The first Hong Kong native to compete in the UFC was victorious in his Octagon debut, as Sasha Palatnikov halted previously unbeaten Louis Cosce in the third round of their welterweight opener.

A recent winner on Dana White’s Contender Series, Cosce came out fast, with Palatnikov responding with a slick takedown. The two rose quickly, but Cosce blitzed his foe with strikes on the ground, the feet and against the fence. Palatnikov courageously weathered the storm and was soon landing his own shots, getting himself back in the fight in a big way, nearly halting his foe with a spinning backfist as the round closed.

After the furious pace of the first round, Palatnikov was clearly the fresher of the two fighters, and he was picking his shots effectively. There was a brief stop to the action after a low blow from Cosce, and after the bout resumed, the bloodied Californian rallied before another solid finish from Palatnikov.

Referee Chris Tognoni called two breaks in the first half of round three, one to warn Palatnikov for repeated fence grabs, the second for another Cosce low blow, but after getting his wind back, Palatnikov closed the show, rocking his foe with a right hand and forcing a takedown attempt. That attempt came up empty and Palatnikov fired punches with both hands, prompting a stoppage by Tognoni at the 2:27 mark of the third round.

With the win, Palatnikov moves to 6-2. Cosce falls to 7-1.

Official Result: Sasha Palatnikov def. Louis Cosce by TKO at 2:27 of Round 3

Philadelphia middleweight Kyle Daukaus picked up his first UFC win in his second try, impressively defeating recent Contender Series winner Dustin Stoltzfus.

Scores were 30-27 twice and 30-26 for Daukaus, now 10-1. Stoltzfus falls to 13-2.

Daukaus and Stoltzfus fought much of the bout at close range against the fence, Daukaus doing the much more effective work even though Stoltzfus wasn’t going anywhere. At range, though, Daukaus widened his lead thanks to his striking accuracy, and he even was able to put the fight on the mat when he chose, something his fellow Pennsylvanian wasn’t able to do. Just past the midway point of the final round, Daukaus landed some flush ground strikes, stunning Stoltzfus before the two rose to their feet. Not sitting on his lead, Daukaus kept the heat on, fighting hard to the final horn.

Official Result: Kyle Daukaus def. Dustin Stoltzfus by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

The return of welterweight veteran Alan Jouban was a successful one, as he pounded out a three-round unanimous decision over Octagon debutant Jared Gooden in his first bout since April 2019.
 
Scores were 30-27 across the board for Jouban, now 17-7. Gooden falls to 17-5.
 
Jouban was sharp in the first round, as he landed the better punches and kicks, both to the body and head. Gooden was undeterred, though, as he chased after his opponent, landing more shots as the round progressed. But Jouban’s biggest issue was a swelling around his right eye thanks to a clash of the heads early in the frame.
 
In the second minute of round two, a right-left from Gooden stunned Jouban, but “Brahma” returned the favor moments later, forcing Gooden to go on the defensive. Midway through the round, it looked like Jouban was going to end the bout, but Gooden took the shots and kept coming.
 
Both fighters left it all out there in the third, and while Gooden surprisingly went for – and got - a takedown in the final minute, it was Jouban who nearly ended the bout with a tight guillotine choke, with only the horn keeping the Louisianan from a finish.
 
Official Result: Alan Jouban def. Jared Gooden by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Nicolas Dalby withstood a strong effort from Daniel Rodriguez to take their welterweight bout via three-round unanimous decision.

Dalby (19-3-1, 2 NC) drew first blood in the second minute with a straight right that forced Rodriguez to stumble, and he continued to work effectively through the round until the final minute, when Rodriguez surged and went on the attack, forcing Dalby to backpedal out of trouble.

Rodriguez (13-2) kept his momentum going in the second as Dalby tired, but the Denmark native still did solid work throughout the middle round, keeping the fight a hard one to call heading into the final frame. 

Dalby regained control in the third, though, and outside of eating a couple hard shots from “D-Rod,” it was a strong round for “Lokomotivo,” who emerged victorious via scores of 30-27 and 29-28 twice.

