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UFC 274 Highlights: Oliveira vs. Gaethje

MMA UFC
Ewan Ross May 8, 2022 12:12AM

UFC 274 truly saw the best and worst that the sport has to offer. On the good side, we had incredible fights between Michael Chandler and Tony Ferguson, as well as the main event between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje. On the flip side we were forced to sit through potentially the worst modern UFC title fight when Carla Esparza defeated Rose Namajunas. See all those highlights after the jump.

Charles Oliveira def Justin Gaethje via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) (Rd. 1 3:22)

Frank Tate's Dog Gives A Top Tier High Five

In an absolutely wild round of action Charles Oliveira defeated Justin Gaethje via submission. Oliveira was knocked down and hurt twice by Gaethje in the first round alone, but in the second half of the round Oliveira started having success and was able to chain a takedown into multiple submission attempts, and the choke got the job done. An incredible fight that must be seen. Unfortunately after the controversy at the weigh-ins, Charles Oliveira is no longer the lightweight champ, and the belt is now vacant.

Carla Esparza def. Rose Namajunas via Split Decision (49-46, 48-47, 47-48)

In potentially the worst modern UFC title fight, Carla Esparza is your new UFC strawweight champion. Essentially nothing happened in this bout, Rose especially looked to avoid engaging at all costs. Just a horrendous fight in each and every way. Since such little happened in the fight, the scoring was next to impossible, but no fighter has any right to complain. There's no highlights to this fight, so we'll just go onto the next.

Michael Chandler def. Tony Ferguson via Knockout (Front Kick) (Rd. 2 0:17)

Michael Chandler knocked Tony Ferguson out ice cold with a front kick directly to his chin. Ferguson had likely won the first round and looked much better than he had in recent fights before Chandler absolutely detonated him at the beginning of the middle stanza. Ferguson was out for many minutes before coming to, but left the cage under his own power.

Ovince St. Preux def. Mauricio Rua via Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)

In a truly awful fight that no one needed to see Ovince St. Preux won a split decision over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. I scored the fight for Rua, but truly the fight sucked, and the crowd spent most of the fight playing with the lights on their phones.

Randy Brown def. Khaos Williams via Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

In an excellent bout, Randy Brown survived an early rush from Khaos Williams and was able to ride his slick jab to a split decision victory. A very close fight that likely came down to how you scored the final round, but either way it wasn't going to be a robbery.

Francisco Trinaldo def. Danny Roberts via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-28)

Turning back the clock, Francisco Trinaldo put on a spectacular performance against Danny Roberts. The 43 year old Trinaldo completely dominated the first two frames of the bout, and had Roberts hurt multiple times. A great performance by the oldest non-heavyweight on the UFC roster.

Macy Chaisson def. Norma Dumont via Split Decision (30-27, 30-27, 28-29)

In a pretty uneventful fight Macy Chaisson went 15 minutes and saw Chaisson emerge victorious. Chaisson used her length to keep Dumont at bay for most of the first two rounds, and fought off a valient charge late from Dumont.

Brandon Royval def. Matt Schnell via Submission (Guillotine Choke) (Rd. 1 2:14)

In the opposite of the fight that preceded it, Matt Schnell and Brandon Royval engaged in a lightning-fast scramble exhibition that ended with Royval forcing Schnell to tap with both hands to a guillotine choke. Great fight that lasted less than 150 seconds.

Blagoy Ivanov def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

In a terrible fight that I watched so you don't have to Blagoy Ivanov won a decision over Marcos Rogerio de Lima. The fight was very boring, and featured alot of hugging while leaning against the fence.

Andre Fialho def. Miguel Baeza via TKO (Left Hook) (Rd. 1 2:35)

Two knockouts in a matter of just three weeks time for Andre Fialho as he turned around incredibly quickly after knocking out Miguel Baeza last month, and iced Cameron VanCamp in under three minutes time with a nasty check left hook.

Tracy Cortez def. Melissa Gatto via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

In a grappling heavy fight Tracy Cortez utilized her wrestling to spend most of the fight in top position, and stayed safe from the jiu-jitsu of Melissa Gatto in order to get the victory.

CJ Vergara def. Kleydson Rodrigues via Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

In an excellent high paced flyweight fight, CJ Vergara bounced back after dropping the first round to get the split decision victory over Kleydson Rodrigues. A typical flyweight bout that featured too much to recap, but was an excellent watch.

Lupita Godinez def. Ariane Carnelosi via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)

In a breakout performance Lupita Godinez completely shut out Ariane Carnelosi over 15 minutes. Godinez scored highlight takedowns in each of the three rounds, and showed complete domination from top position. Absolutely outstanding from a young fighter who is emerging as a contender in the talent-rich strawweight division.

Journey Newsom def. Fernie Garcia via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Journey Newsom returned from an extended layoff, and cruised to a win over Fernie Garcia by picking him apart from range with a variety of techniques including a spinning hook kick in the 3rd round. An impressive showing.

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