UFC Vegas 4: Results

In the featherweight opener, Youssef Zalal made it two for two in the Octagon with a close, but unanimous, decision win over Jordan Griffin.

Scores were 29-28 across the board for Zalal, now 9-2. Griffin falls to 18-8.

Griffin put in a workmanlike first round, staying busy with his striking until spending much of the final three minutes working his grappling attack on his smaller foe. Zalal got in his share of shots on the feet, though, and he upped his work rate in the second in order to keep Griffin from working his close-range game. In the second minute of round two, Zalal hurt Griffin with a body shot, but the Milwaukee product responded with a takedown that gave him time to get his legs back. When the two broke, Griffin was clearly winded, but as Zalal fell to the mat after throwing a kick, Griffin was able to work his grappling attack again and perhaps steal the round.

Zalal came out firing and landing in the third, only to have Griffin get a takedown in the second minute to halt the Morocco native’s momentum. With three minutes left, Zalal got back to his feet and while Griffin kept looking for an opening to get another takedown, the Coloradan wasn’t having it, allowing him to take the decision on all three scorecards.

The youngest female fighter on the UFC roster fought like an old pro in her UFC debut, as 20-year-old Kay Hansen submitted former Invicta FC champion Jinh Yu Frey in a strawweight bout.

The first was a methodically paced round, as the two looked for openings to score. Frey won that battle, as she landed several crisp left hands while avoiding Hansen’s attempts to grapple. 

In the second minute of round two, Hansen got the fight where she wanted it as she took Frey down and kept her there for all but a brief spell at the end of the round, and just like that, it was all even.

With the fight up for grabs, Frey got off to a good start in the third, but Hansen forced a takedown, and in the process she was able to transition into an armbar that forced Frey to tap out at 2:26 of round three.

With the win, Fullerton’s Hansen ups her record to 7-3. Frey falls to 9-5.

Canadian heavyweight Tanner Boser delivered the most impressive victory of his UFC run, knocking out Philipe Lins in the first round.

Boser was using his stick and move strategy beautifully in the early going, not allowing Lins to get into an offensive rhythm. And then when Boser planted his feet and let an overhand right go, he clearly stunned the Brazilian. A flurry of accurate shots followed that dropped Lins, and a final hammerfist ended matters, with referee Herb Dean stepping in to stop the fight at the 2:41 mark.

With the win, Edmonton’s Boser moves to 18-6-1. Rio Grande do Norte’s Lins falls to 14-5.

Pittsburgh’s Khama Worthy broke open a close fight with fellow lightweight standout Luis Pena in the third and final round, submitting Pena to extend his current winning streak to seven.

The pace was fast from the start, but it was Pittsburgh’s Worthy who was the busier of the two, as he landed several kicks downstairs while throwing combination punches upstairs on Pena.

Changing the location of the fight early in the second, Pena scored a slick takedown and locked in an arm triangle choke briefly. Worthy got loose, but Pena was undeterred as he looked for a rear naked choke. Ultimately, Worthy was able to reverse position and get up with a little over a minute left, but Pena took the fight back to the mat.

Worthy was able to keep the fight standing in the beginning stages of round three, leading to some good exchanges, but on a takedown attempt by Pena, “The Death Star” locked in a tight guillotine choke, and that forced Pena to tap out at 2:53 of the third frame.

With the win, Worthy moves to 16-6. Pena falls to 8-3.

A week ago, Julian Erosa didn’t have a fight scheduled or a UFC roster spot. Tonight, he scored his first UFC win since 2015, as he submitted previously unbeaten Sean Woodson in the third round of a bout held at a catchweight of 150 pounds.

Not surprisingly, Woodson’s height and reach advantages were a tough puzzle to deal with in the first round, as the St. Louis native fired and landed effectively. At close range, Erosa was able to get in a few scoring shots, but not enough to deter Woodson. That changed in the second, as he pressured Woodson and had him on the defensive for large stretches. Woodson still landed the more effective blows as he tagged Erosa and marked his face up. 

As the fight got closer, though, Woodson dropped Erosa early in the third, allowing him to get some breathing room. Erosa recovered quickly, though, and once standing, he marched after his foe, took a few more shots, but when he got Woodson’s neck, he had the upset secured, as Woodson tapped out to the D’Arce choke at 2:44 of the final frame.

With the win, Las Vegas’ Erosa, who replaced Kyle Nelson on short notice, moves to 24-9. Woodson falls to 7-1.

Japan’s Takashi Sato looked to be in fine form in his welterweight bout against Jason Witt, stopping the Octagon newcomer in less than a minute.

Sato drilled Witt with a left hand early and sent him to the canvas hard, and though Witt tried to shake off the effects of the blow, the Tokyo native wasn’t going to let that happen, and after tossing off a takedown attempt, a series of unanswered left hands brought in referee Chris Tognoni to stop the bout at the 48-second mark.

With the win, Sato moves to 16-3. Witt, who replaced Ramiz Brahimaj on less than a week’s notice, falls to 17-6.

Top 185-pound prospects Brendan Allen and Kyle Daukaus went to war for 15 minutes, and after the grueling three-rounder, it was Allen emerging victorious via unanimous decision.

Scores were 29-28, 29-27 and 30-27 for Allen, now 15-3. Daukaus falls to 9-1.

Both were ready to get after it, but as they battled against the fence, a knee by Allen immediately changed the complexion of the fight. On the mat, Allen was in control, but as Daukaus cleared his head, he defended well and then scrambled out of trouble. Now it was the Philadelphian taking over until Allen turned the tide in the final minute, opening a nasty cut over his foe’s right eye in the process.

