UFC Vegas 19 results: Daukaus dusts Oleinik, Aspinall becomes just second man to submit Arlovski

The UFC VEGAS 19 main card is underway and we got a couple more finishes to compliment the prelims, followed by a pair of decisions. In the co-main event, the UFC’s #7 ranked bantamweight, Yana Kunitskaya, took a grueling decision over the #6 ranked, Ketlen Vieira. The bulk of this fight took place in close, both in the clinch and on the ground. Both fighters had a lot of control time, but it was Kunitskaya who was landing all of the strikes to earn the unanimous nod. This makes two-straight victories for Yana, who used her post-fight interview to call for anyone higher than her in the rankings.

The main card saw a quick finish in the heavyweight division when Chris Daukaus stopped Aleksei Oleinik early in the opening act. Daukaus unloaded a filthy barrage of punches, laced with a couple of viscous knees, to achieve a standing TKO on the veteran. This makes three up and three down in the UFC for Daukaus, who is proving to be quite the problem on the feet.

We got a tough one to judge tonight with Nassourdine Imavov vs. Phil Hawes. Hawes had a ton of control time, while both he and Imavov were landing around the same amount of strikes. The difference in the blows was that Imavov was visibly hurting Hawes, but two of the three judges scored it for Phil nonetheless. The third official scored the bout a draw. Regardless of how you feel about the decision, Hawes is now 2-0 in the UFC and is riding a six-fight winning wave.

Opening up the main card, heavyweight young gun Tom Aspinall picked up the biggest win of his career by submitting former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski with a rear-naked choke in the second-round. Tom hurt Andrei badly on the feet in the opening round, and then took the fight to the floor in the second act and quickly found the choke. What a performance from Aspinall, who managed to complete the daunting task of being under 30 years-old at heavyweight and getting through the old guard!

**See complete results below

Main card:

Yana Kunitskaya def. Ketlen Vieira by unanimous decision (29-28 x3): (W) Bantamweight

Vieira let her hands go right away, opening up an entrance to the clinch. Kunitskaya gave up a takedown, but worked hard to quickly get up to her feet. She started to launch knees to the body, which allowed her to reverse the position. Vieira was able to get another takedown, but was able to keep it this time. Kunitskaya did not return to her feet.

Kunitskaya went back to her clinch attack in the second frame. She landed some more of those knees to the body. Vieira went for a takedown, but Kunitskaya ended up on top. Vieira threatened right away with an armbar attempt, but Kunitskaya behaved herself and escaped. Vieira used an kneebar attempt to get back to her feet, but Kunitskaya was winning the scrambles. Yana started to attack with knees to the body from the wrestlers ride, putting a stamp on the round.

Vieira quickly hit a takedown in the final round, planting Kunitskaya on her back. She worked hard trying to force an arm triangle, but Kunitskaya hung tough. Vieira transitioned to the back, and controlled as she looked for an RNC. Kunitskaya threw strikes as her back was taken, and managed to spin on top with about 10-seconds to go.

Darrick Minner def. Charles Rosa by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-27): Featherweight

Minner went right at Rosa, looking to make it a brawl. Both men started to connect as the fight got wild. Minner hit a takedown to get the fight on the floor, and stayed busy from the top. He shut down Rosa’s advances, and dropped strikes when the opportunities presented themselves. Rosa threatened with a series of leg locks just before the bell.

Minner landed a trio of right handed bombs to start the second round and get Rosa to the ground. Rosa started to attack from his back, but Minner fought them off and stayed safe. When Rosa did stand up, Minner was attached to his back and brought the match right back down to the floor. Minner locked up a tight arm triangle, but Rosa escaped like a wizard by attacking with an armbar.

Minner quickly found top position in the third act. Rosa threatened with a Kimura attempt, but he was on the bottom of half guard and Minner escaped. Several more sub attempts were thrown up by Rosa, but Minner stayed composed and stayed on top. The matched ended with the fighters tangled up on the ground with Rosa punching away with small punches until the bell.

Chris Daukaus def. Aleksei Oleinik by TKO at 1:55 of round 1: Heavyweight

The fighters quickly clinched up and Oleinik tried to pull Daukaus to the floor. He ate a couple of hammerfists before the fight returned to open space. Daukaus started to tee off, unloading a non-stop flurry of punches and knees. The referee gave Oleinik every opportunity to finish, but the barrage was not letting up so the fight was waved off. Daukaus has passed his IQ test!

Phil Hawes def. Nassourdine Imavov by majority decision (28-28, 29-28 x2): Middleweight

Hawes stalked forward right away, attacking the calf and mixing in takedown feints. He pressed Imavov against the cage, where he controlled and chipped away for quite some time. Imavov landed a slick elbow, but Hawes used the moment to snag a takedown. The control of Hawes was stellar and Imavov did not return to his feet.

The second stanza saw Hawes quickly close the distance and press his foe right back up against the cage. The fight eventually went back to open space, and Imavov was able to rocked Hawes. Despite being hurt, Hawes successfully hit another takedown to find top position and get back in the driver’s seat.

Hawes went right back to the takedown to kick off the final frame. Imavov stood up, but his back was stuck against the cage. Once he finally freed himself, Imavov spent a little bit of time in open space, but wasn’t able to dish out much damage before getting put back on the fence. once they broke apart, Imavov started peppering Hawes with heavy strikes. He wobbled Phil but couldn’t avoid the clinch. Imavov broke free, and hurt Hawes again before the bell.

Tom Aspinall def. Andrei Arlovski by submission at 1:09 of round 2: Heavyweight

The fight immediately got underway, with both athletes letting the leather fly. Aspinall rocked Arlovski, and uncorked a brutal flurry that had the former champ all sorts of hurt. He ripped to the body, but was unable to get the finish. Somehow, Arlovski managed to survive and clinch up, getting some time to recover before returning to open space. Just before the bell, Arlovski scored with a ferocious overhand right that got the attention of Tom.

The second round began with another overhand right from the former champ. They started to collide with combinations, with Andrei seeming to get the better of them. Then, Aspinall blasted a strong double leg, and quickly jumped an RNC. Arlovski was stuck and forced to tap out.