UFC Fight Night: Smith vs Spann Results

Whitmire got the fight to the mat in the opening minute, and while Goldy didn’t stay there long, Whitmire scored with another trip to put her foe on the canvas again. And while the Las Vegan controlled matters, Goldy kept her head in the game, and when she found the opening for an armbar, she got it, forcing a verbal submission at 4:17 of the opening frame.

With the win, Goldy moves to 6-2. Whitmire falls to 4-5.

Official result – Hannah Goldy def. Emily Whitmire via submission (armbar) at 4:17 of round one

In bantamweight action, a third-round point deduction cost Alatengheili a victory and forced him to settle for a draw against Gustavo Lopez.

Scores were 28-28 across the board. Lopez moves to 12-6-1. Alatengheili moves to 14-8-2.

The 135-pounders kept it standing in the opening round, and there were some good exchanges, with each fighter having their moments, but it was Lopez going back to his corner with a cut over the left eye. The pattern continued in round two with the exception of a takedown attempt by Lopez that Alatengheili defended well, putting a lot of weight on the third round, and Lopez responded with a blitz of strikes midway through the frame, and when Alatengheili was docked a point by referee Keith Peterson for repeated fence grabs, it now forced the China native to become the aggressor, but he was not able to steal the round back before the bout ended.

Official result: Alatengheili Draw 3 (28-28, 28-28, 28-28) Gustavo Lopez

Welterweight Carlston Harris made it two for two with two finishes in the Octagon, stopping Impa Kasanganay in the first round.

Kasanganay had the more traditional striking technique, but Harris’ wilder shots were finding a home, and soon, the Guyana native rocked Kasanganay with a right hand, then put him on the canvas moments later. A follow-up barrage from Harris ended matters, with referee Mark Smith halting the bout at the 2:38 mark.

Official result – Carlston Harris def. Impa Kasanganay via TKO (strikes) at 2:38 of the first round

22-year-old flyweight phenom Erin Blanchfield impressed in her UFC debut, as she shut out Sarah Alpar over three rounds.

Scores were 30-25, 30-25, 30-26 for Blanchfield, now 7-1. Alpar falls to 9-6.

Alpar set a fast pace on the feet to begin the fight, but Blanchfield’s return fire was varied and clearly doing more damage, whether it was a jab, a kick to the body or knees and elbows at close range. Midway through the round, Blanchfield got her first takedown, and she went to work with her ground strikes until the horn sounded.

Blanchfield’s strikes continued to be on target as round two began, and after landing several shots, the New Jersey native put the fight back on the mat. And while the end seemed near, the gutsy Alpar was able to make it out of the round.

It was more of the same impressive work from Blanchfield, but Alpar was just as tough as she survived her opponent’s attack to the final horn.

Official result – Erin Blanchfield def. Sarah Alpar via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-26)

Bantamweight prospect Montel Jackson kept the momentum going as he spoiled the UFC 135-pound debut of JP Buys via unanimous decision.

Scores were 30-27 across the board for Jackson, now 11-2. Buys falls to 9-4.

Buys got the takedown and moved into the mount a minute into the fight, and he soon took Jackson’s back and looked for the choke. Jackson got free and as the two rose, he sunk in a standing guillotine that had the South African in trouble briefly, but he escaped and the two battled on the mat and in the clinch before trading and separating. On a subsequent return to the mat, Buys attempted the guillotine, but Jackson escaped, using hammerfists to score some points.

A pair of left hands by Jackson knocked Buys down to start the second stanza, but Jackson recovered well and got back to his feet. The two locked up with Jackson controlling the action but Buys still trying to stay busy. With 90 seconds left, the two separated, with Jackson dropping his foe with a right hand. Again, Buys recovered quickly, but he was soon on the receiving end of another takedown.

Jackson’s left put Buys on the deck in the opening minute of the first round, and while Buys got back to his feet, he seemed a little worse for wear this time around. Buys had a brief break after taking an inadvertent low blow, but another knockdown followed when the action resumed. Buys did make a late kimura attempt, but it was to no avail.

