UFC Fight Night 46 Recap: Conor McGregor stops Diego Brandao in first round

UFC Fight Night 46 took place on Saturday at the O2 in Dublin, Ireland and was headlined by Conor McGregor stopping Diego Brandao in the first round as he won by TKO. UFC Fight Night 46

The fight started off with a fast pace and Brandao attempted to get the fight to the ground. McGregor would defend the attempt and the fighters clinched against the fence.

They would end up going to the ground and McGregor would have top position. He would get out of the guard of Brandao and threw strikes while standing over him. Brandao would search for the leg of McGregor but he would not be able to get the submission.

After a brief period of striking, McGregor would land a combination that would put Brandao back on the mat and would finish the fight with strikes on the ground. McGregor (15-2) is now 3-0 in the UFC and this is his 13th career win by TKO/KO.

Nelson remains undefeated, earns 9th submission victory
The co-main event of the fight card was a welterweight bout and Gunnar Nelson remained undefeated as he submitted Zak Cummings in the second round.

There was an extended feeling out process between the fighters and Cummings ending up looking to take the fight to the ground against the fence. Nelson would defend the attempt and they went back to a striking contest in the middle of the cage. They would continue to battle on the feet for the remainder of the round and Cummings would land eight more strikes in the round. As the second round opened, Cummings would close the distance and clinch with Nelson.

At the three minute mark of the round, Nelson would land a sharp right but he would be unable to follow it up. Cummings would catch a kick of Nelson, but Nelson would take the fight to the mat and looked for a rear-naked choke. He would soften up Cummings with strikes before locking in the submission and Cummings would tap out.

Nelson (13-0-1) is now 4-0 in the UFC and this is his ninth career win to come by submission. Three of his four wins in the UFC have come by submission and two of those have come by rear-naked choke.

McCall scores decision over Pickett
In a battle of top ten UFC flyweight contenders, Ian McCall scored his second win in the UFC as he defeated Brad Pickett by unanimous decision.

The fighters opened the fight with a feeling out process of around one minute and would clinch against the fence. While in the clinch, Pickett would land an illegal knee to the groin and the fight was stopped momentarily. After the fight was restarted, they would end up back in the clinch and Pickett would end up breaking away. They would battle on the feet for the remainder of the round and McCall would land 21 more total strikes in the round.

At the start of the second, McCall was able to use the aggressiveness of Pickett to score a takedown. However, Pickett would get up but once again, McCall would take the fight to the ground. He would have the half guard position but once again, Pickett would work his way back to his feet. They continued to battle on the feet and Pickett looked for a takedown at the end of the round, but McCall would stop the attempt and the fight moved into the third round.

Pickett looked to take the fight to the ground at the two minute mark of the final round and would be unsuccessful in his attempt. They would continue to strike and McCall would get the fight to the ground with ninety seconds left in the fight. The fight would remain on the ground until the final bell and McCall (13-4-1) would win by unanimous decision. He is now 2-2-1 in the UFC and all of his fights in the promotion have gone the distance.

Parke remains unbeaten in UFC with second round victory
In the opening bout of the main card, Norman Parke scored his first stoppage victory in the UFC as he defeated Naoyuki Kotani by TKO in the second round.

As the fight opened, Parke was able to take control of the age and Kotani looked to take the fight to the ground. Parke would be able to defend the attempt and they would exchange strikes before clinching against the fence. Parke would land a short elbow as he backed out of the clinch and the fight moved back to the center of the cage. Once again, Kotani would look to take the fight to the ground and Parke would stop the attempt.

They would continue to battle on the feet before a failed takedown attempt by Kotani gave Parke control on the ground. Parke would land several significant short strikes as the round concluded and the fight moved into the second round. Parke continued to be the aggressor at the beginning of the second round and would end up taking the fight to the ground at the one minute mark of the round. Parke landed short elbows in the side control position but Kotani would go for a leg lock. Parke would immediately escaped and they got into the clinch position against the fence.

Once again, Parke would take the fight to the ground and land multiple strikes. Referee Marc Goodard would end up coming in to stop the fight when Kotani was not defending himself. Parke (20-2-1) is now 4-0-1 in the UFC and this is his first TKO victory since 2012.

The complete UFC Fight Night 46 results are below.

Main Card: (Fight Pass)
Conor McGregor def. Diego Brandao via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:05
Gunnar Nelson def. Zak Cummings via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:48
Ian McCall def. Brad Pickett via unanimous decision (30-27, 30, 27, 29-28)
Norman Parke def. Naoyuki Kotani via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:41

Preliminary Card: (Fight Pass)
Ilir Latifi def. Chris Dempsey via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:07
Neil Seery def. Phil Harris via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Cathal Pendred def. Mike King via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:33
Trevor Smith def. Tor Troeng via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Nikita Krylov def. Cody Donovan via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:57
Paddy Holohan def. Josh Sampo via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:06