Flyweight contender Amir Albazi made it two for two in the UFC as he scored a hard-fought three-round unanimous decision over Zhalgas Zhumagulov.

Scores were 29-28 across the board for the No. 15-ranked Albazi, now 14-1. Zhumagulov falls to 13-5.

The first round was close, with both fighters having success on the feet while also trading takedowns. Zhumagulov’s sharp counters may have given him the edge, though.

In the second, Albazi seemed to have a read on his opponent’s rhythm on the feet, and a late uppercut jarred the Kazakhstan native just before the end of the frame.

Albazi put the fight on the mat early in round three and smoothly took his foe’s back to work for a choke. With a minute left, Zhumagulov got free and back to his feet, but was unable to put together enough offense to steal the round.

Official Result: Amir Albazi def. Zhalgas Zhumagulov by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Russian prospect Movsar Evloev remained undefeated in a 150-pound catchweight bout, surging late to take a three-round split decision over Nik Lentz.

Scores were 29-28 twice and 28-29 for Evloev, now 14-0. Lentz falls to 30-12-2, 1 NC.

Lentz had Evloev in trouble on the mat in the opening round thanks to a tight guillotine choke, but Evloev calmly escaped and ended the round with a solid ground-and-pound attack that marked up the veteran’s face.

“The Carny” kept looking for the guillotine in the second, and while Evloev kept getting free, he was being pushed hard by his opponent. The Russian’s striking was keeping the fight close, though, as the combatants got ready for the final round.

Evloev had his best round when it counted in the third, as he kept the fight standing and had his way on the feet, Lentz’ face clearly showing the wear of the battle. 

Official Result: Movsar Evloev def. Nik Lentz by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

Marcin Prachnio finally made it into the UFC win column on his fourth try, as he drilled out a close, but unanimous, decision over Khalil Rountree Jr. in light heavyweight action.

All three judges saw it 29-28 for Prachnio, now 14-5. Rountree falls to 9-5, 1 NC.

Both fighters left nothing up to chance with their strikes as the bout began, with punches and kicks landing with audible thuds. And while Prachnio and Rountree landed frequently, neither showed any visible effects from the incoming fire.

That ended in the opening seconds of round two, as Rountree put his foe on the defensive until the Warsaw product got his feet back under him and settled back into the fight. Rountree was getting into a rhythm, though, and his shots were landing more frequently, especially in the final minute, when he rocked Prachnio.

Prachnio pressed the action in round three in a quest to get back in the fight, and he had success as he chased Rountree. A couple takedown attempts came up short, but Prachnio was undeterred as he tagged his foe. Rountree was still packing thunder in his fists, and he rattled Prachnio with an uppercut midway through the final frame. The Polish battler shook it off and kept pressing to the horn, finishing the bout strong.

Official Result: Marcin Prachnio def. Khalil Rountree Jr. by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

In a battle of bantamweight contenders, Julianna Pena got better and better as her fight with Sara McMann went on, culminating in a third-round submission victory. 

McMann had a good first round, with her striking looking sharp before she implemented her ground attack thanks to a pair of takedowns. It looked like more of the same early in round two, but Pena responded with a guillotine choke attempt as well as a triangle choke. McMann defended well and settled into her opponent’s guard, but Pena stayed busy from her back before getting back to her feet, where she continued to keep her work rate high.

Pena got her own takedown in the opening minute of round three, and she landed several hard strikes as she kept McMann grounded. With a little under two minutes to go, Pena took McMann’s back and sunk in a choke, producing a tap out at 3:39 of the final round.

With the win, the No. 7-ranked Pena moves to 11-4. The No. 9-ranked McMann falls to 12-6.

Official Result: Julianna Pena def. Sara McMann by submission (rear naked choke) at 3:39 of Round 3

Number 14-ranked Brad Tavares scored a unanimous decision win over Antonio Carlos Junior in a clash of veteran 185-pounders.

Tavares’ defense was solid in the opening round as he fought off a trio of takedown attempts from Carlos. But when he wasn’t looking to take the fight to the mat, the Brazilian was staying busy with his strikes, capping off a good round even though he did eat some hard kicks to the leg.

Carlos (11-5, 1 NC) kept going all-in for the takedown in round two, getting Tavares to the mat very briefly before the Hawaiian was back to his feet. Late in the round, a right hand by Tavares hurt Carlos, but in the follow-up, a kick strayed low and brought a momentary halt to the action, allowing “Cara de Sapato” to clear his head.

Tavares (18-7) got the better of the action in the third, fighting off more takedown attempts while doing well with his standup game, and the judges were in agreement as Tavares took the bout via scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.

Official Result: Brad Tavares def. Antonio Carlos Junior by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

A pair of mishaps on weigh-in day left lightweights Arman Tsarukyan and Matt Frevola without opponents, so they fought each other, with Tsarukyan taking a three-round unanimous decision victory.

Scores were 30-27 twice and 30-26 for Tsarukyan, now 16-2. Frevola falls to 8-2-1.

The first round was competitive, but Tsarukyan got the better of matters thanks to a swarming grappling attack and sharp counters on the feet. Regardless, Frevola was with his foe every step of the way, even rattling the Armenian later in the frame.

Tsarukyan was able to keep Frevola grounded for an extended spell in the second stanza before the New Yorker scrambled back to his feet with three minutes remaining. Tsarukyan dragged his foe back to the mat moments later. Frevola was able to cut Tsarukyan with his strikes on the ground, but he wasn’t able to get to hit feet before the end of the stanza.

