UFC Columbus: Blaydes vs Daukaus | 6th Round Post-Fight Show

Bloody Elbow fight expert, Zane Simon is back, joined by Mookie Alexander, filling in for Eddie Mercado. We recorded for you on Saturday, March 26th, 2022, with a breakdown of the UFC COLUMBUS: ‘Blaydes vs. Daukaus’ now 12-bout Fight Night event; which was simulcast in English & Spanish exclusively on ESPN+ from the Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio. This event marks the first time the UFC has returned to the city named after the controversial explorer since UFC 96, in March, 2009. The card brought us a wide array of compelling clashes in a number of relevant divisions. So, let’s check out this banger of a card…

The guys have hot takes, possible next fights, as well as reactions to the overall event in the player above, or they can be caught on our Bloody Elbow Presents YouTube Channel or any of our BE Presents Podcast Network. (SPOILERS…)

The Main Event:
The UFC put their elite Heavyweights on display again this week in the Main Event of UFC COLUMBUS. This match-up was a collision between Chicago native, #4 ranked, Curtis ‘Razor’ Blaydes against the Philly native, #11 ranked, Chris Daukaus. Blaydes, the Elevation Fight Team brawler, came at this bout with an impressive 15-3 record, coming off a Top-10 divisional victory against Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 266 last fall. Daukaus, ‘The Cop’, was coming off a loss to Derrick Lewis at UFC Vegas 46 back in December, despite being on the brink of title contention, with a solid record of 12-4. Outcome…

The Co-Main:
In the co-main event clash, we had a Top-10 Women’s Flyweight scrap with the Scottish Muay Thai expert, Joanne ‘JoJo’ Wood (formerly Calderwood) squaring off against the Latina dynamo, Alexa Grasso. JoJo was coming off a two-fight losing streak, having lost three of her last four, now ranked #7, holding a 15-7 record; while Grasso, the climbing phenom, walked into the octagon on a two-fight win streak tonight, ranked #9 with a 13-3 record, sporting some wicked boxing skills. Outcome…

Rounding out the main card, were four additional fights:

Just prior to the co-main event we saw Welterweights Matt ‘The Immortal’ Brown vs. Bryan ‘Bam Bam’ Barbarena GO. TO. WAR. Originally, this bout was booked for December, 2021 and was predicted to be tonight’s FOTN performance, since neither of these guys know how to put on a boring fight. Brown, the Columbus native, returned to his hometown as a TUF 7 alumni, holding the distinction of having the most KO’s in UFC Welterweight history, with a storied career record of 23-18. Meanwhile, Barbarena, has fought across three divisions and has ten knockouts under his own belt, having amassed a 16-8 record, including a victory on that December card he stayed on against Darian Weeks. Outcome: Zane and Mookie have plenty to say about this one, so be sure to catch this bout segment on the show! BTW – it was FOTN, they did not disappoint.

We were treated to a Flyweight BANGER between top contenders, the undefeated #2-ranked Dagestani, Russian free-style wrestler, Askar ‘Bullet’ Askarov, throwing down against the New Zealander, #6-ranked Kai ‘Don’t Blink’ Kara-France. A shot at championship gold was potentially hanging in the balance. Askarov held a 14-0 record, unbeaten in 15 career performances heading into the octagon tonight; while his veteran combatant, Kai, held a record of 23-9, with his own aspirations to be the next contender for Deiveson Figueiredo before the year is out. Outcome: Kara-France doled out Askarov’s first pro loss via Unanimous Decision and immediately called for the Flyweight title shot later this year.

There was also another Heavyweight bout on the main card between fight legend Aleksei ‘The Boa Constrictor’ Oleinik and up-and-comer Ilir ‘The Sledgehammer’ Latifi. This Heavyweight tilt had Aleksei drawing on his 59-16 record against Latifi’s 15-8 record, to date. Oleinik was looking to achieve his 60th career ‘W’, while Latifi was looking to secure his place in the division with another victory performance. Oops, Nope. None of this. This bout was scrapped. Tapology says, “due to Latifi illness”, which has been described as “non-Covid-related”. This unfortunate situation rearranged the bout order of the card…

After an eventful string of prelims and a dominant decision win in the opener — we got a heated clash between Welterweight fight veteran, and Top-15 fixture, Neil ‘Haitian Sensation’ Magny and fellow brawler Max ‘Pain’ Griffin. Max approached this fight on a three-fight win streak, hoping to overcome Magny’s entourage of jabs and legendary endurance. Outcome: Magny managed to secure a hard-fought Split Decision win tonight, tying GSP for most wins in UFC Welterweight history, with 19 now. He immediately calls out Drew Dober.

