Khalil Rountree during UFC Vegas 50
UFC Vegas 50: Santos vs Ankalaev – Take a look at the results and also the ones who received the bonus
Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev clashed in the main event of UFC Vegas 50, at the Apex Centre, Las Vegas.
The card absolutely delivered, with some fantastic performances, capped off by an extremely entertaining and high-level mixed martial arts contest in the main event.
In the main event, Magomed Ankalaev showed the world that he is the dark horse of the division. The silent assassin has been on a roll inside the Octagon, winning a unanimous decision over the #5 ranked, Thiago Santos.
Ankalaev had to push through some adversity on his path to victory. He started out calm and collected, keeping the fight in distance and circling with good boxing feints and working good strikes from the outside.
The punches kept adding up, and the Russian kept stacking up points against Santos. Santos on the other hand did a great job of staying focused and not chewing onto the baiting feint game of Ankalaev.
The second round saw Ankalaev continue to press forward behind feints, while Santos stayed defensively composed. At the end of that lacklustre round, Santos finally connected, hurt, and then dropped Ankalaev before the bell.
The later rounds would end up with Ankalaev getting the better of most part of the fight, although Santos had his brief moments. The contest was basically a kick-boxing affair with some grappling advances by Ankalaev towards the end. The takedown and ground control did wonders for Ankalaev, who has won eight fights in a row now.
In the co-main event, China’s “Kung Fu Monkey” Song Yadong, No. 14 ranked bantamweight contender, lodged a major win with a walk-off, highlight reel-worthy KO of No. 10 ranked Marlon Moraes. Yadong is likely to break into the top 10 with this impressive victory.
Earlier, when light heavyweights Khalil Rountree Jr. and Karl Roberson went to war, it was fireworks from the very start. Khalil came back to the second round with ferocious intentions and stopped the fight by TKO via kick to the body and closing it off with ground and pound.
One of the most exciting fights on the card was delivered when Drew Dober and Terrance McKinney clashed in the lightweight division. McKinney dropped Dober in the first round, and looked well on his way to secure fifth straight win inside the octagon. However, Dober bounced back and pumped braked to McKinney’s party. He won the fight via TKO in the second round.
Former kickboxing world no.1 Alex Pereira, had the world watching when he stepped in to fight Bruno Silva. He showcased his heart and cardio, in a back and forth affair, between Pereira’s striking and Silva’s grappling attempts. He won the fight via unanimous decision, and stepped closer towards another fight vs Israel Adesanya.
Magomed Ankalaev def. Thiago Santos via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) | Live blog
Song Yadong def. Marlon Moraes via KO (punches) at 2:06 of Round 1
Sodiq Yusuff def. Alex Caceres via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Khalil Rountree def. Karl Roberson via TKO (strikes) at :25 of Round 2
Drew Dober def. Terrance McKinney via TKO (strikes) at 3:17 of Round 1
Alex Pereira def. Bruno Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Matthew Semelsberger def. A.J. Fletcher via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
JJ Aldrich def. Gillian Robertson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Javid Basharat def. Trevin Jones via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Damon Jackson def. Kamuela Kirk via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:42 of Round 2
Miranda Maverick def. Sabina Mazo via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:15 of Round 2
Cody Brundage def. Dalcha Lungiambula via submission (guillotine) at 3:41 of Round 1
Guido Cannetti def. Kris Moutinho via TKO (punches) at 2:07 of Round 1
Azamat Murzakanov def. Tafon Nchukwi via TKO (flying knee) at :44 of Round 3
These are the fighters who cashed in the extra $50,000 bonus for their brilliant performances.
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