UFC Vegas 2: Results

In a clash of debuting welterweights, it was Christian Aguilera leaving with the victory via TKO in less than a minute.

Ivy was the busier fighter as the bout began, but a sneaky right hand by Aguilera clearly got the Texan’s attention, and “The Beast” knew it, leading to a series of unanswered strikes that put an end to the bout with referee Dan Miragliotta’s stoppage coming at the :59 mark

Aguilera moves to 14-6 with the win. Ivy falls to 8-3.

Bantamweight veteran Tyson Nam got his first UFC victory in spectacular fashion on his third try, knocking out Octagon newcomer Zarrukh Adashev in the first round.

After a brief feeling out process, a leg kick by Adashev was met by a counter right hand upstairs by Nam, and that was it, as Adashev fell hard to the deck, with referee Herb Dean stopping matters 32 seconds in.

With the win, Nam moves to 19-11-1. Adashev, who replaced Ryan Benoit on short notice, falls to 3-2.

Julia Avila may have made the leap from prospect to contender in her bout with Gina Mazany, as she stopped her foe in just 22 seconds to move to 2-0 in the Octagon.

Both fighters got after it as soon as they were waved into battle, but a knee to the midsection by Avila forced Mazany to back up, and once she did that, Avila blitzed her with punches until referee Chris Tognoni stepped in to halt the contest.

Avila moves to 8-1 with the win. Mazany falls to 6-4.

Stepping in on short notice to replace Ray Borg, Gustavo Lopez was game, but outgunned, against cardio machine Merab Dvalishvili, who made it four straight wins with a unanimous decision victory in a bantamweight bout.

Scores were 30-26 twice and 30-25.

Lopez wasn’t blown out in the first round of his UFC career, but Dvalishvili’s grappling, takedowns and ground-and-pound easily got him the frame.

Dvalishvili’s pressure was relentless and it didn’t let up in the second and third rounds as he put in another dominant ten minutes to improve his record to 11-4. Lopez falls to 11-5.

Kazakhstan’s Mariya Agapova tore after Hannah Cifers as soon as their flyweight bout began, and she didn’t stop throwing strikes until she set up the submission that ended matters in the first round.
 
On the attack with punches down the middle from the start, the former Contender Series competitor was met with plenty of resistance from Cifers, but once a left kick to the head landed just before the midway point of the round, Agapova was intent on getting the finish and she got it, taking Cifers’ back while standing and sinking in the rear naked choke that forced a tap out at 2:42 of round one.
 
With the win, Agapova moves to 9-1. Cifers falls to 10-6.

Bantamweight Jordan Espinosa snapped a two-fight losing streak in style, shutting out Mark De La Rosa over three rounds.
 
Espinosa’s speed and movement – not to mention a stiff jab – got him out to an early lead, and even when De La Rosa pinned him to the fence in search of a takedown, Espinosa continued to dominate with a barrage of elbows. 
 
De La Rosa (11-5) got a little closer to Espinosa with his strikes in the second frame, but not close enough to take the round from the Albuquerque product, who made it 2-0 on the scorecards. And while the Texan showed a sense of urgency in trying to turn the fight around in the third, Espinosa (15-7, 1 NC) stuck to the game plan, threw in a takedown and some ground-and-pound, and left no doubts when the scores of 30-27 twice and 30-26 were read.

The featherweight bout between Andre Fili and Charles Jourdain delivered the goods, with Fili using solid strategy in the midst of the heated action to take a three-round split decision.
 
The first round was action-packed as expected, with both fighters throwing punches and kicks throughout. And while Fili countered well, it was a left hand by Jourdain with 90 seconds left that scored the round’s lone knockdown. Fili did recover quickly, though, and he got the last word with a slam of his foe in the closing seconds.
 
The fight remained close into the second round, but Fili appeared to make the better adjustments to his style as he peppered Jourdain more freely. Add in another late takedown, and it was more points for the Californian.
 
Fili got his takedown a lot earlier in the third, and when Jourdain rose, he slammed him back down, making a statement before the halfway point. Once standing again, the two continued to trade on even terms, but it was a takedown in the final minute that clinched the win for Fili via scores 29-28 twice and 28-29.
 
With the win, Fili moves to 21-7. Jourdain falls to 10-3.

A month after his bout with Bryce Mitchell at UFC 249, Charles Rosa got back in the win column with a hard-fought three-round split decision victory over Kevin Aguilar in their lightweight matchup.

Scores were 29-28 twice and 28-29 for Rosa, now 13-4. Aguilar falls to 17-4.

Rosa outworked Aguilar on the feet throughout the first half of the opening round, but in the closing two minutes, Aguilar began finding his range and he closed strong.

The New Englander continued to be busier than Aguilar in the second, and he appeared to stagger his foe in the closing moments despite getting a cut opened up on his forehead.

Showing a sense of urgency to begin the final frame, Aguilar marched forward, but Rosa met him eagerly with strikes of his own, and as the round progressed, Rosa appeared to grow in confidence as he landed solid shots on the Texan.

After a month of bad blood, Marvin Vettori settled his score with fellow middleweight prospect Karl Roberson, submitting his foe in the first round.
 
Settling into the fight while standing, the two locked up with a little over three minutes left, Roberson nearly getting Vettori’s neck before the Italian got the fight to the mat and nearly locked Roberson into a choke. Roberson was able to defend the submissions well, but he was then on the wrong end of a sustained ground-and-pound attack that led to a rear naked choke that hit the mark, with Roberson tapping out at 4:17 of the opening round.
 
With the win, Vettori moves to 15-4-1. Roberson, who missed weight for the bout at 190.5 pounds, falls to 9-3.

The women’s flyweight division has a new contender, as former strawweight standout Cynthia Calvillo won a five-round unanimous decision over No. 1 ranked Jessica Eye in the UFC Fight Night main event at the Apex in Las Vegas.
 
Scores were 49-46 twice and 48-47 for Calvillo, now 9-1-1. Eye falls to 15-8 with 1 NC.
 
The first round was waged entirely on the feet, with Calvillo’s fast 1-2s scoring well while Eye’s single shots packed more punch. Calvillo did land a couple kicks to the head, but Eye took them well and kept moving forward.
 
Calvillo got the fight to the mat for the first time in the second minute of round two, but Eye made it upright with 2:42 to go in the frame. Calvillo stayed locked onto her foe and was able to take Eye’s back with plenty of time to go, but the Ohio native was able to survive to the horn.
 
The standup action remained close in the third, but Calvillo opened up the frame with a takedown in the final two minutes, and as she kept Eye grounded, it was likely the decisive factor in the round.
 
Calvillo only needed 30 seconds to put the fight back on the mat in the fourth round, and she immediately took the back and went to work. Midway through, Eye returned to her feet and went on the attack, scoring well before Calvillo got her wind back and fired back.
 
In the fifth, Calvillo got her second wind and mixed up her strikes nicely, and while Eye landed a couple hard shots late, a takedown by Calvillo ended that rally in a hurry, capping off a big win for the San Jose native.