Another weekend brings along yet another UFC event as we’re in Las Vegas for this one, inside the UFC Apex as the UFC present UFC Vegas 6. Headlining the card is a heavyweight battle between Derrick Lewis and Aleksei Oleinik, whilst the co-main sees #11 ranked middleweight contender Omari Akhmedov take on UFC legend Chris Weidman.
Prelims:
Irwin Rivera (W) vs Ali Alqaisi – Bantamweight Bout
Kicking the entire card and the prelims off is a bantamweight bout between Irwin Rivera and Ali Alqaisi. The first round started and Alqaisi was the first to make a major move, body locking Rivera against the cage wall, Rivera managed to counter out of that and trip his opponent to the floor, where he controlled from the side until giving Alqaisi a chance to get back to his feet. Alqaisi then started to look for an opening with some high head kicks, which allowed him to get a slam and control Rivera on the ground, looking for a guillotine choke. Alqaisi managed to score a late takedown again to end the round in dominant position, 10-9 Alqaisi for me.
The second round was a lot more action-packed as both guys seemed to loosen up and throw hands, with Alqaisi going back to his kicks and Rivera looking to have some success with a really stiff jab. Both guys were countering each other and it was a closely fought round, Alqaisi went for a takedown and got stuffed, Rivera went for his own and ate a knee and a left hook. Alqaisi was looking for some seriously powerful overhead rights but wasn’t connecting perfectly with them. Tough to call, so I’ll say 19-19.
Round 3 was a fantastic end to the fight, Rivera opened the round up brilliantly, finding some success with his left jab and then hit a huge left which opened up a quick takedown for Rivera. Alqaisi got back to his feet quickly and came back at Rivera with some huge rights of his own. The fight was paused for a minute or two after Rivera caught Alqaisi with a low knee, and Rivera caught Alqaisi with a huge knee to the head as Alqaisi came in for a takedown. Both guys started to tee off at the end of the round but for me Rivera won that round and the fight 29-28. The judges gave the fight to Rivera via split decision.
Youssef Zalal (W) vs Peter Barrett – Featherweight Bout
We move to the featherweight division for this next bout as Youssef Zalal looks to continue his 2020 run as he welcomes Peter Barrett to the UFC octagon. Youssef Zalal started the fight exceptionally well, almost finishing the fight within a minute after he hit a picture-perfect spinning kick to Barrett’s jaw that sent him crashing to the mat. Fair play to Barrett who took the shot and survived, even coming back to enjoy a little flurry of shots himself. Zalal was just teeing off on Barrett for the rest of the round with an extreme variety of shots. Easy 10-9 Zalal.
Round 2 was all Zalal once again, opening up the round with some fantastic striking, finding success with a lot of different strikes. Zalal managed to get a body lock on Barrett, taking him to the floor and eventually taking his back. For the final 3 minutes of the round Zalal was working for the rear-naked choke but could never truly sink it deep, but it was another easy round for Zalal. 20-17.
Round 3 started with Barrett looking to finish the fight quickly, knowing he was down on the scorecards. Unfortunately for Barrett, Zalal was reading everything he was throwing, expertly dodging every strike. Zalal came back, getting a couple of takedowns for himself and looking for the rear-naked choke again but it never happened and I have Zalal winning this 30-26. Two judges agreed with me as Zalal gets the decision win.
Continued on the page below.
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via USA TODAY Sports
Gavin Tucker (W) vs Justin Jaynes – Featherweight Bout
We stick with the featherweight division as Gavin Tucker takes on Justin Jaynes.W hat a first round that was. Tucker was piecing Jaynes up for the first few minutes of the fight, landing every shot he threw cleanly with some really nice combos. All of a sudden Jaynes caught Tucker with an uppercut and sent him to the floor, Jaynes tried for a submission and Tucker fought out unbelievably and then turned the tables to lock in an arm triangle but somehow Jaynes stayed conscious and the fight goes to the second round. I have no idea how to score that.
Round 2 was simply phenomenal for Gavin Tucker, from start to finish he was just hitting Jaynes with everything he had, never stepping off the gas, throwing all sorts of strikes like hooks, jabs, uppercuts overhead rights, kicks to the body and head. Tucker was constantly looking for the body with a great front kick, which was just destroying Jaynes’ gas tank and he looked completely done at the end of the round. Possibly 10-8 round for Tucker.
Round 3 didn’t last the full five minutes with Tucker opening up some lovely combos and strikes to start off, completing it with a beautiful knee to the head that almost knocked Jaynes out cold, from there Tucker got the takedown, took his back and sunk in a rear-naked choke for the submission win. What a fight, easily fight of the night right there.
