Thiago Santos is an explosive light heavyweight. So is Johnnie Walker. Neither showed up on Saturday night. Circumstances turned against both of them.
Santos, who won a unanimous decision at the UFC Fight Night main event in Las Vegas, entered the fight with 15 knockouts in 21 career wins. But he hadn't posted one of those victories since 2019, and three straight losses left the 37-year-old Brazilian in dire need of a win, however it may come. So he fought cautiously.
So did his 29-year-old countryman, Walker, and it was particularly unappealing for a charming striker whose four most recent victories were first-round knockouts. But Walker had lost two of his last three and was still adjusting to a new training camp.
As a result, Santos and Walker produced nothing close to a classic.
The silver lining for Santos was the "W". For Walker, it was that he showed he could be patient and not get overwhelmed, as last time he was with the top-tier 205-pounder. He lost to Corey Anderson by TKO in the first round in 2019.
Not-so-silver linings for both men: Neither jumped to Jiri Prochazka and Alexander Rakik, who remained at the top of the pecking order in the UFC's light heavyweight division. One of them is likely to line up for the winner of Jan Blachowicz's title fight against Glover Teixeira in late October.
Santos, and to a lesser extent Walker, have something to build on, albeit not a flashy knockdown in the end. But there is still more to be built.
Holland spent his training camp working on the biggest weakness that had derailed his rise in the 185-pound division: the takedown defense. He landed on the canvas anyway, but it was not because of his wrestling.
In the middle of the first round, there was a nasty head-to-head clash as the fighters stepped towards each other, and Holland fell to the mat. It was as if he had fainted, but shortly afterwards.
Referee Dan Miragliota walked in, and appeared ready to stop the fight. But Holland quickly started fighting again, so the referee backed out. Doukas immediately seized the advantage, and when the fight turned back, he secured a rear-neck choke to tap out at 3:43.
I know Holland has a serious headache right now ! 😬 that head butt was vicious ! #UFCVegas38
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) October 3, 2021
Due to an accidental head-on collision, Miragliota, who indicated a replay immediately afterwards, consulted the commission officials on the edge of the cage after the fight. The match was eventually declared a no contest, as Holland had been badly compromised.
If not for the unfortunate ending, the story might have been Holland's better takedown defense, as he endured a couple of Doukas' initial attempts to take him down. The 28-year-old from Fort Worth, Texas, worked throughout this training camp alongside former welterweight champion Johnny Hendrix, a two-time NCAA Division 1 national champion in wrestling.
Doukas, who is 28 and hails from Philadelphia — and is the brother of UFC heavyweight Chris Doukas, who won last week — clearly didn't resist the win that was snatched from him.
It took him almost two rounds, but fans got what they expected in Round 3, two of the most exciting welterweights in the world.
After an entertaining, back-and-forth battle, Price was declared the winner via unanimous decision over Oliveira, as all three judges scored the fight 29–28. The fight came in the third round. Oliveira was clearly tired, but some big combination landed on the legs. Price pitches Oliveira down late and starts raining ground and pounds until the bell rings.
After Oliveira's takedown in the first round, Price shocked Oliveira and spent almost the entire rest of the round in the top spot. In the second round, Price slipped in the kick attempt and Oliveira moved into a strong position at the top. Price did a good job attacking from the bottom, but Oliveira was able to get Price back at one point and take off some ground and pounds. Price believes that his takedown in the third round and work on the ground is what gets him the win.
"It's 100% what he did," Price said in his postfight interview. "That's what I've been working on in all the camps."
I know Holland has a serious headache right now ! 😬 that head butt was vicious ! #UFCVegas38
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) October 3, 2021
Price, 32, broke the three-fight winless streak with the win. The Florida native earned his first win since defeating James Vick in October 2019. The 33-year-old Oliveira, a Brazilian native, has dropped three in a row and six of his last eight.
After losing four of his last six fights at light heavyweight, Circunov was making his middleweight debut, with all six fights ending at the end of the first round. He made it to the final horn this time, but the result was another loss, as two of the three judges gave Jotko the lead in a close fight.
Jotko, who is 32 and from Poland, used his strong takedown defense—he came in with the best in UFC middleweight history at 87%—to keep the fight pitched for most of the 15-minute action, and Jotko had a clear edge in striking. The win, his fourth in his last five appearances, gives Jotko 10 in the UFC; He joined Light Heavyweight Champion Jan Blachowicz and former Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejic as the only Poles with a double-digit UFC victory.
Going on the decision was new for the 34-year-old native of Latvia, Circunov, who fights out of Toronto. In addition to the seven straight fights that ended in Round 1, it was the first time since December 2011 that the battle of Circunov went to a decision.
It was exactly the kind of performance Hernandez needed to get back on track.
