Live undercard updates from UFC Fight Night
Greg Rosenstein is the MMA editor at ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter at @grosenstein.
BROOKLYN — A multitude of undercard fights with major implications are taking place before UFC Fight Night Brooklyn’s main event between Henry Cejudo and TJ Dillashaw on Saturday at the Barclays Center.
We recap all the action here as it goes down.
Joanne Calderwood defeated Ariane Lipski by unanimous decision
There was a lot of hype for Ariane Lipski’s UFC debut, but Joanne Calderwood put a stop to that with her dominant unanimous decision win (30-26, 30-26, 30-27). Calderwood took Lipski to the mat multiple times throughout the three rounds, nearly finishing her on multiple attempts for armbars and rear-naked chokes. Lipski finally got a takedown of her own with three minutes remaining in the fight but was unable to land anything significant. Calderwood (13-3) called out Jessica Eye after the win.
Alonzo Menifield defeated Vinicius Moreira by first-round TKO
Alonzo Menifield landed a right hook on Vincius Moreira 3:56 into the first round that sent his opponent to the mat. Menifield followed up with a few more punches to Moreira’s face that forced the referee to end the bout early. Menifield also dropped Moreira (9-2) seconds into the fight that brought fans to their feet but he was unable to get the finish at that time. The win pushes Menifield’s unbeaten streak to eight.
Cory Sandhagen defeated Mario Bautista by first-round submission
Cory Sandhagen kicked off the ESPN portion of the card with a bang, defeating Mario Bautista by first-round arm bar. Sandhagen (10-1) took the fight to the mat three minutes into the bout and was able to lock in his opponent’s arm for the submission win. This was his third finish in three UFC fights. Earlier in the fight, Sandhagen wowed the crowd with a flying knee that landed flush on Bautista’s face and dropped him to the mat. This was Bautista’s first loss in seven bouts.
Dennis Bermudez defeated Te Edwards by unanimous decision
Dennis Bermudez improved to 17-9 after defeating Te Edwards by unanimous decision (30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards). Bermudez was much more on the offensive compared to Edwards and took the fight to the mat multiple times for submission attempts and ground-and-pound. The win was his first in his last five bouts .. but the last of his career. After the victory, Bermudez told ESPN announcer Jon Anik he was retiring from the sport and left his gloves in the cage.
Geoff Neal defeated Belal Muhammad by unanimous decision
Geoff Neal impressed in a big way, defeating Belal Muhammad by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). He landed many jabs throughout the fight and dropped Muhammad twice in the third round, once by a left hook and once by a head kick. Neal (11-2) also did an exceptional job stopping multiple takedown attempts by Muhammad (14-3), who ended the night with his face covered in blood.
Chance Rencountre defeated Kyle Stewart by first-round submission
Chance Rencountre defeated Kyle Stewart by rear-naked choke 2:25 in the first round. The fighters traded shots early before Rencountre got Stewart up against the fence. He later took his back and got under his chin for the quick tap. Rencountre improved to 13-3 overall, and Stewart dropped to 11-2.
Still to come:
Henry Cejudo vs. T.J. Dillashaw
Gregor Gillespie vs. Yancy Medeiros
Joseph Benavidez vs. Dustin Ortiz
Paige VanZant vs. Rachael Ostovich
Glover Teixeira vs. Karl Roberson