UFC on ESPN+ 30 went down tonight (Saturday, July 18, 2020) from Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island aka Fight Island and we have the results. The world’s leading mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion compiled an excellent card for fight fans to enjoy.
It was headlined by a meeting between Deiveson Figueiredo and Joseph Benavidez for the UFC flyweight title.
The co-headliner saw a middleweight clash between Kelvin Gastelum and Jack Hermansson. Marc Diakiese vs. Rafael Fiziev in a lightweight bout, Luana Carolina vs. Ariane Lipski in a women’s flyweight fight, and Askar Askarov vs. Alexandre Pantoja in a flyweight showdown rounded out the main card.
Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Joseph Benavidez
Figueiredo threw a right hand that caught Benavidez and dropped him. Figueiredo swarmed him on the ground with strikes then got his back and locked in a rear-naked choke twice but the title contender got out of it. Benavidez got back to his feet. Figueiredo dropped him again with a right hand, but Benavidez popped right back up. Moments later with one minute to go, Figueiredo dropped him with a right hand then swarmed him with strikes on the ground. Figueiredo got the back of Benavidez and locked in the rear-naked for the win. Benavidez was completely out.
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Jack Hermansson
Gastelum came out and scored a takedown where he got on top. However, it was Hermansson, who caught a heel hook and got the tap in the first round.
Marc Diakiese vs. Rafael Fiziev
Fiziev came out and scored a takedown right away in round one where he got half guard. Diakiese scrambled back to his feet and ate a nasty kick to the gut. Fiziev started to light up Diakiese with strikes before stuffing a takedown and got on top of his opponent. Diakiese had a busted nose, but got up and then knocked down with a hard strike. Diakiese started to land some of his own shots towards the end of the round. Diakiese started to let his hands go in the second round, but Fiziev continued to press forward and land a mixture of strikes and kicks. The sound of Fiziev’s kicks was loud. Fiziev went back for takedown attempts in the third round, but Marc was doing a nice job preventing them from happening. The judges gave the win to Fiziev by decision.
Luana Carolina vs. Ariane Lipski
In round 1, Carolina got dropped with a right hand in the first 30 seconds. Lipski got into the full guard of Carolina before locking in a kneebar for the win.
Askar Askarov vs. Alexandre Pantoja
Right out of the gate, Pantoja countered a takedown attempt with a guillotine choke. Pantoja was on his back and went for a triangle choke then an armbar before letting it go. Pantoja got back to his feet, but Askarov stayed on him. Askarov managed to get him down again and score a takedown where he got his back then worked him over in an attempt to get a rear-naked choke. In round two, Askarov continued to take the fight to the ground, but Pantoja was doing a nice job of keeping up his defense against the takedowns. Pantoja scrambled out of a takedown and got on the back of his opponent. Pantoja knocked him down with a hard right hand and got into his guard, but Askarov got back to his feet. They traded to the finish. The judges gave the win to Askarov.
It was certain to have a great night of fights. Check out MMA News’ UFC on ESPN+ 30 results below:
Quick UFC on ESPN+ 30 Results
Main Card (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
- Deiveson Figueiredo def. Joseph Benavidez by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:48 of Round 1 to win the UFC flyweight championship
- Middleweight bout: Jack Hermansson def. Kelvin Gastelum by submission (heel hook) at 1:18 of Round 1
- Lightweight bout: Rafael Fiziev def. Marc Diakiese by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Women’s flyweight bout: Ariane Lipski def. Luana Carolina by submission (kneebar) at 1:28 of Round 1
- Flyweight bout: Askar Askarov def. Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary Card (5 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+)
- Light heavyweight bout: Roman Dolidze def. Khadis Ibragimov by TKO (knee & punches) at 4:15 of Round 1
- Catchweight bout: Grant Dawson def. Nad Narimani by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-27)
- Lightweight bout: Joel Alvarez def. Joe Duffy by submission (guillotine choke) at 2:25 of Round 1
- Bantamweight bout: Brett Johns def. Montel Jackson by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Bantamweight bout: Amir Albazi def. Malcolm Gordon by submission (triangle choke) at 4:42 of Round 1
- Lightweight bout: Arman Tsarukyan def. Davi Ramos by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Heavyweight bout: Serghei Spivac def. Carlos Felipe by majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 29-27)