The back and forth action continued in round two, the middleweight prospects trading blows on the feet until heading back on the mat, where they took turns scrambling into positions of control. But once Allen settled in on top, his thudding elbows were piling up the points. 

Daukaus landed a nice combination to start round three, and he followed it up with a takedown that led to some ground strikes and marked Allen’s face up. By the two-minute mark, Daukaus took Allen’s back and stayed locked on until the final minute, when Allen got free and fired off shot after shot until the final horn.

Maurice Greene turned near-disaster into victory in heavyweight action, as he turned a third-round knockdown into a submission of Gian Villante.

Greene used his kicks effectively to keep Villante at bay in the first round, with the New Yorker unable to get close enough to do any damage to “The Crochet Boss.” Villante got in a few leg kicks in an attempt to slow Greene down, and with a little over a minute to go, a body kick got his opponent’s attention, but it was a clear Greene round.

Adding more punches to his striking attack, Greene continued to control the action in round two, clearly outworking Villante, who had success when he let his strikes go but just wasn’t doing it enough. In the second half of the round, Villante began to up his work rate as he tried to chop Greene down with leg kicks, but he was running out of time.

Villante jarred Greene with a right hand early in round three, but when things were heating up, an inadvertent eye poke by Greene brought a brief halt to the bout. When the action resumed, Villante countered a Superman punch with a left hand that put Greene on the deck, and the Long Islander went all-in with his strikes in an effort to finish the fight. Greene weathered the storm, though, and out of nowhere, he locked in an arm triangle choke that forced Villante to tap out at 3:44 of the final stanza.

With the win, Greene moved to 9-5. Villante, who was making his UFC heavyweight debut, falls to 17-12.

Mike Perry snapped a two-fight losing streak in his welterweight bout with Mickey Gall, putting together a disciplined performance en route to a three-round unanimous decision victory.

As the bout began, Perry pressed the action, trying to walk Gall down, but the New Jersey native countered well, cutting Perry over the eye in between his lateral moves. With a little over a minute left, Perry got a hold of Gall and slammed him to the deck. Perry did good work on the mat, punctuating it with some ground strikes before the horn.

Gall’s counters remained solid as round two began, and while a takedown attempt came up short, he briefly had a guillotine in when Perry took the fight to the mat. Once loose, Perry kept the strikes coming until Gall used a kimura to sweep his way back to his feet. Once standing, Gall looked for his own takedown, but Perry’s defense was rock solid. His offense wasn’t too bad, either, as a right hand late dropped Gall and nearly put an end to the fight.

The zip had gone from Gall’s punches in round three, and Perry knew it. After landing some hard shots, he took Gall to the mat with a little over two minutes left and began firing away once more. Gall refused to go away, but Perry was a step ahead, and as he got into the mount position, things went further south for Gall, who was outpointed by three scores of 29-28.

With the win, Perry moves to 14-6. Gall falls to 6-3.

Everyone expected the UFC Vegas 4 main event between Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker to be an instant classic. Then the two lightweight contenders went and delivered one, fighting tooth and nail for 25 minutes, with Poirier emerging victorious via unanimous decision in a clear Fight of the Year candidate.

Scores were 48-47 twice and 48-46 for the No. 3-ranked Poirier, now 26-6 with 1 NC. The No. 5-ranked Hooker falls to 20-9.

Hooker took an early lead as he worked his kicks to Poirier’s legs and body. Midway through the round, Poirier was able to negate his opponent’s reach advantage by locking up and taking Hooker to the fence. Hooker didn’t stay there long, but once the two separated, a fight broke out, with both landing hard shots in the pocket. 

The two wasted no time getting back after it in round two, Hooker scoring with kicks and Poirier responding with punches until a brief stay against the fence. At close range, the two traded bombs, Poirier getting the better of it as he bloodied Hooker’s nose. Midway through the frame, the exchanges continued, Poirier now cutting Hooker over the right eye. Hooker returned the favor, neither backing down from the other. With under a minute left, Hooker rocked Poirier briefly, and as the round wore down, he poured it on, landing several shots until the horn intervened.

It was going to be hard to top the pace of the previous frame, but Hooker and Poirier did their best, each landing shots until a Hooker takedown attempt nearly led to a Poirier guillotine choke finish. Hooker fought his way free, though, and the two proceeded to then trade strikes on the mat. Poirier also looked for a submission from his back and when that came up empty, he made his way to his feet and landed two flush right hands that Hooker remarkably shook off.

Poirier’s southpaw jab was sharp in the early stages of round four, leading to a Hooker takedown. Poirier rose immediately, but Hooker stayed committed and put the Louisiana native twice more. After rising again, it was Poirier with the takedown, and he was able to keep the New Zealander grounded as he fired off a steady stream of strikes. With under two minutes left, Poirier locked up an armbar, but Hooker defended well and eventually pulled free with a little under a minute remaining. As the two rose, Poirier looked for a guillotine, but again, Hooker got loose just before the end of the frame.

With the fight possibly up for grabs, there was a lot on the line in the fifth round, with both trying to wisely pick their shots. Poirier appeared to be the fresher of the two, and after landing several flush punches, Hooker wisely sought out a takedown. Poirier didn’t stay grounded long, yet as they stood, Hooker kept looking to take the fight to the mat. Poirier was determined to stay upright, though, and when the two hit the deck late, it was Poirier with a bunch of punches to the face as the bout ended. If there was a crowd at the UFC Apex, there would have been a standing ovation. And a well-deserved one.