Official Result: Nicolas Dalby def. Daniel Rodriguez by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Flyweight contender Antonina Shevchenko was dominant throughout her bout against Ariane Lipski, stopping “The Queen of Violence” in the second round.

Midway through the first round, Shevchenko got a takedown, and while Lipski briefly took her foe’s back, it was Shevchenko adjusting well and getting into half-guard, where she fired off strikes with her free left hand.

Lipski got a good right hand in early in round two, but Shevchenko took the fight back to the mat, where she once again dominated. And after a concerted effort to end the bout with her ground strikes, “La Pantera” got her wish, as a series of unanswered blows brought in referee Chris Tognoni to halt the bout at the 4:33 mark of the second round.

With the win, the No. 15-ranked Shevchenko moves to 9-2. Lipski falls to 13-6.

Official Result: Antonina Shevchenko def. Ariane Lipski by TKO at 4:33 of Round 2

The owner of the frontrunner’s spot for Knockout of the Year added another clip to his highlight reel, as Joaquin Buckley stopped Jordan Wright in the second round of their middleweight bout.

Both fighters did solid work in a competitive first round, Wright landing hard kicks as he avoided any serious danger from Buckley, who did his best work on the inside. But in the closing seconds, Buckley nearly finished the bout after hurting Wright with his short-range bombs.

Buckley went right after the finish to start off the second, and he got it, with a left-right putting Wright on the mat. A follow-up wasn’t necessary, as referee Herb Dean stopped the bout at :18 of round two.

With the win, Buckley moves to 12-3. Wright falls to 11-1, 1 NC.

Official Result: Joaquin Buckley def. Jordan Wright by KO at :18 of Round 2

It was a wild first round between elite flyweights Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval, with Mexico’s “Assassin Baby” emerging victorious via technical knockout.

The top contenders wasted no time getting into a fight, Royval firing off kicks while Moreno answered with punches upstairs. Before a minute was gone, Moreno scored a takedown but Royval smoothly escaped and went back to his standup attack, which he mixed up nicely until a spinning elbow led to another Moreno takedown. This time, Moreno had Royval’s back and he looked for the submission, but Royval got free and fired elbows at his foe until he could scramble out of trouble. He moved from bad to worse, though, as he disclocated his right shoulder. In the process, Moreno fired off unanswered strikes until referee Marc Goddard stopped the fight at 4:59 of the opening round.

With the win, the No. 1-ranked Moreno moves to 18-5-1. The No. 6-ranked Royval falls to 12-5.

Official Result: Brandon Moreno def. Brandon Royval by TKO at 4:59 of Round 1

In a rematch of their November 2019 draw, Paul Craig kept the fight out of the judges’ hands, as he stopped former light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the second round.

Craig started the fight with kicks, Rua answering with punches until the Scotland native scored a takedown in the second minute. Rua rose quickly, but Craig sought out a choke before bringing the fight back to the mat. With a little over two minutes left, the fight was back on the feet, but only for a few moments until Craig got another takedown. Rua rose and was on his way back to the canvas, but he landed on top of Craig and stayed there to the end of the frame.

Rua had some early success with his strikes in round two, but whenever he tried to throw in combination, he got close enough for Craig to score the takedown. With three minutes left, Craig took Rua’s back briefly, and while the Brazilian icon rose, Craig wasn’t letting him breathe as he tied him up against the fence and then got another takedown. What followed was a barrage of ground strikes, and after a series of unanswered blows, Rua tapped out, with the official time of Herb Dean’s stoppage 3:36 of round two.

The No. 15-ranked Craig moves to 14-4-1. The No. 14-ranked Rua falls to 27-12-1.

Official Result: Paul Craig def. Mauricio Rua by TKO at 3:36 of Round 2

In a clash of top five flyweight contenders, Katlyn Chookagian scored a shutout three-round unanimous decision over Cynthia Calvillo.

Scores were 30-27 across the board for the No. 2-ranked Chookagian, not 14-2. The No. 4-ranked Calvillo falls to 9-2-1.