Hernandez caught Breeden against the cage and stitched together several difficult combinations, ending the first round via knockout at 1:20. Hernandez placed Breeden on his heels quickly, then blew the mouthpiece out of Breeden's mouth as Breeden tried to escape.
Referee Mark Smith had no choice but to step up and stop the attack when Hernandez dropped Breeden with his right hand on the jaw. The sequence begins with Hernandez's short elbow. From there there was one-way traffic.
The 29-year-old Hernandez has won two of his last three, but has won 3-3 in his last six appearances. Later, the Texas resident called on Leonardo Santos, who had to pull out of the bout due to injury, before stepping in as Breiden's replacement. The 32-year-old fighting from Breeden, Missouri, was making his UFC debut and the two-fight winning streak was broken.
Solecki came on, riding a six-fight winning streak. Initially, it looked like he was on his way to continue that streak. But Gordon persisted in a difficult first round, in which he was taken down four times, and took control for his third consecutive victory.
All three judges fought 29–28, two of whom supported Gordon, a 33-year-old New Yorker who had a particularly strong second round and was in the third round for being a busy striker and briefly fighting. Canvas.
Solecki, 28, who hails from New Jersey and fights from Wilmington, North Carolina, suffered his first UFC defeat.
Valentina Shevchenko needs some new challengers for her UFC women's flyweight title. Maybe he got a glimpse of someone from across the cage.
Undefeated O'Neill used ground and pounds to eliminate Antonina Shevchenko via TKO on 4:47 of the second round. Valentina was in her older sister's corner for the bout. O'Neill took Antonina down, climbed the mount and then descended from there with big punches, elbows and hammers until referee Chris Tognoni saw enough.
Took the under!!! @kingcaseymma 👏🏼
— Kai Kamaka III (@kaiboikamaka) October 2, 2021
"I'm here, I'm here to fight hard and I'll eliminate everyone," O'Neill said in his postfight interview.
O'Neill, a 23-year-old prospect, is 3-0 in the UFC with three finishes. The Scottish-born fighter, who trains from Las Vegas, has four finishes in seven career victories. O'Neill is now tied for the longest active winning streak in the UFC women's flyweight division behind Valentina Shevchenko (8). Kyrgyzstan native Antonina Shevchenko, 36, who fought Las Vegas, has dropped two straights and four of her last six.
Rosa didn't give Korea the happiest of octagonal goodbyes.
In Correia's final UFC fight, his Brazilian countryman was the winner via unanimous decision, as the judges won the fight 30–27, 30–27 and 30–26 in a dominant performance. Correa became emotional as she walked towards the cage, tears welling up from her eyes. Later, he sported an injured left eye due to Rosa's punches, elbows and knees.
Rosa, 26, has won six straight, including her first four UFC fights. Rosa's four-fight winning streak is the second-longest active winning streak in the UFC women's bantamweight division, behind only champion Amanda Nunes (9).
The 38-year-old Koriya had just two wins in his last nine appearances against Ronda Rousey in her UFC 190 pay-per-view main event title fight.
Despite being punched repeatedly by his fast opponent in the first round, Mullarkey kept going and brought his power. It paid off in Round 2, when he overwhelmed Smith with volume and took the finish at 2:51.
@jamie_mullarkey you the man!! Still look fresh 🙌🏼 #UFCVegas38
— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) October 2, 2021
Mullarkey, a 27-year old Australian, has won two fights in a row, both finishes.
Smith, who is 28 and from Ohio, has lost two of his last three.
Silva de Andrade got his first finish since 2016, and what a finish it was. The 36-year-old Brazilian countered a kick with a sharp left hook that crashed Pirello onto the mat in a fight for the 2:04 knockout.
Silva de Andrade has won two of his last three, while Pirello, who is 29 and hails from Belgium, has lost both his UFC bouts.
Egger used takedowns in both rounds to control the fight, delivering a ground-and-pound beatdown in Round 2 to get stoppage for his first UFC win.
The 33-year-old from Switzerland, who made her Octagon debut a year earlier, had to block a submission attempt from Young in the first round. But in the second, Egger's offense was too much for Young, and soon after Egger dropped a big elbow into Young's face, referee Mark Smith jumped 2:22 to end it.
Young, who is 30 and fights from Knoxville, Tennessee, has lost both her UFC bouts.
Perez hadn't fought since July 2019, so he took some time to move on. But after being taken down early in Round 2 and struggling to get back on his feet, he turned things around quickly. Perez took Eduardo to the canvas and locked it straight into the armbar to finish 4:13.
Perez, 32, who hails from Mexico and fights from San Jose, Calif., ended a two-fight losing streak.
Eduardo, a 43-year-old Brazilian who hadn't competed since June 2018, lost his third in a row.
Wow an armbar finish with the legs in the crucifix position. Very impressive. 🙏🏽 #UFCVegas38
— Tatiana Suarez (@tatianaufc) October 2, 2021