UFC Fight Night: Reyes vs. Prochazka Full Fight Results

It took about five hours before things heated up, but once they did, WOW! Jiri Prochazka made his name known to UFC fans worldwide with a stunning spinning elbow knockout of Dominick Reyes in the main event, setting up a future shot at the light heavyweight title for the Czech Republic fighter. Giga Chikadze also stepped up to the big stage with a liver-kick first-round knockout of veteran Cub Swanson.

Aside from that, it was eight decisions, one disqualification from an illegal upkick and a whole lot of bland fights at UFC Vegas 25 on Saturday, May 1, at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Craig went 8-2-1 to gain a win on Matt, who finished 7-3-1 as he surpassed 100 correct predictions in 2021. Check back next week for UFC Vegas 26, featuring women’s strawweights Marina Rodriguez and Michelle Waterson.

Results

Featherweight

Felipe Colares (+107) def. Luke Sanders by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Props: by decision (+350); over 2.5 (-120)

Matt’s pick: Sanders; Craig’s pick: Sanders

Who needs cardio anyway? Luke Sanders dominated early in the first round; Felipe Colares neared a finish at the end of the second; and then they exchanged sloppy strikes to undefended heads in the third. In the end, the judges sided with Colares in a relatively entertaining fight despite its lack of highly technical striking. Colares moves to 2-2 in the promotion.

Middleweight

Andreas Michailidis (-213) def. KB Bhullar by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Props: by decision (+366); over 2.5 (+150)

Matt’s pick: Michailidis; Craig’s pick: Michailidis

At least the curtain-jerker was an entertaining low-quality fight. This matchup was best served in the UFC Apex away from screaming fans. Andreas Michailidis marched forward, landed a couple takedowns and got kicked in the nether regions a couple times. KB Bhullar didn’t have much to counter with and we all got the boring unanimous decision. It was Michailidis’ first UFC victory, while Bhullar fell to 0-2 in the promotion.

Women’s Strawweight

Loma Lookboonmee (-405) def. Sam Hughes by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Props: by decision (-141); over 2.5 (-295)

Matt’s pick: Lookboonmee; Craig’s pick: Lookboonmee

The type of scrap where both fighters saw their stock rise. The heavy underdog Sam Hughes showed off some of her skills on the feet at range, whereas Loma Lookboonmee was much stronger in the clinch and the kicking game. Lookboonmee was the clear winner of the first and had a slight edge in the second. Hughes took the third. Lookboonmee improves to 3-1 in the UFC; Hughes fell to 0-2.

Women’s Flyweight

Luana Carolina (+202) def. Poliana Botelho by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Props: by decision (+334); over 2.5 (-303)

Matt’s pick: Botelho; Craig’s pick: Botelho

After getting dominated apart in the first round, Luana Carolina came rolling back in the second and third rounds to squeak out a very narrow split decision win over the moderate favorite Poliana Botelho. She won the grappling exchanges in the later rounds and took Botelho’s back in the third. Carolina improves to 2-1 in the UFC; Botelho drops to 3-3.

Featherweight

TJ Brown (+130) def. Kai Kamaka by split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)

Props: by decision (+330); over 2.5 (-189)

Matt’s pick: Kamaka; Craig’s pick: Brown

Now that was a scrap! In the fifth straight decision to open the card, Kai Kamaka and TJ Brown went to war. Each fighter rocked each other in the second round; each fighter had moments on the ground and in the striking. Kamaka was a clear winner in the first round, but the second and thirds were very close. The judges sided with Brown, who got away with several fence grabs on his way to his first UFC victory. For what it’s worth, all 15 panelists at mmadecisions.com scored the fight for Kamaka.

Women’s Strawweight

Luana Pinheiro (-163) def. Randa Markos by disqualification (R1, 4:15)

Props: under 1.5 (+293)

Matt’s pick: Pinheiro; Craig’s pick: Pinheiro

Our first non-decision of the night, and it’s a kick to a downed opponent that ends the fight. The veteran Randa Markos got caught up in a scramble and launched two kicks from her back, the second of which connected with Pinheiro’s head. After calling in the doctor for the second time in the round — the first for an eye poke by Pinheiro — Mark Smith was forced to call the fight with Pinheiro stunned. Pinheiro had some good moments in her UFC debut, primarily with her judo throws, but it certainly is not the way you envision your debut win going in the Octagon. During the broadcast, commentator Paul Felder suggested Pinheiro embellished the damage of the upkick, but it was an illegal kick regardless.

