UFC 170 took place on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and Ronda Rousey retained the UFC women’s bantamweight title with a first round TKO victory over Sara McMann.
As the fight started, McMann was able to land a couple of punches and Rousey looked to closed the distance. Rousey attempted to get the fight to the ground with two judo throws, but McMann was able to stop the attempts.
They would clinch against the fence and Rousey would land a knee to the liver that would drop McMann to the ground and referee Herb Dean would come in to stop the fight, which many MMA fans on social media believe it was a quick stoppage by Dean.
Rousey (9-0) has now won eight of her nine fights in the first round and this is her first win to come by TKO. This was her second title defense in 56 days, which tied a UFC record for the fastest turnaround for a title defense.
Cormier wins light heavyweight debut in 79 seconds
The co-main event was a light heavyweight bout as Daniel Cormier only needed 79 seconds to defeat Patrick Cummins.
As the opening bell sounded, the fighters met at the center of the octagon and Cummins landed the first strike. However, he would be unable to land much more offense as Cormier landed a series of punches that would drop Cummins and he finished the fight on the ground.
Cormier (14-0) is now 3-0 in the UFC and this is his sixth career win by TKO/KO. For Cummins (4-1) this was his first fight since May of last year and he will get another opportunity in the UFC.
MacDonald weathers early storm and wins by decision
In a battle of top ten welterweights, Rory MacDonald weathered an early storm and defeated Demian Maia by unanimous decision.
Maia was able to get the fight to the ground early in the fight and began to work his ground game. He would get the mount position, but MacDonald would be able to escape and get back to his feet.
MacDonald would take the fight over in the final ten minutes as he was able to stop 17 of the 18 takedown attempts by Maia in the final two rounds. MacDonald would rocked Maia on several occassions, but would not be able to finish the fight.
All three judges scored the fight for MacDonald (16-2) and he has won six of his last seven fights.
Pyle stops Waldburger in last fight on current UFC contract
MMA veteran Mike Pyle won his fifth fight in his last six fights on Saturday night as he defeated TJ Waldburger by TKO in the third round.
In the opening two rounds, Pyle was able to use effective striking and earned four takedowns in the opening ten minutes of the fight. In the final round, Pyle would land a combo that took the fight to the ground and finish the fight with strikes.
Pyle (26-9-1) has won eight of his last ten fights and this was the last fight on his current UFC contract.
Thompson wins third straight with 1st round victory
The opening bout of the UFC 170 main card on pay-per-view was a welterweight bout as Steven “Wonderboy” Thompson who his third straight fight as he defeated Robert Whittaker by TKO in the opening round.
The entire fight would be on the feet as the fighters exchanged strikes. Thompson would land a straight right hand that dropped Whittaker and finished the fight on the ground at the 3:43 mark of the first round.
Thompson (9-1) has won his last two fights by TKO and he has now won five of his MMA fights by TKO/KO.
The complete UFC 170 results are below.
Main Card: (PPV)
Ronda Rousey def. Sara McMann via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:06
Daniel Cormier def. Patrick Cummins via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:19
Rory MacDonald def. Demian Maia via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Mike Pyle def. TJ Waldburger via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 4:03
Stephen Thompson def. Robert Whittaker via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:43
Preliminary Card: (Fox Sports 1)
Alexis Davis def. Jessica Eye via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Raphael Assuncao def. Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Aljamain Sterling def. Cody Gibson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Zach Makovsky def. Josh Sampo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Preliminary Card: (Fight Pass)
Erik Koch def. Rafaello Oliveira via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:24
Ernest Chavez def. Yosdenis Cedeno via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)