Home UFC UFC 295 Wrap: Epic knockouts in main card as Perreira calls out Izzy, Aspinall’s emotional title win

UFC 295 Wrap: Epic knockouts in main card as Perreira calls out Izzy, Aspinall’s emotional title win

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UFC 295 Wrap: Epic knockouts in main card as Perreira calls out Izzy, Aspinall’s emotional title win

Alex Pereira has entered the UFC history books as the promotion’s ninth fighter to become a two-weight world champion, defeating Jiri Prochazka via second-round TKO to claim the light heavyweight belt.

The former middleweight champion, whose UFC debut came at Madison Square Garden back in 2021, made his mark once more at the New York venue.

There was some controversy though surrounding the finish, with both Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan suggesting in commentary that referee Marc Goddard had called a premature finish.

Pereira though was firm that it was the right call post-fight, as was a classy Prochazka who insisted he would have always gone on but admitted to being “out” after being dropped by a brutal left hook.

“Hey, Adesanya. Come to Daddy.” | 00:59

“In the end I think it was right. I was out. But I will never stop… s*** happens. It doesn’t matter,” Prochazka said.

“No I’m not surprised,” Pereira said when asked about the stoppage post-fight.

“After the first left hook and then he took another one, I saw that he actually did not go to my legs. He fell down on my legs so I kept going to the finish. I don’t think it was a bad stop.”

Pereira later had a message for middleweight rival Israel Adesanya, challenging him to move up to the light heavyweight division.

“Hey Adesanya, come to daddy,” he said.

Next up though will likely be a fight against Jamahal Hill, who initially held the light heavyweight crown but had to relinquish it due to injury.

Going back to the fight itself, Pereira dropped Prochazka early in the first round with a hard leg kick and then had his rival stumbling again with another leg kick soon after. And another one. And another one.

The crafty Pereira kept catching Prochazka with leg kicks and finding success with them, limiting the Czech fighter’s movement.

Prochazka was able to score an early takedown heading into the final two minutes of the first round and landed a few big shots while working on the ground until Pereira got back onto his feet with 20 seconds left before the final bell.

Pereira stayed calm and conservative after the takedown, not panicking or leaving himself open to any real damage to help his chances of taking an even first round given his success with the leg kicks.

Alex Pereira is champion. Sarah Stier/Getty Images/AFP
Alex Pereira is champion. Sarah Stier/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP

Pereira went right back to throwing in the leg kicks early in the second round too and once again was compromising Prochazka’s movement as a result.

Prochazka though exploded to life halfway through the round as he backed Pereira up to the fence, although the Brazilian was able to survive that exchange.

Just as it looked like Prochazka was heating up, Pereira suddenly dropped him – first rocking Prochazka with a right hand and then sending him to the canvas with a left hook.

Pereira followed it up with a series of punches and elbows to the head which saw referee Marc Goddard jump in and call an end to the fight.

“It felt a little fast, I’m not going to lie to you because Yuri got up pretty quick,” Cormier said.

“I’m not satisfied with that stoppage,” added Rogan, who admitted Prochazka looked “hurt” but was not convinced he was finished at that point.

In the end though only the man himself knew the real answer there and Prochazka said post-fight he was “out”, with Pereira getting the highlight finish to close what was an action-packed main card.

Read on for a full wrap of all the key moments from UFC 295!

EMOTION SPILLS OVER AS ASPINALL WINS WORLD TITLE

The United Kingdom has a new UFC champion.

In his first shot at UFC gold, Tom Aspinall made quick work of fellow heavyweight contender Sergei Pavlovich to claim a first-round knockout in just over one minute at UFC 295.

The heavyweight scrap was always expected to be over pretty fast given Pavlovich previously held the record for the longest UFC first-round knockout win streak (six) in the modern era.

Aspinall though had 12 first-round finishes of his own and now that number is 13, with the British fighter flooring his rival with a pair of brutal right hands.

Aspinall in tears after KO to claim gold | 00:41

“Tom Aspinall is the real deal,” Joe Rogan said in commentary.

“That right hand was nasty,” added Daniel Cormier.

Aspinall was visibly emotional after getting the finish and delivered an inspirational message post-fight.

