hands. Lazy kicks from Meunier. Walsh grabbed a leg and eventually spun around to Meunier’s back. He got a takedown despite Meunier grabbing the top of the cage. Few punches. Meunier back up, then back down. Walsh throwing more punches. Meunier back up and lands an elbow at the horn. 10-9 Walsh, but 29-28 Meunier.
Jonathan Meunier defeated Rich Walsh by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Damien Brown vs. Jon Tuck
Round 1 – Tuck stepped in but Brown looked for a guillotine right away. He dropped down and squeezed, but Tuck got him against the age and popped his head out. Tuck grinded away on top with a few elbows from half guard, but there’s not a lot going on. Tuck finally opens up with huge rights, but it allows Brown to pop back up. Brown landed a right hook. He’s throwing it over and over. Brown with a nice uppercut and left hook. Straight right from Tuck sends Brown tumbling across the cage! Tuck takes his back on the ground and looks for a choke. Brown’s face is busted open. Tons of blood. 10-9 Tuck.
Round 2 – Brown with an inside leg kick. Tuck with a monumental kick to the cup that echoed through the outback, but he only needs 10 seconds to recover. Hard outside kick from Brown. Tuck sitting back now. Jab from Brown. Brown throwing a lot, and he clubbed Tuck with three hard shots. Brown catches Tuck coming in with a short right. Tuck with a body kick but eats a right. Nice jab from Tuck. Tuck with a nice combo. Brown went for a flying knee and landed a right hook in the air instead. That was unique. Tuck with some pressure at the end. 10-9 Brown.
Round 3 – Short right from Tuck. Brown with a kick, and scores with a right hook in an exchange. Nice body kick from Tuck. Looks for the Thai clinch but takes a left to the grill. brown with an elbow and a counter right. Brown with a front kick to the chest, and another. On the second one, Tuck kicked the back leg. Hard front kick to the jaw from Tuck now. Tuck with a jab. Brown wit ha head kick and a right. Tuck is controlling the center but is eating counters. Tuck lands his own counter left. Close fight with two minutes to go. Low kick from Tuck and he has a halfhearted takedown attempt blocked. Spinning backfist from Brown is blocked. Brown pressuring now. Spinning back kick partially connects. Tuck with a body kick, Brown spins again. Hard straight right from Tuck. They both kick high. Straight right from Brown. Tuck walking him down now. As I say that, Brown steps up. They throw each other around at the horn. Tough call. I’ll go 10-9 and 29-28 Tuck, but it could go either way.
Damien Brown defeated Jon Tuck by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Chris Camozzi vs. Daniel Kelly
Round 1 – Camozzi dancing around on the outside, peppering Kelly with the left and moving away. Kelly chasing and missing. Nice jabs from Caomzzi. Kelly finally lands a left hook. Camozzi fires back with his own. Lead uppercut from Camozzi. Kelly with another left hook. Camozzi jabbing. Nice outside leg kick from Camozzi. Kelly with a one-two while chasing Camozzi. Hard left hook from Kelly again. Camozzi is scoring with volume, but Kelly is landing the much harder shots. Kelly clinches up against the cage. Camozzi spins away. Straight right from Kelly. Camozzi with a huge standing elbow that busted Kelly wide open and stumbled him. Camozzi misses with a flying knee and gets taken down briefly. Kelly is on his back at the horn. Wow, that’s a lot of blood. 10-9 Kelly.
Round 2 – They couldn’t stop the bleeding between rounds. It’s up high near the hairline, but the blood is coming down into his face. Camozzi with a few peppering shots. Kelly with his patented left hook. Kelly with a takedown. Looking to set up an arm triangle briefly. Now just content to bleed all over the cage. Kelly with a few short punches. He continued to control position against the cage with a few elbows and punches. Kelly stayed there for the rest of the round. 10-9 Kelly.
Round 3 – Kelly is still bleeding buckets, but the doctor and referee Herb Dean agree that it’s not compromising Kelly’s vision, so they allow the fight to go on. Kelly pushed Camozzi against the fence looking for a takedown, but Camozzi escapes. Left hook from Camozzi. Now a short right. He’s looking for the elbow to open the cut some more too. Uppercut and left hook from Camozzi. Kelly can’t tie him up. They trade left hooks. Triple jab from Camozzi. Kelly responds. Kelly with an elbow and a jab. Still pushing forward. Hard lead left from Kelly. Camozzi with a hard right hook. Kelly gets Camozzi against the cage and drags him to the mat with 1:15 to go. Kelly with a few elbows, but he’s just looking to tie him up. Camozzi briefly looked for a triangle but there’s nothing. Kelly backs out of guard and flops over into side. It seemed like Herb Dean stopped the fight before the clock expired, but they apparently went the distance. 10-9 and 30-27 Kelly on my card.
