What a night UFC 212 was and MMANews.com is having a hangover because of it.
Last night (June 3), UFC 212 took place inside the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The main event featured a featherweight title unification bout between Jose Aldo and Max Holloway. Up to this point, Aldo had only been defeated by Conor McGregor under the UFC banner.
That all changed in Rio.
After a solid opening round, Aldo saw the momentum slipping away from him. While he kept his composure in the second stanza and did enough to win it on the scorecards, nothing could prepare him for the onslaught in round three. Holloway blitzed “Scarface” and gave him a beatdown on the ground until referee “Big” John McCarthy had seen enough.
Something in the bout that stood out was Aldo not using those leg kicks that helped win him a bevy of bouts for years. The former 145-pound kingpin was content with punches. While his speed was on point, he couldn’t get away with his strategy for very long.
The co-main event was a bit of a stunner. While Claudia Gadelha winning wasn’t the big shocker, it’s how emphatic her win was over Karolina Kowalkiewicz that got people talking. The two strawweights had a feeling out process in the first minute and then began trading leather in close. Once the fight got to the ground, Gadelha took the back and locked in a rear-naked choke.
It only took Gadelha three minutes and three seconds to secure a submission victory.
Those two bouts alone will give fight fans a hangover, but there was plenty more. Peep the rest of the results below:
Main Card
Max Holloway def. Jose Aldo via TKO (strikes) – R3, 4:13
Claudia Gadelha def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz via submission (rear-naked choke) – R1, 3:03
Vitor Belfort def. Nate Marquardt via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Paulo Borrachinha vs. Oluwale Bamgbose via TKO (strikes) – R1, 1:06
Yancy Medeiros def. Erick Silva via TKO (strikes) – R2, 2:01
Prelims
Raphael Assuncao def. Marlon Moraes via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
Antonio Carlos Junior def. Eric Spicely via submission (rear-naked choke) – R2, 3:49
Matthew Lopez def. Johnny Eduardo via TKO (strikes) – R1, 2:57
Brian Kelleher def. Iuri Alcantara via submission (guillotine choke) – R1, 1:48
Viviane Pereira vs. Jamie Moyle via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Luan Chagas def. Jim Wallhead via submission (rear-naked choke) – R2, 4:48
Deiveson Figueiredo def. Marco Beltran via TKO – R2, 5:00