Sticking to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” theme, Tsarukyan continued to rely on his ground game in the final round, and it was all he needed to emerge with the win.

Tsarukyan missed weight for the bout at 157 pounds.

Official Result: Arman Tsarukyan def. Matt Frevola by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Marina Rodriguez made a statement in the main card opener, stopping fellow strawweight contender Amanda Ribas in the second round.

After chasing Rodriguez to start the bout, Ribas got the fight to the mat in the second minute and kept it there, using a steady stream of strikes to wrap up the first round.

Thirty seconds into round two, though, Rodriguez turned it all around, dropping Ribas with a right hand. A series of follow-up blows appeared to bring in referee Herb Dean to stop the fight, but after the combatants separated, he waved them back into battle. This time, Rodriguez left no doubts, as a pair of right hands brought Dean in to halt matters at :54 of the second round.

With the win, the No. 8-ranked Rodriguez moves to 13-1-2. The No. 10-ranked Ribas falls to 10-2.

Official Result: Marina Rodriguez def. Amanda Ribas by TKO (strikes) at :54 of Round 2

Middleweight up and comer Makhmud Muradov extended his win streak to 14 with a third-round stoppage of Andrew Sanchez.

The first round belonged to Muradov, who drilled Sanchez with kicks to the calf while also staying sharp with his hands. Sanchez’ standup looked good as well, but he wasn’t able to land a telling blow to deter his foe or set up a takedown.

Sanchez got more aggressive in the second round, but the more effective offensive work was again turned in by Uzbekistan’s Muradov, and while the Montrealer started to find some daylight in the final round, that aggressiveness left him open enough to catch a right hand that wobbled him. Muradov went on the attack, and after a series of unanswered blows, referee Jason Herzog stepped in to stop the fight at 2:59 of round three.

Official Result: Makhmud Muradov def. Andrew Sanchez by TKO (strikes) at 2:59 of Round 3

Flyweight contenders Joanne Calderwood and Jessica Eye settled their score, with Calderwood emerging victorious via unanimous decision.

Scores were 30-27 twice and 29-28 for the No. 7-ranked Calderwood, now 15-5. The No. 6-ranked Eye falls to 15-9, 1 NC.

It was a fast-paced first round, Eye controlling much of the action in the clinch, while Calderwood did her best work at range, where she tagged Eye seemingly whenever she wanted to. The Scotland native kept the momentum going into round two, as she mixed her striking game well while also throwing in a takedown for good measure. Eye was staying in the fight, but her opponent was starting to pull away. In the final minute, Eye scored with an important takedown, tightening the round.

Eye pinned Calderwood to the fence for much of the first half of the final round, but a stalemate brought a restart from referee Keith Peterson. Calderwood went on to effectively defend another takedown attempt from Eye, and her knees in the clinch were scored well late in the frame. 

Official Result: Joanne Calderwood def. Jessica Eye by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

The highly anticipated UFC debut of Michael Chandler lived up to expectations, and then some, as the international star stopped top ten lightweight contender Dan Hooker in less than a round.

Hooker tried to use the Octagon and his height advantage in the early going, and while Chandler chased him, the newcomer stayed patient, waiting for his chance, And just before the midway point of round one, a flush left hand dropped Hooker to the canvas. The Florida product went in for the finish, and he got it, with a series of unanswered strikes bringing in referee Marc Goddard to stop the fight at 2:30 of the first round.

With the win, Chandler moves to 22-5. The No. 6-ranked Hooker, who left his gloves in the Octagon after the bout, falls to 20-10.

Official Result: Michael Chandler def. Dan Hooker by TKO (strikes) at 2:30 of Round 1

Former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier made it a point to say in the lead-up to his rematch with Conor McGregor at UFC 257 that six years is a long time, and he was right, as the result of his second go-round with the Irish superstar was quite different than the first one, as he evened the score with a second-round TKO victory. 

“I’m happy, but not surprised,” said Poirier, who was stopped in the first round by McGregor in their first bout in September 2014. “I put in the work.”

“Dustin is some fighter,” said McGregor, who made his first start since a win over Donald Cerrone in January 2020. “I need activity. You don’t get away with being inactive in this business.”

McGregor had success early, as he got in Poirier’s face immediately, yet after a brief exchange, Poirier scored a takedown 30 seconds into the fight. McGregor worked his way back to his feet and the two traded shoulder strikes as they battled in the clinch against the fence. With three minutes left, McGregor was still locked up, but he landed a few knees before breaking free with a little over 90 seconds to go. McGregor scored with a hard right hand that was answered by a hook from Poirier, both proceeding to go back and forth until the horn.

Poirier attacked McGregor’s leg to kick off round two, while McGregor’s punch accuracy continued to impress. Poirier took the shots well and stayed busy, and after stunning McGregor with a left hand against the fence, he unloaded with both hands, ultimately dropping the Irishman with a right hand. Another big right hand followed, and referee Herb Dean stepped in, stopping the fight at 2:32 of round two.

“We’re 1-1,” said Poirier. “Maybe we have to do it again.”

With the win, the No. 2-ranked Poirier moves to 27-6 with 1 NC. The No. 4-ranked McGregor falls to 22-5.

Official Result: Dustin Poirier def. Conor McGregor by TKO (strikes) at 2:32 of Round 2

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