By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
PFL: Eblen vs. Battle and UFC Fight Night: Adesanya vs. Pyfer were both this past weekend and featured some exciting fights and finishes. Who won and who lost? Let’s get to the rundown.
PFL: van Steenis vs. Edwards
GOOD- Lazaro Dayron vs. Jacob Thrall
Dayron gets a takedown and lands some ground-and-pound but Thrall works his way back to his feet. Dayron gets another takedown and stays on top until the first round ends. The second round begins with more of the same, with Dayron again getting a few takedowns. The third round starts with still more of the sane, Dayron getting a takedown and staying on top. Not very exciting but effective. The fight ends so we go to the judges to render their verdict.
Dayron wins the decision to improve to 10-0-1 while Thrall drops to 15-9-1 and has his 5 fight winning streak snapped. It;s a win for Dayron.
GOOD- Julio Arce vs. Alexei Pergande
They trade a lot of strikes in the first round, with Pergande getting the advantage there. The second round begins with Pergande dropping Arce with a huge knee to the face. They strike for the rest of the round as Arce bleeds all over. The third round starts with more striking exchanges that continue throughout the rest of the fight. Arce lands some good strikes but they go the distance so we go to the judges to render their verdict. Pergande wins the decision to improve to a perfect 8-0 while Arce drops to 21-7 and has his 3 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Pergande.
GOOD- Ariane da Silva vs. Sumiko Inaba
They trade a lot of strikes in the first round, with da Silva having good success with hers. The second round begins with more of the same, as Inaba struggles to find her footing and range. Inaba is dropped by da Silva toward the end of the second round. The third round starts with some striking exchanges before da Silva gets a takedown. Inaba is quickly back to her feet, though. Inaba is coming forward while da Silva is taking her foot off the gas a bit. The fight ends so we go to the judges to render their verdict.
da Silva wins the decision to improve to 18-1 and snaps her 3 fight losing streak while Inaba drops to 8-3. Good win for da Silva.
GOOD- Impa Kasanganay stops Dalton Rosta
The fireworks are early and often, as both fighters are swinging hard from the start. Kasanganay staggers Rosta with a big right hand then drops him with another right and pounds away on him until the referee jumps in to stop the fight not quite three and a half minutes into the first round.
Kasanganay improves to 20-6 while Rosta drops to 11-3. Good win for Kasanganay.
GOOD- Johnny Eblen submits Bryan Battle
The strike for a moment before Eblen gets a takedown. Battle works his way up but gets slammed back down a few times. Ouch. A few more slams before Eblen takes Battle’s back and locks in a face crank submission that gets the tap a little over four minutes into the first round. What a dominant display from Eblen.
Eblen improves to 17-1 while Battle drops to 12-3 with 1 No Contest. Good win for Eblen.
UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs. Murphy
GOOD- Terrance McKinney stops Kyle Nelson
McKinney explodes out of the gate and is all over Nelson with right hands and hammerfists until the referee jumps in to stop the fight 24 seconds into the first round. Wow.
McKinney improves to 18-8 while Nelson drops to 17-7-1. Good win for McKinney.
GOOD- Yousri Belgaroui stops Mansur Abdul-Malik
Belgaroui is out early with his striking while Abdul-Malik is being tentative. The second round begins with more of the same, although Abdul-Malik gets a few takedowns. It’s largely all Belgaroui with his striking, though. Belgaroui drops Abdul-Malik with a big right hand but Abdul-Malik survives as the second round ends. The third round starts with more Belgaroui striking dominance until Abdul-Malik lands a nice takedown. Belgaroui is quickly back to his feet and he pounds on Abdul-Malik until he finishes him off with a powerful knee to the jaw that drops him and stops the fight a little over three and a half minutes into the third round.
Belgaroui improves to 10-3 and has won 5 straight fights while Abdul-Malik drops to 9-1-1. Good win for Belgaroui.
GOOD- Lerryan Douglas stops Julian Erosa
Douglas nails some powerful leg kicks that damage Erosa’s lead leg early. Erosa won’t stop, though, and they’re pounding away on each other. Douglas drops Erosa a few times in rapid succession before destroying Erosa with repeated punches. Erosa is too tough for his own good and is still battling but it’s too much and Douglas overwhelms Erosa with strikes until the referee jumps in to stop the fight 3:33 into the first round.
Douglas improves to 14-5 and has won 6 straight fights while Erosa drops to 31-13. Good win for Douglas.
GOOD- Michael Chiesa submits Niko Price
They’re up and down a few times before Chiesa gets dumped on his head. It doesn’t matter, though, as Chiesa takes Price’s back and locks in a rear-naked choke that forces the tap a little over a minute into the first round.
Both men are retiring after this fight. I wish them good health and good fortune in their lives after fighting.
Chiesa improves to 20-7 and has won 4 straight fights while Price drops to 16-1 with 2 No Contest. Good win for Chiesa.
GOOD- Alexa Grasso stops Maycee Barber
They trade strikes early before Grasso drops Barber with a powerful left hand. Grasso pounces and locks in a tight rear-naked choke that forces the referee to jump in to stop the fight a bit over two and a half minutes into the first round. It’s ruled a stoppage via strikes, though, as Barber was out from the punch. Scary scene as Barber takes a while to come to but thankfully she does.
Grasso improves to 17-5-1 while Barber drops to 15-3 and has her 7 fight winning streak snapped. Good win for Grasso.
GOOD- Joe Pyfer stops Israel Adesanya
Adesanya opens with some kicks while Pyfer tries for a takedown but can’t complete it. Pyfer is swinging hard as they trade strikes, with Adesanya getting the best of things. Pyfer gets a takedown and the first round ends. The second round begins with more Adesanya kicks that are taking their toll. Pyfer gets poked in the eye so there’s a brief stoppage. Things are heating up as Pyfer is starting to also land some strikes that are hurting the former UFC Champion. Pyfer gets a takedown and starts working his ground-and-pound. It’s taking its toll as Pyfer wails away on a bloody Adesanya until the referee jumps in to stop the fight not quite four and a half minutes into the second round.
Pyfer improves to 16-3 and has won 4 straight fights while Adesanya drops to 24-6 and has lost 4 straight fights. Good win for Pyfer.
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Former UFC Flyweight and ONE Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson is being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. He finished his career with a 25-4-1 record, including 11 UFC Flyweight Championship title defenses and 1 ONE Flyweight Championship title defense.
He holds numerous records, including most submissions (5) in UFC title fights, latest submission and finish (4:59 of Round 5) in UFC history, and various other weight division records.
I wish him continued success in his post-fighting career.
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Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank. Thanks for reading and have a good day.