Another fantastic UFC Vegas event was organized in the Apex Arena in Nevada, USA. UFC Fight Night Nzechukwu vs. Cuțelaba was originally meant to headline Derrick Lewis Vs Sergey Spivac, but due to an illness Lewis was unable to perform and the fight was dropped altogether. The replacement fights and fighters brought a spectacle of brilliance with Kennedy Nzechukwu achieving a comeback victory in the second round.
Table Of Contents
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Main Event: Kennedy Nzechukwu Vs Ion Cuțelaba
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Round 1
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Round 2
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Andre Fialho Vs Muslim Salikhov
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The RDX Pick: Jack Della Maddalena Vs Danny Roberts
Main Event: Kennedy Nzechukwu Vs Ion Cuțelaba
Kennedy Nzechukwu kick started his first ever UFC main event of his pro-fighting career with a tremendous TKO victory over the Moldovan Hulk, Ion Cuțelaba. After achieving a second round stoppage Kennedy was also awarded The Performance of the Night bonus for this light-heavyweight fight. The fight stayed at 3 rounds despite being a main event (which is usually 5 rounds).
Round 1
“The Hulk” Ion Cuțelaba came out swinging with enough kicking pressure to close the gap and shove his opponent to the cage side. As soon as Kennedy Nzechukwu was cage side Ion began wrestling and tripping him to the ground.
Cuțelaba manages to gain half guard and attempt a headlock on Nzechukwu further landing some short punches to the head and body. Kennedy prevents him from further advancing into full guard by blocking off the leg of Cuțelaba to keep him at half-guard distance. This allowed him to make room and stand up. After some close wrestling with Kennedy attempting to pick up Cuțelaba. Cuțelaba uses a kimura threat as defense against Kennedys strength and stomps hard on Nzechukwu’s foot.
Round 2
Both fighters touch gloves and engage in a wild brawl in the center of the octagon. Cuțelaba shoots for a takedown but Nzechukwu responds with a fantastic knee that stuns and wobbles Ion. Nzechukwu charges forward recognizing Ion is spinning and gets hit by an unintentional teep kick in the groin.
Referee Keith Peterson calls timeout, but Nzechukwu realizes that’ll give Cuțelaba the opportunity to recuperate. He instructs Peterson to keep the fight going. The action resumes with strikes coming from both fighters and Nzechukwu lands another knee.
Cuțelaba stumbles backward and bounces off the cage while taking a pummeling from Nzechukwu. Kennedy lands a brilliant hook to the jaw of Cuțelaba shutting off the lights.
Despite being his debut main event, Kennedy Nzechukwu creates a brilliant comeback show with a TKO cherry on top. With that victory he will also be taking home the Performance of the Night bonus.
Andre Fialho Vs Muslim Salikhov
Muslim Salikhov brought real heat in this battle against Andre Fialho. Muslim “King of Kung Fu” Salikhov showed off his brilliant striking versatility and power with high and low spinning kicks to find a supreme third round TKO victory. After significantly changing his team, training camp and regime Salikhov went into this fight with a few risks and all of them paid off with how active he was in the octagon.
His stamina showed huge improvements and so did his confidence in striking, going into the second and third round with much more pace than Fialho. Lots of powerful shots were exchanged by both fighters but Andre simply couldn’t match the speed and frequency coming from the Dagestani Kung Fu King.
The RDX Pick: Jack Della Maddalena Vs Danny Roberts
Jack Della Maddalena created a spectacular first round TKO finish against Danny Roberts. Coming straight out of the corner with a massive combination of a dozen punches Maddalena showcased explosive power and skill. His swarm and bomb tactic took less than four minutes to empty the gas tank of his opponent who could barely maintain the pace alongside him.
UFC 211 fight night was a brilliant display from a bunch of fighters that normally don’t get the spotlight they deserve. With shocking first round knockouts and a fantastic main event fight UFC 211 somehow managed to redeem itself and create a brilliant card.
