#NocheUFC

[theanticool]

The only thing funnier than Valentina Shevchenko, the most dominant women's champion in UFC history and arguably women's MMA history, losing the belt by throwing a spinning back kick is Valentina Shevchenko failing to regain that title because she went for a goddamn head & arm throw in the 5th round of a fight that was arguably 2-2.

[kungfufrogmma1]

No

[ikno-io]

Discover what Noche UFC is and why it's one of the most exciting events in the Ultimate Fighting Championship calendar. Learn about its history, significance, and what makes it a must-watch for MMA fans. read the full article: https://bit.ly/3z90Ntj #NocheUFC #UltimateFightingChampionship #MMA #MixedMartialArts #FightNight read more: what is noche ufc

[wimpydave]

Noche UFC Sphere Announcement! 📣 #nocheufc

[viktor-lex]

#UFCxFox #NocheUFC Ft #MiViejo v: #Chincha Esperando a #Valentina PE (en Chincha Baja, Ica, Peru) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByeEKPAhq-EGEeWOiaJUNw488_eYr0ikrR2Quk0/?igshid=17d6ifahlqtvc

[theanticool]

Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko fight to a split draw. Grasso retains!

First off, what a tremendous fight. Grasso and Shevchenko were forced to their absolute limits and put on a tremendous show.

Secondly, I would be cool with a decision either way but the one judge that scored the 5th round a 10-8 is legit crazy. Grasso spent the first half of that round getting flustered by the jab.

Now for the fight. First round went to Val as she got her offense going quickly. Grasso came out orthodox and that was all Val needed to feel comfortable being aggressive. Found success blitzing with the short combos and landed a hard as hell body kick to Grasso from open guard. Grasso went southpaw and immediately started having more success. But a takedown slows the fight down and lets Shevchenko take the early lead on rounds.

Grasso did a good job of stuffing the takedowns in the early part of round 2 as she got back to the pocket behind her jab. She was forcing Val to exchange in the pocket and ended up dropping Shevchenko on a MEAN right hook. Val got up but in her haste to finish Grasso got taken down. But she proceeded to outwork Shevchenko from the bottom. Landed some shots on her back as Val struggled to gather herself after getting hurt. Then Grasso landed a nice upkick that really hurt. Grasso round.

Val was on point in the 3rd. Got the jab working. Got on top and almost submitted Grasso with a guillotine. I think this is also the round where she almost got a RNC. I believe this is also the round Val opened up Grasso with a nice elbow along the fence.

Fourth round started off strong for Val. Finally completely adjusted to southpaw and landing with a nice stiff jab as Grasso was too concerned with the takedown to come forward to often. Shevchenko eventually does shoot but gets stuffed and Grasso uses that opportunity to knee her head like 6-7 times. Hard. Then she pinned Shevchenko to the cage and landed a series of hard left hands. Shevchenko gave up her back and Grasso tried to hop it for the RNC but got shaken off the top and Val spent most of the rest of the round chilling in top position.

Crazy fifth round as Shevchenko comes out again, jabbing at Grasso. Grasso is so scared of the takedown that she's just chilling at the end of range trying to figure out what to do to get to the pocket. They eventually do tie up and Val goes for a head and arm choke. She falls down and Grasso gets to her back. From there Grasso took her back and just starting going HAM. GnP to Val as Val turtles up. She tries to lock up another RNC but Val manages to defend and the fight ends with Grasso going for a neck crank.

Again, you could make a decent argument for either fighter winning this. I don't think there's an argument for a 10-8. Poor Manon Fiorot and Erin Blanchfield are probably not getting a title fight. Likely going to have to fight one another.

[theanticool]

Tracy Cortez takes UD over Jasmine Jasudavicius in war!

Cortez spent the last 16 months working on her striking cause she took it to a whole other level since the last time we saw her. Granted, Jasudavicius is there to be hit as her game seems to be a mix of Karolina Kowlkiewicz and Meisha Tate but that was still worlds better than the last time we saw her. Great use of the 2-3 and 3-2 as JJ walked into range behind her jab. Had a lot of pop on that left hook which is a great sign moving forward.

Jasudavicius came alive a bit in the 2nd - scored a nice slapping head kick off as Cortez tried to exit an exchange. Started throwing those tall-girl stepping knees off of breaks and at the end of combos. And was able to push Cortez to the fence and take her down, but Cortez was still landing throughout with the left hook. Carried that in to the third round and just went to town with the boxing. The leg kicks were there early but JJ was countering over the top because she's aggressive and long and Cortez was throwing them without set up.

Moving backwards is always risky gambit as a developing striker but this was a perfect test for Cortez in her return. Great showing. Instantly gets herself back into the picture of interesting fighters at the top of 125lbs. A fight with a Maycee Barber, Lauren Murphy, or Katlyn Chookagian would be neat.

[theanticool]

Raul Rosas Jr stops Terrence Mitchell in the 1st round.

Rosas went out there and got a rebound win after suffering his first career loss. Catches Terrence Mitchell as he tries to pivot out after throwing a wide leaping hook forward and gets on top with GnP til the fight was over.

