UFC Fight Night 102 is live from Times Union Center in Albany, New York as we speak. In the main event of the evening, UFC heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis battles fellow ranked fighter Shamil Abdurakhimov.
Check out the results of the first three main card bouts below.
Francis Ngannou def. Anthony Hamilton via Submission (Kimura) at 1:57 of Round 1
Francis Ngannou is what one would call a beast. Ngannou walked into his fourth UFC fight against Anthony Hamilton in the evening’s co-main event and picked up a stunning first-round submission win. Prior to this, Ngannou had won three UFC bouts in a row all via TKO.
Ngannou muscled his way out of a takedown attempt from Hamilton early, and while clinching with “Freight Train,” he started to position his arms in a kimura attempt. “The Predator” threw Hamilton to the ground, locked in the kimura, and got the tap.
Corey Anderson def. Sean O’Connell via TKO (Strikes) at 2:36 of Round 2
Sean O’Connell had nothing for Corey Anderson. He was taken down repeatedly and dominated on the mat. Anderson went back to his wrestling in this fight and it clearly paid off in a big way.
Anderson was aware of O’Connell’s knockout threat on the feet so took the fight to the ground, where he wanted it, very quickly in the first round. O’Connell survived, but Anderson took the fight to the mat even quicker in the second round — it took him only 15 seconds to score a takedown in round two. “The Real OC” didn’t survive this time, as Anderson just had too much time to work. “Overtime” landed nasty ground-and-pound, busting O’Connell up, and forced the referee to call the bout off.
Gian Villante def. Saparbek Safarov via TKO (Strikes) at 2:54 of Round 2
Gian Villante got back into the winning column in the opening UFC Fight Night 102 main card fight against newcomer Saparbek Safarov. The pair of light heavyweights put on a show for the Albany crowd — their bout, which lasted about seven and a half minutes, was a slug-fest to remember. Villante cracked Safarov early, but the Russian fighter displayed his extreme amount of toughness. Safarov came back from an early onslaught from the New Yorker to go as far as stunning Villante, but he couldn’t get the finish.
Both fighters were exhausted headed into the second round, but Villante, who showed off an improved jab and combinations in this bout, put together a flurry mid-way through round two and forced the referee to intervene.
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