Read on for UFC Fight Night main card results...
STRUVE vs. 'BIGFOOT' SILVA
Fighting at home in the Netherlands for the first time since 2008, heavyweight Stefan Struve didn’t stick around long Sunday, but his fans at the Rotterdam Ahoy aren’t complaining, as “Skyscraper” delivered a stunning first-round knockout of Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.
The fight was as flawless a victory as Struve could have asked for. As Silva closed the distance at the start, a right hand from Struve forced “Bigfoot” to stumble forward. Struve landed a right knee to the body in the process, and as Silva tried to get his bearings back, the Beverwijk native fired off hammerfists and elbows, and when the Brazilian didn’t respond, referee Leon Roberts stopped the fight. The official time was 16 seconds of the first round, the third fastest finish in UFC heavyweight history.
Struve, who paid tribute to his fallen teammate Jordan Parsons in his post-fight interview, moves to 31-8 with the win; Silva, who is 1-4 in his last five, falls to 19-9 with 1 NC.
More from Fight Night Rotterdam: Results | Postfight bonuses | ’Reem karate kicks way to victory in main event | Struve storms to victory against ‘Bigfoot’ in main card | Khabilov earns impressive win in Rotterdam prelims | Horiguchi, Edwards, Sasaki win early in Rotterdam | Octagon Interviews: Alistair Overeem, Stefan Struve | UFC FIGHT PASS members: Watch the early prelims on demand | Best pictures from Fight Night
NELSON vs. TUMENOV
Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson impressively returned to the win column and likely secured a spot in the top 15 at 170 pounds, as he ended Albert Tumenov’s five-fight winning streak with a second-round submission victory.
Nelson scored often with a stiff left hand as the bout began, setting the tone as Tumenov pursued him. Yet as Tumenov began to land, Nelson took the Russian to the mat and quickly got into the mount position, where he scored with some hard elbows. With less than a minute to go, Tumenov got back to his feet, but wasn’t able to land anything of note before the horn sounded.
The first big punch of the second was landed by Tumenov, as he drilled Nelson with an overhand right, but “Gunni” got the bout back to the mat. Taking his foe’s back, Nelson used his strikes to set up a rear naked choke, and he got it, forcing a tap out at 3:15 of round two.
Reykjavik’s Nelson moves to 15-2-1 with the win; Nalchik’s Tumenov falls to 17-3.
DE RANDAMIE vs. ELMOSE
Utrecht’s own Germaine de Randamie thrilled the crowd in her home country and then spoiled the debut of Octagon newcomer Anna Elmose, stopping the previously unbeaten Denmark native in the first round of their bantamweight bout.
Elmose was able to take the crowd out of the fight pretty quickly, as he locked up with de Randamie against the fence. Midway through the round though, de Randamie got loose and began firing off her strikes, forcing her opponent into a desperation shot to kill the momentum. De Randamie avoided the takedown and began landing devastating knees while in the clinch, with a flush right to the midsection eventually dropping Elmose to the canvas. Referee Rich Mitchell called the fight right there. The official time of the stoppage was 3:46 of round one.
De Randamie improves to 6-3 with the win; Copenhagen’s Elmose falls to 3-1.
KRYLOV vs. BARROSO
Light heavyweight finisher Nikita Krylov kept his streak of early endings intact, submitting Brazil’s Francimar Barroso in the second round.
Not surprisingly, Krylov looked for the finish early, and while the Ukrainian was able to have success with his striking, Barroso weathered the attack and was able to turn much of the remaining portion of the round into a grappling match, which certainly favored the Brazilian.
The second round started much like the first did, and though Barroso responded with a takedown, Krylov reversed position and went to work, eventually taking his opponent’s back, where he sunk in the rear naked choke that ended the fight at the 3:11 mark.
With the win, Donetsk’s Krylov moves to 20-4; Rio de Janeiro’s Barroso falls to 18-5.
KOWALKIEWICZ vs. CLARK
Polish strawweight contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz made it two for two in the Octagon, winning a three round decision over Heather Jo Clark, who was fighting for the first time since December of 2014.
Scores were 30-27 and 29-28 twice.
The action was competitive in the first round, with Clark showing no ill effects from her long layoff. In the second though, Kowalkiewicz began to find her range, and once that happened, she upped her work rate and had Clark either on the defensive or looking for takedowns.
The third didn’t get any better for “Hurricane” Heather, with the Lodz native continuing to pour it on for the final five minutes, securing the unanimous decision victory that lifts her record to 9-0. Las Vegas’ Clark falls to 7-5.
