Brazil’s Luigi Vendramini promised an early finish in his lightweight opener with Jessin Ayari and he delivered, knocking his foe out in the first round.
 
After getting acclimated to the Octagon, a blistering combination capped by a left hook rocked Ayari, and as he went after his hurt foe, he kept throwing from all angles until a head kick put Ayari on the deck. A few hammerfists later, and referee Jason Herzog stopped the fight. The official time of the stoppage was 1:12 of round one.
 
Vendramini moves to 9-1 with the win. Ayari falls to 16-6.
 
Official Result: Luigi Vendramini def. Jessin Ayari by TKO (punches) at 1:12 of Round 1

Bantamweight up and comer Casey Kenney handed AlatengHeili his first UFC loss, dominating all three rounds of their bout en route to a shutout decision win.
 
Kenney (15-2-1) reddened the body of AlatengHeili (14-8-1) in the opening round, drilling him with several left kicks while also mixing in hard punches upstairs that bloodied the Beijing product. AlatengHeili was game throughout, but he was simply outgunned in the first five minutes.
 
Nothing changed in the second and third, as Kenney continued to punish his foe, prompting referee Kevin Sataki to take a long look at stopping the fight, but AlatengHeili hung tough until the final horn, only to lose the bout via scores of 30-25, 30-26, 30-27.
 
Official Result: Casey Kenney def. AlatengHeili by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-27)

Strawweight prospect Loma Lookboonmee delivered the more impressive of her UFC run thus far, winning a clear-cut three-round unanimous decision over former Invicta FC champion Jinh Yu Frey.
 
Scores were 30-27 twice and 29-28 for Lookboonmee, now 5-2. Frey falls to 9-6.
 
Frey didn’t shy away from engaging in the clinch with the former Muay Thai champ, but at close range, it was Lookboonmee’s world, and she showed it with repeated elbows and knees that opened a cut under Frey’s eye.
 
Lookboonmee continued to control the action in the second, Frey finding it difficult to figure out a way to get back in the fight. That way might have been the takedown that Frey scored to open the third frame, and once she had her foe grounded, she moved quickly into side control. In the second minute, Lookboonmee got back to her feet, though, adding more points to her final total while avoiding a return trip to the canvas.
 
Official Result: Loma Lookboonmee def. Jinh Yu Frey by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

In a meeting between middleweight newcomers, France’s Nassourdine Imavov won a hard-fought three-round unanimous decision over recent Dana White’s Contender Series winner Jordan Williams.
 
Scores were 29-27 twice and 29-28 for Imavov, now 9-2. Williams falls to 9-4, 1 NC.
 
A clash of heads in the opening minute cut Imavov over the right eye and forced him to look for a takedown. A couple clinch exchanges followed, showing that Williams was cut as well, but when separated, the two were swinging hard, Imavov landing several hard shots. A low blow by Imavov brought a brief halt to the action, but when the action resumed, a left by Williams rocked Imavov. The two proceeded to trade stints of control against the fence, Imavov nearly locking in a pair of guillotine attempts before the end of the round.
 
Imavov had a solid second stanza as Williams tired, controlling the grappling exchanges as he made another submission attempt and then closed the round with a steady ground-and-pound attack.
 
The pace of the fight took its toll on both men in the third, but neither stopped swinging, leaving everything they had in the Octagon until the final horn.
 
Official Result: Nassourdine Imavov def. Jordan Williams by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)

Featherweight up and comers Charles Jourdain and Josh Culibao fought to a three-round draw.
 
Scores were 28-28, 30-27 Jourdain and 29-28 Culibao.
 
Jourdain (10-3-1) flew out of his corner looking to land a kick or knee, but Culibao (8-1-1) easily dodged it. Another flying knee attempt resulted in Culibao catching the leg and initiating a grappling sequence. Once separated, Culibao dropped Jourdain with a right hand with a little over two minutes left, and though the now bloodied Canadian stood and walked into a guillotine choke attempt, he got free and locked in his own choke attempt before the two returned to the standup game until the end of the round.
 
The two 145-pounders kept it standing for much of the second round, each fighter having his moments, but a late takedown attempt by Culibao led to another choke from Jourdain, and while it didn’t end the fight, it did score some much needed points.
 
Jourdain came out fast to start the final round, and he landed some big shots, but Culibao took them well and went back to work until the Canadian took over on the mat. In the final minute, Jourdain mixed an armbar attempt with hard elbows that nearly ended the fight, but Culibao got loose and back to his feet, making it to the final horn.
 
Official Result: Charles Jourdain drew with Josh Culibao (28-28, 30-27 Jourdain, 29-28 Culibao)

Former WEC and interim UFC welterweight champion Carlos Condit was victorious in his first start since December 2018, winning a three-round unanimous decision over Court McGee.
 
There was solid action from both veterans in a competitive opening round, but a big right hand from Condit in the closing seconds knocked McGee down and clearly broke his nose, apparently changing the direction of the fight, but the Utah native remained in the fight for the next two rounds, consistently trying to get his shots in. Condit was in a solid rhythm, though, shaking off leg kicks from McGee to land a variety of strikes throughout the fight, locking up the win for “The Natural Born Killer” via three scores of 30-27.
 
With the win, Condit, who broke a five-fight losing streak, moves to 31-13. McGee falls to 20-10.
 
Official Result: Carlos Condit def. Court McGee by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Dana White’s Contender Series winner Dusko Todorovic made his long-awaited UFC debut and he was nearly flawless in stopping veteran Dequan Townsend in the second round of their light heavyweight bout.
 
