HEAVYWEIGHTS rumbled once again in a UFC main event, as Curtis Blaydes earned his second victory for 2020 in a dominant wrestling display against the seventh-ranked Alexander Volkov. Their bout headlined the promotion’s third #UFCVegas Fight Night, and followed the fight of the night in Josh Emmett and Shane Burgos‘ war, as well as a vintage Jim Miller performance for the sole finish of the main card.

Raquel Pennington and Belal Muhammad also impressed in unanimous decision nods, with the former following on from fiancé Tecia Torres‘ dominant showing on the undercard. Elsewhere, Justin Jaynes earned a performance bonus for his 41-second knockout of Frank Camacho, while fellow promotional debutant Max Rohskopf could only manage two rounds before having his fight ended on the stool.

Check out all the results and bonuses from a card which saw seven fights go all the way to a decision, two finished via KO/TKO, and two by submission.

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FOTN: Josh Emmett vs. Shane Burgos
POTN: Jim Miller, Justin Jaynes

MAIN CARD

Curtis Blaydes [3] def. Alexander Volkov [7] | Decision (Unanimous) 49-46, 48-47, 48-46

It took under 10 seconds for Blaydes to land the first takedown of the fight, a sign of things to come in the truest sense. The number three ranked heavyweight simply did what he had to, using the smaller dimensions of the UFC Apex octagon to pour pressure on his Russian kickboxer opponent, repeatedly landing takedowns and smothering him with heavy top pressure.

While Volkov was forced to carry the weight of Blaydes and bare the brunt of some nasty elbows from bottom, the Russian showed terrific stamina to finish the fight strongly in beginning to resist his opponent’s grappling advances. Volkov even landed a takedown himself, such was the exhaustion he led Blaydes into with sturdy defence.

With Volkov finishing strongly and snatching the fourth round, credit to said takedown and a beautifully timed knee, Blaydes resorted back to simply dominating the wrestling positions and seeing out the 25 minutes with three rounds and a possible 10-8 under his belt.

Blaydes’ ability to immediately bring the fight to the mat was a highlight across each period, and would have been nothing short of demoralising for Volkov, a seasoned striker. The American also showed some serious power on the feet, with his iron fists earning comparisons to Khabib Nurmagomedov as he dished out ground-and-pound.

With four wins on the fly and the heavyweight title picture only set to clear up once Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier complete their trilogy, Blaydes’ next fight may not come for a while yet.

Josh Emmett [8] def. Shane Burgos [10] | Decision (unanimous) 29-28, 29-28, 29-27

Emmett says he will fight backwards no longer after an epic decision win over the incredibly tough Burgos, as the two were deservingly recognised with fight of the night honours. Conceding his gatekeeper status of late, Emmett came out with a point to prove to his constant doubters and would have gone a long way to earning a top five berth at 145-pounds.

Against a much taller and longer man, Emmett put his dynamite hands to work with some massive shots early to somewhat slow the perennially advancing Burgos, all despite appearing to hyperextend his knee early in the first round.

Burgos would remain calm in the pocket and pick off counter strikes, landing heavy jabs down the middle and working his calf kicks in recognition of Emmett’s discomfort. The rising prospect showcased rare durability too, eating shots from Emmett which have put highly-touted fighters to sleep. And he did so with a smile.

In a tight fight which appeared to be level at 1-1 after two rounds, Emmett’s left hand to drop Burgos in the third appeared to be a defining moment. That was until he unleashed a vicious overhand left to sit Burgos down again, catching him by surprise after constantly leaning on that heavy right hand over the top.

While Emmett could not put his opponent away, the style of the win itself was impressive enough to warrant an opponent in front of his current position, and having the current champion watching closely certainly does no harm to those chances.

Raquel Pennington [6] def. Marion Reneau [10] | Decision (unanimous) 30-27, 29-28, 29-28

Reneau endured an unhappy 43rd birthday as she was beaten by Pennington via unanimous decision, with the former now having lost three-straight bouts while the latter returned to the winners list. Still, Reneau managed to snatch a round off her sixth-ranked opponent according to two judges in a bout which was destined to happen.

Pennington looked physically strong in exchanges across all disciplines, getting her boxing game going while also landing some punishing knees from the clinch. A knee from Reneau in just the wrong spot brought a halt to the action in Round 2, but it only spurred Pennington on to recapture the Thai clinch and damage her opponent up the middle.

