UFC on ESPN+ 31 went down tonight (Saturday, August 1, 2020) from Las Vegas, Nevada at the UFC APEX 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 Derek Brunson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan in a middleweight showdown.
The co-headliner saw Joanne Calderwood vs. Jennifer Maia in a women’s strawweight bout. The rest of the main card featured Vicente Luque vs. Randy Brown and Lando Vannata vs. Bobby Green. Trevin Giles vs. Kevin Holland was cancelled at the last minute as Giles fainted just before the fight and commission pulled the plug.
Derek Brunson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
Brunson was reserved early in the first round until he scored a takedown. Shahbazyan used the fence to work his way up to the fence and Brunson connected with a big time elbow strike. Shahbazyan started to throw big shots that had Brunson back peddling. Shahbazyan caught him with a knee strike to the face but Brunson clinched with him. In the second round, Brunson started to work over the body of Shahbazyan with kicks and strikes. Shahbazyan had no real answers other than throwing punches and eating them in the process. With a minute to go, Brunson scored a takedown and rained down strikes from side control. Shahbazyan was stunned with about 2 seconds to go and was bleeding pretty good. Brunson got a takedown to start the third round and then finished him off with strikes to earn the TKO win.
Joanne Calderwood vs. Jennifer Maia
Calderwood caught a kick and took her down up against the fence in the middle of the first round. However, Maia managed to get the armbar locked in for the win.
Vicente Luque vs. Randy Brown
Luque blasted Brown with a right hand and dropped him as a result in the middle of the first round. Luque got on top in half guard where he landed some strikes but Brown got back to his feet. Brown shot in for a takedown, but Luque stuffed it and they clinched up against the fence for the rest of the ground. Luque started to light him up with kicks and body shots. Brown had a good flurry when he clinched and fired away with knee strikes to the body. Lique was bleeding from his temple. Luque landed a clean knee against the fence with Brown’s hands hovering above the mat. He then pounced for the finish with strikes.
Lando Vannata vs. Bobby Green
They both stunned each other right out of the gate in the first round. Green stunned him with a right hand that dropped Lando and he landed some more on top on the ground. Green stayed on him, but Lando started to come alive as the round went on. Come the second round, Lando began using leg kicks while Green was countering with a right hand. They nixed the idea of taking the ground to the ground in this round and was mostly striking. In the third round, Green put Lando down with a big standing elbow strike then landed a flurry of strikes on the ground. Lando managed to get back up to his feet and they threw lather to close out the round. Green nabbed the decision win.
It was certain to have a great night of fights. Check below for MMA News’ UFC on ESPN+ 31 results:
Quick UFC On ESPN+ 31 Results
Main Card (9 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
- Middleweight bout: Derek Brunson def. Edmen Shahbazyan by TKO (punches) at :26 of Round 3
- Women’s strawweight bout: Jennifer Maia def. Joanne Calderwood by submission (armbar) at 4:29 of Round 1
- Welterweight bout: Vicente Luque def. Randy Brown by knockout (strikes) at 4:56 of Round 2
- Lightweight bout: Bobby Green def. Lando Vannata by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Middleweight bout: Trevin Giles vs. Kevin Holland – nixed after Giles fainted.
Preliminary Card (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
- Bantamweight bout: Jonathan Martinez def. Frankie Saenz by TKO (knee and punches) at :57 of Round 3
- Bantamweight bout: Nate Maness def. Johnny Munoz by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
- Featherweight bout: Jamall Emmers def. Vincent Cachero by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Bantamweight bout: Chris Gutierrez vs. Cody Durden ends in a unanimous draw (28-28, 28-28, 28-28)