Welcome to Fightful.com's live viewing party of UFC on FOX 21. We'll be bringing you quick reviews of the preliminary fights, and full, round-by-round coverage of the main card. You can also send in your feedback on our Disqus boards below!
You can see the full card below.
MAIN CARD (FOX, 8 PM EST)
Demien Maia (#3) defeated Carlos Condit (#4) via submission (rear naked choke), Round 1, 1:52
Anthony Pettis (#7 LW) defeated Charles Oliveira (#6) via submission (Guillotine Choke), Round 3, 1:49
Paige VanZant (#10) defeated Bec Rawlings via KO (punches), Round 2, 0:17
Jim Miller defeated Joe Lauzon via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
PRELIM CARD (FOX, 6 PM EST)
Sam Alvey defeated Kevin Casey via TKO (punches), Round 2, 4:56
Kyle Bochniak defeated Enrique Barzola via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 27-30)
Alessio Di Chirico defeated Garreth McLellan via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Felipe Silva defeated Shane Campbell via TKO (punches), Round 1, 1:13
EARLY PRELIMS (UFC Fight Pass, 5 PM EST)
Chad Laprise defeated Thibault Gouti via TKO (punches), Round 1, 1:36
Jeremy Kennedy defeated Alex Ricci via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
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PRELIMINARY FIGHTS
Jeremy Kennedy defeated Alex Ricci via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28): This was a clinch battle from the opening of the fight until the very end with Kennedy controlling the clinch throughout most of the fight. Ricci managed to sneak in some good knees to Kennedy in the first round, but Kennedy was aggressive in the clinch, got some good takedowns and had better striking throughout the whole fight, even though Ricci was visibly the bigger fighter. Solid debut for Kennedy as this was his UFC debut.
Chad Laprise defeated Thibault Gouti via TKO (punches), Round 1, 1:36: This was a more boxing oriented fight and Laprise ended the fight by blocking a Gouti left jab and then immediately fired off a big right-hand which sends Gouti to the floor. Laprise then just pounces on Gouti for several big punches and forces the referee to stop the fight and award the victory to Laprise. Laprise missed weight and apologized profusely in the post-fight interview. He said that it was too hard dropping his weight to 155 and wants to fight at 170 pounds.
Felipe Silva defeated Shane Campbell via TKO (punches), Round 1, 1:13: Silva, like Kennedy in the first fight of this card, leaves his UFC debut as the victor, this time, coming from a great succession of punches that started with a left hook to Campbell in mid-flurry that sent Campbell down. What followed was an energetic Silva constantly punching Campbell while he's down and the referee stopped it. Silva said that he didn't think he would get the call from UFC because he was 32 years old. He didn't want to call anyone in the 155 pound division out, but hoped he fights again for UFC in Brazil at the end of the year.
Alessio Di Chirico defeated Garreth McLellan via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29): This fight was full of grit and fans got to see a little bit of everything: big hits, fighters bloodied up and some ground game. Both fighters brought a lot of offense but the highlight was Di Chirico elbowing McLellan to the right side of his head very hard and creating a big wound in the second round. Di Chirico nearly finished the fight right there. The third round saw more ground game from the two fighters. McLellan was exhausted in the third round and was really sluggish. Di Chirico was fighting while dealing with emotions of his family and friends that were affected by the earthquake in Di Chirico's native Italy.
Kyle Bochniak defeated Enrique Barzola via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 27-30): Crowd was not happy with the decision, but it was a somewhat close fight. Barzola's striking was excellent in this fight and his footwork was superb. Anytime that Barzola looked like he may have been too aggressive and Bochniak is about to capitalize, Barzola's swift kicks made sure that Bochniak wouldn't do too much damage. Bochniak also snuck in some offense and landed a few hits here and there, but Barzola was relentless throughout the whole fight. We didn't see a whole ton of takedown attempts from Barzola, which is what we are accustomed to, until the tail end of the second round. Bochniak was the aggressor in the third round, but the decision was still a bit of a head scratcher. He certainly landed his fair share of kicks, but certainly not enough to have two judges give two rounds to Bochniak. Great performances from both men in this fight.
Sam Alvey defeated Kevin Casey via TKO (punches), Round 2, 4:56: Highlights galore in the second round that started when Alvey hit a big punch to Casey which dropped him but kudos to Casey for defending himself well enough and using his legs on the ground to create sepaaration. Alvey smelled blood and kept boxing to Casey. He finally dropped him again and continued to hit big hammer fists as the round was ending. Thankfully, the referee ended the fight right there with mere seconds left in the round because Casey was not in a position to recover at that moment. Casey's post-fight interview is something everybody should listen to if you want to get a good laugh. Another knockout win is in the books for tonight as the prelims come to a close.
