Amanda Nunes dominates Felicia Spencer for 25 minutes
Amanda Nunes has long been referred to as the greatest female fighter of all time for a reason.
“Lioness” put in a near-flawless performance against Canada’s durable Felicia Spencer in the main event of UFC 250, dominating her way to a comprehensive unanimous decision win over five rounds.
In the opening two rounds, Nunes showed off her ground prowess as she controlled position and doled out plenty of punishment from on top whenever she pleased.
From then on, it seemed Nunes wanted to toy with Spencer on the feet.
Spencer, who is tough as they come, offered little in offence as she was constantly in retreat or defending herself from an onslaught of strikes.
A lesser woman would not have made it out of those five different rounds.
Unsurprisingly, the judges sat cageside unanimously scored the fight in the Brazilian’s favour, who made her first successful defence of her UFC featherweight championship as a result.
Who’s next for Nunes? Judging by her performance at UFC 250, there will be few women who willingly seek after that kind of challenge.
Cody Garbrandt makes a statement, knocks out Raphael Assuncao
Cody Garbrandt is back and looking better than ever.
The former UFC bantamweight champion emphatically ended his three-fight losing run with a stunning knock out over perennial 135-pound contender Raphael Assuncao.
With just seconds remaining of round two, Garbrandt had his back against the cage.
Assuncao advanced and swung a right hook after seeing Garbrandt briefly tease changing levels.
Unfortunately for him, Garbrandt had wound up on his own right hand from the hip and uncorked a spectacular hook as the horn sounded to signal the end of the second round.
Garbrandt avoided the kind of wild firefight which has ultimately led to his three previous losses. The Ohioan seemed to approach this fight with a level of maturity and fight IQ we haven’t seen from him before now and that could well have been sharpened now he’s splitting time between his Team Alpha Male camp and Mark Henry in New Jersey.
Aljamain Sterling makes quick work of Cory Sandhagen with submission win
Aljamain Sterling was a man on a mission at UFC 250.
Perhaps slighted that he was passed up for the next UFC bantamweight title fight – which is set to see Petr Yan take on Jose Aldo for the belt left vacant by the recently-retired Henry Cejudo – Sterling more than staked his claim as the next contender lying in wait.
Sterling took the fight to fourth-ranked Cory Sandhagen right away. The Jamaican-born New Yorker quickly slapped on a rear-naked choke while he had Sandhagen’s back.
Sandhagen tapped, but he fell unconscious right after as Sterling moves to five wins in a row, snapping the former’s seven-fight win streak in the process.
Surely, Sterling is next in line for the next UFC bantamweight champion, be it Russia’s Yan or Brazil’s Aldo.
Neil Magny takes unanimous decision win over Anthony Rocco Martin
On a night of outstanding fight-ending sequences, this closely-contested battle flies under the radar.
Both fighters were well matched in this one. Anthony Rocco Martin had a lot of success in controlling Neil Magny in the clinch in the opening two rounds.
Magny was the busier fighter in terms of strikes and appeared to come on strong in the third round as he hunted down Martin in search of a finish.
The Elevation Fight Team product ended the fight fresher and busier than Martin and all three judges scored the fight in his favour.
Magny has now won four of his last five fights in the UFC.
Sean O’Malley is for real! Walk-off KO win over veteran Eddie Wineland
Sean O’Malley ensured his “Sugar” show continues as he scored a spectacular walk-off knockout win over veteran bantamweight Eddie Wineland.
The fight lasted less than two minutes, but O’Malley showed off his deep arsenal of striking techniques in that time.
His kill-shot came from a feinted left uppercut followed up by a big, crushing right straight which landed clean and sent Wineland crashing.
It was O’Malley’s biggest test of his burgeoning MMA career so far and he passed it with flying colours.
Sugar is undefeated, boasting a 12-0 record and now has four wins in the UFC’s Octagon.
UFC 250: Nunes vs. Spencer full results
Women’s Featherweight championship: Amanda Nunes (c) def. Felicia Spencer by unanimous decision after five rounds
Bantamweight: Cody Garbrandt def. Raphael Assunção by KO (punch) at 4:59 of round two
Bantamweight: Aljamain Sterling def. Cory Sandhagen by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:28 of round one
Welterweight: Neil Magny def. Anthony Rocco Martin by unanimous decision after three rounds
Bantamweight: Sean O’Malley def. Eddie Wineland by KO (punch) at 1:54 of round one
Featherweight: Alex Caceres def. Chase Hooper by unanimous decision after three rounds
Middleweight: Ian Heinisch def. Gerald Meerschaert by TKO (punches) at 1:14 of round one
Featherweight: Cody Stamann def. Brian Kelleher by unanimous decision after three rounds
Middleweight: Maki Pitolo def. Charles Byrd by TKO (punches) at 1:10 of round two
Flyweight: Alex Perez def. Jussier Formiga by TKO (leg kicks) at 4:06 of round one
Light Heavyweight: Devin Clark def. Alonzo Menifield by unanimous decision after three rounds
Catchweight (150 lbs): Herbert Burns def. Evan Dunham by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:20 of round one