2 years ago
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Julianna Pena had been shouting from the rooftops for 5 years that she would bushed Amanda Nunes if she got the chance.
She was right.
Pena submitted Nunes, wide considered the top pistillate combatant successful UFC history, successful the 2nd circular of the co-main lawsuit of UFC 269 connected Saturday astatine T-Mobile Arena to instrumentality the women’s bantamweight title.
In the main event, Charles Oliveira submitted Dustin Poirier successful the 3rd circular to triumph his 10th consecutive combat and clasp the lightweight title.
Pena archetypal called retired Nunes aft a UFC 200 triumph successful the aforesaid gathering successful July 2016, but she went 2-2 successful her adjacent 4 fights and took an extended lack for the commencement of her girl arsenic Nunes was conquering 2 divisions and gathering a Hall of Fame resume.
Pena backed up each connection erstwhile the doorbell rang.
“I’m not amazed …,” she said, channeling a celebrated Nate Diaz quote.
After Nunes controlled the archetypal round, Nunes stood toe-to-toe and traded large close hands. The lengthy exchanges brought the assemblage to its feet, and Pena, much known for her grappling, seemed to beryllium little affected by the shots than Nunes.
Nunes yet dropped to the canvas, and Pena secured a choke that forced an astir contiguous pat from Nunes.
“I told you, don’t ever uncertainty maine again,” said Pena, astatine +650 the second-biggest underdog to triumph a UFC women’s rubric fight. “I decidedly expected to win. The satellite is my oyster. You person the quality to bash thing you privation successful this life, and I proved that tonight.”
Nunes, who inactive holds the featherweight belt, had won 12 consecutive fights.
“I knew she was a warrior that tin get deed and inactive travel forward,” Nunes said. “I conscionable unopen down tonight. I did everything I trained for, but determination were immoderate things I thought I had fixed successful grooming that appeared again tonight.”
Oliveira besides won by locking successful a choke, though his was secured portion helium was connected the backmost of a lasting Poirier.
It was his archetypal rubric defence aft winning the loop by knocking retired Michael Chandler successful May.
“I’m the satellite champion,” Oliveira said. “I’m the man. They talk; I do.”
Said Poirier: “It sucks, man. I worked hard to get backmost present and combat for different satellite title, and I got choked retired again. I’m heartbroken.”
Poirier, who was coming disconnected back-to-back wins implicit Conor McGregor, recovered occurrence successful the archetypal circular with his striking. He got the amended of the exchanges and thought helium had wounded Oliveira connected a fewer occasions.
Oliveira answered and past took power successful the 2nd circular by landing successful apical presumption aft a scramble and pinning Poirier to the mat for the last 4 minutes of the round.
“They tin deed maine a lot, but I’m going to locomotion forward,” Oliveira said.
Poirier said helium didn’t combat excessively hard to get disconnected his backmost successful the 2nd circular due to the fact that helium didn’t privation to perchance springiness up his back, but that’s precisely what happened erstwhile the 3rd circular began.
Oliveira jumped connected Poirier’s backmost arsenic helium stood facing the cage and locked successful the choke aft immoderate hand-fighting for position.
“I landed immoderate bully cleanable shots,” Poirier said. “I thought I could enactment him away, but he’s a champ. The crippled program was to instrumentality my time, but I got successful a brawl again.”
Rising bantamweight prima and instrumentality favourite Sean O’Malley kicked disconnected the pay-per-view paper with a first-round knockout of Raulian Paiva.
O’Malley scaled backmost connected immoderate of his accustomed flashy strikes and alternatively snapped Paiva’s caput backmost with respective jabs successful the opening minutes until helium recovered his range.
He yet dug his heels successful adjacent the cage and opened up until helium got the finish.
“I wanted to enactment him up against the cage and tee disconnected similar ‘Canelo’ (Alvarez),” O’Malley said. “I deliberation he’s 1 of the toughest guys I person fought, but erstwhile I onshore those large shots, I’m going to instrumentality you out. That’s what happened.”
Also connected the main card, Geoff Neal won a divided determination implicit Santiago Ponzinibbio successful a conflict of fringe welterweight contenders.
The 2 erstwhile bantamweight champions connected the paper had mixed results.
Dominick Cruz scored a unanimous determination implicit Pedro Munhoz, and Cody Garbrandt was knocked retired successful the archetypal circular by Kai Kara-France.
Garbrandt was making his debut astatine 125 pounds, dropping successful value aft losing 4 of his past 5 fights since losing the loop astatine 135.
It didn’t spell overmuch amended for him astatine flyweight. Garbrandt survived the archetypal question of crushing close hands, grabbing clasp of Kara-France and getting a takedown to concisely dilatory the attack.
Once separated, Kara-France went backmost to work.
Garbrandt is 1-5 successful six fights since capturing the rubric by beating Cruz connected Dec. 30, 2016, astatine T-Mobile Arena.
Cruz, who missed 3½ years aft that nonaccomplishment with injury, improved to 2-1 since making his instrumentality past year.
He was knocked down doubly by Munhoz successful the archetypal circular lone to rally successful the last 10 minutes by keeping him disconnected equilibrium with changeless question and a cardio edge.
Heavyweight slugger Tai Tuivasa recorded his 4th consecutive knockout victory, finishing Augusto Sakai 26 seconds into the 2nd round.
Contact Adam Hill astatine ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ connected Twitter.
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