UFC Fight Night: Santos vs Ankalaev Results

In the UFC Fight Night main event, Magomed Ankalaev extended his winning streak to eight with a five-round unanimous decision over former light heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos.

Scores were 49-46, 49-46, 48-47 for the No.6-ranked Ankalaev, now 17-1. The No.5-ranked Santos falls to 22-10.

There was little action in the first 90 seconds, and Ankalaev ended that stalemate with a couple right hands that hit their mark and got Santos’ attention. Three minutes in and it was a left that momentarily wobbled the Brazilian, who wasn’t able to get his own offense in gear in the first five minutes.

Both got busier to start round two, but Santos still wasn’t landing anything of note while Ankalaev got in a nice right hand-left kick combination. In the closing 30 seconds, though, Santos might have stolen the round with a left hand over the top that dropped the Russian.

With the fight likely even on the scorecards, the pair had three rounds to pull ahead and take the fight, and each combatant upped their work rate but neither was able to make a definitive statement to win the round.

China’s Song Yadong made the most of his co-main event spotlight as he knocked out longtime bantamweight contender Marlon Moraes in the first round.

Song got off to a good start, nailing Moraes with hard right hands, but the Brazilian took the shots well and fired back, but two minutes in, another right landed flush and sat Moraes down. With Moraes stunned, referee Keith Peterson had seen enough, and he stopped the bout at the 2:06 mark of the opening round.

Sodiq Yusuff snapped Alex Caceres’ five-fight winning streak in featherweight action as he scored a three-round unanimous decision victory.

Scores were 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 for the No.12-ranked Yusuff, now 12-2. The No.15-ranked Caceres falls to 19-13, 1 NC.

Caceres took Yusuff to the mat in the opening minute, but the Nigeria native got back to his feet quickly and scored his own takedown after catching a Caceres kick. Two minutes in, both were standing again and trading kicks, with Caceres doing good work with his hands, as well.

In a matchup of light heavyweight strikers, Khalil Rountree Jr. stopped Karl Roberson in the second round.

Both fighters started out throwing with bad intentions, Roberson (9-5) taking the early advantage, then settled into a more measured pace, with both fighters having their moments.

Rising lightweight star Terrance McKinney nearly got another rapid-fire finish, but after a strong start, it was veteran Drew Dober walking away with a first-round stoppage victory.

McKinney jarred Dober with a knee seconds into the bout and dropped him seconds later. Dober survived the onslaught but got rocked with another knee as McKinney tried to finish. Again, Dober cleared his head and fired back punches, only to get taken down by the Spokane product, who kept the pressure coming on the mat. Midway through the round, the two rose, and now it was Dober on the offensive, and as he dropped McKinney, he poured it on, and after a series of unanswered strikes, referee Keith Peterson stopped the fight. The official time was 3:17.

Dober moves to 24-11, 1 NC with the win. McKinney, who replaced Ricky Glenn two weeks after his most recent win over Fares Ziam, falls to 12-4.

Official Result - Drew Dober def. Terrance McKinney via TKO (Strikes) at 3:17 of the first round | Official Scorecards

Few expected middleweight knockout artists Alex Pereira and Bruno Silva to go the distance, and while they did, it wasn’t from a lack of trying in the three-rounder, won by Pereira via unanimous decision.  

Scores were 30-27 across the board for Pereira, now 5-1. Silva falls to 22-7.

After shooting out rangefinders to start the bout, the Brazilians got into a fight in the second minute, Silva drawing first blood with a hard punch upstairs that straightened Pereira briefly. The pair continued to battle, with a takedown by Silva breaking up the striking action with under two minutes to go. Pereira fought his way back to his feet quickly, though, and a late flurry may have broken a close round in his favor.

In a hard-fought welterweight bout, Matthew Semelsberger outlasted AJ Fletcher over three rounds, winning a three-round unanimous decision.

Scores were 29-28 across the board for Semelsberger, now 10-3. Fletcher falls to 9-1.

Just 25 seconds into the bout, Fletcher took Semelsberger down, and a few moments later, he was in the mount. Semelsberger tried to escape and got caught in a guillotine choke briefly, and the two went back to where they were on the canvas. They remained there for the rest of the stanza, Fletcher controlling the action from the top position.

In flyweight action, JJ Aldrich won her third in a row by defeating Gillian Robertson via unanimous decision.

Scores were 30-27 across the board for Aldrich, now 11-4. Robertson falls to 10-7.

The story of the first frame was Aldrich keeping it standing while Robertson wasn’t able to get the fight to the mat, which, in this striker versus grappler matchup, made it an Aldrich round.

Bantamweight newcomer Javid Basharat went the distance for the first time in his career, but he remained unbeaten, winning a three-round unanimous decision over Trevin Jones.

Scores were 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for Basharat, now 12-0. Jones falls to 13-8, 1 NC.

Both fighters were selective with their attacks for much of the first round, but in the final 90 seconds, Basharat landed some hard knees that had Jones on the defensive for a spell.

Jones picked up his pace in the second, but Basharat remained the sharper of the two as he calmly picked at his opponent from long range.

Official Result - Javid Basharat def. Trevin Jones via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) | Official Scorecards

Cody Brundage shook off some adversity against Dalcha Lungiambula and finished his foe, ending their middleweight bout via first-round submission to earn his first UFC victory.

The fight went to the mat in the second minute, but Lungiambula defended Brundage’s takedown attempt with plenty of offense, and when the two rose, “Champion” kept pouring it on until Brundage locked in a guillotine choke, took the fight to the mat, and forced a tap out. The time of the finish was 3:41 of the first round.

Brundage moves to 7-2 with the win. Lungiambula falls to 11-4.

Official Result - Cody Brundage def. Dalcha Lungiambula via submission (guillotine choke) at 3:41 of the first round | Official Scorecards