AMANDA Nunes made history on Sunday as the first ever UFC fighter to simultaneously defend two active titles, dominating Felicia Spencer in a one-sided headline bout for the women’s featherweight championship. Nunes looked flawless across the five rounds, showcasing her full range of skills while putting to bed doubts about her cardio.

All eyes were also on the UFC Apex Centre in Las Vegas for a night which would garner huge implications in the bantamweight division, with six high-level 135-pounders featuring on the main card. Of them, Aljamain Sterling, Cody Garbrandt, and Sean O’Malley earned wins befitting of performance of the night bonuses as part of the seven bouts which would not require a full 15 minutes.

Check out all the results from top to bottom, including each decision and a run-down of the main card action.

POTN: Sean O’Malley, Aljamain Sterling, Cody Garbrandt, Alex Perez
FOTN: Nil

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MAIN CARD

Amanda Nunes [C] def. Felicia Spencer | Decision (unanimous) 50-44, 50-44, 50-45

Initial thoughts: We are not worthy, and neither is any other female fighter at the moment.

‘The Lioness’ only further extended her lead atop the ladder of women’s MMA greats with one of the more lop-sided championship decision victories in recent times. Nunes was simply dominant in all areas of the fight and somewhat merciful toward the end; but not before showcasing a catalogue of skills ranging from low kicks, to hard punching combos targeting both the head and body, terrific grappling technique and strength, her often forgotten jiu jitsu prowess, and damaging ground-and-pound.

Much of the narrative in the build-up told of Spencer’s main avenue to victory coming through an advantage on the ground. The Canadian would bravely work her way into grappling range but eat some nasty shots for her trouble, eventually becoming gun-shy on the approach. It meant her greatest strength, and supposed only advantage seemed a world away, with Nunes, a BJJ black belt the one to thrive with her wrestling and submission game on the mat in any case.

Despite being cracked on the feet and cut open during multiple exchanges on the ground, Spencer stayed in the fight for the full 25 minutes and was game as anyone, but simply outclassed by a world class fighter who has all the tricks in the book and is on top of her game. A stoppage from referee Herb Dean was the final hurdle for Spencer to manage before riding out to the final bell, as Nunes made a point of further proving her cardio with another well-managed five-round triumph.

Fallout: After cleaning out both divisions of which she champions, Nunes would be well served to wait for a truly worthy contender. Let the current batch fight it out and make a case. In the meantime, bask in the glory of your success.

For Spencer, the thin pickings at 145 pounds mean there is no glaring opportunity for her next either – perhaps a rematch with Megan Anderson for number one contendership?

Cody Garbrandt [9] def. Raphael Assuncao [5] | KO (punch) 4:59 Rd 2

Initial thoughts: It’s good to have you back, Cody.

Former bantamweight champion Garbrandt put his name back in lights with a redemptive knockout victory over perennial veteran contender, Assuncao. Not even the Round 2 bell could save Assuncao from Garbrandt’s lethal combination of speed and power, as ‘No Love’ suckered the Brazilian in with his back to the cage before locking onto his target and unleashing a right hook from hell to bring about the immediate stoppage.

Having split his camp under the tutelage of his regular Team Alpha Male coaches and Mark Henry on the opposite side of the US, Garbrandt looked as measured and composed as he ever has in the octagon. It worked to help him earn his first win since 2016, after suffering the first three defeats of his professional career in succession.

Though renowned for his strength within boxing range, Garbrandt had great success with calf kicks to bruise the legs of his 37-year-old opponents and ensure there would be no way he could match the American’s fleet footedness. Assuncao was patient in not biting on Garbrandt’s feints, but could not resist his punching power once hit having been dropped earlier in the round with the very same right hand.

Face-down knockouts are always ugly, but come from the absolute best shots. This one of Garbrandt’s best, and a mature performance which should put the bantamweight division on notice once again.

Fallout: Billed as the ninth ranked bantamweight coming in, a top five spot should beckon for Garbrandt having taken out the division’s number five.

Aljamain Sterling [2] def. Cory Sandhagen [4] | Submission (rear-naked choke) 1:28 Rd 1

Initial thoughts: Give this man his shot!

Sterling staked his seemingly undeniable claim for a 135-pound title shot with one of the quickest showings of the night, taking out Sandhagen via submission in Round 1. Both men were on strong win streaks coming into the bout, with Sandhagen unbeaten in the UFC, while the number two ranked Sterling had saluted in his previous four outings.