Also worth mentioning, in our new main card opener, there was a Lightweight contest between notable striker turned grappler, Marc ‘Bonecrusher’ Diakiese vs. newcomer ‘Slava Claus’ Vyacheslav Borshchev. Diakiese had only had two wins in his last seven outings, but was poised for a comeback. Borshchev, the DWCS 5 alum had all of Team Alpha Male backing him tonight, as he was looking for another victory after his promising UFC debut. Outcome: ‘Bonecrusher’ walked away with a dominant Unanimous Decision ‘W’ tonight, putting a dent into ‘Slava Claus’’ plans to climb up the division.

Our new featured prelim tonight highlighted one of the seven bouts on the undercard. Women’s Bantamweights collided when veteran divisional contender, #9 ranked, Sara McMann, took on #12 ranked, Karol Rosa; after being bumped up the card when the Latifi-Oleinik bout was cancelled in the final hours. Outcome: McMann, being a former Olympic silver medalist utilized her superior wrestling skills to overwhelm Rosa, taking her to the mat on multiple occurrences. Despite Rosa putting forth a valiant defense, particularly late in the bout, McMann walked away with the Unanimous Decision victory.

For all the results, reactions and much more detail on the main card, with plenty of tidbits about the seven-bout prelims card as well, be sure to hit play on the show to hear what our fight experts, Zane and Mookie, have to say!

Overall, this now 12-bout card saw one exciting first round finish, two thrilling KO/TKO’s, two sweet submissions, and eight hard-fought decisions, two of those split. Rounding things out, our fighters who were awarded for putting forth BONUS efforts were:

Here’s a look at the UFC COLUMBUS: ‘BLAYDES VS DAUKAUS’ fight card’s full results & updated fight records —

ESPN+ MAIN CARD | SAT. MAR 26
At 2:00 — 12. 265lbs: Curtis Blaydes (16-3) DEF. Chris Daukaus (12-5) — KO/TKO, Right Cross to Ground Strikes at 0:17 of Rd 2 of 5, Total 5:17 — POTN BONUS

At 14:12 — 11. 125lbs: Alexa Grasso (14-3) DEF. Joanne Wood (15-8) — SUB, Rear Naked Choke at 3:57 of Rd 1

At 22:32 — 10. 170lbs: Bryan Barbarena (17-8) DEF. Matt Brown (23-19) — DEC, SPLIT (29-28×2, 28-29) — FOTN BONUSES

At 30:41 — 9. 125bs: Kai Kara-France (24-9) DEF. Askar Askarov (14-1) — DEC, Unanimous (29-28×3)

At 36:09 — 8. 170lbs: Neil Magny (26-8) DEF. Max Griffin (18-9) — DEC, SPLIT (29-28×2, 28-29)

At 41:45 — 7. 155lbs: Marc Diakiese (15-5) DEF. Vyacheslav Borshchev (6-2) — DEC, Unanimous (30-27×3)

ESPN+ PRELIMS
At 45:26 — 6. 135lbs: Sara McMann (13-6) DEF. Karol Rosa (15-4) — DEC, Unanimous (29-28×3)

At 47:40 — 5. 125lbs: Chris Gutierrez (18-3) DEF. Batgerel Danaa (12-3) — KO/TKO, Spinning Backfist & Elbows at 2:34 of Rd 2, Total 7:34 — POTN BONUS

At 53:11 — 4. 185lbs: Aliaskhab Khizriev (14-0) DEF. Denis Tiuliulin (10-6) — SUB, Rear Naked Choke at 1:58 of Rd 2, Total 6:58

At 56:39 — 3. 125lbs: Manon Fiorot (9-1) DEF. Jennifer Maia (19-9) — DEC, Unanimous (30-27×3)

At 1:01:43 — 2. 125lbs: Matheus Nicolau (18-2) DEF. David Dvořák (20-4) — DEC, Unanimous (29-28×3)

At 1:04:26 — 1. 145lbs: Luis Saldaña (16-7) DEF. Bruno Souza (10-3) — DEC, Unanimous (29-28×3)

Sunday, March 27th: Check out our video production of the show, with all new enhanced graphics to accompany the guys’ commentary, on our Bloody Elbow Presents YouTube Channel right here:

At that time, timestamps will have been edited into this post for your listening convenience.

Be sure to follow Zane – @TheZaneSimon & Mookie – @MookieAlexander; and follow @BloodyElbow on twitter as well, for all the latest in MMA happenings.

If you enjoy our shows, give us a shout out in the comments here on Bloody Elbow, and give us a “like”, share & subscribe on your BE Presents Podcast platform of choice: SoundCloud, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, OverCast, Player FM, & Amazon Music – For previous episodes of the show, check out our playlists on any of our BE Presents channels.

Join us again for another episode of ‘6th Round’ in two weeks, on Saturday, April 9th. for TWO TITLE FIGHTS at UFC 273: ‘Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie‘ (UFC Featherweight Championship) & ‘Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan’ (UFC Bantamweight Championship), & more!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT… WE TALKED TO MICHAEL ‘THE COUNT’ BISPING RECENTLY, CHECK IT OUT!