UFC on ESPN 14 went down tonight (Saturday, July 25, 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 Robert Whittaker and Darren Till in a middleweight showdown. The co-headliner saw Mauricio Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in a light heavyweight bout.
There was five additional fights on the main card, which included Fabricio Werdum vs Alexander Gustafsson, Carla Esparza vs.Marina Rodriguez, Paul Craig vs. Gadzhimurad Antigulov, Alex Oliveira vs Peter Sobotta, and Khamzat Chimaev vs. Rhys McKee.
Robert Whittaker vs. Darren Till
Till charged in and got snapped with a counter punch. They lunged forward and Till landed an elbow, which caused Whittaker to fall down for a moment before he got back up to his feet. Whittaker lunged in and caught him off balance to the point that Till fell down. Whittaker got on top in full guard and landed a nasty elbow strike to pass to half guard. Moments later, Till was able to get back to his feet. The third round turned into a more technical fight with both fighters picking their shots. Whittaker did shoot in for a takedown in round three, but Till was quick to shut it down. Till started to let his hands go in round four and cracked him a few times. Whittaker entertained the idea of a takedown in the final round, but couldn’t get it. Whittaker was cut on the side of his head and bleeding badly. Whittaker scored a takedown before Till popped up to his feet. The winner was Whittaker thanks to a decision ruling by the judges.
Mauricio Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
They stood in front of each other and traded leather. There was a brief clinch moment up against the fence. Rua was circling and they had a nice exchange. Nogueira stunned him with a big right hand and walked him down. With 30 seconds to go, Nogueira rocked him again before Rua took him down to the ground. In the second round, they had a wild exchange before Nogueira shoulder tackled him to the ground. Rua managed to get back to his feet. Things calmed down in the third round as each fighter was picking his shots well. Both of them showed the damage that they had done to each other. Rua scored a takedown with less than a minute to go where he landed some shots. In the end, it was Rua that scored the split decision win.
Fabricio Werdum vs. Alexander Gustafsson
Gustafsson threw a combo, which allowed Werdum to take him down and got his back. Werdum transitioned and locked in an armbar for the win.
Carla Esparza vs. Marina Rodriguez
Esparza managed to score a takedown where she got into guard and busted her up with strikes. Esparza even threw in a slam for good measure. Marina was able to scramble to her feet and got on top of Esparza where she landed some strikes. Marina landed some solid shots before defending a takedown. Rodriguez put up a fight in the second round by trying to stuff takedowns, but it wasn’t enough and the former UFC champion got her down. With 30 seconds to go, Rodriguez scrambled and got on top where she landed some serious damage. Carla was bleeding heavily from the left side of her face. Esparza recovered in the third round and went back to business, which was taking the fight to the ground. She edged out Rodriguez to get the split decision win.
Paul Craig vs. Gadzhimurad Antigulov
Antigulov scored an early takedown in round 1. He worked him over with strikes from top position while Craig locked in a triangle choke off his back for the win.
Alex Oliveira vs. Peter Sobotta
Round one had a relaxed feel with them strictly striking and throwing kicks. The fight changed in the second round as Robotta clinched with him up against the fence and worked for a takedown. Sobotta had a nice cut on the top of the head. Oliveira landed a thunderous right hand that dropped Sobotta but didn’t land anything else as the round ended. Truly saved by the bell. Oliveira landed a head kick, which forced him to check his toe if it was broken. All good though. Oliveira nabbed the decision win.
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Rhys McKee
Chimaev came out in round 1, picked him up, took him to his corner and scored a takedown. Chimaev got on top where he worked him over with some nasty shots for a few minutes before getting the TKO win.
It was certain to have a great night of fights. Check out MMA News’ UFC on ESPN 14 results below later tonight:
Quick UFC On ESPN 14 Results
Main Card (8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+)
- Middleweight bout: Robert Whittaker def. Darren Till by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
- Light heavyweight bout: Mauricio Rua def. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Heavyweight bout: Fabricio Werdum def. Alexander Gustafsson by submission (armbar) at 2:30 of Round 1
- Women’s strawweight bout: Carla Esparza def. Marina Rodriguez by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
- Light heavyweight bout: Paul Craig def. Gadzhimurad Antigulov by submission (triangle choke) at 2:06 of Round 1
- Welterweight bout: Alex Oliveira def. Peter Sobotta by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Welterweight bout: Khamzat Chimaev def. Rhys McKee by TKO (punches) at 3:09 of Round 1
Preliminary Card (5 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
- Lightweight bout: Francisco Trinaldo def. Jai Herbert by TKO (punches) at 1:30 of Round 3
- Welterweight bout: Jesse Ronson def. Nicolas Dalby by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:48 of Round 1
- Heavyweight bout: Tom Aspinall def. Jake Collier by TKO (punches) at :45 of Round 1
- Featherweight bout: Movsar Evloev def. Mike Grundy by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Heavyweight bout: Tanner Boser def. Raphael Pessoa by TKO (punches) at 2:36 of Round 2
- Women’s bantamweight bout: Pannie Kianzad def. Bethe Correia by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Welterweight bout: Ramazan Emeev def. Niklas Stolze by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Bantamweight bout: Nathaniel Wood def. John Castaneda by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
