We are halfway through the UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor televised preliminary card, and the FS1 action kicked off with a bang, as lightweight Scott Holtzman delivered some devastating elbows to knock Alan Patrick out in the final round. #9 ranked women’s bantamweight Aspen Ladd then put on a clinic against former Invicta FC champion Tonya Evinger, dominating and stopping the women’s MMA pioneer in the opening round. Here’s how the fights played out.

UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor prelims live results, discussion, play by play

Aspen Ladd def. Tonya Evinger via TKO (strikes) at 3:26 of round 1 – Women’s Bantamweights

Neither of these fighters wasted much time in there. They were aggressive and throwing powerful strikes at each other, as Evinger worked some dirty boxing and clinch striking before backing Ladd against the fence. A failed takedown by Evinger led to Ladd gaining top position and firing off big strikes — punches and hammerfists aplenty. Ladd tried to scramble and take Evinger’s back, which she did. Ladd had Evinger flattened out and just unleashed a series of unanswered punches to get the fight stopped. She moves to 2-0 in the UFC and looks like a real top talent in the division.

Scott Holtzman def. Alan Patrick by KO (elbows) at 3:42 of round 3 – Lightweights

Holtzman started off strongly with a looping left hand that landed flush on Patrick’s head. The Brazilian threw his own left hand and Holtzman caught it with the glove, then stopped the takedown. Both men threw punches with seriously bad intentions, and it was Holtzman who was getting in the cleaner shots, including a head kick that Patrick ridiculously absorbed without issue. An inside leg kick as Patrick was moving forward put him off-balance, allowing Holtzman to end up in half-guard.

Patrick failed to take Holtzman down early in round two — or at least he took him down but Holtzman sprang back up in a hurry — and it appeared as if the leg kicks of Holtzman gave Patrick some issues with his right leg. The former hockey player continued to find offensive success with ground strikes midway through the contest. Patrick was flailing wildly and using a lot of energy both in his strikes and takedown attempts, which Holtzman kept fending off.

A vicious counter right hand by Holtzman put Patrick down hard, and he looked for the finish. Holtzman moved into full mount with Patrick trying to tie him up. He bashed Patrick with a series of elbows, but had to fend off an armbar shortly thereafter. Holtzman easily escaped and eventually passed into mount again. More elbows rained down and Patrick was rendered unconscious. A superb KO win by the American, who hands the Brazilian only his second loss.

UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor prelims live results, discussion, play by play