UFC San Antonio was an OK event. The bantamweight headliner was fun, and the bantamweight co-headliner saw a former champion dominate.
The preliminary portion of the card started with an all-action affair between Victor Altamirano and Vinicius Salvador. These two gave us some excellent exchanges throughout three rounds, but it was ‘El Magnifico’ who did more to earn a unanimous decision. CJ Vergara followed up with a ‘Comeback of the Year’ contender against Daniel Da Silva. After getting stunned with a spinning wheel kick early, the Contender Series alum survived and turned the tide on ‘Miojo,’ who he finished via second-round TKO. Trevin Giles got his second consecutive win with a split decision against Preston Parsons. Lucas Alexander lit Steven Peterson up for a unanimous decision. The ‘Lion’ kept ‘Ocho’ on the end of his punches and kicks the entire fight, which led to his first UFC win. As for Peterson, he announced his retirement from mixed martial arts to focus on coaching and promoting. Best of luck to you, Mr. Peterson!
The main portion of the card saw Daniel Pineda return to the Octagon and submit Tucker Lutz. The ‘Pit’ popped Lutz with a few knees that saw him hit the canvas, where Pineda wrapped up a guillotine choke. The first attempt failed, but once he re-adjusted, the second one was right on the money and Lutz tapped. Albert Duraev eked out a split decision against Chidi Njokuani. Maycee Barber improved to 4-0 in her current UFC stretch with a split decision against Andrea Lee. The ‘Future’ was the more aggressive fighter, but ‘KGB’ had some decent moments on the feet and the ground. Nate Landwehr turned in another exciting performance against Austin Lingo. This one was back-and-forth, but the ‘Train’ started to get the better of ‘Lights Out’ in the second round, where a few high kicks signaled the beginning of the end. With Lingo fading, Landwehr went for a takedown, got his opponent to the ground and snatched up the rear-naked choke. Holly Holm dominated Yana Santos en route to a unanimous decision. The former UFC bantamweight champion outstruck and outwrestled Santos, who she nearly finished a few times.
Cory Sandhagen bested Marlon Vera by split decision. From start to finish, the ‘Sandman’ mixed his striking and wrestling well, frustrating ‘Chito’ throughout the night. Though Vera got some good shots in, it was not enough to get the win on two of three judges’ scorecards. In his post-fight interview, Sandhagen said he would be more than happy to share the Octagon with Merab Dvalishvili next.
Performance of the Night: Daniel Pineda and Nate Landwehr
CJ Vergara def. Daniel Da Silva by TKO (ground-and-pound) at 4:04 of Round 2
Daniel Pineda def. Tucker Lutz by submission (guillotine choke) at 2:50 of Round 2
Nate Landwehr def. Austin Lingo by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:11 of Round 2
Fight of the Night: CJ Vergara vs. Daniel Da Silva
Victor Altamirano def. Vinicius Salvador by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Trevin Giles def. Preston Parsons by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Lucas Alexander def. Steven Peterson by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Albert Duraev def. Chidi Njokuani by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Maycee Barber def. Andrea Lee by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
Holly Holm def. Yana Santos by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Cory Sandhagen def. Marlon Vera by split decision (47-48, 50-45, 49-46)
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