Blachowicz will get 2nd-round KO vs. Rockhold
Marc RaimondiESPN
LAS VEGAS — Luke Rockhold’s debut at mild heavyweight was an absolute catastrophe.
Jan Blachowicz knocked out the favored former middleweight champion with a vicious, right-left punch mixture popping out of a clinch. The knockout end got here at 1 minute, 39 seconds of the second spherical Saturday evening at UFC 239 at T-Cellular Enviornment. With Rockhold dropped, Blachowicz left little question with a pair of punches on the bottom earlier than referee Herb Dean may bounce in to drag him off.
Rockhold began the primary spherical aggressive with hanging after which tried for a very long time to get Blachowicz down in opposition to the cage. By the top of the primary spherical, Blachowicz appeared just like the brisker fighter. He landed a tough elbow and left hand within the clinch, maybe foreshadowing what would occur later. On the finish of the primary, Blachowicz landed a mix and a head kick proper on the bell. It grazed Rockhold’s head and he dropped.
The clinch is what harm Rockhold once more within the second. Rockhold, who was carrying a calf sleeve on his left leg, as soon as once more went for a takedown, acquired stuffed and Blachowicz caught a gap popping out of the tight area.
Blachowicz (24-Eight), a +200 underdog, has received 5 of his previous six bouts with the one loss in that span coming to Thiago Santos. The 36-year-old Poland native got here in ranked No. Eight in ESPN’s mild heavyweight rankings. Rockhold (16-5) has misplaced two straight. The 34-year-old California native had talked a couple of attainable struggle with champion Jon Jones within the close to future had he defeated Blachowicz, however now his 205-pound future is murky. Rockhold has misplaced by KO/TKO in three of his previous 4 fights.
The UFC has loaded up one other pay-per-view card Saturday, that includes two title fights: Jon Jones vs. Thiago Santos and Amanda Nunes vs. Holly Holm.
UFC 239: Jones vs. Santos
• Early prelims: ESPN+ 6:15 p.m. ET
• Prelims: ESPN Eight p.m. ET
• Foremost card: ESPN+ PPV 10 p.m. ET – Purchase now | Get ESPN+ help
UFC 239 content material
• The blueprint to beating Jon Jones
• Holm prepared to vary her legacy
• The UFC’s 22 Corridor of Fame moments
• Who else deserves to be within the UFC HOF?
• Inside Thiago Santos’ ultimate preparation for Jon Jones
• Luke Rockhold’s twin careers
• How the UFC’s mighty have fallen? By the hands of Amanda Nunes
• Element: Daniel Cormier on Amanda Nunes
Arnold Allen defeated Gilbert Melendez by unanimous determination
Issues began off positive for Melendez. He landed some combos and seemed comfy within the cage. However like in his loss to Jeremy Stephens, leg kicks began including up.
Allen labored Melendez’s lead leg and it opened up the whole lot else. By the second half of the primary spherical, Allen had his hanging groove and he by no means misplaced it en route to a whole, unanimous determination (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) victory.
Melendez had some moments early within the first, however the momentum appeared to vary when Allen took Melendez off of his toes with a leg kick. Allen was capable of open up after that with good boxing combos, together with some candy left fingers to the physique. The leg kicks stored up, too. And Melendez was by no means himself after the primary.
Allen (15-1) has received eight straight and is 6-Zero within the UFC. It is positively time for main contender fights within the featherweight division for the 25-year-old Englishman. Allen is the fourth featherweight to start out his UFC profession 6-Zero, becoming a member of Jose Aldo, Conor McGregor and Yair Rodriguez. Melendez (22-Eight), a former Strikeforce light-weight champion, has misplaced 5 in a row. The 37-year-old MMA pioneer has not received since 2013.
Zero:22
Arnold Allen assaults Gilbert Melendez with a collection of punches and a excessive kick in Spherical 1. For extra UFC, join right here for ESPN+ http://plus.espn.com/ufc.
Marlon Vera defeated Nohelin Hernandez by second-round submission
Hernandez was having success in high place. He landed a takedown to start out the second spherical and took management of the struggle from there.Vera was capable of work his manner again to his toes. And the subsequent time Hernandez shot in, Vera met him with a knee. Hernandez dropped, Vera took mount, then Hernandez’s again and cinched in a rear-naked choke to win by submission at Three:25 of the second spherical.
Vera had Hernandez’s again for portion of the primary spherical, however Hernandez was capable of reverse, get the highest and land laborious ground-and-pound. He did that as properly within the second after taking Vera down. However Vera had the good equalizer — that nasty leaping knee as Hernandez shot in.
Vera (16-5-1) has received 4 in a row, tied for the second-longest lively streak within the bantamweight division with Petr Yan. The 26-year-old Ecuador native is the primary UFC bantamweight to win 4 straight by end and he has six finishes within the UFC, the second-most ever amongst bantamweights. Hernandez (10-Three) was on a four-fight profitable streak coming into his UFC debut. The 25-year-old American Kickboxing Academy product was filling in for Sean O’Malley, who withdrew final month due to a suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Fee stemming from an adversarial drug discovering.
Zero:46
Nohelin Hernandez fights off a number of submission makes an attempt from Marlon Vera within the first spherical at UFC 239. For extra UFC, join right here for ESPN+ http://plus.espn.com/ufc.
Claudia Gadelha defeated Randa Markos by unanimous determination
It wasn’t probably the most action-packed matchup, however Gadelha did sufficient to get again on observe.
