Blaydes, Formiga, Tuivasa, Pedro, Volkanovski Pick Up Big UFC 221 Wins

MMA

UFC 221 wasn't the most stacked MMA card of all-time, but it wasn't without its share of high level wins

#9 Heavyweight Curtis Blaydes got the biggest win of his career, defeating #5 Mark Hunt. Hunt landed huge shots early and rocked the 26-year old Blaydes, but was outwrestled for the duration of the final two rounds. Blaydes worked from top control and landed a ton of strikes on his way to an impressive unanimous decision win. 

Jon Jones On Shaking Stipe Miocic's Hand After Snub: I Felt Like Forgiveness Is the Right Thing To Do

Top-15 UFC Light Heavyweight Tyson Pedro kicked off the UFC 221 pay-per-view main card with a big submission victory over Saparbek Safarov. Mid-way throught he first round, Pedro grabbed a double wristlock against the cage and swept his opponent, before stepping over and submitting Safarov with the hold.

Heavyweight prospect Tai Tuivasa made an impression, dominating and knocking out his opponent Cyril Asker on his way to a first round victory. After a successful November 2017 win over Rashad Coulter, Tuivasa is now 7-0 for his career. 

Jussier Formiga moved closer to the UFC title shot that has eluded him in the UFC's Flyweight division thus far. The #4-flyweight was able to control #8 Ben Nguyen before landing an insane spinning back fist that set up a rear naked choke win. Formiga has now won three of his last four. 

Unranked, Alexander Volkanovski could very likely join the featherweight ranks after his one-sided win over Jeremy Kennedy. Volkanovski moves to 3-0 in the UFC, and has won 14 straight fights as a pro. You can see his finish below. 

 

You can see Fightful's UFC 221 live coverage at this link, and our post-show podcast at this link.

Get exclusive pro wrestling content on Fightful Select, our premium news service! Click here to learn more.