Here are the passes and fails for UFC 259, where Jan Blachowicz successfully defended his title against Israel Adesanya, Amanda Nunes dispatched yet another contender and the bantamweight title fight changed hands following an illegal knee.
PhotoCred: MMA Fighting
UFC Vegas 19 got off to a hot start with a plethora of awesome finishes, and it would end the night on the same note. However, directly before the main event, there was some controversy at bantamweight UFC President Dana White believes the judges got things right.
At 135-pounds, top-ranked contenders Ketlen Vieira and Yana Kunitskaya took centerstage. After a competitive grappling heavy contest that saw round-by-round momentum shifts, “Foxy” would come out on top (literally) and get her hand raised by unanimous decision.
“She didn’t do anything,” White said of Vieira to Kunitskaya over a FaceTime call (via Reddit). “You threw all the strikes. To the body, to the head, kept punching, never stopped punching. Outstruck her 178 to like 16 or something. You absolutely, positively won that fight.”
So, what’s waiting for Lewis if not a heavyweight title shot? Can Kunitskaya make any waves at 135 lbs? And is Chris Daukaus the darkhorse hot prospect in the heavyweight division?
To answer those questions – and a few other things – I’ll be using the classic Silva/Shelby fight booking methodology from the UFC of years past. That means pitting winners against winners, losers against losers, and similarly tenured talent up against one another. Hopefully, by following that model, a few of these bout ideas will actually make it off the page and into the Octagon. Now, let’s get to the fights.