UFC 255 saw an exciting night of action in the octagon that was capped off with two flyweight title defenses. While Jennifer Maia went the distance with reigning champ Valentina Shevchenko, however, it took under two minutes for Deiveson Figueiredo to get a tap out of challenger Alex Perez.
Co-Main Event
Jennifer Maia vs. Valentina Shevchenko
Shevchenko opened with a front-kick, and after an aggressive combo exchange, she took Maia to the ground and ended up in her closed guard. Maia kept Shevchenko’s arms trapped, and Shevchenko took every available opportunity to land strikes on her opponent. Though Maia tried to transition to a body triangle from guard, most of her work throughout the round involved controlling Shevchenko’s posture until the bell rang.
Round two opened with Shevchenko clinching up with Maia and taking her to the ground after pushing her to the cage. However, Maia was able to escape Shevchenko’s control, getting to her feet and forcing her against the cage with a clinch. Shevchenko managed to get a solid knee in as the two ventured away from the cage, and Maia soon pushed her back and pummeled her legs and body with knees of her own. A takedown attempt from Shevchenko led to Maia ending up on top and in Shevchenko’s half-guard. Shevchenko closed up her full guard and tried to angle herself for a triangle choke, but Maia was able to push past it and stay safer in her closed guard until time ran out in the second round.
Shevchenko opened round three with a few solid strikes against her opponent. The two clinched up, and Maia forced Shevchenko to the cage. Shevchenko soon broke away, and the fighters returned to the center of the octagon, where a combo from Shevchenko opened up an opportunity for her to close the distance between them and take Maia to the ground. Maia locked up her half-guard, then worked in butterfly hooks and used them to create distance and get back to her feet, where she again pushed Shevchenko against the cage. Shevchenko twisted and got another takedown on Maia, and the two stayed on the ground until the round ended.
"This is extraordinary…"
— UFC (@ufc) November 22, 2020@JenniMaiaUFC is capitalizing early! #UFC255 pic.twitter.com/JT8onwDYEb
Round four saw Maia eat a few big punches from Shevchenko, but countered strategically and landed a few solid shots of her own. Shevchenko again brought Maia to the ground, ending up in her half-guard. Shevchenko tried to move up and batter Maia with strikes and nearly managed to transition to her back, but ultimately ended up on the other side of Maia’s half-guard. The round ended without any further significant action.
RETURNING FIRE.
— UFC (@ufc) November 22, 2020@BulletValentina is starting to find her range. #UFC255 pic.twitter.com/xDuieDVrIe
In round five, Maia almost immediately clinched up with Shevchenko and pushed her to the cage, but Shevchenko soon escaped, throwing a hard elbow in the process, and turned up the pace with some fast combos and a spinning back kick that threw Maia back to the cage. Shevchenko then clinched up with Maia, but Maia reversed the position and pushed her opponent against the cage. The fighters broke apart and returned to the center, Maia’s nose pouring blood, and they exchanged a few strikes before Maia again clinched up and pushed Shevchenko to the cage. After they again broke apart, both athletes went hard, battering each other with punches and kicks until the very end, when Maia closed the distance between herself and her opponent and pushed Shevchenko against the cage in the final few seconds of the fight.
#AndStill!
— UFC (@ufc) November 22, 2020
Shevchenko was awarded the unanimous decision victory and retained her flyweight title.
Main Event
Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Alex Perez
Both fighters came out swinging at the start of the fight, and Perez landed a solid body kick and then scooped up a single-leg on Figueiredo. Figureido dropped down on Perez’s leg, and Perez stepped out of danger. But as Perez turned to drop on top of his opponent, Figueiredo wrapped up a guillotine with Perez in his closed guard. For a moment, it looked like Perez might pull his head out, but then as he lifted himself up, the squeeze became too much, and he tapped out at 1:57 into the first round.
UNDER TWO MINUTES.
— UFC (@ufc) November 22, 2020
Figueiredo was declared the winner and retained his flyweight title.
The post UFC 255 Results: Deiveson Figueiredo Submits Alex Perez To Retain Flyweight Title appeared first on Jiu-Jitsu Times.