UFC Vegas 59: Santos vs. Hill – winners and losers

The winners of the UFC Vegas 59 fight card, which featured little-known talent, rewarded viewers with 10 stoppages in 10 fights.

In the main event, Jamahal Hill made a light heavyweight statement with a TKO win over former title challenger Thiago Santos. In the co-main event, Geoff Neal became the first fighter in Vicente Luque’s 13-year career to stop Luque via strikes.

Before the headliners squared off, Mohammed Usman and Juliana Miller clinched UFC contracts through their knockout wins in their final round bouts of The Ultimate Fighter season 30.

Read on for more information on the winners and losers of UFC Vegas 59, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Winner:

Jamahal Hill: Jamahal Hill made a huge leap forward on Saturday night. He entered his bout against former light heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos as a ranked 10th fighter on the official UFC 205-pound rankings, notching wins over Jimmy Crute and Johnny Walker. Santos represented a big step forward in the competition.

Hill managed admirably in the batting department, but his takedown defense wasn’t great. That’s an issue he needs to work on right away because the odds are slim that if he defeats Santos in his next UFC competition, he’ll be up against a top-five opponent.

Hill made the leap from prospect to competitor with his fourth-round KO win over Santos, and I expect the UFC will treat him as such, even though he’s still very new to the sport, and fans and pundits shouldn’t forget that . Hill has only been a pro fighter since 2017. For comparison, current UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka, who is two years younger than 31-year-old Hill, turned pro in 2012.

Geoff Neal: Geoff Neal issued a statement on Saturday night. Neal, No. 13 in the UFC official welterweight rankings at UFC Vegas 59, was the first fighter to defeat Vicente Luque by strikes.

Neal had power, placement and patience on his side in this duel. Neal injured Luque more than once during the duel, but he never overexerted himself. This approach paid off with the third-round knockout win over Luque, who was 6th before the matchup.

Neal’s performance at UFC Vegas 59 was perhaps his best performance in the UFC octagon and should result in a big jump in the rankings and a tough opponent next time he steps into the octagon.

Mohammed Usman: At 33, Mohammed Usman has joined his brother, UFC Welterweight Champion – and Season 21 winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Kamaru, as a member of the UFC roster. Mohammed earned his TUF deal with a brutal KO win over Zac Pauga. The end came via a short left hook that dropped Pauga. The follow-up shot on the ground was terrifying.

If Usman can fight less like Round 1 and more like Round 2, he could make a splash in the UFC’s shallow heavyweight division.

Juliana Mueller: Juliana Miller is a green fighter, but she is an aggressive and confident competitor. The 26-year-old, who is still in the works, was handed a UFC contract with a lopsided win over Brogan Walker-Sanchez on Saturday night.

I’m not a big fan of fighters learning on the job under the UFC banner, but that’s what will happen with Miller. On a brighter note, she got off to a good start with her TKO win in the third round at UFC Vegas 59.

Sergei Spivak: Don’t be surprised if Sergey Spivak breaks into the official UFC heavyweight rankings with the next update. Spivak dominated Augusto Sakai in 14th place throughout the matchup. Spivak hit takedowns seemingly at will, going six for eight in that department. He also earned a 6:37 in control time. During this time Spivak was credited with one submission attempt and 24 landed significant ground attacks. It was those punches that ended the fight at 3:42 of Round 2. Spivak looked very good on Saturday night.

Terrance McKinney: Into what appeared to be a “let’s reset the kid” matchup. The UFC matchmakers booked Terrance McKinney alongside Erick Gonzalez at UFC Vegas 59 after McKinney’s first-round KO loss to Drew Dober in March. McKinney rewarded fans with a first-round KO win. McKinney has 12 stoppage wins in the first round. At 27, McKinney looks like a solid prospect, but the loss of Dober raised some questions about his ceiling. This fight, aimed at putting McKinney back in the win column, didn’t answer either of those questions, but McKinney did return to the win column, putting some shine back on his name with some help from the UFC comment team. who clearly got the grade for hyping McKinney as much as possible.

Michal Oleksiejczuk: Michal Oleksiejczuk stood 4-3-0-1 with the UFC en route to UFC Vegas 59. After his March decision loss to Dustin Jacoby, the 27-year-old decided to try middleweight. Relegation from light heavyweight paid off for Oleksiejczuk, who used Sam Alvey’s counterattack style to earn a first-round KO win.

Bryan Battle: “I told you I was better,” Bryan Battle said after KOing Takashi Sato in 44 seconds. The impressive stoppage of a perfectly placed and timed headbutt put Battle up 8-1 and was an excellent way to win his first 170lb UFC fight.

