Who were the winners at UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs. Dos Santos? Click below to get the results for all the fights at Zagreb Arena in Zagreb, Croatia on Sunday, April 10, 2016.
Rothwell vs Dos Santos | Lewis vs Gonzaga | Ngannou vs Blaydes | Johnson vs Tybura | Pokrajac vs Blachowicz | Moroz vs Stanciu | Dalby vs Cummings | Entwistle vs Perez | Taisumov vs Hadzovic | Pejic vs Stasiak | Whiteford vs Martins | Cannonier vs Asker | Di Chirico vs Velickovic
UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs Dos Santos main card
Junior Dos Santos defeats Ben Rothwell
Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos looked to be in championship form with a dominant unanimous decision win (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) over Ben Rothwell. JDS used quickness, lateral movement, a lightning fast jab, and timely power punches to bludgeon Rothwell in the stand up. The Jiu-Jitsu ace Rothwell said he’d look to take down JDS, but there was very few opportunities. Rothwell has a four-fight win and finish streak snapped in the loss.
Derrick Lewis defeats Gabriel Gonzaga
Derrick Lewis opened the fight with a leg kick to the head of Gabriel Gonzaga, which rocked the Brazilian. So Gonzaga looked to wrestle the rest of the round and keep Lewis’ power at bay. But Lewis was having no part of that, as he stood up after getting mounted and his back taken to deliver the KO blows late in the first round (4:48) to take out Gonzaga. Lewis wins his third in a row.
They said it:
Derrick Lewis: "I feel hungry after that victory. I feel really good. I appreciate my opponent and what he did in the fight. I’m hoping that I get to fight Roy Nelson in July at UFC 200. I want to fight again soon and keep this run of victories going. Eventually I want to fight for the title and this victory definitely puts me in the top 15."
Francis Ngannou defeats Curtis Blaydes
Francis Ngannou neutralized the wrestling of Curtis Blaydes and landed 35 significant strikes in 10 minutes to butcher the face of Blaydes, who was forced to stay on his stool after two rounds because of a doctor’s stoppage. Nganou landed a couple massive punches right on the right eye of Blaydes to shut it almost completely. The doctor was left with no choice but to stop the fight.
They said it:
Francis Ngannou: “I’m very happy with the victory and I proved today that I’m not just a striker or a boxer like people think. I showed people today what I can do and proved that I'm an MMA fighter."
Tim Johnson defeats Marcin Tybura
Tim Johnson didn’t look 100 percent after the fight, but in 15 minutes the heavyweight did enough to beat Marcin Tybura by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
They said it:
Tim Johnson: “I had a good idea that I’d won I think in the third round I probably wasn’t doing as much as I wanted to but I still had energy in the gas tank. I wasn’t stalling but I was trying to be protective. Judges always remember the last round – I was really confident until I was stood there waiting! I think I did enough in the second round for sure and the first round too, I was getting the better of the exchanges. I felt pretty confident, my corner was pretty confident I’d won both rounds. That was the first time I’d been taken down in a long time so well done to him, that was awesome. It was one of those situations so I made sure I got back up because I knew that’s where he wanted to beat me. This fight I wanted to prove that I don’t just want to wrestle, I want to be up there, I wanted to throw punches and be punched back. By the end of the year I would like to be close to the top 15. Every fight I’m getting better and this was probably the best camp I have put together. I felt better mentally and overall I felt complete.”
Marcin Tybura: "In the first round I was a little stressed and made a couple of mistakes. But after that I started to recover and I actually didn’t get tired much. It was my first time here and I fought my best. I try not to think about the future but I hope I get another chance to show what I can do."
Jan Blachowicz defeats Igor Pokrajac
The two monster light heavyweights – Jan Blachowicz and Igor Pokrajac – came out looking to trade. In the second round both men exhausted the gas tank throwing huge bombs and hard leg kicks, turning in an entertaining five minutes. In the end, Blachoqicz did enough to win over the judges in a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
They said it:
Jan Blachowicz: "I knew for sure that I won two of the three rounds. Maybe the first round was a draw or maybe he won it but I knew I won the other rounds. I had to be smart in this fight because I have lost my last two fights. He was a tough opponent but I had no option I had to win this fight because you never know what can happen.”
Igor Pokrajac: “It was a heck of a fight, I tried to put on the best show for my crowd here in Croatia. I'm very proud that we managed to fill out this arena and it was a honour to be able to fight in front of them. It’s up to the UFC to decide what’s next but I will be back in the gym tomorrow training. I want to show everyone that next time I will be better."
Maryna Moroz defeats Cristina Stanciu
Both Maryna Moroz and Cristina Stanciu attacked with submissions in their main card opening bout, but it was Moroz who did more on the feet and on the ground to hold off Stanciu with a unanimous decision win (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
They said it:
Maryna Moroz: “If I had more time I think I could have finished the fight, but I'm still very happy with the performance. I'm not sure whats next for me, but I do know that I'm ready to climb this division. I will take whichever opponent they give me to help me get to the top."
Cristina Stanciu: "I feel ok, the fight didn’t go how I wanted it to though. This is the first time I have fought a Romanian fighter and this is the first time I have fought in this weight class, so next time I will train harder and come back stronger."
UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs Dos Santos FS1 prelims
Zak Cummings defeats Nicolas Dalby 
Zak Cummings showed his skills against Nicolas Dalby, out-striking the young European prospect en route to a unanimous decision win (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Cummings almost finished the fight in the first round, landing a stiff upper cut and a straight left to make Dalby’s knees buckle. Dalby is tough and survived, but Cummings controlled the fight the rest of the way. Cummings improves to 4-1 in the UFC.
They said it:
Zak Cummings: “I knew Dalby was going to be a really tough opponent. I thought I was better than him everywhere and I proved that tonight. I knew that his heart would be really tough to break. It was tough and I had to fight for it. The undefeated guys have that innocent confidence and they think they are unbeatable. It really does give you a false sense of confidence, so I knew he was going to be hard to beat before the fight. I knew that if I kept to my game-plan though, it would turn out the way I wanted."
Nicolas Dalby: “Physically I’m a little beat up, but I feel fine. I did what I did in the Octagon, Zak did what he did. I’m not sure I agree with the decision, but what happened, happened and I just have to focus on my next fight. I don’t have any excuses."
Alejandro Perez defeats Ian Entwistle
Ian Entwistle had Alejandro Perez’s legs in his grasp and was likely looking for a heel hook – a signature move that he’s finished three fights with in the past. But Perez was able to defend and land bombs from the top to force a TKO stoppage at 4:04 of Round 1.
They said it:
Alejandro Perez: “I worked very hard with my team to prepare for the fight. He hurt me a couple of times on my leg and my knee, but I kept going. I prepared for nothing else, I expected him to fight the way he did, but this is how I trained. I am very happy with my victory.”
Mairbek Taisumov defeats Damir Hadzovic
There’s a reason Mairbek Taisumov is one of the most talked about prospects in the UFC – he knocks people out. And he did it again in Zagreb, landing a right upper cut to record the astonishing walk off KO at 3:44 of round 1. Damir Hadzovic landed some good shots in the opening minutes, but Taisumov weathered the storm and picked up speed later in the round before the finish. Taisumov has now recorded four straight KO wins.
They said it:
Mairbek Taisumov: "It was a long way to get to this fight, but I did it. I want to fight someone in the top 10. I want to be number one and I hope that the UFC will give me the opportunity to fight the best guys in the world. I want to be there and to show people that I am also at that level."
Damir Hadzovic: "I am heartbroken that’s it. I wanted this fight so bad. I felt like the fight was stopped too early and I wanted to carry on fighting. I hope that the UFC gives me another chance to fight. I want to fight again soon, so that I can redeem myself."
Damian Stasiak defeats Filip Pejic
Filip Pejic was excited to be making his UFC debut in his home country of Croatia, waving Damian Stasiak on as the introductions were made. But Stasiak spoiled the party with an early takedown and then submitted Pejic with a rear naked choke moments later at 2:16 of Round 1.
They said it:
Damian Stasiak: “It was no problem for me fighting one of the home favourites. He was aggressive but I knew the fight would end very soon. The first round finish was my dream. I will go back to training and I’m ready for anything that comes next."
Filip Pejic: “I feel really bad because this was my debut in the UFC. I felt tired and I burned out. I lost my focus but I will be in the gym tomorrow morning. I want to show people what I can do because this was the worst presentation of my life."
UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs Dos Santos FIGHT PASS prelims
Replay the first three fights on UFC FIGHT PASS
Lucas Martins defeats Robert Whiteford
Lucas Martins came out firing and looked great in the opening round, but Rob Whiteford was able to make it his kind of fight in the final two rounds. Whiteford slowed the pace and landed a takedown in the second round to keep Martins in check, but Martins did enough in the end to win a split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27). Martins was out-struck in the fight 48-33, but he came charging forward for all three rounds and was rewarded by the judges.
They said it:
Lucas Martins: “I am so happy I got the win and I feel really good. I had to take my time and take my opportunities and next time I will be more aggressive for sure."
Robert Whiteford: “It was a pleasure to fight here in Croatia, the crowd was great. Lucas was a tough guy but I fought smart, sometimes it just doesn’t go as planned. I need to go back to the drawing board, it’s been ten weeks of absolute torture. I will go back to Scotland though, pluck my wings and I will be back."
Jared Cannonier defeats Cyril Asker
It’s all over! Jared Cannonier landed a left hook right on the button to floor Cyril Asker and then followed up with a series of strikes on the ground to finish the fight by TKO at 2:44 of the first round.
They said it:
Jared Cannonier: “I have really good coaches and the support from my family helped me win this fight. I want to thank them all for today. At one point I got caught, but I did what I had to do in the Octagon and that’s about it. I can’t ask for more, I’m very happy with the victory.”
Cyril Asker: “I feel really disappointed, I wanted to continue the fight, but congratulations to Jared."
Bojan Velickovic defeats Alessio Di Chirico
What a great fight to start the day of action! Bojan Velickovic was out-struck by Alessio Di Chirico, but the Serbian mixed up his attacks and almost finished with a nasty kimura in the second round to capture the unanimous decision victory (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).
They said it:
Bojan Velickovic: “I feel amazing, I feel really blessed to have had the opportunity to make my debut in Croatia. Alessio was a very tough opponent. I am a fighter and I am happy to take risks and I like to accept challenges. I am very happy that I won this fight."
Alessio Di Chirico: “I feel very good, it was a good performance. I want to thank my coaches. I like to have fun, it’s my job, my passion and I will continue to fight."