Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone had all the attention on them Saturday night in Last Vegas at UFC 246, but there were plenty of other ranked fighters on display.
#3 Holly Holm hasn't had a wealth of success since winning the UFC Bantamweight Championship from Ronda Rousey in 2015, but she took on a familiar foe in #5 Raquel Pennington. Five years after Holm defeated the eventual title challenger, Holm ran the same result back. Only this time was a unanimous decision victory in favor of Holm.
#12 heavyweight Aleksei Oleinik brought his wealth of experience to the cage, taking on Maurice Greene. Virtually everyone watching knew this would end in an Oleinik submission or a Greene KO, and unfortunately for Greene, it was the former. The win gave Oleinik victories across four decades in MMA.
If he grabs you, it’s over! --
— UFC (@ufc) January 19, 2020
---- @OleynikUFC with the submission in his 72nd(!) career fight! #UFC246
Get the E+ PPV https://t.co/elacTGWGXe #UFC246 pic.twitter.com/wBtYHjAVXL
#9 Anthony Pettis was hoping to kickstart another run towards a championship at UFC 246, facing the surging Diego Ferreira. That didn't happen, as Ferreira dragged Pettis to the ground in the second round and secured a neck crank submission win.
WOW! --
— UFC (@ufc) January 19, 2020
---- @DiegoUFCTX makes a BIG statement and taps out Showtime in R2! #UFC246
Get the E+ PPV https://t.co/elacTGWGXe #UFC246 pic.twitter.com/vPk1IoFIuV
While #7 Roxanne Modafferi was ranked higher than #9 Maycee Barber, she was a giant +705 underdog heading into the fight. Someone forgot to tell Modafferi that, as she dominated the highly touted, hyped Barber. There was an unusual spot in between the second and third rounds when a ringside doctor diagnosed a partial ACL tear for Barber on the spot. Modafferi ended up taking home a unanimous decision victory.
DROPPED! --@RoxyFighter putting Maycee down in R2! #UFC246 pic.twitter.com/mgkR1oIH7Q
— UFC (@ufc) January 19, 2020
#12 Askar Askarov is going to make a huge leap in the rankings after defeating #7 Tim Elliott via unanimous decision. An early punch staggered Elliott, who recovered and landed several beautiful judo throws. However, that wasn't enough for the former Flyweight Title challenger to overcome the unbeaten Askarov.
Don't blink! --@Askar_MMA showing some crazy power for flyweight! #UFC246 pic.twitter.com/WKjEgr7WzL
— UFC (@ufc) January 19, 2020
You can see Fightul's full, live coverage of UFC 246 at this link.
