After the insanity that was the PFL: Battle of the Giants PPV card earlier in the evening, UFC Vegas 99 was a far tamer offering of MMA action with nine of the 11 fights ending via the judges’ scorecards.
Only two post-fight bonuses were handed out after the event, Anthony Hernandez earned himself the Performance of the Night thanks to a fifth-round knockout in the main event; with two UFC veterans throwing down for a $50K Fight of the Night bonus further down the card.
Veteran Daniel ‘The Pit’ Pineda announces his retirement from the UFC
The UFC Vegas 99 main card clash between featherweights Daniel ‘The Pit’ Pineda and Darren ‘The Damage’ Elkins was a brutal and bloody back-and-forth war, with both men showing some namesake damage at the final horn.
Whilst Elkins would ultimately walk away with the decision victory, Pineda would announce that he’d be walking away from the sport entirely; telling Paul Felder in the octagon: “Guys, that was my last one man.
“You know, we’re just some dogs in here and that’s my third one [loss] straight, f*** – dude, I am done… Thank you Darren Elkins for the bad*** fight.”
Pineda might be exiting the UFC under the cloud of a three-fight losing streak, but the 39-year-old can hold his head up high as he leaves the sport while boasting an impressive 100% finish rate.
Since making his professional debut all the way back in 2007, Pineda has only ever won fights via stoppage, with 19 career wins via submission and nine victories via KO/TKO.
The retirement announcement has been met with a wave of support from Pineda’s global fanbase, with fellow UFC star Joshua Van posting a video of the team celebrating with the caption “Happy retirement coach, Texas Legend! Proud of you always.”
Former Bellator champion Raufeon Stots would write “He’s a htown legend fasho,” with 7-1 prospect Dakota Hope also penning a heartfelt message to his long-time coach via his Instagram page.
“Houston’s finest, a Texas legend, the people will miss watching you fight in the cage and so will I, BUT fortunately for me I get to call you my coach. As always, much love brotha… Excited for the future.”
Pineda scored one KO/TKO, and four submission wins under the UFC banner and ends his career with a solid 28-17 record.
UFC Vegas 99 Results: Judges kept busy at The Apex with nine decisions
Darren Elkins’ hard-fought victory over Daniel Pineda was one of nine decisions on the UFC Vegas 99 card; although the card did end on a high note as Anthony Hernandez was able to secure the TKO stoppage late into the fifth and final round.
The full results from UFC Vegas 99 include.
- Anthony Hernandez def. Michel Pereira via round five TKO
- Rob Font def. Kyler Phillips via a unanimous decision
- Charles Johnson def. Sumudaerji via a unanimous decision
- Cameron Smotherman def. Jake Hadley via a unanimous decision
- Darren Elkins def. Daniel Pineda via a unanimous decision
- Asu Almabayev def. Matheus Nicolau via a unanimous decision
- Jean Matsumoto def. Brad Katona via a unanimous decision
- Joselyne Edwards def. Tamires Vidal via round three submission
- Elise Reed def. Jessica Penna via unanimous decision
- Melissa Martinez def. Alice Ardelean via unanimous decision
- Austen Lane def. Robelis Despaigne via unanimous decision
Next up on the promotion’s calendar is UFC 308: Topuria vs Holloway, scheduled for October 26 in Abu Dhabi.
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