The Actual Winners and Losers from UFC Combat Night time 227

Six months in the past, it was a co-main squash match.

Till it wasn’t.

When Mexico’s Alexa Grasso took out long-time flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko alongside Jon Jones’ heavyweight title win at UFC 285 in early March, she set the stage for what arrived Saturday evening in the exact same T-Cell Enviornment in Las Vegas.

Noche UFC was the corporate’s high-profile nod to Mexican Independence Day highlighted by Grasso’s preliminary title protection in opposition to top-ranked contender Shevchenko, who’d arrived to their first bout having misplaced to nobody within the promotion apart from Amanda Nunes.

Neither lady had fought since that preliminary encounter, which led to a fourth-round submission when Shevchenko tapped out in a rear-naked choke. It was a fifth straight win for Grasso, who’s nonetheless not misplaced since dropping a majority determination to Carla Esparza in 2019.

The B/R fight employees took in all 10 bouts plus the championship match to assemble a definitive checklist of the present’s actual winners and losers. Check out what we got here up with and drop a thought or two of your personal within the feedback.

Simply while you assume you have bought it discovered, you do not.

Although each incumbent Alexa Grasso and former champ Valentina Shevchenko thought they’d carried out sufficient to hold the flyweight title belt out of the Octagon after Saturday’s principal occasion, neither had their hand raised as a victor after their five-round rematch was scored a split-decision draw.

Each Grasso and Shevchenko earned a 48-47 nod on one scorecard, however the deciding vote forged by veteran choose Mike Bell was even at 47 after he awarded Grasso a 10-8 margin within the fifth spherical. Had he adopted the opposite judges and scored it 10-9 in Grasso’s favor, Shevchenko would have regained the belt.

And make no mistake, that is what Shevchenko believed she deserved.

“I feel it was 3-2 on my aspect. However she’s a Mexican fighter,” Shevchenko mentioned, alluding to the present’s Mexican Independence Day theme. “I used to be anticipating a battle, and I went by means of the work. In a good competitors, this could be mine.”

Certainly, the B/R card had Shevchenko up three rounds to at least one heading into the fifth after the previous champ managed Spherical 1 on the mat, chased a mounted guillotine end within the third and once more bought Grasso to the bottom within the fourth.

The present champ earned the second spherical on the power of a knockdown scored with a tough proper hand and chased a end of her personal within the fifth after attending to Shevchenko’s again to pursue a rear-naked choke with simply greater than a minute remaining.

Junichiro Kamijo gave Grasso Rounds 2, 4 and 5. Sal D’Amato gave Shevchenko Rounds 1, 3 and 4. And Bell additionally gave Shevchenko the primary, third and fourth, however turned the tide with the two-point margin—the one one throughout all three scorecards—within the ultimate spherical.

“I do not know what he is watching. I do not perceive the place he will get 10-8,” analyst Dominick Cruz mentioned. “The place’s the consistency? If you have a look at the factors for a 10-8 spherical, I do not see how (Bell) says that was it.”

Grasso, for her sake, thought she received outright as nicely.

“I did lots of harm. My punches had been tougher. So yeah, I am the winner,” she mentioned. “I used to be very shut (to a end) and doing lots of harm and attempting to submit her. Sure, I did sufficient.”

Grasso is now 8-3-1 within the UFC, whereas Shevchenko is 12-3-1.

“That may be a scorecard,” blow-by-blow man Jon Anik mentioned, “that they will be speaking about for years to come back.”

You might have anticipated a co-main occasion to ship mayhem, just because it was a co-main occasion.

In that case, you got here away disenchanted.

The would-be slugfest between ranked welterweights Kevin Holland and Jack Della Maddalena devolved right into a tedious stand-up match wherein neither man appeared prepared to decide to all-out offense.

Consequently, it was a reed-thin determination that went Della Maddalena’s method by cut up determination, with two judges giving him a 29-28 (two rounds to at least one) verdict to overrule a 3rd choose with a 29-28 for Holland.

B/R agreed with the bulk and gave Della Maddalena the primary and third rounds for a 29-28 nod.

