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Monday, December 23, 2024 at 12:00 PM

UFC Noche Recap

Alexa Grasso and her corner posing for a photo-op in the post fight press conference with the UFC Women's Flyweight belt

Josefine Kutsson defeats Marnic Mann by unanimous decision [30-24, 30-25, 30-27]

Knuttson, who came off a DWCS victory this season, set the tone as soon as the bell rang for the start of the fight, connecting a couple of clean shots on Mann. 

Knuttson landed a takedown and controlled the rest of the first round. Second round began and Knuttson showed the way once again. A couple of clean shots and a nicely timed takedown as she controlled Mann in a round that was very reminiscent of the first. 

Third round had Knuttson’s name all over it. Mann’s toughness was not enough, as Josefine “Thunder” Knuttson scored the victory via unanimous decision, to improve to 7-0.

Charlie Campbell defeats Alex Reyes by TKO [Punches] at 3:38 of Round 1

Long Island native Charlie Campbell got the call to fight Reyes on short notice. Campbell notably featured on last year's DWCS as he was winning his fight until he got caught. 

Matchmakers decided to give his debut a go one year later and he did not disappoint. Campbell immediately applied the pressure on Reyes, even knocking him down early in the round. He had Reyes hurt and it was the beginning of the end as Campbell knocked him down again before referee Mark Smith had to intervene. 

Amazing debut for Charlie Campbell now at 8-2.

Tracy Cortez defeats Jasmine Jasudavicius by unanimous decision [30-27, 30-27, 29-28]

A huge ovation for Tracy Cortez inside the T-Mobile Arena as she received love from the Mexican fans.

Both ladies were going at it from fight’s start. A pretty even round one, but it was Cortez who got the better of Jasudavicius.

 A solid second round to this fight as Canadian native Jasmine Jasudavicius left her shell and landed a takedown on the fan favorite Cortez. Cortez got up and started to land some but that was not without grit and toughness shown by Jasudavicius. 

Round 3 was an all out war. Neither fighter backed down from any exchange as they went into deep waters for this one. 

Fight went the distance and the fan favorite Tracy Cortez picked up the unanimous decision win as she remains undefeated inside the UFC.

Edgar Chairez versus Daniel Lacerda declared a no decision at 3:47 of Round 1

A match on paper destined for fireworks, Lacerda and Chairez were both looking for their first UFC win. 

Lacerda landed a takedown early on and Chairez dealt with early adversity. The Mexicali native, Chairez, found his way up. Lacerda did not give up and went for another one. Chairez showed great takedown defense this time around as he went for a standing guillotine against Lacerda. 

Referee Chris Tognoni checked on Lacera three times and he did not show any signs of being out. Lacerda dropped his arm and the referee thought he was out. 

The fight went to a replay review and it was declared that Lacerda in fact was still in it and the fight got called as a no decision. 

Roman Kopylov defeats Josh Fremd by TKO [Body Shot] at 4:44 of Round 2

One of the few fights in which neither fighter is Mexican on this card, Roman Kopylov and Josh Fremd was a late addition to Noche UFC.

Round one began and the two met in the center of the octagon to exchange. Fremd hit Kopylov with a low blow pretty early on. The fight resumed and both men exchanged on the feet for the rest of the round. 

Second round started and Kopylov started to make his presence known. Fremd did not back down whatsoever. Like the first, Fremd landed another low blow by accident. Referee Mark Smith resumed the action and it became the Roman Kopylov show. He started picking Josh Fremd apart slowly, and eventually knocked him down with a body shot in which he could not get back up from. 

Roman Kopylov elevated his professional record to 12-2.

Loopy Godinez defeats Elise Reed by submission [Rear Naked Choke] at 3:38 of Round 2

An amazing first round for Godinez as she had Reed in all sorts of trouble. Godinez went for the rear naked choke a couple times but Reed did not give up. In one of the sequences, Reed managed to escape the RNC but Godinez wasted no time and threw up an armbar attempt. Reed spent the rest of the round surviving as she made it to the end of round one. 

Second round was the Loopy show as Godinez just started teeing off on Reed. Godinez trapped Reed against the fence as she picked her up and slammed Reed. Godinez got both hooks in and forced the tap as the T-Mobile Arena went crazy.

