By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Costa and MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano were both this past weekend and featured some exciting fights and finishes. Who won and who lost? Let’s get to the rundown.
UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Costa
GOOD- Kalinn Williams stops Nikolay Veretennikov
They’re trading strikes early until Williams drops Veretennikov with a big right hand. He’s able to stand but Veretennikov gets dropped by some more powerful right hands that drop him again and force the referee to jump in to stop the fight three and a half minutes into the first round.
Williams improves to 16-5 while Veretennikov drops to 14-8. Good win for Williams.
GOOD- Benardo Sopaj submits Timothy Cuamba
They spend the first round trading strikes until Sopaj gets the fight to the ground and hunts a submission. The second round begins with more striking exchanges until Sopaj drops Cuamba with a left hook and jumps on him with hammerfists and punches. Sopaj grabs a rear-naked choke and Cuamba is forced to tap out just about halfway through the second round.
Sopaj improves to 13-3 while Cuamba drops to 10-4. Good win for Sopaj.
GOOD- Modestas Bukauskas vs. Christian Edwards
They spend the first round trading strikes and getting comfortable. Things heat up in the second round as Bukauskas hurts Edwards but decides to clinch rather than go for the finish. Edwards is more active and lands more in the third round. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Buskauskas wins the Split Decision to improve to 20-7 while Edwards drops to 8-5. Good win for Bukauskas.
GOOD- Juan Diaz submits Malcolm Wellmaker
They trade a lot of kicks early until Diaz gets a few takedowns. The second round begins with more kicks being exchanged until Diaz gets a takedown. They’re up and down before Diaz locks in a rear-naked choke that forces the tap a little over four minutes into the second round.
Diaz improves to 16-1-1 and has won 9 straight fights while Wellmaker drops to 10-2. Good win for Diaz.
GOOD- Choi Doo-ho stops Daniel Santos
They start off trading kicks before mixing in punches as well. Santos is nailing Choi with repeated strikes from all angles but Choi shows great toughness and keeps coming in a very fast-paced first round. The second round begins with both men landing some hard strikes. Choi is starting to pull away and is hurting Santos. A big body shot from Choi drops Santos and he follows up and pounds on him until the referee has to jump in to stop the fight four and a half minutes into the second round.
Choi improves to 17-4-1 and has won 3 straight fights while Santos drops to 14-3 and has his 4 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Choi.
GOOD- Arnold Allen vs. Melquizael Costa
They’re trading hard strikes throughout the first round, with Allen dropping Costa at one point. The second round begins with more action, with Costa utilizing a lot of leg kicks. The third round starts with more of the same, with Allen pulling away due to the damage he’s doing.
The fourth round opens with more big striking exchanges as Costa is landing more often, both with kicks and punches. It’s really close, though, as they continue to beat the hell out of each other. The fifth round commences with tenacity and toughness shown by both fighters. Allen lands more strikes and will likely get the hard-fought victory as the fight ends. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Allen wins the decision to improve to 21-4 while Costa drops to 26-8 and has his 6 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Allen.
MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano
GOOD- Robelis Despaigne stops Junior dos Santos
JDS lands a few good strikes but Despaigne is waiting for his moment and popping JDS with some stiff strikes that use his reach advantage. Despaigne dispatches with JDS with a big right-left-right combination that ends the fight three minutes into the first round.
Despaigne improves to 6-2 while dos Santos drops to 23-11. Good win for Despaigne.
GOOD- Salahdine Parnasse stops Kenneth Cross
Parnasse gets an early takedown but Cross is back to his feet quickly. Cross is showing great grit and toughness but Parnasse is all over him with strikes. Parnasse gets a takedown and starts unloading on Cross, who somehow manages to stand up and keep fighting. A powerful Parnasse punch to the body drops Cross and Parnasse unloads on his opponent until the referee is forced to jump in to stop the fight not quite four and a half minutes into the first round.
Parnasse improves to 23-2 and has won 5 straight fights while Cross drops to 17-5 and has his 4 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Parnasse.
GOOD- Francis Ngannou stops Philipe Lins
Ngannou is picking his spots and peppering Lins with strikes. Lins connects with a few good strikes before getting a clinch. Ngannou is laying into Lins with some powerful body punches. Ouch. Lins takes them, though. They separate and Ngannou ends the fight with a big left hand to the temple that drops Lins four and a half minutes into the first round.
Ngannou improves to 19-3 and has won 8 straight fights while Lins drops to 18-6 and has his 4 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Ngannou.
GOOD- Mike Perry stops Nate Diaz
Perry is swarming Diaz early until Diaz flips him over his shoulder to the ground. They grapple for a second until Perry can get back up and force the fight back to their feet. Again, Perry is all over Diaz with strikes. The second round begins with more of the same, as Perry explodes on Diaz with massive uppercuts and elbows that bloody Diaz up. Perry continues to demolish Diaz with strikes until the second round ends. The fight is stopped by Diaz’s corner in between rounds. Fans aren’t happy but this is the right decision. The fight probably should have been stopped in the second round and all continuing would do is cause Diaz to absorb more damage. He wasn’t winning this fight, there’s no miracle comeback here.
Perry improves to 15-8 while Diaz drops to 21-14. Good win for Perry.
GOOD- Ronda Rousey submits Gina Carano
Rousey gets an immediate takedown and locks in an armbar to force the tap seventeen seconds into the fight. I can’t say I’m surprised but I am glad that neither woman took damage or got hurt in this fight.
Rousey ends her MMA career with a record of 13-2 while Carano drops to 7-2. Good win for Rousey.
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Conor McGregor (22-6) will fight Max Holloway (27-9) in the main event of UFC 329 on July 11, 2026. The fight will take place at welterweight.
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