DES MOINES, IOWA – MAY 03: (R-L) Cory Sandhagen punches Deiveson Figueiredo of Brazil in their … More
What a night of interesting and awesome fights in Des Moines, Iowa. I’m not shocked.
The UFC always seems to deliver at smaller Fight Night events. Cory Sandhagen dominated Deiveson Figueiredo before the latter suffered a knee injury in a 50-50 position that forced a submission.
Sandhagen was in control for the entire fight, so this wasn’t a fluke win. He has positioned himself as a man with a strong case to face the winner of the rematch between UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley.
We also saw Reinier de Ridder derail the Bo Nickal hype machine with a TKO via filthy knee to the midsection. The Nickal haters are going to have a field day with that one.
Here is a look at the other results from the event, the bonuses, and the highlights of the finishes.
UFC Bonus Winners Tonight
The bonus winners on the evening were:
- Cory Sandhagen
- Reinier de Ridder
- Quang Le
- Azamat Bekoev
UFC Tonight: UFC Des Moines Main Card Results
🏆Cory Sandhagen def. Deiveson Figueiredo via submission at 4:08 of Round 2
🏆Reinier de Ridder defeats Bo Nickal via TKO at 1:53 of Round 2
RDR is a star. He’s great on the mic and proving time and again that he is massively dangerous in the Octagon.
He shut down Nickal’s wrestling and outstruck him before shutting him down with a series of nasty knees. Here’s the last one that led to the finish and the bonus.
Daniel Rodriguez defeats Santiago Ponzinibbio via TKO at 1:12 of Round 3
Ponzinibbio might be done competing at a high level. After a solid start, his defensive flaws and diminished reflexes left him open for a hellacious left hook from Rodriguez. The result was the most vicious KO of the night.
Montel Jackson defeats Daniel Marcos via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
Serhiy Sidey defeats Cameron Smotherman via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Mason Jones defeats Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
Yana Santos defeats Miesha Tate via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
🏆Azamat Bekoev defeats Ryan Loder via TKO at 2:44 of Round 1
Bekoev is legit and deserving of one of the bonuses. He’s powerful and well-balanced as a fighter. He proved to be leagues ahead of Loder as he pounded him out with a savage flurry of power shots against the cage to secure the first-round finish.
Gillian Robertson defeats Marina Rodriguez via TKO at 2:07 of Round 2
You don’t see Robertson finishing many opponents with strikes, but she got it done against Marina Rodriguez. It was a dominant and impressive performance. After the fight, Rodriguez announced her retirement from the sport.
🏆Quang Le defeats Gaston Bolaños via submission at 1:54 of Round 2
Quang Le was impressive on Saturday. He locked in the rear-naked choke that led to a technical submission, with Bolanos going out after refusing to tap. Le needs some tougher competition, but he may have saved himself from being released as he halted a two-fight losing streak.
He also locked down one of the performance bonuses.
Thomas Petersen defeats Don’Tale Mayes via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-26)
Juliana Miller defeats Ivana Petrović via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)