London – Justin Gaethje rallied late to take the lead rafael fiziv,
Gaethje (24-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) snapped Fijiev’s (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) winning streak on Saturday with a majority decision win. The lightweight bout was the co-main event of UFC 286 at The O2 in London.
Gaethje was awarded rounds 2 and 3 by one judge, and gave him rounds 1 and 3 by another. The third judge gave Fizzive rounds 1 and 2, but gave it 10–8 in round 3 to Gaethje, giving him a draw on his scorecards.
To start round 1, Fizziev fired with body kicks, but Gaethje’s first leg kicks elicited a big response from Fizziev. Fizziv pressed on and continued to attack the body. Both men threw heavy leather and landed. Gaethje shot for the takedown, but Fizziev was smart for it. To end the round, Fizzi hit a big knee up top.
Fizziev landed two big body shots to start the second round. An accidental strike by Gaethje caused a momentary pause in the action. Gaethje went to the top with a head kick that was partially blocked. Gaethje then went down with another hard leg kick, followed by a blistering combination of punches. Attacks to Fizziev’s body began to increase, as he threw more and at a higher rate.
In the final round, Fizziev hit a big right hand, followed by a left hook that connected cleanly, but was eaten by Gaethje. Gaethje lands a left hook and shoots for the takedown, which is stuffed by Fizziev. Gaethje struck two hard blows under Fizziev’s eye in the form of a mouse. Gaethje’s production increased significantly, but Fizziv coped with a short left hand. Gaethje began to do some serious damage to a bloodied Fizziv, scoring a takedown followed by an uppercut to close out the fight.
Gaethje returned to the win column after being submitted by Charles Oliveira in a lightweight title fight last May at UFC 274. Meanwhile, Fizziev looked to extend his six-fight winning streak.
The lightweight bout was the co-main event of UFC 286 at The O2 in London.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 286 results include:
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Justin Gaethje def. Rafael Fiziev via majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
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Gunnar Nelson def. Bryan Barberena via submission (armbar) – 4:51 of round 1
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Jennifer Maia def. Casey O’Neil via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
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Marvin Vettori def. Roman Dolidze via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
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Jack Shore def. Makwan Amirkhani via submission (rear-naked choke) – 4:27 of round 2
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Chris Duncan def. Omar Morales via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
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Yanel Ashmose def. Sam Patterson via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:15
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Muhammad Mokaev def. Jaffel Filho via submission (rear-naked choke) – 4:32 of round 3
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Leron Murphy def. Gabriel Santos by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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Christian Duncan def. Dusko Todorovic via TKO (injury) – Round 1, 1:52
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Jake Hadley def. Malcolm Gordon via TKO (punches) – 1:01 of round 1
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Joanne Wood def. Luana Carolina by split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
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Jay Herbert v. Ludovit Klein declared majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
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Veronica Hardy def. Julianna Miller via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Connected
ufc 286 discussion thread
UFC 286 play-by-play and live results
UFC 286: Official scorecard from London
For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s Event Hub UFC 286,