Knockdown Daily 9/5/21: Derek Brunson Continues Dominant Middleweight Campaign
Derek Brunson's victory over Darren Till leads the MMA headlines for Sunday
Welcome to the Sunday edition of the Knockdown Daily. This issue will cover all the latest MMA news, including a recap of yesterday’s UFC card.
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Derek Brunson Continues Dominant Middleweight Campaign, Submits Returning Darren Till
Derek Brunson continued his strong run up the middleweight division on Saturday night, putting together a dominant performance against Darren Till that culminated with a third-round submission.
The fight was the main event of a UFC “Fight Night” card from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Brunson was able to battle through a worrying moment in the third round to secure a rear naked choke win on Till.
Till hurt Brunson in the third round with a series of punches. Brunson immediately diffused the situation, scoring a takedown and taking the back of Till. He applied a rear naked choke from the position, causing a quick tap from Till to end the fight.
Brunson was doing lots of damage in the first and second rounds of the bout, getting the fight to the ground and hurting Till with ground and pound. Till’s right eye became swollen after the first round due to the shots he endured early on.
After his win, Brunson called for a rematch against UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya. Addressing the fact that Adesanya might face former champ Robert Whittaker first, Brunson claimed he is happy to “sit and wait” for that fight to happen before his shot.
Brunson’s previous bout against Adesanya was in 2018, where he was stopped within a round with strikes. That bout was the last time he lost as a pro.
The 37-year-old middleweight is now on a five-fight winning streak. His two previous appearances were also UFC main event bouts, defeating Edmen Shahbazyan and Kevin Holland.
Till was competing for the first time in over a year. He was booked for bouts against Jack Hermanssona and Marvin Vettori in that time, but injuries forced him out of both bookings.
Till has now lost four out of his last five matches. Before Saturday, his last fight was a five-round unanimous decision loss to Robert Whittaker in 2020.
Molly McCann, Kim Ji-yeon Get ‘Fight of the Night’ Award
Molly McCann’s unanimous decision victory against flyweight Kim Ji-yeon on the prelims was given UFC’s “Fight of the Night” award. Because of this, both fighters will get an extra $50,000 on top of their previously negotiated fight purse.
The three-round striking battle saw McCann out-land Kim through three fast-paced rounds on the feet. McCann was always the fighter coming forward with shots, although Kim kept the fight competitive by answering back despite being against the cage.
The victory snapped a two-fight losing streak for McCann and put her into the win column for the first time since 2019.
Heavyweight Tom Aspinall and UFC newcomer Paddy Pimblett were also handed $50,000 “Performance of the Night” awards.
Aspinall scored a finish victory in the co-main event of the evening, stopping short-notice opponent Serghei Spivac in the first round with a knee to the body and elbow to the head combination while exiting a clinch. The win is his fourth since joining the UFC last year.
Pimblett, a former Cage Warriors Champion, opened the main card with a one-round comeback win over Luigi Vendramini. After being hurt by a left hook early on by Vendramini, Pimblett later unloaded a series of hooks to the head that earned him a knockdown finish.
A full report on UFC on ESPN+ 49 can be read here.
Here are the quick results:
Preliminary Card (1:30PM EDT / 10:30AM PDT) (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass Canada)
Bout 1: Marc-Andre Barriault def. Dalcha Lungiambula via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Julian Erosa def. Charles Jourdain via Submission, Darce Choke (RD 3, 2:56)
Bout 3: Jack Shore def. Liudvik Sholinian via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Molly McCann def. Kim Ji-yeon via Decision, Unanimous
Main Card (4:00PM EDT / 1:00PM PDT) (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass Canada)
Bout 5: Paddy Pimblett def. Luigi Vendramini via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:25)
Bout 6: Khalil Rountree def. Modestas Bukauskas via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:30)
Bout 7: Alex Morono def. David Zawada via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Tom Aspinall def. Serghei Spivac via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:30)
Bout 9: Derek Brunson def. Darren Till via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 2:13)
Shane Burgos vs. Billy Quarantillo Booked For UFC 268
Featherweights Shane Burgos and Billy Quarantillo are expected to meet at UFC’s November 6th pay-per-view event, per Marcel Dorff of MMA DNA.
The fight joins UFC 268, which is expected to take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, USA.
For the first time in his career, Burgos will be looking to break out of a two-fight losing streak. The 30-year-old has taken a loss twice over the past year, losing a decision to Josh Emmett and getting finished by Edson Barboza.
Before then, Burgos had won six of his seven octagon appearances.
Quarantillo is coming off a finish victory that he earned against Gabriel Benitez in July. The performance put him back into the win column after taking his first-ever UFC loss to Gavin Tucker in late 2020.
Randy Costa Looks To Bounce Back From Loss Against Returning Tony Kelley At UFC 269
Looking to return to the win column after a back-and-forth stoppage loss recently, Randy Costa will face Tony Kelley at UFC’s December 11th pay-per-view event. The fight was first reported by Mike Heck of MMA Fighting.
Costa took a loss in July, getting finished against Adrian Yanez in the second round of a hectic fight. Prior to the loss, Costa had attained two first-round wins, stopping Journey Newson and Boston Salmon.
Kelley earned his first UFC win in his last appearance, defeating Ali AlQaisi via unanimous decision a year back. His UFC debut was two months before then, losing a decision to Kai Kamaka III at UFC 252.
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