Godinez improved to 11-3.

Kyle Nelson defeats Fernando Padilla by unanimous decision [29-28, 29-28, 30-27]

Padilla, as expected, received a loud ovation on his way to the octagon as he was ready to kick off the main card. 

Round 1 commenced and both fighters were feeling the fight out. Padilla started to chip away at Nelson towards the end of round one, as he set the tone going into the second. 

Nelson woke up in the second round as he started to land cleanly on Padilla. Padilla still kept walking forward to land some of his own shots. It was all to play for going into round three. 

Third and final round began and Nelson was welcomed by a low blow thrown by Padilla. Referee Chris Tognoni resumed the action and the pair continued to exchange. Padilla walked Nelson for the rest of the fight as both men continued to chip away at each other. 

After three rounds of action, Kyle Nelson got the nod from the judges. The fans were not happy at all as Nelson was welcomed with boo’s.

Daniel Zellhuber defeats Christos Giagos by submission [Anaconda Choke]

Xtreme Couture fighter Daniel Zellhuber went into this fight looking to put Mexico back in the win column for the night. Standing in his way was the always tough Christos Giagos. 

The fight began and Giagos tagged Zellhuber up a bit. Zellhuber shook it off and landed some of his own shots on Giagos. 

Round two began and Zellhuber picked up the pace. He took his time on his shots and eventually forced Giagos to panic-wrestle. Zellhuber maintained his calmness and defended the takedown as he threw up an anaconda choke on Giagos. 

Giagos did his best but eventually had to tap and forced referee Jason Herzog to stop the action.

Raul Rosas Jr. defeats Terrence Mitchell by TKO [Punches] at 0:54 of Round 1

Rosas Jr went into this one looking to put himself back in the win column after suffering his first professional loss back in April. 

Immediately, both Rosas Jr and Mitchell went at it as they threw the kitchen sink at each other. 

Rosas Jr landed a shot flush down the middle which knocked Mitchell down. Mitchell tried to survive but Rosas Jr’s relentless pressure and shots forced referee Mark Smith to call a stop to the action. 

Jack Della Maddalena defeats Kevin Holland by split decision [29-28, 28-29, 29-28]

A fight many fans had circled on their calendars as these two men always bring it. 

The first round consisted of both men feeling the fight out whilst throwing up some shots of their own. Both fighters turned in their fair share of volume in the first round and set the tone going into the second. 

The fight continued in a relatively similar way to the first. Holland and JDM put up some volume but nothing significant from either side. All up for grabs going into the third and final round. 

It was safe to say the last round was similar to the first two as both men simply couldn’t find the right openings. Not necessarily the barnburner fight the fans wanted to see but rather a technical performance by the two welterweights. Jack Della Maddalena ended up getting the judges’ nod by split decision, now 16-2.

Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko fight to a split draw [47-47]

It was now time for the first ever Noche UFC main event. The energy inside the T-Mobile Arena was insane. 

Schevchenko started off the fight nicely as she applied the majority of the pressure moving forward and even took the champion down. Grasso got up as the fans roared in excitement. A solid first round for both ladies. 

Things got intense in round two, as Grasso knocked down Schevchenko early on. Schevchenko got up quickly and even landed a takedown shortly after. She held the top position for the majority of the round, but Grasso was landing some shots from the bottom. It was an interesting round for the judges to score. 

Round three was anything but short of action. Schevchenko landed another takedown and had Grasso in real trouble. Grasso survived every attempt Schevchenko had to offer and made it to the round’s end. 

Enter round four. Grasso found new life as she picked Shevchenko apart in an exchange before eventually picking her up and slamming her. Shevchenko made it out yet again and forced her own pressure. 

In the fifth, both ladies left it all on the line this last round. Grasso stung Schevchenko and landed a takedown. She went for the RNC and then followed up with a vicious ground and pound. Schevchenko survived and it went to the judges’ scorecards.

A crazy ending to a crazy night as Grasso remained the undisputed UFC flyweight champion of the world via a split draw in a fight which showcased very high level mixed martial arts from the two fighters. It will be interesting to see how the UFC deals with the situation when it comes to booking the next fight for gold at 125 pounds. There is a great possibility that this matchup between both of these ladies will be re-booked for an anticipated trilogy.


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