Gadelha beat Markos by unanimous determination (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) in a reasonably shut struggle through which neither did any sort of sustained injury. Gadelha was capable of outstrike Markos in each spherical, touchdown the heavier punches extra persistently all through. The bout by no means went to the mat regardless of each being good grapplers.
Gadelha (17-Four) bounced again from a loss to Nina Ansaroff at UFC 231 final December. The 30-year-old Brazilian and perennial strawweight contender has received 4 of six total. Gadelha is tied for the third-most wins (six) in UFC strawweight historical past with Tecia Torres and champion Rose Namajunas. Markos (9-7-1), an Iraq-born Canada resident, had a two-fight unbeaten streak snapped.
Zero:25
Claudia Gadelha tags Randa Markos with a head kick earlier than the 2 alternate punches. For extra UFC, join right here for ESPN+ http://plus.espn.com/ufc.
Tune Yadong defeated Alejandro Perez by first-round knockout
Urijah Faber may be very excessive on Yadong, who he believes will likely be considered one of Staff Alpha Male’s subsequent huge stars. Yadong did nothing to quell that enthusiasm Saturday evening — actually, it has most likely now solely intensified.
Yadong landed a missile of a proper hand to knock out Perez at 2:04 of the primary spherical within the opener of the ESPN prelims. Yadong, 21, is the second-youngest fighter within the UFC. He’s solely the second bantamweight in UFC historical past with a first-round knockout at age 21 or youthful. Michael McDonald did that twice.
Yadong (14-Three, 2 NC) has received seven in a row. The China native combating out of Sacramento, California, is Four-Zero within the UFC with three finishes. Perez (21-Eight-1), a 29-year-old out of Mexico, has misplaced two straight following a seven-fight unbeaten streak.
1:11
Tune Yadong says the Chinese language are studying the distinction between UFC and MMA and it’s rising in recognition.
Edmen Shahbazyan defeated Jack Marshman by first-round submission
Edmond Tarverdyan’s newest protégé seems to be the true deal.
Shahbazyan ran proper by means of Marshman, taking him down, touchdown ground-and-pound, and ending with a rear-naked choke submission at 1:12 of the primary spherical. Shahbazyan has skilled with Tarverdyan, the longtime coach of Ronda Rousey, at Glendale Combating Membership within the Los Angeles space since he was a toddler. Rousey is Shahbazyan’s supervisor.
Shahbazyan (10-Zero) has received all three of his fights within the UFC. The 21-year-old seems to be like a future contender within the middleweight division. Shahbazyan is the third-youngest fighter within the UFC, behind Tune Yadong and Maycee Barber, the youngest. Marshman (23-9), a 29-year-old Wales native, has misplaced three of 4.
Zero:30
Edmen Shahbazyan will get an early takedown and unleashes some robust punches. For extra UFC, join right here for ESPN+ http://plus.espn.com/ufc.
Probability Rencountre defeated Ismail Naurdiev by unanimous determination
Early on, it seemed as if Rencountre had no likelihood. Naurdiev was simply too dynamic on the toes, hanging with an excessive amount of athleticism and aggression.
That did not final all that lengthy. Rencountre was capable of safe a single leg takedown off a caught kick and spent the remainder of the primary spherical in high place. That was primarily how the length of the struggle went from there, as Rencountre received a unanimous determination (29-27, 29-28, 30-27).
Naurdiev harm Rencountre with a head kick, a physique kick and a giant proper hand within the opening minutes. However Rencountre’s takedowns and oppressive grappling had been the distinction.
Rencountre is the most important underdog (+375) to win within the UFC this yr. He joins Blagoy Ivanov, Donald Cerrone and Henry Cejudo as the one fighters with two wins as underdogs this yr.
Rencountre (14-Three) has now received two in a row. The 32-year-old Oklahoma native trains out of Alliance MMA and is a doubtlessly up-and-coming identify within the welterweight division. Naurdiev (18-Three) had received three straight coming in and was considered a strong prospect out of Austria. He is simply 22 years outdated.
Zero:42
Probability Rencountre catches Ismail Naurdiev’s leg kick and will get to a dominant place within the second spherical at UFC 239. For extra UFC, join right here for ESPN+ http://plus.espn.com/ufc.
Julia Avila defeated Pannie Kianzad by unanimous determination
In her UFC debut, Avila dominated Kianzad in each space of blended martial arts on the best way to a unanimous determination victory (30-27, 30-26, 30-26). Avila, generally known as “Raging Panda,” rocked Kianzad in each spherical and did substantial injury within the second and third. She seems to be a bantamweight to keep watch over.
Within the third, Avila dropped Kianzad, took her again and rode out the body in search of submissions and floor and pound. Kianzad opened up a minimize to the facet of Avila’s proper eye with a punch within the second spherical, however her vital offense was few and much between.
Avila (7-1) has received three straight bouts. The 31-year-old Oklahoma native was coming over to the UFC from Invicta FC, the place she was a high 135-pound contender. Kianzad (11-5), an Iran-born 27-year-old who now fights out of Denmark, returned to the UFC for this bout and has now misplaced two of three total.
Zero:29
Julia Avila knocks down Pannie Kianzad within the third spherical at UFC 239. For extra UFC, join right here for ESPN+ http://plus.espn.com/ufc.
Nonetheless to come back:
Diego Sanchez vs. Michael Chiesa
Jon Jones vs. Thiago Santos