Bantamweight

Merab Dvalishvili (-278) vs. Cody Stamann by unanimous decision(30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Props: by decision (-144); over 2.5 (-367)

Matt’s pick: Dvalishvili; Craig’s pick: Dvalishvili

C’mon Merab!!! In perhaps his most complete performance to date, Merab Dvalishvili put on a striking clinic to go with his accomplished wrestling and unparalleled cardio. Cody Stamann had a couple moments here and there, and probably won the third round, but this was Dvalishvili’s night through and through. He improves to 6-2 in the UFC. Stamann falls to 5-3-1 with back-to-back losses.

Middleweight

Sean Strickland (-260) def. Krzysztof Jotko by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Props: by decision (+145); over 2.5 (-182)

Matt’s pick: Strickland; Craig’s pick: Strickland

And we go to the judges’ scorecards for a decision …. again! This was as cut and dry as they come. Sean Strickland marched forward throughout the fight and used an accurate striking attack to thoroughly dominate Krzysztof Jotko, whose lone defense was an overhand left. Strickland improves to 10-3 in the UFC after his fourth straight victory; Jotko falls to 9-5 in the promotion.

Light Heavyweight

Ion Cutelaba (-131) vs. Dustin Jacoby (+108) split draw (29-28, 28-29, 28-28)

Props: over 2.5 (+167)

Matt’s pick: Cutelaba; Craig’s pick: Cutelaba

You weren’t expecting a finish tonight were you? Even among light heavyweight powerful strikers, we go to the judges’ scorecards. Ion Cutelaba poured it on in Round 1, taking down Dustin Jacoby eight times and unleashing some ferocious elbows in ground and pound. But Cutelaba faded in rounds 2 and 3, and Jacoby had a lot of success finding his target. The judges split evenly between the two fighters and we end with a split draw, probably a deserving end to a competitive fight.

Featherweight

Giga Chikadze (-204) def. Cub Swanson (R1, 1:03)

Props: by knockout (+299); under 1.5 (+263)

Matt’s pick: Chikadze; Craig’s pick: Chikadze

LIVER KICK KNOCKOUT! Giga Chikadze landed his famed kick to the body early in the first round and it was immediately clear Cub Swanson’s body was done. He collapsed to the ground and referee Jason Herzog quickly stepped in. It’s Chikadze’s first high-profile victory in the UFC, and he’s now 6-0 in the promotion. Swanson falls to 12-8 in the UFC.

Light Heavyweight

Jiri Prochazka (-109) def. Dominick Reyes (R2, 4:29)

Props: by knockout (+119); over 1.5 (-160)

Matt’s pick: Prochazka; Craig’s pick: Prochazka

Jiri Prochazka, future light heavyweight champ? Despite closing as the slightest of underdogs, Prochazka was the clear aggressor from start to finish. After winning the first round, Prochazka got rocked in the second round by a left hand from Dominick Reyes. Then he was taken into a testy guillotine choke, before escaping, rising to his feet and landing a spinning back elbow that plummeted Reyes to the canvas. It was just the third back elbow knockout in UFC history, as Prochazka improve to 2-0 in the UFC and sets himself up for a match against the winner of Jan Blachowicz-Glover Teixeira for the light heavyweight title. It’s the third straight defeat for Reyes. “I’m still learning from fight to fight,” Prochazka said in his postfight interview with Paul Felder. A scary thought, indeed.

Scorecard

Total Fights: 11

Ended by decision: 8

Ended by submission: 0

Ended by knockout: 2

Ended by disqualification: 1

Matt’s picks: 7-3-1 (2021: 106-63-4); Craig’s picks: 8-2-1 (2021: 98-71-4)

Underdogs: 4-6-1

Biggest underdog winner: Luana Carolina (+202)

Biggest prop hit: Andreas Michailidis by decision (+366)

Performance bonuses ($50,000 each): Jiri Prochazka (x2), Dominick Reyes, Giga Chikadze