Knockdown Daily 7/31/22: Amanda Nunes Regains UFC Bantamweight Championship
Results from UFC 277 lead the MMA headlines for Sunday
Welcome to the Sunday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue is a short one that is covering the results from last night’s UFC 277 card. Let’s begin
News
Amanda Nunes Sweeps Scorecards Against Julianna Pena To Regain UFC Bantamweight Championship
Amanda Nunes regained her status as a two-division champion on Saturday night, putting together a dominant five-round unanimous decision win to defeat Julianna Pena and start her second reign as UFC Bantamweight Champion.
Nunes’ win headlined UFC 277 from the American Airlines Center in Austin, Texas, USA.
Nunes had a near one-sided performance throughout. In early rounds, she was able to connect with right and left hooks that stunned and even dropped Pena numerous times.
The fight went to the ground more in the later rounds, although Nunes continued to succeed. She earned dominant positions on the ground and cut Pena open with strikes to make the fight bloody.
Pena’s few bright moments in the fight saw her search for submissions on the ground. However, she never had the chance to go far with any of the holds.
Nunes took all rounds on the judge’s scorecards and was able to earn at least one 10-8 round on every scorecard.
Pena scored one of the biggest upsets in UFC history late last year, submitting Nunes in the second round of a bout to become champion.
Now on the second time around, Nunes was able to put on a dominant performance that erased the sour taste that the first bout caused.
“When the Lioness doesn’t get the prey the first time, I set the trap better and get the prey the second time,” said Nunes in her post-fight interview.
Nunes’ previous run as titleholder lasted nearly 2,000 days in total. She first earned the title in 2016 and defended the belt five times in total.
Bradon Moreno Earns Interim Flyweight Belt, Sets Up Fourth Fight Against Deiveson Figueiredo
Brandon Moreno was crowned the interim UFC Flyweight Champion in Saturday’s co-main event, securing a third-round finish against Kai Kara-France to earn the title.
Moreno dropped Kara-France in the third round with a kick to the body. This clean shot elicited a delayed reaction from Kara-France, eventually causing him to drop and cover up on the ground.
Moreno then landed a few ground and pound shots on Kara-France before the fight came to an end.
In earlier rounds, Moreno succeeded on the fight against Kara-France with sharp striking skills.
The victory for Moreno set him up for another fight against current UFC Flyweight Champion Deiveson Figueiredo.
Prior to the bout this weekend, Moreno had a trilogy of fights against Figueiredo from 2020 to 2022. While Moreno earned a win during this time and was briefly an undisputed champion, the last meeting between the two flyweights saw Figueiredo win via unanimous decision.
Moreno and Figueiredo faced off inside the UFC cage after the fight on Saturday night. At the end of the exchange, both fighters sounded game to compete on a December card in Brazil.
Kara-France found himself in a title fight this weekend after scoring three wins since early 2021. He previously stopped former champ Cody Garbrandt and handed Askar Askarov his first pro loss recently.
The fight between Moreno and Kara-France was given the “Fight of the Night” award for Saturday, earning both names $50,000 on top of their previously negotiated fight purses.
Drew Dober, Alexandre Pantoja Earn ‘Performance of the Night’ Bonuses
Drew Dober and Alexandre Pantoja earned a “Performance of the Night” award each following Saturday’s card. The award earned both of them $50,000, along with what they were already contractually entitled to earn.
Pantoja earned a quick win on the main card, submitting Alex Perez in the first round with a mounted rear naked choke.
Dober showcased his striking skills during the prelims, finishing Rafael Alves in the third round with a left cross to the body.
A full report on UFC 277 can be read here.
Here are the quick results:
Early Prelims (6:00PM EDT / 5:00PM PDT) (ESPN / UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 1: Orion Cosce def. Blood Diamond via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Nick Negumereanu def. Ihor Potieria via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 3:33)
Bout 3: Joselyne Edwards def. Kim Ji-yeon via Decision, Split
Bout 4: Michael Morales def. Adam Fugitt via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 1:09)
Preliminary Card (8:00PM EDT / 7:00PM PDT) (ABC / TSN 2)
Bout 5: Drakkar Klose def. Rafa Garcia via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Hamdy Abdelwahab def. Don’Tale Mayes via Decision, Split
Bout 7: Drew Dober def. Rafael Alves via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 1:30)
Bout 8: Alex Morono def. Matthew Semelsberger via Decision, Unanimous
Main Card (10:00PM EDT / 9:00PM CDT) (PPV)
Bout 9: Magomed Ankalaev def. Anthony Smith via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 3:09)
Bout 10: Alexandre Pantoja def. Alex Perez via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 1:31)
Bout 11: Sergei Pavlovich def. Derrick Lewis via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:55)
Bout 12: Brandon Moreno def. Kai Kara-France (RD 3, 4:34) (Vacant Interim UFC Flyweight Championship)
Bout 13: Amanda Nunes def. Julianna Pena via Decision, Unanimous (UFC Bantamweight Championship)
NOTE: A report on RIZIN 37 isn’t in today’s newsletter, as it was still underway at the time of publishing. A report on the event will be included in the Monday edition of the newsletter.
You can see the live coverage for the event here.
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