Giga Chikadze topped the UFC Vegas 35 results on Saturday night with a third-round stoppage of Edson Barboza in Las Vegas. Two new Ultimate Fighters were crowned as well with the finals of season 29 of The Ultimate Fighter.
UFC Vegas 35 results: Giga Chikadze shines with third-round TKO victory over Edson Barboza in main event
No. 10 ranked featherweight contender Giga Chikadze was successful in the UFC Vegas 35 main event, as he defeated no. 9 ranked contender Edson Barboza by third-round TKO.
The first half of the first round was a feeling out process with both Barboza and Chikadze showing patience. However, toward the second half of the first, Chikadze appeared to shift into a higher gear, moving forward throughout the remainder of the round, while landing an array of punch combinations, leg kicks and body kicks.
Barboza and Chikadze kicked off the second with a more even striking output. Chikadze continued to utilize his movement very efficiently and find openings, but as the round went on, Barboza began to process Chikadze’s rhythm a bit and find his striking opportunities. He landed some solid calf kicks and jabs and body shots as the round closed.
The third round started off with some back and forth boxing, but 30 seconds into the round, Chikadze blasted Barboza with a right jab, noticeably stunning him. From then on, Chikadze was going for the finish. He continued to walk Barboza down and blasted him with a right hook followed by a flurry to drop Barboza. Chikadze then threw a few submission attempts that Barboza got out of. The fight then went back to the feet, where Chikadze dropped Barboza with a left hook to put the fight away 1:44 into the third round.
UFC Vegas 35 results: Bryan Battle gets second-round submission victory over Gilbert Urbina to win TUF 29 middleweight tournament
Bryan Battle, the final pick for team Volkanovski, was victorious in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 35, snagging a second-round submission victory over short notice fill-in Gilbert Urbina to win TUF 29 middleweight tournament.
The first round started off quickly. Battle and Urbina immediately jumped into an array of striking exchanges, with Urbina landing a takedown before Battle got back to his feet. Urbina was persistent though, securing yet another takedown. Urbina maintained ground control for roughly a minute and stayed active on top with ground and pound before Battle was able to get back up to his feet. The fight stayed on the feet with Battle and Urbina finishing the round with a narrow striking differential.
Battle started the second round on the hunt, walking down Urbina and throwing big shots. Urbina curbed Battle’s onslaught with a takedown shot, and maintained clinch control for around half a minute before Battle broke free. Urbina re-engaged on another takedown attempt, but was again unsuccessful. Urbina threw a reverse spinning elbow when Battle subsequently shot for his own takedown. Battle was successful and immediately took Urbvina’s back. He softened him up with some ground and pound before locking in a rear-naked choke making Urbina tap 2:15 into the second round.
UFC Vegas 35 results: Ricky Turcios edges Brady Hiestand with split decision victory to win TUF 29 bantamweight tournament
The renaissance man of TUF 29, Ricky Turcios, captured a split decision victory over 22-year-old fellow TUF 29 finalist Brady Hiestand to win the TUF 29 bantamweight finale.
The fight was back and forth from the get go, with Turcios edging Hiestand in the striking department throughout their three-round scrap. Looking at the numbers, Turcios landed a total of 201 strikes, with 100 of them being significant strikes, compared to Hiestand’s 82 strikes landed (59 significant strikes).
While Hiestand frequently went to his bread and butter with takedowns, landing six of them throughout the fight, Turcios still proved to be a nuisance to Hiestand on the ground, frequently landing strikes from his back.
Despite the split decision leaning toward Turcios, it would not be unreasonable to say perhaps Hiestand deserves another fight in the UFC.
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UFC Vegas 35 Results: Giga Chikadze def. Edson Barboza
UFC Vegas 35 Main Card
- Main Event – Featherweight Bout: Giga Chikadze def. Edson Barboza by TKO (punches) at 1:44, R3
- TUF Middleweight Finale: Bryan Battle def. Gilbert Urbina by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:15, R2
- TUF Bantamweight Finale: Ricky Turcios def. Brady Hiestand by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Welterweight Bout: Daniel Rodriguez def. Kevin Lee by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Middleweight Bout: Andre Petroski def. Micheal Gillmore by TKO (elbows and punches) at 3:13, R3
- Middleweight Bout: Gerald Meerschaert def. Makhmud Muradov by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:49, R2
UFC Vegas 35 Prelims
- Middleweight Bout: Abdul Razak Alhassan def. Alessio Di Chirico by KO (head kick) at 0:17, R1
- Middleweight Bout: Wellington Turman def. Sam Alvey by split decision (27-28, 28-27, 28-27)
- Light Heavyweight: Dustin Jacoby def. Darren Stewart by TKO (punches) at 3:04, R1
- Women’s Flyweight Bout: JJ Aldrich def. Vanessa Demopoulos by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Featherweight Bout: Pat Sabatini def. Jamall Emmers by submission (heel hook) at 1:53, R1
- Bantamweight Bout: Mana Martinez def. Guido Cannetti by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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