UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs Rodriguez Results

Big things were expected from the UFC Fight Night main event between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez, and big things were delivered by the featherweight stars, as they battled hard for five compelling rounds, with Holloway emerging victorious via unanimous decision.
 
Scores were 49-46, 48-47, 48-47 for the No.1-ranked Holloway, now 23-6. The No.3-ranked Rodriguez, back in action for the first time since October 2019, falls to 14-3, 1 NC.
 
Holloway got right in Rodriguez’ face, hoping to get within the range of his opponent’s kicks, but “El Pantera” found the room to get those shots in, and when Holloway did get close, Rodriguez landed his share of hard punches. Holloway wasn’t bothered, but it was Rodriguez outworking him. With a little under two minutes left, the two traded flush right hands, Holloway’s opening a cut under his foe’s left eye. Rodriguez proceeded to look for a takedown in the final minute, momentarily halting the Hawaiian’s momentum until the two ended the round looking to make a statement.
 
Rodriguez kept a high pace in the second round, focusing on battering Holloway’s legs. When Holloway tired of the kicks, he fired back and tagged the Mexican, and it appeared that his strikes were having more of an effect on Rodrigues, who appeared to get stung by a knee in the closing minute.
 
Holloway scored with a flying knee to start the third, and while Rodriguez continued to focus on the legs, “Blessed” didn’t stop moving forward, and after what appeared to be a flash knockdown but was revealed to be a slip, he got into the mount position on his foe, looking to finish with plenty of time left on the clock. Rodriguez defended well and got back to his feet, and while he initially appeared weary, he fired off a flurry and sought out a takedown. It was Holloway who got the fight to the mat, though, and in the final minute, the former champ finished strong with ground strikes that continued to leave their effect on Rodriguez’ face.
 
The exchanges remained heated in the fourth round before Holloway suddenly sought out a standing guillotine in the second minute. Rodriguez survived but was taken to the mat, and Holloway’s punishing attack resumed. With 1:45 to go, the two rose, Rodriguez trying a pair of spinning moves to catch Holloway napping. An inadvertent eye poke by Holloway brought a brief halt to the action, and then it was back to each fighter looking to end matters with whatever weapons they had at their disposal.
 
Told between rounds that he needed a finish to win, Rodriguez went after it to begin the fifth frame, showing remarkable stamina and resilience. Then again, those are two of the hallmarks of Holloway’s style, and “Blessed” took whatever came his way and answered back in kind. Midway through the round, a wild kick by Rodriguez ended up with him on the mat, but he reversed position and had control briefly until the two stood and battled against the fence. As they exchanged, Holloway emerged with a cut over his right eye. An accidental eye poke from Rodriguez halted the fight briefly, but when they got back into it, there was more compelling action until the final horn.
 
Official result – Max Holloway def. Yair Rodriguez via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) | Official Scorecards

Brazil’s Marcos Rogerio de Lima delivered perhaps the best performance of his career, as he stopped veteran standout Ben Rothwell in less than a minute.

De Lima came out drilling Rothwell’s legs with his kicks, and once he went upstairs with a right hand, he hurt the Wisconsin native and went all-in for the finish. Haymaker after haymaker followed, and while Rothwell briefly weathered the storm, the shots kept coming, with referee Herb Dean halting the fight at :32 of the opening frame.

De Lima moves to 19-8-1 with the win. Rothwell falls to 39-14.

Official result – Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Ben Rothwell via TKO (strikes) at :32 of round one

Letson’s first round since 2018 was a rough one, as Spencer (9-3) swarmed her and kept her locked up against the fence for much of the frame. Add in some well-placed elbows, and it was a dominant effort by the Canadian, one that continued into the second round, as she kept winning the grappling exchanges, throwing in a few takedowns for good measure.

Letson (5-3) opened up the third with her own takedown, but once Spencer settled in, she regained control and fired off strikes as she bulled her foe into the fence. And after another display of dominance, the punishing action was stopped by referee Mark Smith at 4:25 of round three.

Official result – Felicia Spencer def. Leah Letson via TKO (strikes) at 4:25 of round three | Official Scorecards

The second was another close round, with Baeza battering Williams’ lead leg with his kicks while “The OxFighter” landing with big shots upstairs. A pair of low blows from Williams drew a stern warning from referee Chris Tognoni, but Baeza was able to continue and get into the final round.

