UFC Fight Night 39 took place on Friday at the DU Arena in Abu Dhabi and Roy Nelson scored another knockout with his right hand as he defeated Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the first round.
Nelson landed his right hand early in the fight, but Nogueira was able to recover quickly and stay in the fight. The fight would remain on the feet and Nelson would land another right hand that would rock Nogueira.
Nogueira would be on his heels as he attempted to recover from the strike, but Nelson landed another right hand that dropped Nogueira and the referee came in to stop the fight.
The win for Nelson (20-9) snaps a two fight losing streak and Nogueira (34-9-1, 1NC) has now lost back to back fights in his career for the first time.
Guida hands Kawajiri his first UFC defeat
The co-main event of the fight card was a featherweight bout as Clay Guida scored a decision victory over Tatsuya Kawajiri.
When the referee started the fight, Guida came out of his corner and rocked Kawajiri in the first thirty seconds. Guida would end up getting on the back of Kawajiri and began to look for a submission. Kawajiri would defend the submission attempt and ended up going for his own submission attempt with an armbar. Guida would survive and the fight would move into the second round.
During the second round, Guida was able to close the distance and make it a grappling fight. Kawajiri would struggle to get much offense going and Guida was clearly up two rounds as the fight moved into the final round. Guida would continue to control the fight in the final round and would win by unanimous decision.
Guida (31-14) has now won two of his three fights since dropping down to the featherweight division and Kawajiri (33-8-2) had his six fight winning streak snapped in this fight.
LaFlare remains undefeated, defeats Howard by unanimous decision
In the only welterweight bout on the card, Ryan LaFlare remained undefeated in his career as he defeated John Howard by unanimous decision.
As the fight opened, LaFlare was able to secure one of his three takedowns in the fight and went for a D’arce choke submission. Howard would be able to escape and make it back to his feet. LaFlare would win the rest of his round with his striking and the fight moved into the second.
Howard opened up the second round by landing a significant left hook and the fight would go to the ground. After a scramble on the ground, the fighters got into the clinch near the fence and LaFlare would land an illegal knee to the groin of Howard. After taking over four minutes to recover, Howard would continue and was able to take the round.
However, LaFlare would control the final round and won the fight on the judges scorecards by unanimous decision. LaFlare (12-0) is now 4-0 in the UFC and all of those wins have come by decision.
Nijem wins second straight with 1st round stoppage
The opening bout of the main card was a lightweight bout as Ramsey Nijem stopped Beneil Dariush in the first round by strikes.
Nijem came out firing as the fight opened and pushed the pace during the opening round. He would end up dropping Dariush with a combination and began to look for the finish on the ground. After landing a flurry of punches on the mat and the referee not coming in to call the fight, Nijem looked for a submission.
He would be unable to get the submission and went back to landing punches and the referee would eventually come in to stop the fight. This marks the second straight victory for Nijem (9-4) and it’s his third victory to come by TKO/KO.
The full UFC Fight Night 39 results are below.
Main Card: (Fight Pass)
Roy Nelson def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via KO (punch) – Round 1, 3:37
Clay Guida def. Tatsuya Kawajiri via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ryan LaFlare def. John Howard via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Ramsey Nijem def. Beneil Dariush via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:20
Preliminary Card: (Fight Pass)
Jared Rosholt def. Daniel Omielanczuk via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Thales Leites def. Trevor Smith via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, :45
Jim Alers def. Alan Omer via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Johnny Bedford vs. Rani Yahya declared a no contest (accidental headbutt) – Round 1, :39