UFC 231 results – Holloway vs Ortega, Shevchenko vs Jedrzejczyk
UFC 231 takes place Saturday, December 8, from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
In the main event, featherweight champion Max Holloway defends against rising sensation “T-City” Brian Ortega.
The vacant UFC women’s flyweight title will be decided as former strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk meets former bantamweight title contender, Valentina Shevchenko. These two ladies fought one another three times in Muay Thai with all bouts going in favor of Shevchenko. It will be interested to see what happens under mixed martial arts rules.
What a crazy start to the fight with the first four bouts on UFC Fight Pass. Two technical knockouts start the show, followed by a big knockout win for Dhiego Lima over Chad Laprise. Then in the main fight on the early prelims, Brad Katona and Matthew Lopez put on an absolute back and forth war. In the final second of the fight it appears that Matthew Lopez was out cold from a rear-naked choke but the horn sounds and the fight goes to a decision. Lopez could not immediately get up on his own and commentators Joe Rogan and Paul Felder agree it should have been a submission win for Katona. The referee chose to go to the judges and Katona gets a unanimous decision win.
You be the judge
A wild finish to the @UFCFightPass prelims.
Agree with the call? #UFC231 pic.twitter.com/ELfkASiskT
— UFC (@ufc) December 9, 2018
A pivotal match in the women’s flyweight division pitted #3 ranked Katlyn Chookagian vs. #9 ranked Jessica Eye. This fight was razor thin with ‘Evil’ Eye getting the split decision win.
Former UFC strawweight title contender Claudia Gadelha had her hands full with rising contender Nian Ansaroff. Ansaroff wins the three-round war unanimously and will climb the rankings come next week.
What a fight to kick off the pay-per-view…. Thiago Santos and Jimi Manuwa were swinging from the get go. Absolute insanity. Both fighters rocked multiple times. Fight works its way to the second round and immediately Santos gets the upper hand, finishing the fight early by knockout.
Gunnar Nelson made a huge statement tonight in Toronto. He split Alex Oliveira open viciously with an elbow in what led to what might have been one of the bloodiest cuts the octagon has ever seen. The slice did seem to be that large, but it leaked immediately and consistently. Nelson locked up a rear-naked choke, but immediately the referee stepped in to call and end to the action.
A full five-round war took place in the night’s co-main event as Velantina Shevchenko and Joanna Jedrzejczyk stood toe-to-toe. Shevchenko looked superb against the former strawweight champ. She was bigger, faster, stronger. If there were any downfall in the Shevchenko blueprint it was that she was not as fresh in round five, yet she was still dominant. Incredible victory for the new champ.
In the main event, defending featherweight champion Max Holloway looked as good as ever. In arguably his toughest opponent to date, “Blessed” never looked better. Holloway picked Ortega apart and it was the doctor who called the fight in between the fourth and fifth rounds. Ortega never quit but he receives his first loss and Holloway retains the title.
Full UFC 231 results below:
Main card (PPV at 10 p.m. ET)
Max Holloway defeated Brian Ortega via TKO – Round 4, 5:00 for UFC featherweight title
Valentina Shevchenko defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) for UFC women’s flyweight title
Gunnar Nelson defeated Alex Oliveira via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:17
Hakeem Dawodu defeated Kyle Bochniak via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
Thiago Santos defeated Jimi Manuwa via KO – Round 2, 0:41
Undercard (FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET)
Nina Ansaroff defeated Claudia Gadelha via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Gilbert Burns defeated Olivier Aubin-Mercier via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Jessica Eye defeated Katlyn Chookagian via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Elias Theodorou defeated Eryk Anders via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Undercard (UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET)
Brad Katona defeated Matthew Lopez via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Dhiego Lima defeated Chad Laprise via knockout – Round 1, 1:37
Carlos Ferreira defeated Kyle Nelson via TKO – Round 2, 1:23
Aleksandar Rakic defeated Devin Clark via TKO – Round 1, 4:05
