UFC Vegas 27 finished off an exciting night of fights with a bloody co-main event that saw Carla Esparza claim a dominant and early victory over Yan Xiaonan, while the main event between Rob Font and Cody Garbrandt went the distance before Font was declared the winner.
Co-Main Event
Yan Xiaonan vs. Carla Esparza
Esparza immediately took Yan to the ground, and Yan momentarily locked her up in closed guard before Esparza passed to side control. Yan fought back with elbows and worked to half-guard while Esparza came after her with knees, punches, and elbows. Esparza regained side control and continued to batter Yan with short-range strikes. With thirty seconds left, Esparza looked for an armbar, but was forced to return to side control and land some more strikes until the bell rang as Yan defended.
Round two saw Yan get a few strikes in before Esparza caught a kick and again took her to the ground. Yan was bleeding from the head as she locked her opponent up in closed guard and landed a solid up-kick after Esparza opened it. Esparza again passed to side control, trapping one of Yan’s arms with her legs and the other with one hand as she used the other to deliver repeated punches to Yan’s face. With Yan unable to defend herself against the onslaught, the referee stopped the fight at 2:58 into round two.
Carla Esparza was declared the winner via TKO.
Main Event
Cody Garbrandt vs. Rob Font
Garbrant landed a calf kick and followed up with a head kick, dodging a left hand from Font. Font came back with a leg kick of his own, then landed a big combo on his opponent. Another calf kick from Garbrandt, and the fighters clashed seconds later, with Garbrant catching Font with a kick as Font came back to his feet. Garbrant then took Font to the ground and landed a few strikes before Font escaped and returned to the feet. Font connected with a strong right hand, and Garbrandt countered with another takedown. Font again escaped his opponent’s clutches and brought the fight back to the feet before the end of round one.
Font opened the second round with a kick to the body before he was taken down by Garbrandt again. Font defended himself with his guard while Garbrandt worked for top control. Font locked on a kimura grip, and Garbrant rolled himself over to escape danger. Font used the hold as a sweep and got back to his feet and away from Garbrandt’s control. Both fighters traded strikes, being cautious of each other’s power, but getting close enough to land some significant blows. In the final ten seconds of the round, Garbrandt threw a spinning back kick and tried once more to take Font down, driving him against the fence but unable to do anything with it before time ran out.
Both fighters landed a few quick jabs at the start of round three, with Garbrant wobbling Font with a hard calf kick. Garbrant countered a kick from Font with a big combo, which opened up the door for a brief mid-round brawl between the fighters. After separating, Font worked to control the center of the cage, finishing a combo with a big uppercut that hit its mark. Garbrandt forced Font against the cage, but Font reversed the position and briefly worked to control Garbrandt from the back. Font threw his opponent to the canvas, and Garbrandt rolled into guard before getting back to his feet. Garbrandt responded to a jab-cross with a takedown attempt, driving Font against the fence but ultimately failing to control him on the ground. The fighters mostly danced around each other and looked for an opening for the remainder of the round.
Garbrandt threw a leg kick to open round four, but Font came forward with some big swings that forced his opponent to move back on his heels. The fighters exchanged leg kicks and punches. Font landed a few big punches on Garbrandt as he backed him up against the cage, staying constant and consistent with his strikes and landing a head kick with under two minutes to go. Font continued to land strikes on Garbrandt and defended a takedown attempt as the round hit the one-minute mark. Font remained the dominant fighter for the remainder of the round, landing frequent hits to Garbrandt’s face until the bell rang.
Garbrandt managed to get a few punches in at the start of round five, but Font wasn’t slowing down. Though a few of Garbrandt’s big punches hit their mark, Font continued to drive his opponent back on his heels, landing frequent strikes and catching a kick from Garbrandt, which he used to throw him back. With about two minutes to go, Garbrandt landed a big right hand that connected with Font’s head. Font countered a calf-kick from Garbrant by picking the ankle and sending his opponent tumbling backward, but Garbrandt quickly recovered and got back to his feet. As the fight wound down, Font returned to landing some big hits of his own with his right hand. In the final seconds of the round, Garbrandt went for a spinning back fist, which Font ducked and countered by getting double-unders. Garbrandt pushed forward and ended up on top with Font pulling him close to control him and avoid further damage until the end of the fight.
Rob Font was awarded the unanimous decision victory.
Full Results:
Prelims:
- Damir Ismagulov def. Rafael Alves via decision
- David Dvorak def. Juancamilo Ronderos via rear naked choke (Round 1)
- Joshua Culibao def. Sha Yilan via decision
- Bruno Silva def. Victor Rodriguez via KO (Round 1)
- Court McGee def. Claudio Silva via decision
- Ben Rothwell def. Chris Barnett via guillotine (Round 2)
Main Card:
- Jack Hermansson def. Edmen Shahbazyan via decision
- Ricardo Ramos def. Bill Algeo via decision
- Norma Dumont def. Felicia Spencer via split decision
- Jared Vanderaa def. Justin Tafa via decision
- Carla Esparza def. Yan Xiaonan via TKO (Round 2)
- Rob Font def. Cody Garbrandt via decision
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