Our very first event of 2023 was UFC Vegas 67! The featherweight co-headliner provided us a highlight-reel ending, while the light heavyweight headliner was alright.
Jimmy Flick was submitted by Charles Johnson in the first round of the preliminary part of the show, marking the first UFC victory of 2023. The “Brick” was thoroughly beaten by the “InnerG” before being put down with ground-and-pound and elbows. Nick Aguirre suffered his first defeat as a pro at the hands of Dan Argueta. Over the course of three rounds, “Determined” used his wrestling to ground Aguirre and win a unanimous decision.He patiently awaited it, but Claudio Ribeiro was knocked out by Abdul Razak Alhassan. In the opening round, “Judo Thunder” displayed a brand-new aspect of his technique and slowed Ribeiro down with some clinch work. Then, in the second round, Alhassan went off, repeatedly hitting Ribeiro with right punches until the referee intervened. Mateus Mendonça lost to Javid Basharat in a unanimous decision. The “Snow Leopard” took on Chris Gutierrez for his subsequent fight after the latter sent Frankie Edgar into retirement in November with a powerful flying knee.
Umar Nurmagomedov began the major part of the card by staring Raoni Barcelos. WHAT?! Barcelos was knocked to the ground by Nurmagomedov’s left hand as he attempted a knee to the midsection. After defeating Ketlen Vieira in a split decision, Raquel Pennington’s winning run increased to five games. The second championship opportunity that “Rocky” has requested might be obtained by defeating the No. 2 contender in the division, thus possibly a rematch with Amanda Nunes will take place this year.Punahele Soriano was brutalised by Roman Kopylov with body blows, resulting in a TKO in the second round. Soriano’s demise was signalled by a spinning back kick from Kopylov, who continued to kick him until he was hunched over. Kopylov attacked “Puna” at the head, and that was it. Dan Ige beat Damon Jackson through sick KO to get back on the winning side of things. There should be a $50k bonus for that one for “50K.”
After meeting Nassourdine Imavov on short notice, Sean Strickland defeated him by unanimous decision to end a losing streak of two fights. Imavov was under constant pressure, but “Tarzan” outboxed him the entire time and won all of the judges’ votes. Additionally, he created some history by becoming the 16th combatant in UFC history to triumph in three different weight divisions (welterweight, middleweight and light heavyweight).
Performance of the Night: Allan Nascimento, Umar Nurmagomedov, Roman Kopylov and Dan Ige
Jimmy Flick was defeated by Charles Johnson at 4:33 of Round 1 via TKO (punches).
At 3:16 in Round 1, Allan Nascimento defeated Carlos Hernandez through submission (standing rear-naked choke).
At 0:28 in Round 2, Abdul Razak Alhassan knocked out Claudio Ribeiro through punches.
At 4:40 in the first round, Umar Nurmagomedov defeated Raoni Barcelos via knockout (punch).
Punahele Soriano was defeated by Roman Kopylov at 3:19 of Round 2 via TKO (body kicks and punches).
Damon Jackson was defeated by Dan Ige at 4:13 of Round 2 by KO (punch).
Fight of the Night: No FOTN
Nick Aguire is defeated by Dan Argueta in a unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Nick Fiore is defeated by Mateusz Rbecki in a unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Mateus Mendonça is defeated by Javid Basharat in a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Ketlen Vieira is defeated by Raquel Pennington in a split decision (29-28, 28-28, 29-28)
Nassourdine Imavov is defeated by Sean Strickland in a unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