Todorovic landed a couple nice left hooks in the opening minute, getting Townsend’s attention and prompting the Lansing, Michigan native to get into some clinch work. As the two broke in the second minute, it was Townsend getting in some solid shots. After a brief respite for both, Todorovic unleashed a series of flush shots in the final minute that staggered Townsend but didn’t put him down.
 
Pushing the pace to start round two, Townsend got off to a good start, but Todorovic ended that with a takedown in the second minute. Going to work immediately, Todorovic unleashed several unanswered ground strikes from the mount, prompting the stoppage from referee Jason Herzog at 3:15 of the second frame.
 
With the win, Todorovic moves to 10-0. Townsend falls to 21-12.
 
Official Result: Dusko Todorovic def. Dequan Townsend by TKO (punches) at 3:15 of Round 2

Rising bantamweight star Kyler Phillips moved to 2-0 in the Octagon with an impressive second-round stoppage of British newcomer Cameron Else.
 
Whether on the feet or the mat, Phillips dominated the first-round action, mixing up his strikes nicely while kicking his game into another gear once the bout hit the canvas. Else looked to land his right hand when standing, but he wasn’t able to find his mark.
 
Phillips wasted no time getting the fight back to the canvas as the second round opened, and after letting loose with his ground strikes with no response from Else, referee Marc Goddard halted the bout at the 44-second mark.
 
With the win, Phillips ups his record to 8-1. Else, who replaced Danaa Batgerel, falls to 10-5.
 
Official Result: Kyler Philips def. Cameron Else by TKO (punches) at :44 of Round 2

One of MMA’s top strikers showed off her submission game in impressive style, as No. 1-ranked bantamweight contender Germaine de Randamie finished Julianna Pena in the third round.
 
After a tactical opening, de Randamie jarred Pena with a right hand, letting her opponent know that getting close for a takedown would come with a price. There were more rights to follow, but Pena did get “The Iron Lady” down to the mat just before the horn.
 
A wild exchange allowed Pena to get into a clinch with de Randamie as round two began, and she put her foe on the deck in the second minute. The two traded strikes on the mat for a spell until Pena began working for a choke, but then suddenly it was de Randamie trying to sink in her own choke, wrapping up a good action round.
 
Pena scored with some good punches to begin the final round, keeping GDR off balance until the Netherlands native got her feet back under her and let her own shots go. Pena initiated a clinch, but as she shot in for a takedown, de Randamie locked in a guillotine choke, and that was the end of the fight, with Jason Herzog stopping it at the 3:25 mark of round three.
 
With the win, de Randamie moves to 10-4. The No. 4-ranked Pena falls to 10-4.
 
Official Result: Germaine de Randamie def. Julianna Pena by submission (guillotine choke) at 3:25 of Round 3

In the UFC Fight Night co-main event, it was Brazil’s Carlos Felipe scoring the three-round unanimous decision win over Cape Verde’s Yorgan De Castro.
 
Scores were 30-27 twice and 29-28 for Felipe, now 9-1. De Castro falls to 6-2.
 
Every punch and kick from Felipe and De Castro seemed designed to end the fight, but it was Felipe who landed and threw more of them, avoiding serious trouble from his opponent’s leg kicks to fire off kicks of his own and some hard overhand rights.
 
De Castro came out more aggressively for round two but ate a couple hard rights for his trouble. A clinch followed, with Felipe doing good work inside that allowed him to get free. Once at distance, De Castro got off some good shots that were later followed by a response from Felipe before another clinch. In the late stages of the round, it was Felipe doing the better work, but De Castro was always one punch or kick away from changing the direction of the bout.
 
It was Felipe who started fast in the third, getting the better of some heated exchanges. De Castro sought a couple takedowns, but Felipe defended well, and when the action stalled, referee Kevin Sataki was quick to break the two. Felipe did his best to avoid De Castro’s labored clinch attempts, getting in enough shots to secure the round and the fight.
 
Official Result: Carlos Felipe def. Yorgan De Castro by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Former bantamweight champion Holly Holm was in prime form against surging Irene Aldana in the UFC Fight Night main event, winning a shutout five-round decision.
 
Scores were 50-44 and 50-45 twice for the No. 2-ranked Holm, now 14-5. The No. 6-ranked Aldana falls to 12-6.
 
Aldana couldn’t get a bead on Holm in the opening round, as the Albuquerque native used her lateral movement to keep her foe at bay. Add in a late takedown from Holm, and it was a round secured for the former champ.
 
Holm was a lot more aggressive in the second, answering any shots from Aldana with three or four of her own. Soon, Aldana was marked up under her eye as Holm kept scoring, using strikes to set up another takedown. With under a minute left, Aldana was back on her feet but unable to steal the round back.
 
In the second minute of round three, Holm grounded her opponent once more, getting into the mount position midway through the frame. Once standing, Holm continued to keep Aldana at bay, putting another round in the bank.
 
The fourth was a carbon copy of the previous rounds, Aldana chasing but not catching Holm, who peppered the Guadalajara product with strikes while also tossing in another takedown for good measure.
 
Aldana had five minutes to turn things around, but outside of the occasional landed strike, she wasn’t able to stop or even slow down “The Preacher’s Daughter,” who maintained her place among the top bantamweights in the world with a strong finish that nearly produced a late stoppage.
 
Official Result: Holly Holm def. Irene Aldana by unanimous decision (50-44, 50-45, 50-45)

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