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UFC Fight Night 161 is officially in the books and what a main card it was! We're going to skim through the prelims and tell you what you missed. Here's what went down in a brillaint night of MMA.
Ryan Spann def. Devin Clark (Submission Rd 2)
Mike Davis def. Thomas Gifford (KO Rd 3)
Alex Morono def. Max Griffin (Unanimous Decision 29-28, 29-27, 29-28)
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Deiveson Figueiredo def. Tim Elliot (Submission Rd 1)
Marlon Vera def.TY Andre Ewell (TKO Rd 3)
Miguel Baeza def Hector Aldana (TKO Rd 2)
Marvin Vettori def. Andrew Sanchez (Unanimous Decision 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
JJ Aldrich def. Lauren Muelle (Unanimous Decision 30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
#6 Eryk Anders vs Gerald Meerschaert
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Eryk Anders managed to extend his win-streak to two in his third fight of the year. He faced the unranked Gerald Meerschaert and managed to defeat him narrowly via split decision.
Anders has been jumping in and out of the UFC Light Heavyweight division and he moved back to Middleweight after nearly a year away. Oddly enough, it was a relatively slow-paced fight for UFC Middleweight. It seemed as though the two men were fighting at 205, but then again, they're two traditional Southpaws who started striking late.
In the eyes of many, Meerschaert had won it narrowly, but ultimately, he has only himself to blame for not sealing the deal and going all out in Round 3. It was far from a robbery and it was 1-1 heading into the third round.
The "controversy" so to speak, came because Anders was rocked in round 3 and he should have ideally gotten the decision. The Judges seemed to think that Anders did just about enough and he may not be climbing back up the UFC rankings or a win away from getting right back into the mix.
Result: Eryk Anders def. Gerald Meerschaert by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Also read: Eryk Anders pips Gerald Meerschaert via split decision
#5 Matt Frevola vs Luis Peña
In the second fight of the main card, we had yet another narrow split decision that could have gone either way. Frevola's successful takedowns seemed to be the big difference maker as he edged Frevola edged Luis Peña in a very close fight as he won the first round but lost the second decisively, only to bounce back and secure the third.
There wasn't much controversy in this but it was a solid, scrappy fight. Peña won the second round decisively but Frevola managed to edge him out in 1 and 3. AKA will continue to shape up Peña and to many, he was the more seasoned and skilled fighter. However, what may have cost him was his complete lack of urgency when needing to close the show.
Peña managed to clip Frevola towards the end of Round 1, but it wasn't enough to secure the round as the latter managed to ragdoll him a bit in the first round. It's going to be interesting to see where the two men go from here.
Result: Matt Frevola def. Luis Peña by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
#4 Amanda Ribas vs Mackenzie Dern
Remember the name Amanda Ribas, because you're going to be hearing it a lot more in a matter of time. Ribas faced the returning Mackenzie Dern in what was a battle of two Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belts.
Ribas stepped up to the opportunity given to her and decisively outpointed Dern to a Unanimous decision victory. We must admit that this was the most impressive and unexpected performance on the main card since Ribas only had one UFC fight before this.
Not only was Ribas able to successfully handle Dern's takedown attempts, but she proved to be a potential all-rounder as her striking was on point. She managed to mix up the strikes, has a great pace and the precision as well.
Dern doesn't have the best arsenal, but Ribas' striking was really good regardless. She trains for AKA which means that she has a very high ceiling. It won't be surprising to see her edge closer to contendership in a year and perhaps be a top title contender at the rate she's going. Dern may be a BJJ Black Belt too, but on this night, it wasn't enough.
Result: Amanda Ribas def. Mackenzie Dern (Unanimous Decision 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
#3 Niko Price vs James Vick
Niko Price now has six wins in the UFC Welterweight division. It took him less than one round to finish James Vick, who suffered his fourth loss in a row and the third knockout loss in four fights.
It's likely going to mean the end of Vick in UFC. He was already on a three-fight losing skid and was at risk of being cut. With his loss to Price, that maybe it. Regardless, Niko Price will be looking to step up and move ahead by facing a ranked opponent.
It was an upkick that got him the victory. Interestingly, it was only the second upkick knockout in UFC history - the last of which came in 2006. Price also has the second-most number of finishes in the Welterweight division since 2016, with Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson's next opponent Vincent Luque being ahead of him with 8.
It's going to be interesting to see what UFC has planned for Price next, but many believe that a fight against Mike Perry will be the right one. Price took little to no damage so he should be good to go in a matter of time.
Result: Niki Price def. James Vick via KO (Upkick in Rd 1)
Also read: Vicious unorthodox KO for Niko Price leaves James Vick unconscious
#2 Kron Gracie vs Cub Swanson
It might be surprising to some that Cub Swanson was the underdog in this fight, especially given that he's a BJJ Black Belt and a former Top 5 ranked contender. While he has fallen off the rails a bit over the last couple of years following four consecutive defeats, the veteran got a W back in his record as he defeated Kron Gracie by Unanimous Decision.
It was arguably the fight of the night and by the third round alone, over 200 combined strikes were thrown between two men. Gracie's gameplan was obviously to get the clinch and start working on the ground, but Cub Swanson's experience and slickness managed to get him out of adversity and pick up the win.
We thought that Kron Gracie had won it, but the judges clearly saw otherwise. It was a close fight and Swanson will be pleased, especially since he knows he was set up as a stepping stone for Gracie (in his own words).
As for Kron, he's going to have to go back to the drawing board and get back a win. He has a lot of time since this was only his 6th professional bout and second in the UFC.
Result: Cub Swanson def. Kron Gracie (Unanimous Decision 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
#1 Joanna Jędrzejczyk vs Michelle Waterson
"Dominance" is the only word that we can use to describe the highly-anticipated main event between Joanna Jędrzejczyk and Michelle "The Karate Hottie" Waterson. Jędrzejczyk outpointed Waterson to a lopsided unanimous decision victory and it wasn't even close.
For five rounds, Jędrzejczyk dictated the pace of the fight and afterward, she revealed that she had done it all with a broken foot. It speaks volumes to her toughness, but credit must be given where it's due to Michelle Waterson.
Jędrzejczyk showed massive respect to her opponent, calling her a "warrior" after the fight. Waterson absorbed a lot more damage than she would have liked and she had two critical moments where she had Jędrzejczyk's back and nearly locked in a Rear-Naked Choke on the first attempt.
However, there was no doubt as to who the better fighter was on the night. Perhaps it was Joanna's bigger size that let her dictate the physicality aspect as well. In terms of significant strikes, the former UFC Strawweight queen was far ahead.
Jędrzejczyk stated that she wants to fight for the title next and it's going to be a toss-up between her and Tatiana Suarez. Who does Weili Zhang have to wait for?
Result: Joanna Jędrzejczyk def. Michelle Waterson (Unanimous Decision 50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
