A NEW flyweight contender has emerged in former ranked strawweight Cynthia Calvillo, after the California native came away with a unanimous decision victory over 2019 title challenger, Jessica Eye in her divisional debut.

The pair’s main event bout headlined the UFC’s second Fight Night held at its Apex Centre in Las Vegas, with half of the 10 matchups ending in stoppages. The night began at a break-neck speed, with the opening three fights finished in under a minute each via KO/TKO within the smaller, 25-foot wide octagon.

The event may have been written off by fans at face value due to the underwhelming headline bout, but the overall card delivered in terms of highlights. Check out all the results, from top to bottom in our card recap.

POTN Bonuses: Christian Aguilera, Tyson Nam, Mariya Agapova, Marvin Vettori

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MAIN CARD

Cynthia Calvillo [10 SW] def. Jessica Eye [1] | Decision (unanimous) 49-46, 49-46, 48-47

This main event may have been far from an instant classic, but it will be remembered for delivering a much-needed shake-up to the UFC women’s flyweight division. Eye was not only the number one contender at 125 pounds who had won four of her last five fights, but she was also one who missed weight – albeit narrowly – in anticipation of meeting Calvillo, who moved up a weight class.

The early going suggested pre-fight qualms from fans would come true, with either fighter feeling out the other in a stand-up battle and Eye looking the more comfortable striking practitioner with her counters at length. Needing to find a way on the inside, it took a persistent, chained takedown attempt for Calvillo to drag Eye to the mat, where she got her jiu jitsu game going by locking in a body triangle on the back.

Eye looked solid on defence, but her corner knew of Calvillo’s threats on the ground and warned their fighter not to use any knees, but rather to believe in her own boxing combinations. In another lacklustre five-minute period, a late Calvillo takedown would prove the difference and edge the points in her favour heading into the championship rounds.

With the fight now ticking over to become the longest in Calvillo’s career, she began to take over. After landing an early takedown, the dangerous grappler got to work with over four minutes to do so, slipping in the hooks and eventually, a body triangle once again. Eye would turn out well and stuff a later takedown attempt, but with six minutes of ground control in Calvillo’s favour, it was clear the number one contender required a finish.

That was not to be as the fifth round proved another back-and-forth contest fought mostly on the feet, with few exchanges in the centre of the shrunken octagon the only highlights. Having gone the full 25 minutes, it was clear that Calvillo had pulled off the unlikely win and staked her claim as a new contender. The judges agreed.

We had it: 49-46 Calvillo – straightforward decision. 4-0 to the winner after dropping Round 1.

Fallout: Number two ranked flyweight Katlyn Chookagian declared her interest in a fight with Calvillo soon after the fact, with a top five spot looming for the divisional debutant. It makes sense.

Marvin Vettori def. Karl Roberson | Submission (rear-naked choke) 4:17 Rd 1

‘The Italian Dream’ finally got his hands on Roberson at the second time of asking, and took full advantage of the opportunity with a first-round submission of his American foe. The weight-related controversy from their last proposed meeting carried on into this one as Roberson came in four pounds over the middleweight limit, but it mattered little in the end as Vettori added a quick win to his resume – his third-straight.

Some high-level grappling and acrobatic scrambles were showcased by both men across the four minutes, with Roberson initially taking Vettori’s back before having the position reversed. Vettori scrambled to get on top and threaten the guillotine, and a powerful effort from Roberson to break free only put him in a worse position.

Vettori looked to end the fight with some vicious, unanswered ground-and-pound but was at risk of punching himself out, so threw the left hook in, locked in the choke and rolled upon squeezing to yield the tap.

Fallout: An impressive performance from the man who took Israel Adesanya the distance, and a top 15 opponent surely looms if not for his own ranking.

Charles Rosa def. Kevin Aguilar | Decision (split) 28-29, 29-28, 29-28

Rosa, Rosa, Rosa. The featherweight looked impressive in his tight decision victory over a tough, seasoned opponent in Aguilar, with not much to split the pair come the final bell. Both men came in off losses, with Rosa quickly rectifying his to Bryce Mitchell last month, while Aguilar now has three-straight on his record.