Andrew Sanchez (W) vs Wellington Turman – Middleweight Bout
We move up to the middleweight division for the first time tonight as Andrew Sanchez takes on Wellington Turman. This fight lasted one round and what a round it was, Turman started the round with a nice kick and turned it into a body lock which Sanchez countered. Both guys split apart and just started to throw down, Sanchez found some success early on, the Turman came back and then Sanchez came back again. From that point, Sanchez clipped Turman with a right-hand cross and then pieced together a great 1-2 that flatlined Turman and ended the fight via KO, what a knockout that is for Sanchez.
Nasrat Haqparast (W) vs Alexander Munoz – Lightweight Bout
We now move to the lightweight division for the next fight of the prelims as Nasrat Haqparast takes on Alexander Munoz. Munoz started the round with an instant takedown attempt, which he succeeds with, however, Nasrat managed to get to his feet pretty much instantly. Nasrat then started to come into the round more, after a brief stoppage for a low blow, catching Munoz with some nasty uppercuts and a couple of knees as Munoz shot in for more takedowns. Nasrat cracked Munoz with a nice overhead right and for me, Nasrat takes the round 10-9.
Round 2 was a brawl as both guys were throwing down with each other, hitting some seriously powerful strikes. Nasrat definitely had the upper hand during the second hand and between most of the exchanges, reading Munoz’s natural reactions. Nasrat caught Munoz with a quality right hook and combined it with a left hook to really stun Munoz and send him to the floor. For me, it’s 20-18 Nasrat.
Munoz started round 3 really well, enjoying some really good success with some nasty shots to the head of Nasrat that reminded him he hadn’t won the fight just yet. Munoz kept piling the pressure on during the first half of the final round and looked to really have a chance of getting something from the fight. However, Nasrat came back and enjoyed some really nice success in the last half of the final round, hitting Munoz hard to the body and the head. 30-27 Nasrat for me and all three judges agreed with me.
Kevin Holland (W) vs Joaquin Buckley – Middleweight Bout
We move back to the middleweight division for the penultimate fight in the prelims as promising prospect Kevin Holland takes on Joaquin Buckley. What a weird first round that was, it almost had a feeling of a dad fighting his son. Buckley was throwing bombs at some serious speed in a lot of combos but Holland just kept dodging them, keeping himself out of danger and then striking with a quality front kick to the body, or some nasty elbows to the head. The fight was stopped twice for low blows and Holland hit Buckley with a nasty right-hand cross that sent Buckley to the floor. Holland 10-9 for me.
Round 2 was pretty much the same as round 1, Buckley was still throwing a high volume of powerful shots but Holland just kept out of danger with ease and then countered with his own shots. Buckley has constantly been walking into Holland’s front kick to the body all fight long and it’s really hurting Buckley’s stamina. 20-18 Holland.
Round 3 started and pretty much ended straight away as Holland snapped a right-hand cross to the head of Buckley, knocking him out cold and sending his mouthpiece flying across the octagon. That was a seriously good performance by Holland who is getting closer and closer to a ranking number next to his name.
Tim Means (W) vs Laureano Staropoli – Welterweight Bout
We move down to the welterweight division for the featured prelim fight of the night as UFC veteran Tim Means takes on Laureano Staropoli. Round 1 was a complete war, with both guys landed a lot of shots. Means got a nice slam takedown early on in the round but Staropoli got back to his feet and both guys landed some really nice knees and kicks to the body. After a tonne of uppercuts, right and left hands and some spinning elbows were thrown the round came to an end. I’d have it 10-9 Means, maybe.
Round 2 was just as much as a war as the first one, with Staropoli coming out and upping the pace at the start, stunning Means badly with a combo of shots. Means managed to recover and come back really well, getting a knockdown of his own after a leg kick found Staropoli’s jaw, after some ground and pound Staropoli managed to recover but Means was picking him apart and caught him once again with a nasty left elbow to the temple. 20-18 Means for me but who knows after that first.
Round 3 started with Staropoli upping the pace again from the start, throwing some nice variety of kicks to the body and head. Means, however, came back into the round more, enjoying some nice boxing combos and beautiful knee to the head followed by an overhead left hand. For the last 2 minutes of the fight, Means controlled Staropoli in the clinch against the cage wall. For me, Means won that 30-27, and the judges sided the same way as Means wins via decision.
Main card result continued on the page below.