“It was just about precisely what I anticipated,” the 27-year-old Australian mentioned, speaking over loud jeers from the group. “Thanks for the boos, I respect it.”

It was a sixth win in six UFC tries for Della Maddalena, who arrived as the corporate’s 14th-ranked welterweight—one spot behind Holland, who’s nonetheless received extra fights (12) than any fighter since he arrived to the promotion at UFC 227 5 years in the past.

“It is exhausting to inform in right here. I really feel like he ended up on the cage somewhat extra, however I am not a choose,” Della Maddalena mentioned. “F–k it. The plan was to come back in defensive, use my eyes, and look forward to my photographs.”

Raul Rosas Jr. wanted a bounce-back. Badly.

And when it got here time to carry out, he did so. Goodly.

The UFC’s youngest fighter at simply 18 years, 11 months, Rosas countered overaggressive opponent Terrence Mitchell with a fast, exhausting left that dumped Mitchell to the ground and prompted a ground-and-pound barrage to finish their main-card bantamweight bout after simply 54 seconds.

“I needed to show a degree right this moment,” Rojas mentioned. “Final struggle, no excuses, so I knew I needed to be higher than that. I knew I needed to allow them to palms fly, so I did.”

Certainly, he’d opened his keep within the promotion with a first-round victory however misplaced his unbeaten document and a few of his aura with a choice loss to Christian Rodriguez at UFC 287 in April.

Rosas and Mitchell bought proper to enterprise and began throwing photographs early of their struggle up till Rosas landed the left that left Mitchell stiff-legged and tumbling backward to the ground. Rosas instantly pounced with a torrent of strikes, compelled Mitchell to surrender his again and continued to throw strikes till referee Mark Smith intervened.

“The child fought offended tonight,” Daniel Cormier mentioned. “He was mad about what occurred final time.

“He took his again and tried to place his head by means of the mat.”

Rosas ended his chat with Cormier and proved he’d regained his swagger, overtly campaigning for a efficiency bonus from UFC boss Dana White.

“Ain’t no fight higher than that,” he mentioned, “and these customized fits ain’t low-cost.”

A number of phrases could possibly be used to explain Crazy Godinez’s technique of defeating Elise Reed in Saturday’s prelim finale, however few can be any higher than “mauling.”

The Mexican strawweight is billed as a boxer when it comes to approach, however she was equal or superior to her opponent in each attainable method, touchdown a number of impactful blows along with her fists and repeatedly getting the struggle to the ground the place she was in a position to regularly chase submissions.

She finally bought one at 3:38 of the second spherical, getting Reed to faucet in a rear-naked choke.

“You guys are superb,” she mentioned to a raucous crowd. “I can hear you guys in right here. I f–king adore it.”

Godinez landed 14 strikes, scored two takedowns and was credited with 5 submission makes an attempt whereas racking up higher than three minutes of management time within the first spherical.

She continued the dominance within the second as nicely, touchdown 23 strikes, including three extra takedowns, and getting her end after an eight-punch mixture yielded a double-leg slam and allowed the ninth-fight UFC veteran to lock within the decisive choke that drew a faucet and an intervention from Herb Dean.

It was a productive kickoff to Godinez’s coaching partnership with flyweight champ Alexa Grasso.

“I’ve the dream group,” she mentioned. “I’m so completely satisfied, and I really feel higher than ever. Each day that is it. We prepare like this. We struggle like this.”

Dominick Cruz felt no want to carry again.

Moments after referee Chris Tognoni stopped a prelim struggle between Edgar Chairez and Daniel Lacerda when he believed Lacerda had been put to sleep in a standing guillotine choke—solely to see Lacerda immediately point out he was nonetheless absolutely in possession of his senses—it was on.

The 2-time bantamweight champion went on the offensive from his place on the ESPN broadcast desk, suggesting Tognoni stopped it as a result of he wasn’t certified to look at high-level grappling.

“You have to know what you are ,” Cruz mentioned. “They do not know what they’re . That is the underside line. The refs do not know what grappling is.”

The error was remedied after video evaluate and the submission for Chairez was modified to a no-decision, however Cruz was in no temper to face down.

