The UFC Houston event went from strength to strength, with a preliminary card that could have been better – only one finish – and a stellar main card in which there were several candidates for KO of the year. The icing on the cake was put by the controversial Sean Strickland (30-7) who gave the surprise by knocking out Anthony Hernandez (15-3, 1 NC) in the third round to once again present his candidacy for the middleweight title fight.
The former champion was the clear underdog against Hernandez, who came in with eight consecutive victories, but he managed to deactivate him with the style that characterizes him so much. Philly shell, jabs and front kicks, and what more could you ask for? Strickland managed to stop his compatriot’s takedown attempts, and with a knee to the body began the beginning of the end. Anthony, liver-punched, threw himself to the ground and the referee stopped the fight. Sean had once again surprised the world.
In the co-main event, there was one of the great KOs of the night, as Uros Medic (13-3) finished a welterweight legend like Geoff Neal (16-8) in the first round to enter the top 15 of the division in style. Neal, on the other hand, suffered his second consecutive KO after being hit by Carlos Prates with a spinning elbow, showing that his jaw is no longer the same and leaving him in a difficult position.
Sean Strickland knocks out Anthony Hernandez in UFC Houston with incredible KOs”>
Melquizael Costa and one of the KOs of the year
In the heavyweight clash between Ante Delija (26-8) and Serghei Spivac (18-6), it was the Moldovan fighter who claimed victory by unanimous decision after a fight with many twists and turns. However, the KO of the night (and of the year) came in the fight between Melquizael Costa (26-7) and Dan Ige (19-10) in the featherweight division, as the Brazilian fighter invented a spinning kick to knock out a man who had never been knocked out before. Absolute barbarity.
To open the main card, Zachary Reese (10-3, 1NC) and Michel Pereira (32-14, 2NC) fought an evenly matched bout that ended in a split decision for the Brazilian, but either could have come away with the victory. One of the main protagonists of the evening was Jacobe Smith (12-0), who remains unbeaten after a brutal KO against debutant Josiah Harrell (11-1). The downside was the extra blows Harrell took due to poor refereeing, which could have stopped the fight much earlier.
The worst prelims in a long time
The preliminary card was a total disappointment. The undefeated Yadier del Valle (10-1) looked very bad against Jordan Leavitt (13-3), losing by unanimous decision, and it was not until the fifth fight that we saw the first submission, which came at the hands of Joselyne Edwards (17-6) against Nora Cornolle (9-4).
In fact, that was the only finish until the main card, highlighting the fight between Carlos Leal (23-7) and Chidi Nkojuani (25-12-1NC), in which the Brazilian fighter won by unanimous decision after a real war in the striking, being one of the few highlights of the first eight fights, in one of the worst preliminary cards in recent years.
All the results from UFC Houston
Main card
Sean Strickland defeated Anthony Hernandez via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:23
Uros Medic defeated Geoff Neal by KO (punch) – Round 1
Melquizael Costa defeated Dan Ige by TKO (spinning kick) – Round 1, 4:56
Serghei Spivac defeated Ante Delija by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Jacobe Smith defeated Josiah Harrell via KO (ground-and-pound) – Round 1, 2:01
Michel Pereira defeated Zach Reese by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Preliminary card
Carlos Leal defeated Chidi Njokuani by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Charles Johnson defeated Rafael Estevam by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Alden Coria defeated Luis Gurule by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Joselyne Edwards defeated Nora Cornolle by submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:42
Punahele Soriano defeated Ramiz Brahimaj by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani defeated Phil Rowe by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Jordan Leavitt defeated Yadier del Valle via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Carli Judice defeated Juliana Miller by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)