The American pushed a gruelling pace and began to wear on Reneau with heavy shots as the fight wore on, looking explosive in all her movements. Reneau proved her toughness though, withstanding the pressure for a full 15 minutes but falling well short in the end.

Belal Muhammad def. Lyman Good | Decision (unanimous) 29-28. 29-28, 29-28

Muhammad and Good put on a fight of the night contender in their main card shot, with the former winning out via unanimous decision. Good seemed a little tense in the early exchanges as Muhammad’s movement and variety of attacks took toll, but the Cuban clicked into gear late with blows which threatened a stoppage.

With well-timed level changes, stance changes, and many different looks on the feet, Good was beginning to seem frustrated as his opponent’s constant evasion took the sting off his loaded shots. He began to find more success in the third round though, upping the punch count and staggering Muhammad with a quick right hand.

Good began to look loose and had found his timing, working in body shots as the firefight he wanted began to ensue. But it would prove too little, too late as Muhammad grappled for his life to remain in the contest, landing a late takedown and threatening the rear-naked choke with two rounds already under his belt nonetheless. The win was Muhammad’s third-straight, and seventh in his last eight outings.

Jim Miller def. Roosevelt Roberts | Submission (armbar) 2:25 Rd 1

Miller rolled back the years with a superb display of his grappling credentials, halting the steep rise of Roberts with a first round submission victory. The 36-year-old veteran claims he is just getting started around here despite having come out on top in his record-equalling 35th UFC bout, making it three wins in four fights.

The stroke of luck, or perhaps genius came very early on as Miller timed a low kick to put Roberts on the mat, pouncing on top position against his much taller and striking-oriented opponent. After Roberts attempted to explode out from bottom with Miller threatening his patented guillotine, the veteran transitioned swiftly to an armbar and locked it in tightly to yield a verbal tap from the up-and-comer. He is far from done, yet, and looked better than ever in his 2:25 within the octagon this time.

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PRELIMINARY CARD

The undercard threw up a mixed bag of results, with four bouts stopped and three requiring the judges. Rohskopf stepped in on late notice to take on Austin Hubbard, but could not go on any further past Round 2. The now 5-1 grappling ace started promisingly, but was simply a step behind on the feet and could not find a way to the mat.

An absolute sleeper on the prelims saw Lauren Murphy and Roxanne Modafferi go head-to-head, with the former getting up in a decision which was tighter than the scorecards suggest. Murphy’s sharp boxing again came to the fore, with Modafferi showing her fighting spirit but unable to get fully on top in the largely stand-up battle.

Jaynes’ first round KO of Frank Camacho on debut was a bolt from the blue, with the newcomer swinging from the off and catching ‘The Crank’ with repeat left hands in an exceptional finish. It was followed by another slick finish, this time a submission and right at the death as Gillian Robertson yielded a tap from Cortney Casey. Having dominated the ground exchanges throughout, Robertson was en route to a decision victory in any case.

The stoppage train rolled on as Canadian Marc-Andre Barriault showed marked improvement to overcome Oskar Piechota, pressuring his opponent with strikes to eventually yield a finish late in Round 2. Some more brilliant striking was on display in the next bout as Torres fought to the 15th decision of her 16-fight career, overcoming the 9-2 Brianna Van Buren to snap a four-fight losing run.

In the headline preliminary bout, veterans Bobby Green and Clay Guida threw down and did not disappoint. Green would come out victorious having gotten his striking game going over time, with Guida arguably starting the stronger of the two.

RESULTS:

Bobby Green def. Clay Guida | Decision (unanimous) 29-28, 29-28, 30-27

Tecia Torres [11] def. Brianna Van Buren | Decision (unanimous) 30-27, 30-27, 30-27

Marc-Andre Barriault def. Oskar Piechota | TKO (punches) 4:50 Rd 2

Gillian Robertson def. Cortney Casey | Submission (rear-naked choke) 4:32 Rd 3

Justin Jaynes def. Frank Camacho | TKO (punches) 0:41 Rd 1

Lauren Murphy [7] def. Roxanne Modafferi [6] | Decision (unanimous) 30-27, 30-27, 29-28

Austin Hubbard def. Max Rohskopf | TKO (referee stoppage) 5:00 Rd 2