Cory McKenna: On Saturday, Cory McKenna, 23, became the first woman in UFC history to end a fight with a Von Flue choke. McKenna bounced back from a split decision loss in March to improve her record to 7-2. McKenna looked calm and composed throughout the fight. On the mat, she improved her positions well and seemed situationally aware. Still a work in progress, McKenna is a very good grappler and if she focuses on her strengths while working on developing her hitting skills, she could be a strawweight fighter to watch.

Mayra Bueno Silva: I understand why Mayra Bueno Silva released the armbar she had pinned in her matchup against Stephanie Egger. Bueno Silva said she felt the knock and that’s why, to avoid unnecessary damage to Egger’s arm, she let go of the technique. The problem was that referee Chris Tognoni didn’t see the rooster and Egger didn’t concede the rooster. This put Bueno Silva in a questionable position. Luckily, it worked out for them after Tognoni questioned the judges and one judge said he saw the faucet.

With the submission win coming at the 1:17 mark of the first round, Bueno Silva finds herself on a two-fight win streak for the first time since her debut with promotion in 2018.

NSAC officials: Thanks to Chris Tognoni for making the best of an awkward situation during the Stephanie Egger vs Mayra Bueno Silva fight. With a pause in the action after Bueno Silva released an armbar after saying she felt a tap from Egger, Tognoni went for the immediate replay of Herb Dean and then questioned the judges to see if anyone witnessed the tap was that Bueno Silva felt, but Tognoni did not see. It turned out that Judge Ron McCarthy saw it, and with that, Tognoni awarded Bueno Silva the victory by submission.

For those interested. Dean spoke to Bloody Elbow about polls in 2017.

Loser:

Thiago Santos: Thiago Santos has shown a reluctance to engage his opponents since losing to Jon Jones in 2019. That trait was still evident in his UFC Vegas 59 Main Event matchup against Jamahal Hill on Saturday, but it was less pronounced than in previous bouts.

Santos added takedowns to his play against Hill and went six for 19 in that department, but he did little with those takedowns.

The KO loss to Hill likely marks the end of Santos’ run as a title contender and likely places him in the gatekeeper ranks. At 38, Santos’ record stands at 1-5 in his last six bouts.

That move could be best for the Brazilian if he returns to three rounds. Santos has only fought in two scheduled three-round battles since 2018.

August Sakai: Though Augusto Sakai ranks 14th ahead of UFC Vegas 59 in the official UFC heavyweight rankings, he was on a three-way loss heading into Saturday night. Worse, Sakai had lost every one of those fights by KO. Sakai’s losing streak achieved four consecutive KO losses with his one-sided setback against Sergey Spivak.

Sam Alvey: It’s fair to say that the UFC hasn’t given Sam Alvey every opportunity to end his winning streak. Alvey, who last raised his hand in victory on June 1, 2018, was on a 0-7-1 run en route to UFC Vegas 59. Michal Oleksiejczuk beat Alvey by 1:56 of Round 1.

Miranda Granger: As noted by UFC commentator Michael Bisping, Miranda Granger needs to work on her grappling. Cory McKenna grabbed her opponent’s head and applied the Von Flue choke that ended the fight.

Stephanie Egger: NSAC judge Ron McCarthy, seen during the UFC Vegas 59 broadcast with the best seat in the house during Stephanie Egger’s fight against Mayra Bueno Silva, informed referee Chris Tognoni that he “clearly” saw Egger’s tip, according to the broadcast on Bueno Silva’s armbar. I understand why Egger tried to get the officers over the edge, but the odds that they were working in a state like Nevada or California were slim, and so Egger left the cage at a loss and with a cloud hanging over her head.

UFC commentators: Brandon Fitzgerald and Michael Bisping glossed over why the UFC Vegas 59 card lost two fights. The information for both battle scratches was available, but the advertisements and their announcers did not inform viewers of these reasons. This isn’t a surprise since the UFC pays the commentators, but it’s a disservice to the fans.

Anyhow, here are the reasons behind Bloody Elbow:

Jason Witt and Josh Quinlan – “UFC has been informed by USADA that a recent urine sample from Josh Quinlan indicated the presence of a small amount of the M3 metabolite of dehydrochloromethyltestosterone (DHCMT). While not a violation of UFC anti-doping program rules, the Nevada State Athletic Commission has ruled that Quinlan is ineligible to fight. As a result, his fight against Jason Witt was canceled from tonight’s event.

Priscila Cachoeira vs Ariane Lipsky – “This comes after Lipski was severely missing weight on Friday and the commission did not clear her to compete following her hospitalization. ”

ESPN/UFC Production:

That’s not Leon Edwards.