Daniel Kelly defeated Chris Camozzi by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 30-27)
Seo Hee Ham vs. Danielle Taylor
Round 1 – Taylor with a solid combo. Body kick from Taylor. Ham looking to close the distance. Ham gets poked in the eye.She doesn’t need long to recover, but is still checked by the doctor. Taylor circling. Nice kick to the body by Ham. Taylor with a straight right. Ham countering well with her left. They trade lefts inside. Ham with a body kick. Taylor just misses with an overhand right. Ham with the counter left and it sent Taylor reeling. Another one connects! Ham with constant pressure. Taylor with a nice counter this time. Ham back to the left. 10-9 Ham.
Round 2 – Taylor circling. Ham peppering her with the left while walking her down. Taylor connects with a hard straight right. Counter left is back for Ham, landing it off of a Taylor kick this time. Ham continues to walk Taylor down. Taylor with the right. Left jab for Taylor. Ham with yet another counter left. Taylor connects but eats the counter. Hard straight right from Taylor. Good body kick too. A right hook just missed for Taylor. Taylor charged in for a takedown, but Ham evaded it, and flipped her onto the ground right into mount. It was right at the horn though. 10-9 Taylor.
Round 3 – Taylor with a strafing right as Ham continues to press. Winging lead right scores for Taylor. Ham with a lead left. Taylor rips to the body and head. Taylor finally establishing the center a bit more and not letting Ham pus forward. Three-punch combo from Taylor, but ate a straight left counter. Yet another right from Taylor. Head kick and spinning back fist from Taylor. As you can tell, this is all Taylor at this point. It’s not overly dominant because the strikes are landing with gaps in time between them, but it’s easy control. Ham looked for a takedown now, but got stuffed. It looked like Ham may have been eyepoked again and she wanted a time out, but the ref did not grant it. So Taylor punched her in the grill. Taylor with a headlock takedown at the horn. 10-9 and 29-28 Taylor.
Danielle Taylor defeated Seo Hee Ham by split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
Khalil Rountree vs. Tyson Pedro
Round 1 – Spinning back kick from Pedro. Rountree drops Pedro with a huge straight left! Pedro up, gets a body lock, and drags Rountree to the floor. He briefly gets to mount, but Rountree gets back to one knee. They engage in an extended clinch battle agains the cage before Pedro takes him back down with a trip. He stepped over into mount again with 90 seconds to go against the cage. Working from the back now, looking for a choke. He flattened Rountree out, secured the choke, and got the tap. A finish. An actual finish!
Tyson Pedro defeated Khalil Rountree by submission (rear naked choke), 4:12 of round 1
Yusuke Kasuya vs. Alex Volkanovski
Round 1 -Straight left and a body kick from Kasuya. Kasuya ducks a winging right and gets a takedown. Volkanovski back up and they engage in an extended clinch war. Volkanovski with a nice knee to thee body. He gets Kasuya down to his butt for a few seconds. Kasuya hit a beautiful reversal on teh cage, but Volkanovski reverses right back and gets Kasuya down. Hard elbows. Huge right and three lefts. Really going to town on Kasuya on the ground now. Kasuya used a leg lock attempt to reverse position and work from the top. He didn’t do much with it. Volkanovski got back on top before the horn. 10-9 Volkanovski.
Round 2 – Kasuya missed with a left hook and got taken down. Kasuya went for another leg lock, and paid the price. Volkanovski started dropping huge shots. And he kept doing it. Some of them landed right on the button. Kasuya went for yet another leg lock, with both his arms committed to it, and Volkanovski just postured up and smashed him in the side of his undefended head until the ref stopped it. Savage.
Alex Volkanovski defeated Yusuke Kasuya by TKO (strikes), 2:06 of round 2
Omari Akhmedov vs. Kyle Noke
Round 1 – Noke with a low leg kick. Akhmedov returns it. They both land body kicks. A big overhand right scores for Akhmedov, and Noke is backing off. Akhmedov attacked, and eventually got a takedown. Noke looking for something from the bottom. Akhmedov with a hard elbow. A big right gets through and Noke is bleeding. Noke looking for a triangle but gets shut down. Akhmedov giving Noke no room to breathe, just battering him. Easy 10-9 for Akhmedov.