“It’s been a crazy two-and-a-half weeks,” Aspinall told Rogan.

“Oh my God. I just want to say to everyone at home, listen — if you ever get the chance to do something and you’re scared to do it, you should definitely f***ing do it because there’s a chance it’s going to pay off.”

On Sunday, it paid off in a big way.

The pair were fighting for the heavyweight crown after the UFC was forced into a last-minute change with news champion Jon Jones had withdrawn from the main event due to a torn pectoral tendon.

Tom Aspinall reacts to defeating Sergei Pavlovich. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

AUSTRALIAN RISING STAR CONTINUES WINNING WAYS

Earlier, Australian Steve Erceg continued his rise up the UFC’s flyweight division, defeating a tricky Alessandro Costa to extend his MMA winning streak to 10 fights.

Erceg had five first-round finishes to his name before Sunday’s fight at UFC 295 but had his patience tested against the plucky Costa, who took the bout on short notice.

In the end, Erceg was crowned the winner by unanimous decision (29-28 x3), backing up his impressive upset win over David Dvorak back in June.

Erceg dominates with 1st round beatdown! | 00:42

Erceg had the best moment of the opening round as a big right hand hurt Costa, with the Australian immediately looking to capitalise as he shot for the rear-naked choke.

“Look how smooth that spin to mount was… sensational… a work of art,” Joe Rogan said.

Costa was able to survive even as Erceg tried to take the back, although it was still the Australian who finished the round the better of the two heading into the second.

That started to change though as Costa got through with a few brutal right hands that had Erceg backing up before later scoring a takedown on his fourth attempt.

For the most part Erceg’s patience and composure in picking his moments to attack seemingly set him up well against the more aggressive Costa, who was having success but also had to be careful not to leave himself open to the counter-attack.

Steve Erceg punches Alessandro Costa. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

To his credit, Costa was able to do that well by maintaining the high arm guard he had in the first and it was causing problems for Erceg.

Costa’s aggression also saw him finish the second in emphatic fashion with a combination that hurt Erceg once more.

Costa’s aggression did eventually backfire though as he shot for an armbar late in the round and instead ended up on his back, with Erceg finishing the round on top in mount.

Still, for the most part, Costa had the better moments of the two in the second round, leaving the third and final round to decide who would have their arm raised.

There were no more fireworks though, with Erceg the ultimate professional as he controlled things well in the third while Costa likely came to rue a few missed opportunities.

UFC 295 ULTIMATE GUIDE: Everything you need to know!

‘GUYS WHO DON’T WANT TO FIGHT’: Breakout Aussie star Steve Erceg fires up

Aspinall explains hilarious new nickname | 00:46

HIGHLIGHT KNOCKOUTS KICK OFF ACTION-PACKED MAIN CARD

Diego Lopes made an epic statement against fellow rising contender Pat Sabatini in the pair’s featherweight bout, scoring a first-round TKO victory.

Sabatini landed a right hand early in the fight and then shot for the takedown but was unsuccessful with Lopes responding in emphatic fashion as he dropped his rival before following it up immediately with a series of brutal punches.

Diego Lopes of Brazil celebrates. Sarah Stier/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP

It saw the referee jump in after just 90 seconds as Lopes scored a second first-round finish in three UFC fights.

“He’s a predator man. That dude is an animal,” Joe Rogan said in commentary.

Lopes in August submitted Gavin Tucker in the first round, backing up an impressive showing in his UFC debut when he pushed Movsar Evloev in a unanimous decision defeat on short notice.

The highlights kept coming as Benoît Saint-Denis dropped Matt Frevola with a pinpoint head kick in the first round of their lightweight clash.

It was the Frenchman’s sixth first-round finish of his career and left Daniel Cormier stunned.

Killer head kick KO shuts off the lights | 00:46

“Absolutely [my jaw was dropped],” Cormier said.

“You know what part of it is. It’s a literal rush or panic to get away from the pressure. That’s why Matt Frevola was almost running away from him, because he could not find a way to release that pressure.

“So he got a bit desperate to get away and by trying to run away, Saint Denis set him up. Beautiful head kick.”