Official result – Montel Jackson def. JP Buys via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

China’s Rong Zhu earned his first UFC victory, defeating late notice replacement Brandon Jenkins via third-round TKO in a lightweight bout.

Jenkins was competitive in the opening round, but the action was largely controlled by Rong, whose big score was a knockdown two minutes into the frame followed by some solid groundwork.

Rong kept the heat on in the second stanza, methodically piling up the points on the feet and the mat, and in the third, he closed the show, with a steady stream of unanswered strikes prompting referee Chris Tognoni to stop the fight at 4:35 of round three.

With the win, the 21-year-old Rong, who missed weight at 158 pounds, moves to 18-4. Jenkins, who replaced Dakota Bush, falls to 15-8.

Official result – Rong Zhu def. Brandon Jenkins via TKO (strikes) at 4:35 of the third round

It was a grueling bantamweight bout fought at a high level, but when three competitive rounds were over, it was Raquel Pennington outlasting Pannie Kianzad via unanimous decision.

Scores were 29-28 across the board for Pennington, now 12-9. The No.12-ranked Kianzad falls to 16-6.

The first round was fought in the trenches against the fence, with Pennington the busier fighter while Kianzad appeared to be the most effective with her close-range work.

Pennington raced out of her corner as round two began, and the fighters were back in the clinch against the fence. Pennington broke loose with some hard punches, but the two would up back in the clinch, this time with “Rocky” in control. When they broke, Kianzad appeared to be winded, and Pennington kept the pressure on, getting the fight to the mat midway through the frame. Once standing, it was more clinch work from both fighters.

Both fighters let their hands, elbows and knees go in the final frame, neither willing to back down from the pace they had fought at throughout the bout, making it a tough call for the judges.

Official result – Raquel Pennington def. Pannie Kianzad via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Tafon Nchukwi’s move to the UFC’s light heavyweight division was a winning one, as he shut out Mike Rodriguez over three rounds.

All three judges saw it 30-27 for Nchukwi, now 6-1. Rodriguez falls to 11-7, 1 NC.

Nchukwi turned in a punishing first-round effort, both in the clinch and on the mat, and though Rodriguez had his moments, it was a clear round for “Da Don,” who kept the pressure on Rordiguez in the second round, even though the New Englander got a little busier as he tried to use his height and reach advantage. There was more of the same in the third, with Nchukwi doing whatever he wanted to do, with only Rodriguez’ chin and heart keeping him in the fight until the final horn.

Official result – Tafon Nchukwi def. Mike Rodriguez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

St. Louis KO King Joaquin Buckley did his thing in middleweight action, stopping Antonio Arroyo in the third and final round.

Given the result of Buckley’s last fight against Alessio Di Chirico, Arroyo’s game plan was clear – to score a head kick knockout. To hit his mark, Arroyo was throwing early and often, his kicks traveling at a high rate of speed with bad intentions. Buckley took the shots well as he fired back with his own kicks, but he was eating enough of them for it to be a concern.

Buckley had a solid second round as he fought a busier and more diverse fight offensively while Arroyo’s intentions were still the same. The Brazilian did land a flush flying knee with a minute left, but a subsequent clinch by Buckley allowed him to clear his head.

Buckley kept his momentum going into the third, but in a close fight, he wasn’t willing to leave it up to the judges, as a pair of right hands stunned, then dropped Arroyo, with a furious barrage of punches forcing Mark Smith to halt the bout at 2:26 of the final round.

Official result – Joaquin Buckley def. Antonio Arroyo via TKO (strikes) at 2:26 of the third round

Bantamweights Nate Maness and Tony Gravely lived up to the hype in their showdown, delivering plenty of momentum swings before Maness halted Gravely in the second round.

It was a back and forth first round on the feet and in the grappling realm, with the pair trading takedowns, but in the closing seconds of the frame, a right hand by Gravely sat Maness down and had him in deep trouble before the horn sounded.