In a back-and-forth stand-up battle, it was Rosa who looked to be better dictating the pace of the fight, diversifying his strikes better in the face of Aguilar’s boxing as the latter struggled to let his hands go enough. Both men were looking for ways in, switching stances and flinging big shots by the end of the bout, but the judges sided with Rosa in a very even contest.

Andre Fili def. Charles Jourdain | Decision (split) 28-29, 29-28, 29-28

‘Touchy’ Fili took out the first split decision of the night, accounting for rising Canadian prospect ‘Air’ Jourdain in their main card slot. A dangerous striker, Jourdain looked slick on the feet and had good success early with his combinations, while also appearing to compromise Fili’s right arm with hard left high kicks.

After being dropped by a big overhand left in the opening round and surviving on the ground, Fili continually returned serve on each of Jourdain’s strikes, countering well and piecing the 24-year-old up by the end of the bout. Fili was more effective with his sniping shots and remained constant with his forward pressure, while also proving successful in taking the fight to the ground when desired. Another to return to the winners list after a good recovery in the early stages.

Jordan Espinosa [13] def. Mark De La Rosa | Decision (unanimous) 30-27, 30-27, 30-26

Espinosa looked super impressive in his unanimous decision victory over formerly-ranked bantamweight De La Rosa, justifying the number 13 next to his name. Espinosa was simply too sharp on the feet in his striking patterns and movement, able to switch stances effortlessly and stay balanced in the face of De La Rosa’s grappling advances.

While De La Rosa constantly moved forward, he was pieced up in the striking exchanges and thwarted in the clinch as Espinosa successfully stayed busy throughout the bout, even from defensive positions with punishing elbows. The ranked prospect simply seemed comfortable wherever the fight went, and looks destined for a top 10 matchup in the near future.

Mariya Agapova def. Hannah Cifers | Submission (rear-naked choke) 2:42 Rd 1

Cifers’ quick return to action after a loss proved fruitless as she came face-to-face with another rising prospect in Kazakhstan’s Agapova. Typically known for her boxing prowess, the promotional newcomer finished the bout via submission with a slick rear-naked choke after stunning Cifers on the feet.

Agapova set up a sweetly timed head kick with punches to sit Cifers down, opting to clinch before slipping to the back and sinking in the choke while standing to eventually yield a tap on the mat. The American Top Team trained fighter added a seventh finish to her nine wins overall, with a loss to Tracy Cortez in the Contender Series the only blemish on Agapova’s record to this point.

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PRELIMINARY CARD

A hot start to the night saw the first three bouts last a combined 1:53, all finished within the first minute via KO/TKO. Christian Aguilera added an 11th win via that exact method to his record in his promotional debut, teeing off on Anthony Ivy to end the bout at 59 seconds.

Veteran Hawaiian Tyson Nam kept the ball rolling, but only needed 32 seconds to land his perfectly-timed right hand counter to a Zarrukh Adashev inside leg kick, kick-starting his UFC career. Incredibly, Julia Avila needed even less time to put Gina Mazany away, swarming on her opponent with punches in bunches after a sweet knee up the middle from the clinch.

Serra-Longo product Merab Dvalishvili rounded out the preliminary card with a grinding, but dominant victory over Gustavo Lopez at a 140-pound catchweight. The Georgian looked comfortable in all realms, but impressed most by once again breaching double figures for takedowns in the one-sided decision.

RESULTS:

Merab Dvalishvili def. Gustavo Lopez | Decision (unanimous) 30-26, 30-26, 30-25

Julia Avila def. Gina Mazany | TKO (punches) 0:22 Rd 1

Tyson Nam def. Zarrukh Adashev | KO (punch) 0:32 Rd 1

Christian Aguilera def. Anthony Ivy | TKO (punches) 0:59 Rd 1