Round 2 – Spinning backfist from Akhmedov gets blocked. Head kick from Noke. Noke with a body kick that got caught. Not much action here. Akhmedov in on a takedown attempt and slams Noke to the ground. There’s not a lot going on down there either, and the ref stood them up with 1:15 to go. Akhmedov with a nice right in an exchange. Front kick from Noke. Straight right counter from Akhmedov. Hard low leg kick from Noke. Akhmedov with one of his own. 10-9 Akhmedov.
Round 3 – Two leg kicks from Noke. Akhmedov with his own. Spinning backfist from Akhmedov again, and it’s easily blocked again. Noke with a straight right and ducks the counter. Leg kick from Noke. Akhmedov caught the leg but couldn’t do anything with it. Noke is down two rounds and still isn’t showing any urgency. Even the ref is calling for action. Akhmedov scoops a single but can’t get a teakedown. Noke went for the home run punch and Akhmedov used perfect timing to take him down. Akhmedov punches Noke as he tries to stand. 10-9 and 30-27 Akhmedov.
Omari Akhmedov defeated Kyle Noke by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Andrew Holbrook vs. Jake Matthews
Round 1 – Matthews with a front kick to the belly. Body kick from Holbrook. Matthews with a short right and a nice inside leg kick. Holbrook clinches up and lands a bevy of body shots. Holbrook with a front kick. Matthews with a front headlock and tries to scramble around to the back. Extended clinch battle. They brawl their way out of it. Neither has pulled away with the round yet. Matthews with a left hook. Hard inside leg kick by Matthews but Holbrook takes him down. Holbrook with some hard elbows to the side of the head as Matthews stands up. Matthews looking for a standing kimura. Holbrook stayed stuck to his back. Holbrook looking for a choke and opening up a bit with punches. 10-9 Holbrook.
Round 2 – They clinch up fast and Holbrook scores with some uppercuts. Nice short right hook from Matthews. Hard straight left from Holbrook and he clinches. After about a minute, Matthews punches his way out. Straight right and a takedown from Matthews. Holbrook went for a heel hook. Matthews gets his leg out and takes the back. One hook, briefly. Holbrook with elbows from behind, but he got dragged down. Holbrook looking for the leg again. The have sort of stalled out. Holbrook looking for a kimura, then another leg lock. Now a toe hold. 10-9 Matthews.
Round 3 – Body shot from Matthews. Holbrook is asking him to scrap. They exchange and Holbrook gets the best of it. But Matthews cracked him with a front kick to the face. Holbrook with an inside leg kick. Jumping knee and right hand from Holbrook. Straight right from Matthews. Big knee to the body from Holbrook. Holbrook cut over the side of his eye. Matthews works hard to get a takedown. He rolls through and takes the back, and mount. Back to the back. He’s low though, and Holbrook is throwing back elbows. Holbrook looking for a toe hold again. Matthews has his back but can’t sink his hooks. Matthews finally ends up in Holbrook’s full guard. He’s just holding on though, and Holbrook is landing a few punches from a seated position now. Elbows from Holbrook. Matthews tries to land a big right but misses. 10-9 and 29-28 Holbrook in my eyes, but the judges my disagree.
Andrew Holbrook defeated Jake Matthews by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Robert Whittaker vs. Derek Brunson
Round 1 – Brunson steps in and goes for a takedown. Whittaker shakes it off and cracks Brunson with an uppercut. Nice straight right, and a lead uppercut. Brunson fires back with a lead left and dives in on a single. Brunson lands a big shot and has Whittaker running all over the cage to avoid him. Brunson with a few more big shots. Whittaker finally plants his feet and cracks him back. Brunson still chasing though, Whittaker may have been hurt there. Brunson has a body lock against the cage now. Whittaker fights off a takedown attempt and cracks Brunson as he straightens up. Whittaker on the run again but he scores with a huge counter! Brunson hurt! Whittaker with a hard straight left. Wild, wild round. Huge head kick from Whittaker! Brunson is down! Whittaker all over him and it’s over! That was amazing!
Robert Whittaker defeated Derek Brunson by TKO (strikes), round 1
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