Two champions entered, both left with gold intact at UFC 211.
UFC 211 took place this past Saturday night (May 13). In the main event, heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic defended his title against Junior dos Santos in a rematch from their Dec. 2014 bout. In their first encounter, “Cigano” earned a close, but unanimous decision win.
There was no five-round war this time.
Despite early success for dos Santos, Miocic found the chin of the challenger and put him away. It was a clean right hand, followed by some ground-and-pound that ended the fight. The win ties Miocic for most successful UFC heavyweight title defenses at two.
As odd as it may sound, Miocic will find himself in the history books with one more successful title defense. Some have been buzzing about Miocic’s status as the greatest heavyweight of all time should he reach the feat.
Fedor Emelianenko and his fans may have something to say about that. Be that as it may, Miocic is the heavyweight king at a time where the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) has evolved. The Cleveland native can’t be denied his due if he ends up being the UFC’s only longtime heavyweight champion.
In the co-main event of UFC 211, Joanna Jedrzejczyk successfully defended her strawweight title against Jessica Andrade. The performance was nothing short of masterful. “Joanna Champion” picked apart a tough challenger, who very well could be champion some time in the future. “Bate Estaca’s” time just wasn’t now.
While Jedrzejczyk was fierce inside the Octagon, she got emotional at the post-fight press conference. When asked by Ariel Helwani for her thoughts on the departure of wrestling coach Kami Barzini from American Top Team, Jedrzejczyk was taken aback. The 115-pound champion broke down before leaving the presser.
You can see Jedrzejczyk leaving the press conference in tears below:
And here are the full results from the card:
Heavyweight: Stipe Miocic def. Junior dos Santos via TKO (punches) – R1, 2:22
Strawweight: Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Jessica Andrade via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-45)
Welterweight: Demian Maia def. Jorge Masvidal via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Featherweight: Frankie Edgar def. Rodriguez via TKO (eye injury) – R2, 5:00
Middleweight: David Branch def. Krzysztof Jotko via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Lightweight Eddie Alvarez vs. Dustin Poirier ended in a no contest (illegal knee)
Featherweight: Jason Knight def. Chas Skelly via TKO (punches) – R3, 0:39
Heavyweight: Chase Sherman def. Rashad Coulter via KO (elbow) – R2, 3:36
Lightweight: James Vick def. Marco Polo Reyes via TKO (punches) – R1, 2:39
Strawweight: Cortney Casey def. Jessica Aguilar via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Featherweight: Enrique Barzola def. Gabriel Benitez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Light Heavyweight: Gadzhimurad Antigulov def. Joachim Christensen via submission (rear naked choke) R1, 2:21