The grappling game of Sterling once again came to the fore as he handed Sandhagen a maiden stoppage loss, immediately closing the distance in the 25-foot octagon and getting to work from an initial clinch. Sterling would slip to the back and get hooks in as the two hit the mat, before slotting his arm around the jaw of his opponent to threaten the rear-naked choke. After an adjustment to the first attempt, Sterling got under the chin of Sandhagan to yield a last-second tap before the American went out.

Fallout: There was simply a great intensity to Sterling’s game and he looked to be on a mission, with the proposed Yan-Aldo fight for bantamweight gold now surely up in the air given his run.

Neil Magny def. Anthony Rocco Martin | Decision (unanimous) 30-27, 30-27, 29-28

Initial thoughts: 30-27? That ain’t it.

The first decision of the main card came at welterweight, as awkward cardio machine Magny edged Martin via unanimous decision. While Magny was awarded two 30-27 scorecards, the bout was far closer in reality with Martin faring well across the first two rounds to put up a case for taking either of them. Magny undeniably won the third though, sealing consecutive wins for the year.

Martin was smart to close the distance early against his tall and lean opponent, pushing a decent pace against the far more measured output of Magny. It seemed Magny continually had answers for Martin’s advances, able to slip out of trouble on the mat while landing a greater volume of strikes in the face of Martin’s bigger shots. After an economical start, Magny poured the pressure on late against a tiring Martin, and earned a tight win to push his case to be reinstated in the welterweight rankings.

Sean O’Malley def. Eddie Wineland | KO (punch) 1:54 Rd 1

Initial thoughts: He’s gonna tell Joe Rogan he love him, isn’t he? (He did).

‘Suga’ O’Malley pulled off one of the most impressive moves of the night, cleanly knocking out inaugural WEC bantamweight champion and grizzled 39-fight veteran, Wineland with as clean a right hand as you are likely to see. The now 12-0 25-year-old is a star in the making and will likely have a number next to his name come Tuesday after inflicting a walk-off KO reminiscent of brick-handed heavyweights like Mark Hunt.

After finding the target with his right hand earlier in the round, O’Malley produced a truely fine set-up to his finish; feigning a right uppercut to bring Wineland’s left hand down and distracting with a left-hand feint, before thumping his right glove down the pipe in what was a picture perfect shot which sat Wineland down. It was one and done, a walk-off, and the finest knockout of the year until Garbrandt inflicted his own violence about an hour later.

Fallout: Get this man a number.

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PRELIMINARY CARD

Alex Caceres def. Chase Hooper | Decision (unanimous) 30-27, 30-27, 30-27

In short: There are levels to this game, and Caceres proved as much to the youngest fighter in the promotion with a dominant all-round performance. Hooper is a stud and belongs at the level, but this was a step too far as he was outclassed on the feet against a composed assassin, and unable to get his grappling game going. It wasn’t for a lack of trying though, the kid is game.

Ian Heinisch [13] def. Gerald Meerschaert | TKO (punches) 1:14 Rd 1

In short: If there ever was an ideal way to return to the winners list, this was it. Heinisch justified his ranked status with a huge TKO victory over a credentialed veteran, landing a well-timed overhand right on the end of a level change. He even did a flip to celebrate, the guy is a middleweight!

Cody Stamann [12 BW] def. Brian Kelleher | Decision (unanimous) 30-27, 30-27, 30-27

In short: One of the sleepers of the undercard here, with Stamann looking ultra-impressive at 145-pounds. Fighting in the wake of the loss of his brother, the American was solid in all areas of the fight against a game competitor who constantly moved forward. Stamann insists his future is at bantamweight, where he is ranked number 12.

Maki Pitolo def. Charles Byrd | TKO (punches) 1:10 Rd 2

Pitolo needed just over six minutes to pull off an impressive TKO victory over Byrd, who at 36 years old retired after the fight. The Hawaiian looked great having moved up from welterweight, landing hard combinations up top in between some back-and-forth grappling exchanges in Round 1.

Some early pressure from Pitolo in Round 2 was enough to but Byrd away, punching through his compatriot’s guard both to the head and body before landing a beautiful takedown and finishing with heavy ground-and-pound. It would be the first octagon victory for the man dubbed ‘Coconut Bombz’.

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EARLY PRELIMINARY CARD

Results:

Alex Perez [9] def. Jussier Formiga [4] | TKO (leg kick) 4:06 Rd 1

Devin Clark def. Alonzo Menifield | Decision (Unanimous) 30-27, 29-28, 29-28

Herbert Burns def. Evan Dunham | Submission (rear-naked choke) 1:20 Rd 1