THE UFC returned to the fight capital of the world this weekend, and while there may not have been a live crowd at the APEX Centre to appreciate the action, plenty of viewers around the world were treated to an awesome bunch of fights.

Gilbert Burns announced himself as a true welterweight title contender after dominating former champion Tyron Woodley in the night’s headline bout, marking one of two incredibly one-sided decisions on the card.

Main event aside, it was the six stoppages which stole the show, with four coming early in the night while Mackenzie Dern and Roosevelt Roberts finished their bouts on the main card. Get caught up with all the results below, from what was a mixed bag of match-ups brought to you by way of Las Vegas, Nevada.

FOTN: Brandon Royval vs. Tim Elliott
POTN: Gilbert Burns, Mackenzie Dern

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MAIN CARD:

Gilbert Burns [6] def. Tyron Woodley [1] | Decision (unanimous) 50-45, 50-44, 50-44

Initial thoughts: Masvidal ❌ McGregor ❌ Edwards ❌ Burns ✅

Durinho Burns put his name in lights with a well-executed dismantling of former welterweight champion, Woodley in the night’s main event. The Brazilian struck early and never looked back in what was a lop-sided battle, earning points across all three rounds and in two judges’ minds, a 10-8 in the opener.

It was undoubtedly the biggest fight of Burns’ career, welcoming the former champ back after over a year off having fought four times himself during that period. Let’s remember, Burns is a world champion jiu jitsu practitioner, a fact which may have been lost amid the chaos of dropping Woodley with a tight uppercut in Round 1.

Woodley’s experience would see him successfully cling on from bottom as the pair hit the mat, ensuring a recovery period before he burst out with pure strength to end the round on his feet in a small moral victory. But the points for that period were long gone, and Woodley was cut badly above his left eye.

At that point, Woodley remained in the fight. The constant threat of his right hand and quick flurries with his back to the cage made Burns’ perennial forward motion seem a touch risky. Just as Woodley began to look comfortable enough to punch into the pocket, Burns would perfectly time a level change and jump into top position with a takedown. The former champ this time used the fence to get back to his knees, then feet to end the round, but he was in the desperate position of being three rounds down on points.

In what became a frustrating pattern, Burns continued to play the role of aggressor despite Woodley being the one required to turn the fight. Round 3 saw both men land clean combinations on the feet, but Burns’ kicks and octagon control again earned him the ascendancy. If it wasn’t already clear enough, Din Thomas would spell it out for Woodley upon the bell – he needed a finish.

Any hope or threat of that finish was comprehensively dashed as Burns continued to get in his opponent’s face, forcing him to skate the cage while not allowing him any room to rush with a counter. Burns’ doubled-up jabs and a massive right hand on the end of a combination again forced Woodley to clinch and survive. The theme of relinquishing points to stay in the fight wore on.

The generational changing of the guard was completed in the fifth and final round as Burns essentially did as he pleased. In scenes reminiscent of Woodley’s most recent effort in the octagon, it seemed everyone else portrayed the urgency he lacked to get the win, in attempting to spur him into action. In fairness, Woodley let go and searched for the space he needed to attack, but Burns was far too good throughout the five rounds and was not about to let up.

Woodley’s 94 per cent takedown defence was met over the 25 minutes with two successful attempts from Burns, and the aura that always seems to follow him, dissipated. The fact that Burns consistently threw caution to the wind in search for the win, and never retreated as many would with victory in sight made the win all the more impressive. On the other hand, Woodley had been broken yet again, seeming a shell of his former self.

Fallout: Burns called out his teammate and current champion, Kamaru Usman after the fight. Sir, we think you may just be next in line.

Augusto Sakai [13] def. Blagoy Ivanov [12] | Decision (split) 27-30, 29-28, 29-28

Ivanov again found himself on the wrong side of a tight decision in the UFC, this time seeing Sakai earn his fourth-straight promotional win and 15^th overall. It was the Brazilian’s second split decision triumph in three fights too, having bettered former champion Andrei Arlovski in 2019.

Sakai was clearly the taller man and looked comfortable at range up top, getting his kicking game going from the early stages. In what was largely a fight fought on the feet, Ivanov would start promisingly with his quick advances into punching range, but Sakai soon found his rhythm and timing.

The action picked up as the fight wore on, with Ivanov sensing a need for urgency but labouring a touch in his movement given Sakai’s efforts to chop down at his legs. While Ivanov ended a tight second round on top, it felt like Sakai was beginning to gain the ascendancy.

Another tight round closed out the bout as the two men began to swing a touch more freely. Sakai was simply the more technical striker though and was able to land the more effective and varied blows to secure victory. A sore and deciding point for Ivanov may have been Sakai’s holding of the fence to prevent a takedown, an act usually worthy of a one-point deduction.