MAIN CARD
Joe Lauzon vs. Jim Miller
Round 1: Lauzon begins with a nice set of punches and goes for a body kick but Miller catches it and flips him over to the ground and tries to go for an ankle lock submission and Lauzon escapes. Miller goes for a big swing, misses and falls to the ground and Lauzon is on top of him. Lauzon hits a few good punches while on top of him. Miller escapes and then starts going for several 1-2 punches in the last minute of the round and connects on a few of them.
Fightful scores round 1 for Miller 10-9
Round 2: Miller starts off the second round just as he finished the first round with several punching combinations, but Lauzon responds with great boxing as well. Miller is trying to box his way into some strong body shots to Lauzon. Miller goes for a body kick, but Lauzon was pouncing in at the same time and takes down Miller. Miller is on guard while on the mat and Lauzon goes for some short elbows. This is a close fight and it's anyone's fight.
Fightful scores round 2 for Lauzon 10-9
Round 3: Miller gets a great start as he probably connected on a dozen strikes which looked like it hurt Lauzon, but he continues to fight on. He takes down Miller and is on top, which is definitively the one thing going for Lauzon. They remain on the ground for a while until Miller gets back up and behind Lazuon, but Lauzon connects on a back elbow shot and Miller is bleeding from that elbow. Lauzon takes down and remains on top until the end of the fight. The last ten seconds had Lauzon try to go for an armbar but is too late and we go to the judges.
Fightful scores round 3 for Lauzon 10-9, making it 29-28 Lauzon
Official Result: Jim Miller defeated Joe Lauzon via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29):
Okay, this fight was close. Real close. But many people thought Lauzon should have won the fight and the Vancouver crowd is booing at the judges' decision. This fight was not as good as their first fight, but it was still a great fight nonetheless.
Paige VanZant (#10) vs. Bec Rawlings
Round 1: VanZant goes for the flying knee early on and misses. She's hopping around and goes for a couple jumping front kicks. Rawlings is trying to go for more boxing. Rawlings has center control for most of the fight, but it's because VanZant is constantly moving around and Rawlings can barely close the distance between the two.
Fightful scores round 1 for VanZant 10-9
Round 2: VanZant ends the fight going for a low right kick but psyches out Rawlings connects on a hard left head kick and then going for a barrage of punches which ended the fight.
Official Result: Paige VanZant defeated Bec Rawlings via KO (punches), Round 2, 0:17
This was a hell of a knockout. VanZant looked like she was still on Dancing with the Stars but it was the reason she won. Probably the best finish of the night. VanZant said that she wants to fight on the December card in Sacramento.
Anthony Pettis (#7 LW) vs. Charles Oliveira (#6)
Round 1: Both guys are in a clinch with Oliveira holding onto Pettis' left leg for about a minute. Oliveira does a front kick to separate some distance. Oliveira gets behind Pettis and takes him down. Oliveira tries to go for a submission but Pettis escapes and hits on a big left leg and sends Oliveira tumbling down. Pettis tries to punch at Oliveira for the fight to be over. Oliveira is on guard, but Pettis pushes through the guard and Oliveira escapes momentarily. Pettis hits a big punch on Oliveira while he's on the mat, but he neither fighter refuses to give up. The round ends with Oliveira on his back.
Fightful scores round 1 for Pettis 10-9
Round 2: Oliveira continues to attack on the ground but Pettis has been exceptional with his defense. Pettis then connects on a big left head kick but Oliveira had his right hand up to defend. The two fighters then engage in a little bit of boxing towards the middle portion of the round, but Oliveira's legs are a little wobbly. He jumps on Pettis' back takes him down. Oliveira tries to go for the choke at various times but Pettis maneuvers into a better position before escaping. The round ends with more boxing before Oliveira takes down Pettis before the it ends.
Fightful scores round 2 for Oliveira 10-9
Round 3: Pettis tries to go for an armbar on Oliveira and both men are now vying for ground control. Both men get up, but Pettis gets a guillotine choke locked in and forces Oliveira to submit.
Official Result: Anthony Pettis defeated Charles Oliveira via submission (Guillotine Choke), Round 3, 1:49
Honestly, we couldn't expect anything but great performances from Anthony Pettis. Oliveira tried so hard to win the fight on the ground, but Pettis found an opening and hit a well-executed guillotine choke. If he stays at featherweight, he could be a title contender very soon, if he isn't already.
Demian Maia (#3) vs. Carlos Condit (#4)
Round 1: Maia starts off by taking down Condit and now Maia is trying to find a good position while on top. Maia is now on top of Condit's back and looking for the rear naked choke. He does so and forces Condit to submit.
Official Result: Demian Maia defeated Carlos Condit via submission (rear naked choke), Round 1, 1:52
Maia wants to fight for the title and said that he will wait after Tyronn Woodley's title fight against Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson to challenge for the title. Maia is one of the best martial artists in the UFC right now. That was a heck of a submission finish.
