Bloody Elbow fight expert, Zane Simon is here, joined by his co-hort, Eddie Mercado. We recorded for you on Saturday, May 21st, 2022, with a breakdown of the UFC Vegas 55: ‘Holm vs. Vieira’ 11-bout Fight Night event; which was simulcast in English & Spanish on ESPN+/ESPN from the APEX Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Join us to hear the noteworthy details.
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.
The UFC showcased a Bantamweight contender’s bout this weekend at their UFC Vegas 55 Fight Night event, featuring the return of former Champion, Holly Holm against her Brazilian contender, Ketlen Vieira.
‘The Preacher’s Daughter’, former professional champion boxer, kickboxer and division champion, as well as the oddsmaker’s and fans favorite, entered the Octagon tonight ranked #8 in the women’s pound-for-pound rankings with a 14-5 UFC record, holding the notable distinction of having dethroned Ronda Rousey back at UFC 193. Ketlen ‘Fenômeno’ Vieira, currently ranked #5 in the division, with an impressive 13-1 UFC record, fully intended to grapple her way to a victory, nonetheless.
“I’m the next champ of the bantamweight division.” – Ketlen Vieira #UFCVegas55
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) May 22, 2022
Due to what was an insanely close and controversial split decision upset by Vieira, the Apex center was silenced when the judges scores were read, but only for a moment, before the crowd reigned down intense, sustained boos in response to Holm’s unexpected loss. Scores were: 48-47, 48-47, and 47-48 for the No.5-ranked Vieira, now 13-2. The No.2-ranked Holm fell to 14-6.
“I thought I won the fight. I gave her round 2, but I thought I won the rest of the rounds.” – Holly Holm #UFCVegas55
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) May 22, 2022
In our welterweight co-main event we had Brazilian Michel ‘Demolidor’ Pereira, the former Serbian Battle Championship welterweight Champ with a 27-11 record, including 17 finishes, take on Santiago ‘Argentine Dagger’ Ponzinibbio, holding a 28-5 record, including 21 finishes (15 of which were via knockout).
“Hey Nate, I’m ready. Hey Jorge Masvidal, come my friend. I entering ranking. I need fight with you.” – Michel Pereira #UFCVegas55
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) May 22, 2022
Pereira used his size advantage, accompanied with a strategy of punches and kicks, followed up by a sweet right hand to the head to open a bout that would turn into an exhausting, bloody, back-and-forth war between him and the Ponz. In this Fight of the Night Performance the Brazilian closed out the final round strong with a flurry of successful strikes. Many are calling it “a tough fight for the judges to call”. Scores were: 30-27, 29-28, 28-29 for Pereira, now 28-11, The No.14-ranked Ponzinibbio falls to 29-6.
Ponz looked shocked, but giving him that fight would have been a real crime. #UFCVegas55
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) May 22, 2022
There were nine other bouts on the card, which included several exciting finishes. The most noteworthy, besides the co-main, occurred when Chidi Njokuani defeated Duško Todorović with a first round knockout from a standing right elbow to the head, earning him a POTN bonus. The other POTN bonus performance was earned over the course of almost a full three rounds when 22-year-old Chase Hooper overtook Felipe Colares with strikes, after a few close but unsuccessful sub attempts.
“Hell yeah. I knew what I was capable of doing from jump.” – Chidi Njokuani on whether he thought the start of his UFC run would go this well. #UFCVegas55
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) May 22, 2022
“People are always complaining, ‘Oh I wish I was better at this,’ but not many people are flying halfway across the country to train with the best people they can find.” – Chase Hooper on improving after a rough loss. #UFCVegas55
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) May 21, 2022
For all the results, reactions and much more detail on the main card, and plenty of tidbits about the prelims, be sure to hit play on the show to hear what our fight experts, Zane and Eddie, have to say!
Overall, this now 11-bout card saw three exciting first round finishes, four thrilling KO/TKO’s, two sweet submissions, and five hard-fought decisions; three split. Rounding things out, our PERFORMANCE BONUSES were awarded to: Michel Pereira/Santiago Ponzinibbio – FOTN. Chidi Njokuani/Chase Hooper – POTN…
Here’s a look at the UFC VEGAS 55 fight card with full results & updated fight records —
ESPN+ MAIN CARD | SAT MAY 21
At 2:47 — 11. Ketlen Vieira (13-2) vs. Holly Holm (14-6) — via split decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-48)
At 7:38 — 10. Michel Pereira (28-11) vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio (28-6) — via split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)
At 16:34 — 9. Chidi Njokuani (22-7) vs. Duško Todorović (11-3) — via KO at 4:48 of Round 1
At 22:04 — 8. Tabatha Ricci (7-1) vs. Polyana Viana (12-5) — via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
At 24:41 — 7. Jun Yong Park (14-5) vs. Eryk Anders (14-7) — via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
ESPN+ PRELIMS
At 28:51 — 6. Joseph Holmes (8-2) vs. Alen Amedovski (8-3) — via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:04 of Round 1
At 31:50 — 5. Jailton Almeida (16-2) vs. Parker Porter (13-7) — via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:35 of Round 1
At 35:03 — 4. Uros Medic (8-1) vs. Omar Morales (11-3) — via TKO (strikes) at 3:05 of Round 2
At 38:12 — 3. Jonathan Martinez (16-4) vs. Vince Morales (11-6) — via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
At 41:13 — 2. Chase Hooper (11-2) vs. Felipe Colares (10-4) —via TKO (strikes) at 3:00 of Round 3
At 45:45 — 1. Sam Hughes (7-4) vs. Elise Reed (5-2) — via TKO (strikes) at 3:52 of Round 3
Sunday, May 22nd: check out our video production of the show, with enhanced graphics and infographics 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 & Eddie – @TheEddieMercado; 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, June 4th, for UFC Vegas 56: ‘Alexander Volkov vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik‘!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT… EDDIE TALKED TO MICHAEL ‘THE COUNT’ BISPING NOT TOO LONG AGO, CHECK IT OUT!
About the author