Williams wasn’t interested in going to the judges, though, as a heated exchange saw the Detroit product land a flush right hand that dropped Baeza to the mat, prompting a stoppage by Tognoni that the Floridian immediately protested, but to no avail. The official time was 1:02 of the third round.

Williams moves to 13-2 with the win. Baeza falls to 10-2.

Official result – Khaos Williams def. Miguel Baeza via TKO (strikes) at 1:02 of round three  | Official Scorecards

After a largely tactical first round edged by Song, Arce came out more aggressively in the second frame, but Song matched his foe’s intensity, landing with a right kick to the head that jarred the New Yorker. A couple of laser-like right hands followed, sending Arce to the deck and prompting a stoppage by referee Herb Dean at 1:35 of round two.

With the win, the No.15-ranked Song moves to 18-5-1, 1 NC. Arce falls to 17-5.

Official result – Song Yadong def. Julio Arce via TKO (strikes) at 1:35 of round two | Official Scorecards

Alvarez pressured Moises from the start and he was on target immediately, forcing Moises onto his back foot. From there, the strikes came from all angles and limbs from “El Fenomeno,” and once the Spain native hurt his foe, he poured it on, forcing referee Marc Goddard to stop the fight at 3:01 of the opening round.

Alvarez, who missed weight for the bout at 157.5 pounds, improves to 19-2. The No.15-ranked Moises falls to 15-6.

Official result – Joel Alvarez def. Thiago Moises via TKO (strikes) at 3:01 of round one | Official Scorecards

Louisiana’s Andrea Lee was impressive from start to finish as she halted fellow flyweight contender Cynthia Calvillo in two rounds.

Both fighters set a fast pace as the bout began, but it was the ultra-busy Lee taking the early lead as she landed jab after jab on the forward marching Calvillo. By the end of the round, both were bleeding from the nose, but Lee was clearly in a better place in the fight.

In the second, Lee kept tagging Calvillo, hurting her with body shots as the punch stat numbers added up. Lee did appear to injure her left hand in the round, but it ultimately didn’t matter, as Calvillo wasn’t able to continue, with the fight officially ending at 5:00 of the second stanza.

With the win, the No.12-ranked Lee moves to 13-5. The No.5-ranked Calvillo, who replaced Jessica Eye on short notice, falls to 9-4-1.

Official result – Andrea Lee def. Cynthia Calvillo via TKO (corner retirement) at 5:00 of round two | Official Scorecards

Woodson’s height and reach advantage was a bridge too far for Anglin to cross, despite his best efforts, and after the St. Louis native hurt his foe with a little over a minute left in the first round, a series of body shots forced referee Herb Dean to step in and stop the fight at 4:30 of the opening frame.

Woodson moves to 9-1 with the win. Anglin falls to 8-3.

Official result – Sean Woodson def. Collin Anglin via TKO (strikes) at 4:30 of round one | Official Scorecards

There was more of the same in the second and third, Jojua (8-5) getting a little more aggressive, but not enough to deter Casey, who sailed to victory via three scores of 30-27.

Jojua missed weight for the bout at 128.5 pounds.

Official result – Cortney Casey def. Liana Jojua via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) | Official Scorecards

With the two getting into the fight in the early going, Alves (20-10) stunned Diakiese (14-5) with a left hand and followed up with a flying knee. The Brit looked for a takedown, but he ran right into a tight guillotine choke that forced the tap out at 1:48 of round one.

Official result – Rafael Alves def. Marc Diakiese via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:48 of round one | Official Scorecards

In the light heavyweight opener, Da-un Jung extended his current unbeaten streak to 15 with a first-round knockout of Kennedy Nzechukwu.

Both fought at a measured pace to begin, each getting in a couple shots in, but after a right elbow staggered Nzechukwu, Jung went all-in for the finish and he got it, with a series of follow-up elbows by the South Korean ending matters. The official time of referee Chris Tognoni’s stoppage was 3:04 of round one.

Jung moves to 15-2-1 with the win. Nzechukwu falls to 9-2.

Official result – Da-un Jung def. Kennedy Nzechukwu via KO (strikes) at 3:04 of round one | Official Scorecards