Derrick Lewis ended his main event fight against Curtis Blaydes early with his signature heavy hits tonight at UFC Vegas 19, capping off an exciting night that featured a grappling-heavy co-main event between Ketlen Vieira and Yana Kunitskaya.
Co-Main Event
Ketlen Vieira vs. Yana Kunitskaya
Vieira attacked immediately and shot for a takedown after throwing a few punches at Kunitskaya’s face. She initially succeeded, getting Kunitskaya down against the cage, but Kunitskaya forced her way back to her feet, throwing knees to the body as she reversed the position. Vieiera pushed back and got another takedown, and Kunitskaya prevented the transition to mount by securing half-guard. Vieira stayed low and tried to push her opponent’s leg down to pass, with both opponents throwing whatever punches they could until time ran out.
Vieira opened round two with more punches, which Kunitskaya countered with kicks and knees as she pushed Vieira against the cage. Vieira managed to get Kunitskaya to the ground, but ended up in the bottom position with her opponent in her guard. Vieira stayed active, looking for positions and attempting an armbar that Kunitskaya strategically avoided, then attempted a triangle that ultimately failed. Vieira then inverted and attacked a leg, and Kunitskaya slipped out and got to her feet, ending up pushed against the cage, but she then brought Vieira back to the ground. Vieira returned to her feet and secured a kimura grip on Kunitskaya’s arm, and Kunitskaya capitalized by pushing Vieira to her knees and throwing knees to the leg and body. Kunitskaya finished off the round with some big elbows to the body and a head kick as Vieira managed to get back to her feet just before the second round ended.
Round three kicked off with, well, kicks from Kunitskaya, but Vieira quickly turned things around with a takedown, ending up in half-guard again. Vieira soon managed to get to mount, staying low and returning to the position after Kunitskaya briefly regained half-guard. As the fighters inched back toward the cage, Vieira took the back and got both hooks in, getting away from the cage to extend Kunitskaya’s body. Although Vieira was persistent with her choke attempts, Kunitskaya was equally eager to throw back punches that landed squarely in her opponent’s face. In the last few seconds of the fight, Kunitskaya escaped back control and threw down some heavy shots from closed guard and then open guard, getting in some final significant damage before time ran out.
Yana Kunitskaya was awarded the unanimous decision.
Main Event
Derrick Lewis via Curtis Blaydes
Blaydes opened the fight with a leg kick, and as he closed the distance, Lewis caught him with a barrage of punches that sent him backward. Blaydes stayed on his feet, though, and he returned to the center of the octagon, noticeably more cautious of Lewis. Lewis threw a head kick that Blaydes blocked. With a bit over two minutes left, Blaydes and Lewis again collided, coming in with strong combos before separating once more. Blaydes threw another big combo at Lewis, finishing it off with a leg kick, and Lewis threatened a flying knee. At just over a minute left in the first round, Blaydes followed up another heavy combo with a leg kick that caused Lewis to stumble. Lewis quickly returned to his feet, and he covered himself up as Blaydes pushed him back against the cage. An eye poke from Blaydes paused the action with just seconds to go in the first round.
After Blaydes had recovered, round two kicked off with a bang as Blaydes came forward with some aggressive punches and tried to take Lewis down with a single-leg. Lewis escaped danger, and not long after, as Blaydes again closed the distance, Lewis’ fist collided with his face with an uppercut, laying him flat out on the ground and ending the fight 1:26 into the second round.
OMG!!!
— UFC (@ufc) February 21, 2021@TheBeast_UFC does it again! #UFCVegas19 pic.twitter.com/hUpgHRGgFS
Full Results:
Prelims:
Sergey Spivak def Jared Vanderaa via TKO
Aiemann Zahabi def Drako Rodriguez via KO
Casey O’Neill def Shana Dobson via TKO
Julian Erosa def Nate Landwehr via TKO
John Castaneda def Eddie Wineland via TKO
Jared Gordon def Danny Chevez via decision
Main Card:
Tom Aspinall def Andrei Arlovski via submission
Phil Hawes def Nassourdine Imavov via decision
Chris Daukaus def Aleksei Oleinik via TKO
Darrick Minner def Charles Rosa via decision
Yana Kunitskaya def Ketlen Vieira via decision
Derrick Lewis def Curtis Blaydes via KO
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