Outside of a brief early takedown by Calvillo, Chookagian was in total control in the first five minutes as she kept her opponent on the end of her strikes throughout, keeping the fight precisely in the range she wanted it to be in. There was more of the same in the second, Chookagian controlling the action as Calvillo couldn’t find an offensive rhythm and apparently abandoned her grappling attack. In the third, Calvillo briefly looked to lock up with her opponent, but Chookagian shook her off and continued to lead the dance, clearly earning the victory.

Official Result: Katlyn Chookagian (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) defeats Cynthia Calvillo by Unanimous Decision

In welterweight action, veteran Tim Means won a hard-fought three-round unanimous decision over Mike Perry.

Scores were 30-27 and 29-28 twice for Means, now 31-12-1, 1 NC. Perry, who missed weight for the fight at 175.5 pounds, falls to 14-7.

Perry got a takedown in the opening minute of the fight, opting to work on the mat. He had success there, taking Means’ back, where he looked for a choke. Means got free with two minutes left and was back on his feet and striking, landing some flush shots before the end of the round.

Means was in control of the action on the feet in the first half of round two, but a hard right hand from Perry rocked the Albuquerque native briefly. After clearing his head, Means went back to work with a disciplined and varied standup attack, but Perry was still dangerous anytime he landed.

Perry sought a takedown to begin the third round but Means fought it off and resumed tagging the Floridian with his punches. Midway through the round, a slugfest broke out, with both fighters tagging each other at close quarters. Perry emerged with his face bloodied and battered, but his chin was undented, and that still kept him one haymaker away from turning things around. That punch didn’t come, but it wasn’t from a lack of trying from Perry. Means was just the better fighter on this night.

Official Result: Tim Means (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) defeats Mike Perry by Unanimous Decision

Valentina Shevchenko got a fight out of Jennifer Maia in their UFC 255 co-main event, but in the end, it was the dominant champion retaining her UFC women’s flyweight title for the fourth time via five-round unanimous decision.

All three judges saw it 49-46 for Shevchenko, now 20-3. The No. 3-ranked Maia falls to 18-7-1.

After a couple exchanges to begin the bout, Shevchenko took Maia to the mat. The champion scored with punches from inside Maia’s guard, but the challenger wasn’t in any serious danger. The strikes were scoring points, and there was little coming back at Shevchenko, who kept the fight grounded for the rest of the round.

Shevchenko’s first takedown attempt of round two came up empty, allowing Maia to put the fight against the fence until the midway point, when Maia got her own takedown. Now it was the Brazilian’s turn to control the fight on the ground, and she did so until the horn ended the second stanza.

The champion blasted Maia with some hard shots in the third, using them to set up a throw to the mat, and in the next minute, Shevchenko regained control of the fight with her ground work, but Maia did get back to her feet and did good clinch work in the final minute before another late takedown by “Bullet.”

Shevchenko’s 1-2s were sharp as round four opened, and in the second minute, it was a takedown putting Maia on her back. Shevchenko took the back briefly in the last 90 seconds, but Maia dodged any trouble, even though she wasn’t able to get to her feet before the end of the round. 

Maia came out fast for the fifth round, and while she had some solid moments in the clinch, at range, it was Shevchenko widening her lead with crisp punches and kicks that bloodied Maia’s nose and left no questions when the final scores were read.

Official Result: Valentina Shevchenko def. Jennifer Maia by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)

UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo continued to show off new dimensions to his game, as the Brazilian successfully defended his title for the first time with an opening-round submission of Alex Perez in the UFC 255 main event.

The combatants tested each other with thudding kicks in the early going. The fight soon went to the mat, and in a scramble, Figueiredo locked in a guillotine choke, and after a spirited effort by Perez to get free, he was forced to tap out. The official time of the finish was 1:57 of round one.

With the win, Figueiredo moves to 20-1. The No. 4-ranked Perez falls to 24-6.

Official Result: Deiveson Figueiredo def. Alex Perez by submission (guillotine choke) at 1:57 of Round 1