UFC 271: Adesanya vs Whittaker 2 Results

The two 185-pound stars fought on fairly even terms early in round three, with Whittaker breaking the stalemate with a takedown with two minutes left. Adesanya again rose quickly and got busier, trying to make sure he didn’t lose the round to the challenger.

In the second minute of round four, Whittaker got another takedown and then took Adesanya’s back as the two rose. He made a rear naked choke attempt, but Adesanya defended well and the two separated, leading to more of the same restrained but effective striking by the champion.

The fifth was Whittaker’s most effective of the fight as he implemented his grappling attack again, and while it didn’t ignite the crowd, it was a smart strategy from “The Reaper,” even though it didn’t secure a victory for him.

Official Result - Israel Adesanya def. Robert Whittaker via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)

An uppercut by Lewis rattled Tuivasa in the opening minute of round two, and after a brief clinch, the two went swangin’ and bangin’, with a Tuivasa elbow upstairs putting Lewis down and out, with the official time of Dan Miragliotta’s stoppage being 1:40 of the second stanza.

With the win, the No.11-ranked Tuivasa moves to 15-3. The No.3-ranked Lewis falls to 26-9, 1 NC

Official Result - Tai Tuivasa def. Derrick Lewis via KO at 1:40 of the second round. | Official Scorecards

As round two began, Brunson easily dumped Cannonier to the mat again, but when the Arizonan rose, he rocked Brunson and had him on the defensive. Brunson seemed to have some trouble getting his legs back under him, and Cannonier capitalized, eventually hurting Brunson again with a minute to go. Brunson tried to shake the cobwebs loose, but once the fight hit the mat, a flurry of thudding ground strikes brought in referee Kerry Hatley to stop the fight at 4:29 of the second round.

With the win, the No.3-ranked Cannonier moves to 15-5. The No.4-ranked Brunson falls to 23-8.

Official Result - Jared Cannonier def. Derek Brunson via TKO (strikes) at 4:29 of the second round. | Official Scorecards

A right hand by Moicano rocked Hernandez (13-5) early in round two, and while it looked like some follow-up shots would end it, it was the rear naked choke that forced a tap out at 1:23 of the frame.

Official Result - Renato Moicano def. Alexander Hernandez via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:23 of the second round | Official Scorecards

A busier Haqparast got closer with his strikes in round two, but one shot at a time wasn’t getting the job done against Green, who was using his veteran tool box to remain the fighter in control.

And while the second stanza was promising for Haqparast, in the third, it was all Green again, as he wrapped up another victory.

Official Result - Bobby Green def. Nasrat Haqparast via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) | Official Scorecards

Vanderaa got in some clinch work early in round two as he tried to tire Arlovski out, but once the two separated, it was Arlovski’s right hand dictating the action once more. Vanderaa took the shots well, but he was losing the fight on the scorecards through two frames.

There was little significant action in the third round, but most of what was there came from Vanderaa. It was too little too late on two of the scorecards though, as Arlovski got the nod.

Official Result - Andrei Arlovski  def. Jared Vanderaa via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) | Official Scorecards

Roxanne Modafferi didn’t win the final bout of her career, but the women’s MMA pioneer went out fighting before losing a three-round split decision to Casey O’Neill.

“I gave everything I had,” said Modafferi. “It’s time for me to pass the torch to the next generation.”

Scores were 29-28 twice and 28-29 for the No.15-ranked O’Neill, now 9-0. The No.12-ranked Modafferi retires at 39 years old with a 25-21 record.  

Bantamweight up and comer Kyler Phillips turned in a complete performance en route to a third-round submission win over Marcelo Rojo.

Phillips’ combinations were sharp, quick and plentiful as the fight began, and once he got Rojo to the mat in the second half of the frame, he remained in control. With two minutes left, the two rose, but Phillips remained a step ahead as he wrapped up a solid round with another takedown.

In a fairly uneventful light heavyweight bout, Carlos Ulberg outpointed Fabio Cherant over three rounds.

Scores were 30-27 across the board for Ulberg, now 6-1. Cherant falls to 7-4.

There was little significant action in the opening couple minutes of the fight outside of a kick landed by Ulberg after Cherant complained of a low blow. After a brief break, Cherant was fired up by the foul and landed a hard shot upstairs, but wound up getting taken down. The fighters rose quickly, and it was Ulberg controlling the standup action until a flash knockdown by Cherant just before the horn.

A sharp check hook by Ulberg cut Cherant, but the New Englander didn’t appear too bothered by it, as he stayed in the pocket with his foe. That was good for Ulberg, though, as he calmly picked his shots and piled up points.

THere was more of the same in the third, Ulberg fighting his fight and Cherant not being active enough to give him anything to worry about. And when he did, Ulberg responded with a takedown and some ground control before a final standup sequence.

Official Result - Carlos Ulberg def. Fabio Cherant via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) | Official Scorecard

Ronnie Lawrence held off a spirited charge from Houston’s Mana Martinez in the final round of their bantamweight bout to win a hard-fought unanimous decision.

Scores were 29-27, 29-27 and 29-28 for Lawrence, now 8-1. Martinez falls to 9-3.

Lawrence’s first takedown attempt in the second minute was a successful one, and while he was able to push Martinez into the fence, “ManaBoi” used it to get upright and separate from his foe. But with 1:35 left, it was Lawrence who took over in the striking department, as he dropped Martinez with a right hand. Martinez recovered quickly, but Lawrence kept him grounded for the rest of the round.

Malkoun kept up the wrestling attack in the second round, and once he was able to ground his foe for an extended period, he let loose with a barrage of strikes that clearly put him back in the fight in a big way.

After opening the third with another takedown, the momentum had swung in Malkoun’s favor, and Dobson had few answers for his opponent, as “Mamba” dominated the rest of the way to pick up the win.

Official Result – Jacob Malkoun def. AJ Dobson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) | Official Scorecards

Silva (28-4, 1 NC) got right back into the fight in the second round, as he rocked Morozov and went after the finish. Morozov shook off the attack and got back to business, but a thumb in Silva’s eye brought a momentary halt to the action. When it resumed, Silva dropped Morozov and while the Kazakhstan native got up immediately, he was holding on for dear life, and Silva continued to pound away, with the fight going to the mat again. This time, Silva got his foe’s back and sunk in a fight-ending rear naked choke. The official time was 3:34 of round two

Official Result – Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Sergey Morozov via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:34 of the second round | Official Scorecards

Official Result – Jeremiah Wells def. Blood Diamond via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:38 of the first round. | Official Scorecards

Knight was able to close the distance on his taller foe in round two, with a takedown at the three-minute mark being the result. Knight tried to take his opponent’s back, but Grishin worked his way into the top position on the mat, diluting the effect of the takedown. With a little less than a minute to go, the two rose, and it was back to the pattern of Grishin controlling the action from long range.

Knight got a takedown midway through the final round but the combatants didn’t stay upright long. Knight did stay with his grappling attack, though, and it worked well until Grishin let loose with his strikes in the final seconds. 

Official Result – Maxim Grishin def. William Knight via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) | Official Scorecards