Gravely went on the attack with his strikes to start the second round, eager to see if Maness had recovered or not. He apparently did, because with three minutes left, Maness landed with his own right hand, dropping Gravely, and with plenty of time to finish, he did, with referee Keith Peterson stopping the fight at the 2:10 mark of round two.

Maness moves to 14-1 with the win. Gravely falls to 21-7.

Official result – Nate Maness def. Tony Gravely via TKO (strikes) at 2:10 of the second round

Rising lightweight star Arman Tsarukyan won his fourth straight in emphatic fashion, stopping Christos Giagos in less than a round.

The pair scrambled to the mat in the opening minute, Giagos landing in top position. Tsarukyan stayed cool under pressure, though, and after the two stood, he floored Giagos with a hard left hand. Giagos tried to recover, but the ground strikes kept coming without return until referee Herb Dean stopped the fight. The official time of the finish was 2:09.

With the win, the No.14-ranked Tsarukyan moves to 17-2. Giagos falls to 19-9.

Official result – Arman Tsarukyan def. Christos Giagos via TKO (strikes) at 2:09 of the first round

Ariane Lipski delivered the best performance of her UFC career in flyweight action, as she handed Octagon newcomer Mandy Böhm her first loss via unanimous decision.

Scores were 30-27 across the board for Lipski, now 14-7. Bohm falls to 7-1, 1 NC.

Bohm didn’t show any signs of the first-time UFC jitters in the opening round, but that didn’t stop Lipski from imposing her will and implementing her gameplan effectively. The Germany native did have some good moments in the second stanza, but Lipski was still dominating, even scoring a late-round knockdown for emphasis.

In the third, Lipski dropped Bohm again and nearly finished the fight with a series of ground strikes, but Bohm was able to hold on and give one final charge before the bout ended.

Official result – Ariane Lipski def. Mandy Bohm via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Moldova’s Ion Cutelaba scored a punishing three-round unanimous decision win over Devin Clark in UFC Fight Night’s light heavyweight co-main event at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.

Scores were 30-26, 29-26, 29-27 for Cutelaba, now 16-6-1, 1 NC. Clark falls to 12-6.

Clark got an immediate takedown, but Cutelaba got to his feet just as fast, resulting in a clinch against the fence until the two separated. After some tactical work, Cutelaba dropped Clark with and looked to be close to a stoppage before Clark cleared his head and got back to his feet. Cutelaba scored two takedowns with less than a minute left and fired off a series of unanswered strikes, but Clark was able to make it out of the round.

Cutelaba opened up round two with another takedown and he landed in the full mount position. There, Cutelaba began raining down shots again. Clark defended well, though, and with under two minutes left, he got back to his feet, but he was unable to break his opponent’s clinch against the fence.

After a check from the Octagonside physician for teeth injured by a knee in the previous round, Clark came out of the corner for the third frame but was taken down by Cutelaba. Clark didn’t stay there long, but he was pinned to the fence by the Moldovan, until another takedown just before the midway point of the round. Cutelaba soon moved into the mount and fired off strikes, but Clark made it upright with a little over a minute left and he scored a big takedown, only to have the horn halt his comeback attempt.

Official result – Ion Cutelaba def. Devin Clark via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-26, 29-27)

In a main event clash of light heavyweight contenders, Anthony Smith made a statement to the rest of the division with a first-round submission of Ryan Spann.

Smith and Spann fought on even terms in the opening minute before a left hand from Smith put his foe on the mat. Smith nearly sunk in an armbar, but Spann escaped and got some shots in before the two rose. Again, the left by Smith staggered Spann and the bout went back to the mat, with Smith taking the back of the Texan. A rear naked choke followed, with Spann tapping out at the 3:47 mark.

With the win, the No.6-ranked Smith moves to 36-16. The No.11-ranked Spann falls to 19-7.

Official result – Anthony Smith def. Ryan Spann via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:47 of round one