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via USA TODAY Sports
Main Card:
Beneil Dariush (W) vs Scott Holtzman – Lightweight Bout
We now move to the main card and kicking it off is a fight in the lightweight division between the 14th ranked lightweight contender Beneil Dariush and Scott Holtzman. What a first round this was. Both guys came flying out of the gates and the fight was stopped twice for some eye pokes to Beneil. Afterward, Beneil really rocked Holtzman with some huge shots and looked to take him down and take the back. Holtzman recovered and tried for shots of his own, but Beneil just kept the pressure up and was piecing him together and stunning him with some nasty combos. Beneil got the finish with a wonderful spinning back fist to the jaw of Holtzman that knocked him out cold. Beneil is a real threat at lightweight!
Yana Kunitskaya (W) vs Julija Stoliarenko – Women's Bantamweight Bout
We now move to the first and only women’s fight of the night as the 8th ranked women’s bantamweight contender Yana Kunitskaya takes on Julija Stoliarenko. Round 1 was a real slow burner, Stoliarenko instantly initiated the clinch from the opening bell and Kunitskaya managed to counter it straight away and keep clinch control up against the cage wall for quite some time. Stoliarenko went for a very ambitious guillotine choke attempt and failed. Easy 10-9 round for Kunitskaya.
Round 2 was pretty much a mirror image of the first, Stoliarenko went for a high kick at the start but Kunitskaya caught her leg and slammed her to the floor, she got back up and Kunitskaya got the body lock and dominated Stoliarenko against the cage within the clinch. Right near the end it got a little scary for Kunitskaya as Stoliarenko almost locked in an armbar but Kunitskaya defended it well. 20-18 for Kunitskaya.
Once again, round 3 saw Kunitskaya just dominate Stoliarenko in the clinch and up against the cage, her total control time over the 3 rounds was around 13 minutes. Stoliarenko had a few little chances for something but she couldn’t bring anything together and Kunitskaya gets the win via decision.
Maki Pitolo vs Darren Stewart (W) – Middleweight Bout
We, once again, move back up to the middleweight division as we see Maki Pitolo take on Darren Stewart. This was a great first round, both guys were throwing bombs towards each other with Maki on the outside and Stewart putting the pressure on Maki. Maki stunned Stewart in the middle of the round with a lovely hook to the jaw but Stewart shook it off and came back, grabbing Maki’s neck and locking in a tight guillotine choke. Maki tried to defend it, but Stewart transitioned well and Maki had no choice but to tap.
Omari Akhmedov vs Chris Weidman (W) – Middleweight Bout
For the co-main event of the evening, we stay in the middleweight division as the 11th ranked middleweight contender Omari Akhmedov welcomes a former UFC middleweight champion back to the division in Chris Weidman. Omari opened the round up well, piecing together some combos and defending the takedown attempts of Weidman well. Omari slipped up though, as he attempted a takedown and gave the chance for Weidman to come back into the fight. Weidman scored a takedown with around 2 minutes to go and enjoyed dominant position for the rest of the round. 10-9 Weidman for me.
Omari did well at the start of the round, coming out with a lot of energy and he managed to take the back of Weidman early on, laying in some nasty ground and pound. Weidman found his way back to the feet but Omari was feeling it there too, connecting with a lot of the stiff jabs and right-hand crosses he was throwing. Omari scored a few knockdowns late on, not really doing much and for me its 19-19 heading into round 3.
Weidman came out with a burst of energy at the start of round 3 and managed to take Omari’s back early on. From there Weidman looked for a rear-naked choke, then transition for a leg lock and then tried for an arm triangle. Omari defended well and stopped the submissions from being locked in but he was taking a lot of damage from elbows and strikes to the body. Weidman tried for another arm triangle and ended the round raining down more elbows. 29-27 Weidman for me and the judges agree as Weidman gets a win, he was so desperate for.
Derrick Lewis (W) vs Aleksei Oleinik – Heavyweight Bout
We move up to the heavy hitters in the heavyweight division for the main event of the evening as the 4th ranked heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis takes on MMA legend and 10th ranked heavyweight contender Aleksei Oleinik. Lewis came out flying at the start if the round, throwing a head kick and then throwing multiple bombs, taking Aleksei to the ground and looking for a way to throw down some ground and pound. Aleksei countered on the ground and got dominant position, trying to get a choke going but Lewis powered out. Aleksei got dominant position back and locked in a choke but couldn’t get it deep enough. 10-9 Aleksei for me.
Round 2 started and ended with Derrick Lewis coming out with a flying knee to the chest, followed by a huge right hand that sent Aleksei crashing to the mat, and then he finished the fight with a huge amount of hammerfists. Lewis now hold the most KO wins by any UFC heavyweight in history with 11.
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via USA TODAY Sports