Speaking after the fight, Saint-Denis said he would likely a shot at either Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, or Mateusz Gamrot next.

Then Jessica Andrade proved she is back in a big way, rebounding from a three-fight losing skid to knock out Mackenzie Dern in the first round.

Jessica Andrade scored a crucial win. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

In all honesty the fight looked like it could have come to an end far sooner, with Andrade hurting Dern on multiple occasions.

Dern kept getting up but was clearly struggling to stay on her feet, even as she fired back at Andrade with a flurry of big shots at one point in the second round.

In the end, Dern’s insistence on trying to engage in a striking duel with Andrade proved to be a fatal mistake as she was dropped once more and this time the ref called the fight with just under two minutes left in the round.

BLOODY BATTLE KICKS OFF PRELIMINARY CARD

Viacheslav Borschev staged an incredible comeback to push Nazim Sadykhov the distance in an epic bout to open the UFC 295 preliminary card, with the fight finishing a majority draw (29-28, 28-28 x2).

Borschev put on a clinic in what was an action-packed first round, out-striking Sadykhov 52-20 while finding particular success mixing in brutal leg kicks.

Sadykhov though was doing well to eat up the shots, including a brutal left hook that Borschev got through midway into the first round.

It looked like Borschev had everything under control – that was until everything suddenly flipped in the second round as hook upstairs and then high kick sent him crashing to the canvas and gave Sadykhov his moment to seize the fight.

Viacheslav Borshchev was left bloodied. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Sadykhov immediately went to the ground and pound but was unable to find the finish and with time Borschev was able to start to recover, although there was still a window of opportunity for Sadykhov.

“He should have just let him back to his feet, he can barely stand,” Daniel Cormier said in commentary.

Even as Borschev got back to his feet he was still clearly not 100 per cent, with Sadykhov able to score a late takedown but his bloodied rival was somehow able to survive until the bell.

Cormier described it as an “unbelievable” round from Sadykhov, although in a way it also would have felt like a missed opportunity given how close Borschev looked to being finished.

That though was a credit to Borschev’s toughness as he not only survived but stepped it up in the third round.

Sadykhov was able to score a pair of takedowns in the third but Borschev did more of the damage, landing 49 significant strikes to 26.

In the end there was nothing to separate the two with the fight deemed a majority draw.

WINNING WAYS CONTINUE FOR REBECKI

Elsewhere, it was a dominant win for Mateusz Rebecki as he extended his win streak to 16 with a submission victory over Roosevelt Roberts in the first round.

Rebecki quickly took the fight to the ground after out-striking his rival early and while Roberts was able to escape at first he then found himself back down again and in even more trouble.

Rebecki was then able to take control of the back and end the fight with an armbar submission for his 10th first-round finish in his career. Roberts had taken the fight on late notice.

FULL CARD RESULTS

Main Card (2pm AEDT, PPV)

Light Heavyweight: Alex Pereira def. Jiří Procházka via second-round TKO for the UFC light heavyweight title

Heavyweight: Tom Aspinall def. Sergei Pavlovich via first-round KO for the UFC interim heavyweight title

Women’s Strawweight: Jéssica Andrade def. Mackenzie Dern via second-round KO

Lightweight: Benoît Saint-Denis def. Matt Frevola via first-round TKO

Featherweight: Diego Lopes def. Pat Sabatini via first-round TKO

Preliminary card (12pm AEDT on ESPN)

Flyweight: Steve Erceg def. Alessandro Costa via UD (29-28 x3)

Women’s Strawweight: Loopy Godinez (29-28 x2) def. Tabatha Ricci (30-27) via split decision

Lightweight: Mateusz Rębecki def. Roosevelt Roberts via first-round submission (armbar)

Lightweight: Nazim Sadykhov and Viacheslav Borshchev fight out a majority draw (29-28, 28-28 x2)

Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)

Lightweight: Jared Gordon def. Mark Madsen via first-round TKO

Bantamweight: John Castañeda def. Kang Kyung-ho via UD (30-27 x3)

Flyweight: Joshua Van def. Kevin Borjas via UD (29-28 x3)

Featherweight: Jamall Emmers def. Dennis Buzukja via first-round TKO

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