UFC Oklahoma City results and highlights: Guida dominates and upsets Koch, Gordon wins debut

The UFC Fight Night: Chiesa vs. Lee preliminary card is in the books. On UFC Fight Pass, Jeremy Kimball picked up a quick win, Tony Martin won an entertaining battle with Johnny Case, and Jared Gordon tore apart fellow Octagon newcomer Michel Quinones. Action switched over to Fox Sports 2, with Darrell Horcher, Carla Esparza, Marvin Vettori, and Clay Guida all grabbing decision wins. Here’s how the fights played out.

Clay Guida def. Erik Koch by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-26, 30-27) – Lightweights

There wasn’t much to separate these two in the striking department (rather surprisingly) in round 1. Koch showed excellent takedown defense as Guida had him against the fence, and he was able to get some knees to the body of “The Carpenter.” Guida cracked Koch with a hard right hand and used that to set up a successful takedown. He advanced to side control and then full mount, throwing stay-busy body and head strikes as Koch tried to tie him up. For an extended period of time, Koch denied Guida the space needed to land more damaging blows. Guida was, however, able to get free and deliver an onslaught of punches that got through on Koch as round 2 ended. It was arguably a 10-8 for the underdog Guida. In round 3, Koch missed on a head kick and had to fend off a takedown. Guida’s relentless pressure continued and he closed the distance, eventually put Koch on his back again, and went to work on the ground. He advanced to full mount and Koch was pretty much helpless. Elbows and punches rained down from Guida. It was total beatdown delivered by Clay, who gets his first win since 2015. Koch is now just 2-4 in his last 6.

Marvin Vettori def. Vitor Miranda by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) – Middleweights

Vettori pressured Miranda with his boxing throughout round 1. Miranda tried to back the Italian up with body and head kicks. Vettori’s best attack of the round was a flurry of strikes capped off by a knee to the body. Miranda had a kick caught and Vettori was able to get the Brazilian down. Miranda continued his kicking-heavy gameplan to end the round but was getting countered by Vettori’s hands, including a straight left. Miranda fought with a greater sense of urgency in round 2 and was chewing up Vettori’s lead leg with powerful kicks. Vettori showed good head movement and Miranda was struggling to land cleanly upstairs. Marvin earned some top control time towards the end of round 2 via a pair of takedowns. The two went toe-to-toe and traded heavy leather in close in round 3. Vettori looked to be getting the better of those exchanges, but Miranda slammed home a powerful knee to the body. Miranda was the aggressor as the round wore on, as Vettori’s movement was labored and he looked increasingly exhausted. Vettori got a crucial takedown off the body lock in the final minute of round 3, and remained on top to conclude this bout. It’s another win for Vettori, who is 3-1 inside the Octagon. “Lex Luthor” has dropped two straight.

Carla Esparza def. Maryna Moroz by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) – Women’s Strawweights

It was expected that Esparza would get the fight to the ground, and just past the midway point of round 1 she did have Moroz on her back. Moroz attempted a guillotine but it wasn’t tight, Esparza popped free, and rode out the rest of the round in Maryna’s guard. Both women landed some good strikes to begin round 2, and Moroz stopped Esparza’s double-leg in its tracks. A craftier entry by Esparza saw her grab one leg and transition to a double, but Moroz did well not to let her get top control time. Esparza exited the clinch with a nice elbow to the head. The former champion did drive forward for a takedown with just over 90 seconds left in the middle frame, and she scored with several punches to the face before Moroz stood back up to end the round. Moroz cracked Esparza with a few punches from the outside and stuffed two takedowns to start the final round. Esparza wouldn’t be denied on her next takedown, although there was just nothing going on after that, so Mario Yamasaki stood them up. She completed a single-leg with under a minute left, and a power double in the closing seconds. A wrestling clinic put on by Esparza to get her back on the winning track, while Moroz is denied a third successive victory. Not entirely sure why two judges gave Moroz a round.

Darrell Horcher def. Devin Powell by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)- Lightweights

Horcher marked his return to the UFC after a two-year layoff, which included a life-threatening motorcycle accident, with a unanimous decision win. Powell had the better start and was more active, particularly with his leg kicks, but he found himself on his back midway through round 1 after Horcher immediately reversed him on a takedown. Powell was unable to get back to his feet for the rest of the round, but Horcher wasn’t exactly serving up much damage. Several left hands by Horcher in the 2nd round had Powell hurt and buckling. Horcher went for the guillotine choke but a bloodied Powell defended it. Two uppercuts and a left hook caused Powell to fall on his backside, and Horcher spent the rest of the 2nd on top of his opponent and landing punches and short elbows. It was desperation mode for Powell in round 3, and his takedown attempt failed. Horcher went for one of his own, and Powell dropped for an anaconda choke. He switched to a guillotine to sweep to top position, and eventually get to a high half-guard. Horcher stood back up, but Powell had a last-ditch guillotine attempt which he couldn’t complete. Powell may have won the final round, but Horcher got the W, dropping Powell to 0-2 in the UFC.

Jared Gordon def. Michel Quinones by TKO (strikes) at 4:24 of round 2 – Featherweights

Gordon had the early advantage, throwing with bad intentions and putting in a high workrate. He took Quinones down and threw several ground strikes to the head, and tried to sink in a choke but couldn’t complete it. Quinones caught Gordon with a couple of glancing head kicks but struggled to get anything going. Round 2 was all “Flash” Gordon, as he rocked Quinones with an uppercut during a combination, then annihilated him on the ground with hard strikes after Quinones opted to pull guard on a takedown attempt. Quinones tried to stay in the fight and eventually returned to his feet, but Gordon literally shoved him back down and continued to punish him. Gordon gave Quinones no space to do as much as breathe, and he was tagging Michel repeatedly with power punches in striking exchanges against the fence. The final takedown spelled the end of Quinones, as Gordon’s relentless barrage of ground-and-pound led to referee Keith Peterson stepping in to end this beatdown. A fantastic UFC debut for Gordon, but he did miss weight by three pounds, so that’s the only downside for him. This was also a first Octagon appearance for Quinones, and unfortunately it was one-sided.

Tony Martin def. Johnny Case by unanimous decision (29-28 x3) – Lightweights

Case was very sharp with his jab in round 1, and landed the cleaner strikes to the head and body. Martin did have his moments late in the opening frame, most notably landing a two-punch combination off of a Case body kick. In round 2, Martin fired off a hard right hand that had Case noticeably buzzed. It looked as if Martin was able to get into a rhythm and score with his own jabs. They exchanged big shots throughout the round and Martin capped off the 2nd with a nice head kick. Case continued to find success with his jab into the 3rd, but he ate a big knee that sent him backwards. Judging by posture, it looked as if Martin had more left in the tank than Case, and Martin was certainly throwing the heavier looking punches. Martin was winning the striking exchanges more consistently, and in the closing stages he took Case down, threw some brutal elbows, and went for a kimura that was tight but time had expired. This was a fun bout with plenty of action, and in the end Martin got the victory. He’s won three straight, while Case has now lost his last two.

Jeremy Kimball def. Josh Stansbury by TKO (punches) at 1:21 of round 1 – Light Heavyweights

This didn’t last long. Kimball picked up his first UFC win by hurting Stansbury with one right hand, then dropped his foe with what pretty much looked like a standing right hammerfist. Several unanswered ground strikes led to Mario Yamasaki calling the fight off. Stansbury was the one who tagged Kimball hard with his own right hand earlier in the contest, but Kimball responded in style. It’s a second straight defeat for Stansbury and his first loss due to strikes in his pro career.