Billy Quarantillo def. Spike Carlyle | Decision (unanimous) 29-28, 29-28, 29-28

Two rising prospects on big win streaks met at a 150lbs catchweight in what would be one of the main card’s more entertaining bouts, as Quarantillo edged Carlyle via decision. The dynamic Carlyle, pigeonholed as a first-round fighter literally jumped into the action with a kick off the start, later forcing Quarantillo to cover up against some brutal elbows.

Clearly the more powerful man with the grace of some extra weight, Carlyle controlled his opponent well in the scrambles and was able to threaten submissions from Quarantillo’s back. In a bizarre end to a high-paced round where Carlyle threw all-but the kitchen sink, he would naively turn his back just before the bell and almost have his lights turned off. Crazy stuff.

Quarantillo’s combination of composure and stamina was always pitch to come into play during rounds two and three, though he would run into an elbow upon advancing early in the second round. The fight again hit the mat where Carlyle would showcase his explosive power to remain in control, though he began to look exhausted in the face of Quarantillo’s pressure to shift the fight on his terms. It worked in the eyes of the judges too, as two late triangle attempts from Billy Q seemed to sway the points in his favour.

The question of cardio only became more evident in Round 3 as Carlyle looked to clinch up immediately. Quarantillo’s corner pleaded with their fighter to get up after landing some ground-and-pound and an awkward rear-naked choke attempt, but that advice would only truly pay off in the final 30 seconds as Quarantillo teed off with some heavy shots.

It was enough to earn a seventh-straight victory, but was Quarantillo’s first fight to go the distance since 2016. Constantly on the hunt for finishes, there is no quit in this man, and he looks an exciting prospect for the future.

Roosevelt Roberts def. Brok Weaver | Submission (rear-naked choke) 3:26 Rd 2

Roberts squashed his fight week beef with Weaver in emphatic style, needing a little under two rounds to finish his opponent via submission. The two Contender Series graduates were certainly game, getting right to work as Weaver looked to close the distance and Roberts attempted to find success at range.

With Weaver trying to punch his way into takedown attempts, Roberts would almost capitalise on his recklessness in a guillotine attempt, but Weaver spun out impressively to survive the round.

Roberts’ work on the feet was so slick, timing his counter strikes perfectly and presenting good variation up top. But it was on the mat where he would finish the fight, landing a takedown before shifting into mount from half guard and slipping in a tight rear-naked choke on his second attempt.

Mackenzie Dern def. Hannah Cifers | Submission (kneebar) 2:36 Rd 1

Boy was it good to see Dern back doing what she does best, notching up another submission victory and incidentally, the first-ever leg lock submission in women’s UFC history. Cifers was a tough and worthy opponent, giving Dern a ton of grief with her physicality in the early stages.

But Dern’s hard combinations on the feet and opportunism on the mat made for quick work, and a performance of the night bonus to boot. A beautiful throw from Dern in the clinch set the finish in motion, as she later snatched up Cifers’ left leg to swiftly secure the knee bar.

If you didn’t know already, yes, she is a BJJ world champion. Back in the win column at 8-1 in her professional career, Dern looks to be on track to shake up the strawweight rankings and is keen to get back in the cage.

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PRELIMINARY CARD:

There is probably only one better way to exact revenge on the woman who beat you last than to earn three 30-25 scorecards against her sister, which is exactly what Katlyn Chookagian did in the featured preliminary card bout. While she went close to finishing the fight early, Chookagian would have to settle for a dominant showing over the full 15 minutes in the face of Antonina Shevchenko’s persistence.

Daniel Rodriguez was another to earn full points according to the judges with his win over Gabe Green. Rodriguez got his two-piece combinations going well up top and found success at range as the longer fighter.

One of the more impressive performances came from Jamahal Hill in his TKO stoppage of Klidson Abreu. The American prospect has arrived on the big stage, and continues to excel – this time with a beautiful knee up the middle and some punches to finish.

Brandon Royval and Tim Elliott earned fight of the night honours in their prelim sleeper, with Elliott bringing the heat with his pressure game but ultimately running out of gas in the latter stages. Royval, who had to overcome adversity and great pressure sunk in a slick arm triangle to get a quick tap in Round 2.

Another underrated matchup came between Casey Kenney and Louis Smolka, but it was one-way traffic as Kenney earned the first submission victory of the night. In the show-opener, Chris Gutierrez also impressed, earning just the 10^th TKO victory via leg kicks in UFC history.

RESULTS:

Katlyn Chookagian [2] def. Antonina Shevchenko [12] | Decision (unanimous) 30-25, 30-25, 30-25

Daniel Rodriguez def. Gabe Green | Decision (unanimous) 30-27, 30-27, 30-27

Jamahal Hill def. Klidson Abreu | TKO (knee and punches) 1:51 Rd 1

Brandon Royval def. Tim Elliott [11] | Submission (arm triangle) 3:18 Rd 2

Casey Kenney def. Louis Smolka | Submission (guillotine) 3:03 Rd 1

Chris Gutierrez def. Vince Morales | TKO (leg kicks) 4:27 Rd 2