Headlined by top-5-ranked UFC women’s strawweights Amanda Lemos and Virna Jandiroba, UFC Vegas 94 was a case of Don’t judge a book by its cover, as this Apex fight night surprised many fight pundits.
UFC Vegas 94 made for an entertaining night of combat as the card showcased six impressive stoppage wins.
UFC Vegas 94 Main Event: Amanda Lemos vs. Virna Jandiroba
Top-5 ranked UFC women’s strawweights Amanda Lemos and Virna Jandiroba were given the grand opportunity of headling UFC Vegas 94 and the pair did not disappoint with their performances.
No. 5-ranked women’s strawweight Virna Jandiroba (21-3-0) emerged as the show’s star, securing a significant victory that cemented her position at the division’s top. Her impressive second-round arm-bar stoppage triumph over the former title challenger and No. 3-ranked strawweight Amanda Lemos (14-4-1) is a testament to her skill and determination.
The fight kicked off with both fighters taking the center of the octagon. Lemos, light on her feet, posed a threat to Jandiroba with her heavy punches, setting the stage for an intense battle.
However, Jandiroba’s consistent entries into the grappling exchanges were enough to tempt Lemos to grapple with the formidable Brazilian jiujitsu black belt instead of prioritizing takedown defense.
This ended up being Lemos’s common mistake of the night, as it eventually cost her positioning and control of where the fight took place. Eventually, Jandiroba capitalized on Lemos’s poor decision-making by impressively taking the back of Lemos during a grappling exchange.
From there, Jandiroba threatened chokes from the back until finally transitioning into a tight Armbar that forced Lemos to tap.
Jandiroba was one of four UFC Vegas 94 fighters to receive a $50,000 performance bonus.
Result: Jandiroba via Submission (Armbar) R2
UFC Vegas 94 Co-main Event: Steve Garcia vs. Seung Woo Choi
UFC Vegas 94’s most fiery matchup delivered the goods as UFC featherweight Steve Garcia clashed with the always-game Seung Woo Choi.
This fight played out exactly as I thought it would as the two fighters met in the center of the octagon and dove head-first into an absolute slugfest matchup.
After the first minute of the bout, Garcia got Choi moving backward with blitzing attacks that consisted of wild punches and kicks.
Garcia followed up this brief moment with a devastating series of left hooks that made Choi wobble on the feet until eventually being sent to the canvas by a follow-up left hand.
Once Choi hit the mat, he started to curl up in hopes of defending himself. However, the fight was over as Garcia continued to reign down ground and pound punches, forcing referee Herb Dean to call the contest.
Result: Garcia via TKO/KO R1
Cody Durden vs. Bruno Silva
This UFC Vegas 94 flyweight matchup showcased two gritty fighters and gym-mates biting down on the mouthpiece and going to war.
Fight fans were reminded of the cliche saying, “All it takes is one punch,” during this UFC Vegas 94 main card matchup. No. 14-ranked flyweight Cody Durden opened the contest in dominant fashion over his American Top Team gym-mate Bruno Silva.
Durden started the fight looking sharp on the feet, stinging the smaller Silva with precise punches. He looked to be the faster striker by beating Silva to most of the punches in the opening round.
After Silvas suffered an eye-poke with one minute left in the first round, a stoppage was called in the action.
Fast forward to the second round, Durden was able to stun Silva with an emphatic punch within the first ten seconds. This forced Silva to desperately shoot for Durden’s legs, hoping to secure a takedown.
Durden then threatened a series of Anaconda-chokes on the hurt Silva, to which Silva impressively escaped all attempts.
Over two minutes of control, time was accumulated for Durden in these sequences. However, it ended up being meaningless as Silva finally rose to his feet.
Durden undoubtedly expended a large amount of energy into these grappling efforts. However, it was the moment when Silva took the center of the cage and landed a flush right-uppercut that sent Durden stumbling backwards onto the canvas, that marked the turning point of the fight.
Sensing the golden opportunity, Silva jumped on his damaged opponent and followed up with a barrage of finishing ground and pound punches, creating an intense and thrilling moment, until referee Chris Tognoni jumped in to stop the fight.
Results: Silva via TKO/KO R2
Click here to watch Bruno Silva speak to media post-fight, coverage via ‘MMA Junkie’ on YouTube.
Other Fights on UFC Vegas 94
Main Card:
- (155 lbs.) Kurt Holobaugh (22-8-0, 1NC) vs. Kaynan Kruschewsky (15-3-0, 1NC): Holobaugh via Decision
- (145 lbs.) Jeong Yeong Lee (11-2-0) vs. Hyder Amil (10-0-0): Amil via TKO/KO R1
- (145 lbs.) Doo-ho Choi (15-4-1) vs. Bill Algeo (18-9-0): Choi via TKO/KO R2
Prelims:
- (135 lbs.) Brian Kelleher (24-16-0) vs. Cody Gibson (21-10-0): Gibson via Submission R1
- (W 125 lbs.) Miranda Maverick (16-5-0) vs. Dione Barbosa (7-3-0): Maverick via Decision
- (155 lbs.) Loik Radzhabov (18-6-1) vs. Trey Ogden (18-6-0, 1NC): Ogden via Decision
- (W 125 lbs.) Luana Carolina (11-4-0) vs. Lucie Pudilová (14-10-0): Carolina via Decision
- (265 lbs.) Mohammed Usman (11-4-0) vs. Thomas Petersen (9-2-0): Petersen via Decision
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