– Paul Dollery reports from Las Vegas
THE FIRST OF this week’s three UFC events took place last night at The Cosmopolitan and it certainly delivered for the fans here in Las Vegas. With just two of the 12 bouts on the UFC Fight Night 80 card going to the judges, there was no shortage of entertainment.
In the main event, the much-hyped Paige VanZant tasted defeat for the first time in the UFC when she was submitted by Rose Namajunas in the fifth round of their strawweight contest.
VanZant, who has been billed as the next Ronda Rousey, followed the former bantamweight champion’s lead by ending 2015 with a devastating loss.
Despite turning in a courageous display, the 21-year-old was dominated by Namajunas, who eventually sealed the win with a rear-naked choke after 2:25 of the final frame.
Elsewhere on the main card, Michael Chiesa scored a big win by submitting Jim Miller via a second-round rear-naked choke and Thiago Santos picked up a unanimous-decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27) victory over Elias Theodorou.
Sage Northcutt, meanwhile, took his professional record to 7-0 at the expense of Cody Pfister. The 19-year-old lightweight finished his second fight in the UFC with a guillotine in the second round.
Further down the bill, top bantamweight prospect Aljamain Sterling kept his undefeated record intact by submitting Johnny Eduardo with a second-round guillotine, but the highlight of the prelims was Tim Means’ KO of John Howard.
UFC Fight Night 80 results
- Rose Namajunas def. Paige VanZant via submission (rear-naked choke) after 2:25 of round five
- Michael Chiesa def. Jim Miller via submission (rear-naked choke) after 2:57 of round two
- Sage Northcutt def. Cody Pfister via submission (guillotine choke) after 0:41 of round two
- Thiago Santos def. Elias Theodorou via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
- Tim Means def. John Howard via KO (punch) after 0:21 of round two
- Sergio Moraes def. Omari Akhmedov via TKO (punches) after 2:18 of round three
- Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Kevin Casey — no contest due to an accidental eye poke on Casey after 0:11 of round one
- Aljamain Sterling def. Johnny Eduardo via submission (guillotine choke) after 4:18 of round two
- Santiago Ponzinibbio def. Andreas Stahl via TKO (punches) after 4:25 of round one
- Danny Roberts def. Nathan Coy via technical submission (triangle choke) after 2:46 of round one
- Zubaira Tukhugov def. Phillipe Nover via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
- Kailin Curran def. Emily Kagan via submission (rear-naked choke) after 4:13 of round two
