Prelim Results | UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs Duncan

This was a nice belated birthday present for “The Train,” who turned 31 on Monday. Petersen closed out the fight with his most dominant round to date, and it will be interesting to see how he builds off this win next time out.

The Brazilian flyweight was the more active and effective of the two for the whole of the fight, working the body from the outset while mixing up his strikes and sprinkling in some grappling around the edges. Late in the second, Nicoll reached on a right hand and Costa capitalized, delivering a thudding left to the midsection that sent the Australian to the canvas and “Nono” to the winner’s circle.

With the win, Costa draws level at 3-3 in the UFC, continuing his pattern of alternating results each time out. He’s flashed upside throughout his time in the Octagon and showed that once again here by flattening Nicoll and claiming his third UFC finish.

After a largely competitive opening round, Flowers hurt Vannata with a powerful slam late in the frame, leaving the returning veteran clutching at his midsection as he headed to the corner. Early in the second, Flowers again forcibly deposited Vannata on the canvas, and from there, it was academic, as the quick strikes from top position halted the action.

This was an explosive effort from Flowers, who scored a slam knockout to earn his contract on Dana White’s Contender Series and dropped each of his first three outings in the UFC. Back and healthy, “Beast Mode” turned in a strong outing on Saturday to finally get things moving in the right direction.

The 20-year-old Brazilian came out swinging big in the first, connecting with heavy shots that lumped up Cowan early. While she was taken down early in the second, Pereira did well to land off her back, and once they worked back to the feet, “Golden Girl” stepped through with a lead knee that crashed home hard, sending Cowan collapsing backwards to the canvas.

Pereira landed on the unhappy side of a split decision verdict last time out in her debut but kept the judges out of it here. The youngest fighter on the roster and with an incredible frame for the division, the future is bright for the dangerous and aggressive young Brazilian.

Both men had positive moments in the first, with Bekoev connecting well to the body while Gore attacked the lead leg before the Russian hurt Gore badly early in the second. But the former Ultimate Fighter finalist recovered and went on the offensive, taking the fight to the tired Bekoev in the back half of the round and early part of the third. Late in the frame, as Bekoev looked to wrestle back to his feet, Gore clamped onto a guillotine choke and squeezed, putting Bekoev to sleep.

Just a gutsy and impressive showing from Gore, who was hurt badly in the second, but stayed the course and secured the comeback win. That’s three UFC wins and three guillotine chokes for “Mr. Vicious,” who continues to make improvements with more reps and more time spent at The MMA Lab.

Despite the point deduction, Barbosa still came out ahead, getting herself back into the win column while improving to 3-2 inside the Octagon. “The Witch” should count herself fortunate for emerging with another win, while Gatto gets full marks for soldiering on and keeping this one close the entire way.

Hope charged across the Octagon to start, taking the fight to the Hawaiian veteran before an accidental clash of heads gave him an opportunity to swarm and secure the round. But Kamaka III steadied himself and responded in the second, his early investment in the legs and the body starting to pay dividends before the two men traded blows over the final five minutes, leaving it all in the cage.

When the scorecards were collected and totalled, it was Kamaka III that came out on the happy side of the split decision verdict, earning his first UFC win in nearly six years. This was an outstanding performance for both men and a tremendous way to kick off the night.