Stipe Miocic retains UFC heavyweight championship title in Daniel Cormier trilogy fight
Stipe Miocic retained his UFC heavyweight title with a unanimous decision win over rival Daniel Cormier in their trilogy fight, going up 2-1 in their head-to-head series.
The Ohioan was able to control “DC” in the clinch against the cage and often landed the more punishing shots when the pair exchanged strikes.
Miocic scored a knockdown with some looping right hands as the second round was nearing its close, finishing the first 10 minutes on top in full mount and landing some clubbing punches.
In a total role reversal, Cormier endured a horrific-looking eye poke in the third round which he later revealed left him unable to see out of his left eye from then on.
Despite that impairment, Cormier did have success in the fight. DC looked to have hurt Miocic in the fourth round as advanced forward with his boxing attack, while he started the fight off well with his dirty boxing, leg kicks and a takedown.
Miocic smartly shut the fight down in the fifth as he once again took the bout to the fence to take home the unanimous decision victory.
Cormier announced his retirement from the sport after the fight.
Marlon Vera halts the Sean O’Malley hype train
Marlon Vera felt slighted that he was an underdog going into his fight with Sean O’Malley and you could sense his elation after walking away with a big win at UFC 252.
O’Malley started the fight well, using his kicking arsenal well to keep the Ecuadorian at bay.
However, a misstep saw O’Malley pick up a leg injury which both left him in pain and severely impacted on the kind of movement he is reliant on.
After fighting through that adversity, O’Malley soon collapsed to his back and Vera seized upon that opportunity.
Vera launched an assault of punches and elbows on the prone O’Malley. Referee Herb Dean quickly stepped in to stop O’Malley from absorbing any unnecessary punishment.
Big victory for Vera as he gets over his controversial loss to Yadong Song which halted his five-fight winning streak.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik returns to winning ways with TKO victory against Junior Dos Santos
Jairzinho Rozenstruik quickly got over his devastating loss to Francis Ngannou in May with a second-round TKO win over American Top Team stablemate Junior Dos Santos at UFC 252.
The heavyweights fought a measured, somewhat apprehensive first round as the well-acquainted teammates searched for an opening.
Round two followed in a similar vein until Suriname’s Rozenstruik struck.
Rozenstruik sent Dos Santos crashing down to the floor with a two-punch combination before following up with a volley of punches, knocking the Brazilian down once again.
Referee Dan Miragliotta promptly stepped in to wave off the fight to spare Dos Santos of more punishment.
“Bigi Boy” is back in the win column as he restarts his ascent up the UFC heavyweight rankings.
UFC 252: Miocic vs Cormier 3 full results
Heavyweight: Stipe Miocic (c) def. Daniel Cormier by unanimous decision after five rounds
Bantamweight: Marlon Vera def. Sean O’Malley by TKO (elbows and punches) at 4:40 of round one
Heavyweight: Jairzinho Rozenstruik def. Junior Dos Santos by TKO (punches) at 3:47 of round two
Catchweight: Daniel Pineda def. Herbert Burns by TKO (elbows) at 4:37 of round two
Bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili def. John Dodson by unanimous decision after three rounds
Lightweight: Vinc Pichel def. Jim Miller by unanimous decision after three rounds
Women’s Strawweight: Virna Jandiroba def. Felice Herrig by submission (armbar) at 1:44 of round one
Catchweight: Daniel Chavez def. TJ Brown by unanimous decision after three rounds
Women’s Strawweight: Lívia Renata Souza def. Ashley Yoder by unanimous decision after three rounds
Heavyweight: Chris Daukaus def. Parker Porter by TKO (punches and knee) at 4:28 of round one
Featherweight: Kai Kamaka III def. Tony Kelley Decision by unanimous decision after three rounds