Not much to take from this honestly. Mitchell was in there to be run over and run over he was. Not really too sure Rosas learned anything from the Christian Rodriguez loss yet but we'll see eventually I guess.

[theanticool]

Roman Kopylov stops Josh Fremd with a body shot in the 2nd round!

Just a ruthless assault by Kopylov as he picks apart Fremd over 2 rounds and puts him away with relative ease. Kept landing those wicked kicks to the body. Broke Fremd's nose and had him leaking then gets him out of there with a hook to the body.

[theanticool]

2-1 Valentina heading into the 4th. Crazy fight thus far!

Valentina came out hot on the feet but slowed down again when Grasso went southpaw. She has had so much success with the wrestling. Got dropped hard in the 2nd round but managed to recover and take Grasso down but got beat up from top position.

[theanticool]

Jack Della Maddalena takes the split decision over Kevin Holland.

Wild the crowd was booing. Great fight between JDM and Holland. Every once in a while Holland reminds us he's not just a brawler, he can actually box and move around the cage well when he commits to it. But JDM was super defensively responsible and just did a fantastic job of making Holland either miss or glance off. The flurries as Holland retreated behind his lead shoulder probably won it on the judges score cards. Even if JDM rarely landed anything clean he was landing, scoring. Would have liked to have seen either some leg kicks or a head kick to cap off those flurries but Holland rarely had any answer beyond back into the cage and then circle out. Kept the pressure and volume at a simmer instead of trying to spam volume and get Holland out of there.

Holland did great with the teeps and the jab. Kept it in JDM's face, especially in that 2nd round. Made JDM pay for trying to exit the pocket when he'd step around and lean away from shots.

Gotta rewatch this one tomorrow. My brain was keeping up with a lot of the pace. Long day and it's midnight.

[theanticool]

Loopy Godinez submits Elise Reed in the 2nd!

Loopy picks up the finish after beating Elise Reed in basically every phase of MMA. Loopy put a whooping on Reed. Out the gate, Loopy was aggressive. Came forward behind the jab. Put Reed on the back seat. Dropped Reed with a left hook in the first round, but Reed scrambled to her feet only to get body locked, elevated and thrown to the mat where Godinez beat her up, almost locked up a RNC before transitioning to an armbar attempt that must have last a full minute. Reed managed to survive only to get caught in another armbar attempt to close the round.

Godinez did not slow down in the 2nd. Kept taking Reed down and letting her up. Absolutely bombed Reed along the cage at one point, hurting her badly. Then Godinez hit what I can only call a body slam on Reed. Picked her up above her head before throwing her down to the mat. Loopy locks up the RNC for real this time and gets the big win to close out the prelims.

Loopy continues to be a hoss at 115lbs. I like her at Lobo's gym if she's not leaving Mexico for training. Need the proper confidence to throw moving forward and get to her takedowns. Now she's getting these power shots off and she's dangerous.

[theanticool]

Edgar Chairez vs Daniel Lacerda gets ruled a no decision as referee prematurely stops fight.

Add another controversial stoppage to the ledger of Chris Tognoni as he calls this one early. Chairez had Lacerda in a modified anaconda choke/arm in guillotine along the fence. While Chairez had Lacerda locked up, it didn't look like there was a ton of actual pressure going to his neck. At least not from the angle we got. Tognoni went in repeatedly to check Laceda's arm but Lacerda's arm went limp as he relaxed. Tognoni tested it again, Lacerda's arm dropped and he called the fight. But Lacerda was not out at all. Instantly starts protesting. The AC reviews tape and rules it a no decision.

Sucks all around. Weird position for the ref. Weird position for the fighters.

[theanticool]

Charlie Campbell stops Alex Reyes in the 1st round!

Sad for Alex Reyes, brother of Dominick Reyes. Dude has been battling injuries for the past like 6 years to get back to fighting after making his UFC debut in a loss to Mike Perry. That’s a lot of time, a lot of physical adversity, and a lot of experience lost. And to persevere through all of that only to come back to this has to hurt.

Good work from Campbell. Just could not miss with that right hand down the pipe. Was patient when he hurt Reyes. Didn’t rush in to try to get the finish. Just kept Reyes right at the edge of boxing range and picking away at him.

[theanticool]

Josefine Knutsson dominates Marnic Mann to UD in UFC debut.

Knutsson shows a little bit of everything in her UFC debut as she improves to 7-0. Former kickboxer showed off a well rounded game, taking Mann down multiple times and racking up tons of top control. When she committed to improving position, she did it with relative ease. Got mount a bunch. But it felt like she was taking her foot off the gas and switching things up on Mann’s dime. She was content beating the crap out of Mann on the feet in round 1 until Mann tried an ugly head and arm throw and ended up on bottom. Then she proceeded to grapple for the rest of the round. Not a ton of posturing up. It took time for her to improve position with very little resistance. She was flurrying Mann on the feet and crowding herself so bad she ended up in the clinch coming forward.

It was good cage time for a developing fighter but you have to worry about her ability to stick to a winning format against an opponent who offers more resistance than “survive.”