UFC 274: Oliveira vs Gaethje Results

Just Happened: 

A Rodrigues takedown early in round two went wrong, as Vergara scrambled his way into a dominant position and went to work. With a minute left, it looked like Vergara was on the verge of closing the show, but Rodrigues found daylight, got to his feet, and finished the round strong, even though his face showed the scars of battle from Vergara’s ground strikes.

In the third, both fighters went for it and grueling back-and-forth action was the result, a fitting end to a close and exciting fight.

Godinez broke up a punch combination by Carnelossi with a slick takedown in the early going and even though the Brazilian would rise, it would only be briefly, as Godinez simply dominated the first round behind her grappling and ground-and-pound.

There was more of the same as round two opened, and this time she rocked Carnelossi on the feet first before grounding her and using an array of skills to peck away at her foe’s defenses. And while Carnelossi did escape an arm triangle, it was another dominant frame for Godinez, and she added another one in the third to wrap up a dominant shutout win.

Cortez got her takedown in the opening minute, but Gatto stayed busy from her back and returned the fight to the feet. With a little over two minutes to go, Gatto scored her own takedown and took her foe’s back, but Cortez reversed position and got out of trouble.

Gatto started the second round strong, using her strikes to set up a takedown. Again, she took Cortez’ back and then nearly caught Cortez in an armbar, but it was the Arizonan who escaped and ended the round on top and in control.

Cortez took over in the third, avoiding Gatto’s submission attempts and briefly getting the mount position en route to a hard-earned victory.

The pace from furious from the start, with Schnell aggressively going after Royval and dropping him with a right hand a minute in. Royval recovered but nearly got caught in a choke, only to escape and catch Schnell in the guillotine that ended the bout via tap out at 2:14 of the first frame.

The No.6-ranked Royval moves to 14-6 with the win. The No.9-ranked Schnell falls to 15-6, 1 NC.

Chiasson got the takedown two minutes into the second stanza, but Dumont scrambled her way out of trouble when the Louisianan tried to take her back. Chiasson quickly got her footing back and bulled Dumont into the fence.

Dumont came out firing for round three and landed a big right hand, but Chiasson went back to her clinch game. When Dumont got daylight, she scored with her strikes, but those moments of daylight were few and far between as Chiasson smothered the Brazilian, drawing boos from the crowd. With 90 seconds left, Dumont got in some more punches that rocked Chiasson, but the grappling from the former TUF winner kept her out of further danger.

Trinaldo got in some shots on Roberts in a competitive first round, but it was largely the Brit in control as he calmly worked from long range. Trinaldo changed the complexion of the fight early in round two, though, as he rocked Roberts and had him wobbled. The Brazilian went on the attack, and after a thudding body shot, he looked for a guillotine choke. The two went to the mat and Roberts got loose, but he remained on his back with Trinaldo keeping the pressure on until the final minute, when Roberts rose and swung the fences in an effort to get momentum back on his side.

The third was close until Trinaldo rocked Roberts again with under two minutes to go, but the Brazilian wasn’t able to capitalize. It was enough, though, for “Massaranduba” to take the victory on the scorecards.

Brown opened the second with his own right hand, but Williams took it well. Brown was settling into the fight, though, and he used his jab and movement effectively to keep his foe from getting close with his bombs.

Brown continued to smoothly control the fight on the feet in the first half of round three, but Williams proved he still had an equalizer as he dropped “Rudeboy” midway through. Brown got up with no issues and went on to land several hard shots as he looked to close out the fight in style, and he did with some knees in the clinch.

Rua had a measured and effective first round, as he fired off kicks throughout the frame. Saint Preux did score with several kicks up the middle that reddened the Brazilian’s midsection, but they didn’t deter Rua’s forward march.

There was more of the same in the second stanza, as the fight remained close and competitive, with the judges having quite the task separating the two. In the third, OSP pressed more, cutting Rua over the eye and he continued to drill the Brazilian in the body.

Michael Chandler scored one of the most memorable knockouts in recent history, finishing former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson with a front kick in the second round.

A left hand scored a flash knockdown of Chandler late in the first minute of round one, but Chandler stood up swinging haymakers. He landed some shots, but Ferguson returned fire until Chandler scored with a thudding takedown. Ferguson fired off elbows from his back, cutting his foe, but Chandler kept throwing shots from the top position, cutting “El Cucuy.”

The end then came suddenly in round two, with a right front kick landing flush to the jaw and knocking Ferguson out immediately. The official time of referee Jason Herzog’s stoppage was :17 of the second round.

With the win, the No.5-ranked Chandler moves to 23-7. The No.7-ranked Ferguson falls to 26-7.

It was a war of nerves in the opening frame, with both fighters cautious as they looked for an opening to exploit, but neither pressed the action.

Esparza made her first move early in round two, but her takedown attempt was thwarted by Namajunas, marking the only significant action in another round that didn’t make the crowd too happy.

Namajunas began firing off more strikes to begin round three, Esparza responding with a brief takedown that the champion rose from immediately. What followed was a repeat of the first two rounds, as there were no sustained offensive attacks from either fighter.

In the second minute of round four, Esparza again got a takedown, but Namajunas scrambled back to her feet. There was little follow-up aggression from the champion, though, and she was grounded again with under 90 seconds to go. This time, Namajunas landed a right hand on the way up, but Esparza took it well.

There were a few exchanges in the fifth, each fighter getting a shot or two in, but there was still no sustained action, and the crowd let them know about it. Namajunas did end the bout with a takedown in the final seconds, but it was not enough to save her title.

Oliveira staggered Gaethje with a right hand to open the bout, and then landed another hard shot, only to drop Oliveira twice. Now bloodied, Oliveira remained in the pocket with Gaethje but then pulled guard with three minutes to go. Gaethje wasn’t having it, and he stood up and resumed swinging, but it was Gaethje who got dropped hard with a right hand. Oliveira pounced, and moments later, he sunk in the rear naked choke that produced a tap out at 3:22 of the first round.

Oliveira, who missed weight at 155.5 pounds, moves to 33-8, 1 NC with the win and will now be installed as the number one contender. Gaethje, a former interim champion, falls to 23-4.