“As fighters we get held accountable after we make errors,” he mentioned. “They should be held accountable similar to we’re. It sucks for the fighters who undergo camp to be in form and the ref does not know what he is .”

Lacerda scored a single-leg takedown halfway by means of the spherical and went for an additional one a minute later, solely to search out Chairez’s left arm wrapped round his throat as they grappled alongside the fence.

Tognoni leaned in as Lacerda stored his arm flexed whereas combating the choke, however the on the spot his arm dropped to his aspect—and whilst Cruz mentioned, “He higher not cease this,” from the desk—the referee pulled the plug.

Lacerda chatted with Tognoni and a state athletic fee official to debate the end result, moments earlier than the change was made official by announcer Bruce Buffer.

“You have to really feel dangerous for Edgar Chairez, too,” Jon Anik mentioned, “however justice was served.”

The struggle was forgettable. The end was memorable.

However early-prelim winner Charlie Campbell saved his greatest work for the moments simply after he’d stopped returning veteran Alex Reyes with a violent first-round TKO.

You would possibly even say it was “Mmm, Mmm, Good.”

Campbell summoned Daniel Cormier to the middle of the cage following the victory and requested the previous two-division champ what he’d considered Campbell’s boxing.

However simply because the fighter-turned-analyst started to reply, Campbell channeled his inside Dwayne Johnson, pulled the mic away and yelled “It does not matter what you assume,” mimicking the old-school promo model of the now box-office moneymaker.

Cormier smiled, took again the mic and informed his daring interviewee, “You realize I like a great WWE reference, so I am gonna allow you to stay.” In actual fact, broadcast associate Jon Anik instructed Cormier had been moments wanting “unleashing his inside Junkyard Canine” on Campbell.

The win got here within the New Yorker’s UFC debut after a loss on Dana White’s Contender Collection in 2022, however he seemed like a seasoned veteran in demanding a post-fight bonus.

“I do not care if I am the second struggle on the prelims,” he mentioned, “that is 50K, child.”

Jon Anik referred to as it “complete domination.”

However whereas Josefine Knutsson did win each second of each spherical in opposition to badly overmatched strawweight opponent Marnic Mann, it wasn’t sufficient to dazzle the followers.

A dissatisfied crowd at a nonetheless largely empty T-Cell Enviornment greeted the Swede with boos within the ultimate seconds of the three-round prelim opener, however it did not dampen her enthusiasm.

“Oh, my god, it has been so nice,” she mentioned. “Being part of UFC is a dream come true.”

The 27-year-old alumnus of Dana White’s Contender Collection was the largest betting favourite on the evening’s early portion and strafed Mann with strikes within the stand-up place, prompting Mann to repeatedly search an exit by taking the struggle to the mat.

It was little completely different competition-wise, nevertheless, as Knutsson established mount in every spherical and was chasing a rear-naked choke end when the ultimate horn sounded.

She swept the playing cards with scores of 30-24, 30-25 and 30-27.

“It was essential (to get a end). However I did not need to put an excessive amount of strain on myself,” she mentioned. “I felt somewhat bit drained within the wrestling, however I used to be like ‘F–k it, I am gonna do the very best I can.’”

Most important Card

Alexa Grasso drew with Valentina Shevchenko by cut up determination (48-47, 47-48, 47-47)

Jack Della Maddalena def. Kevin Holland by unanimous determination (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Raul Rosas Jr. def. Terrence Mitchell by TKO (punches), 0:54, Spherical 1

Daniel Zellhuber def. Christos Giagos by submission (anaconda choke), 3:26, Spherical 2

Kyle Nelson def. Fernando Padilla by unanimous determination (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Preliminary Card

Crazy Godinez def. Elise Reed by submission (rear-naked choke), 3:38, Spherical 2

Roman Kopylov def. Josh Fremd by TKO (punch), 4:44, Spherical 2

Edgar Chairez vs. Daniel Lacerda declared a no determination (video evaluate), 3:47, Spherical 1

Tracy Cortez def. Jasmine Jasudavicius by unanimous determination (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Charlie Campbell def. Alex Reyes by TKO (punches), 3:38, Spherical 1

Josefine Knutsson def. Marnic Mann by unanimous determination (30-24, 30-25, 30-27)