Fantastic finishes were the theme of the night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA, this past Saturday where some of UFC’s best clashed in an evening packed with bone-jarring MMA action.Headlining the big event was the the much-anticipated light heavyweight title bout between Daniel Cormier and Jon “Bones” Jones. The two warriors gave the crowd its money’s worth with a fight that lived up to the hype and ended in shocking fashion. Other main card fights included the hard-fought battles between Tyron Woodley and Demian Maia, and Cris Cyborg going up against Tonya Evinger. And the undercards didn’t disappoint either, with a handful of entertaining bouts that paired some talented up-and-comers who showcased a variety of impressive MMA skills.Here are just a few of the the many highlights from UFC 214.
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Sean M. Haffey / Getty
Jon Jones Rocks Cormier
In the evening’s main event, Jon Jones reclaimed the UFC light heavyweight title with his brutal KO of Daniel Cormier. Jones’ wicked head kick followed by a flurry of punches finally put Cormier away at the 3:01 mark of the third round.Returning from a 15-month layoff, Jones (23-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) kept Cormier (19-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) on his heels with dozens of punches and kicks before finally landing a shot that caught him off guard. From there, the writing was on the wall as Jones quickly finished off his dazed opponent.“I made it back, man,” Jones said afterward. “It’s such a beautiful moment. I did a lot of right things to get back in this position. Anybody at home who let yourself down, let your family down, let your peers down, it’s never over. As long as you never quit, it’s never over.”
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Cris Cyborg Becomes Featherweight Champ
No surprise as far as the result in the women’s featherweight title bout between Cris Cyborg and Tonya Evinger. The heavy favorite Cyborg came out on top with a decisive TKO over her challenger. However, Evinger was able to accomplish what so few of Cyborg’s opponent’s have: lasting until the third round. Give Evinger credit for hanging in as long as she did, but, in the end, she was no match for the stronger Cyborg.
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Tyron Woodley Defends His Belt
In another main card event, Tyron Woodley retained his UFC welterweight title with his dominant performance against Demian Maia.Woodley walked away with a dominant, five-round unanimous decision win over Maia in UFC 214’s co-main event. While the crowd may not have been thrilled with Woodley’s cautious approach in the final rounds, “The Chosen One” was satisfied with how he handled his opponent. “I thought it was a great performance,” Woodley said in the post fight presser. “You’ve got a guy on a seven-fight win streak, he’s taken out all seven opponents, world class guys, gotten on their backs, submitted them. Very resilient, very persistent on his attack—how many takedowns did he try? Twenty-four tried, 24 denied. So I think we need to look at the different stats.”
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Sean M. Haffey
Ricardo Lamas Finishes Jason Knight
In one of the more entertaining undercard fights, former UFC featherweight title challenger Ricardo Lamas stunned many with his quick work of Jason Knight.Lamas stayed on his feet to do some serious damage to Knight with a flurry of power shots that rattled Knight and sent him to the canvas. Once down, Lamas hammered the dazed fighter with a fierce ground-and-pound resulting in a TKO.
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Sean M. Haffey / Getty
Brian Ortega Chokes Out
It wouldn’t be a UFC event without a good old choke hold. And that’s just how Brian Ortega got Brazilian striker Renato Moicano to submit during their undercard match at UFC 214.While Ortega connected with punches on his feet throughout the fight, it was his ground game that ultimately secured his victory. Moicano was holding his own while on his feet, but once the action went to the canvas in the third round, Ortega locked his opponent up in guillotine choke that forced Moicano to quickly tap out.
Fantastic finishes were the theme of the night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA, this past Saturday where some of UFC’s best clashed in an evening packed with bone-jarring MMA action.
Headlining the big event was the the much-anticipated light heavyweight title bout between Daniel Cormier and Jon “Bones” Jones. The two warriors gave the crowd its money’s worth with a fight that lived up to the hype and ended in shocking fashion. Other main card fights included the hard-fought battles between Tyron Woodley and Demian Maia, and Cris Cyborg going up against Tonya Evinger. And the undercards didn’t disappoint either, with a handful of entertaining bouts that paired some talented up-and-comers who showcased a variety of impressive MMA skills.
Here are just a few of the the many highlights from UFC 214.
Jon Jones Rocks Cormier
In the evening’s main event, Jon Jones reclaimed the UFC light heavyweight title with his brutal KO of Daniel Cormier. Jones’ wicked head kick followed by a flurry of punches finally put Cormier away at the 3:01 mark of the third round.
Returning from a 15-month layoff, Jones (23-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) kept Cormier (19-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) on his heels with dozens of punches and kicks before finally landing a shot that caught him off guard. From there, the writing was on the wall as Jones quickly finished off his dazed opponent.
“I made it back, man,” Jones said afterward. “It’s such a beautiful moment. I did a lot of right things to get back in this position. Anybody at home who let yourself down, let your family down, let your peers down, it’s never over. As long as you never quit, it’s never over.”
Cris Cyborg Becomes Featherweight Champ
No surprise as far as the result in the women’s featherweight title bout between Cris Cyborg and Tonya Evinger. The heavy favorite Cyborg came out on top with a decisive TKO over her challenger. However, Evinger was able to accomplish what so few of Cyborg’s opponent’s have: lasting until the third round. Give Evinger credit for hanging in as long as she did, but, in the end, she was no match for the stronger Cyborg.
Tyron Woodley Defends His Belt
In another main card event, Tyron Woodley retained his UFC welterweight title with his dominant performance against Demian Maia.
Woodley walked away with a dominant, five-round unanimous decision win over Maia in UFC 214’s co-main event. While the crowd may not have been thrilled with Woodley’s cautious approach in the final rounds, “The Chosen One” was satisfied with how he handled his opponent. “I thought it was a great performance,” Woodley said in the post fight presser. “You’ve got a guy on a seven-fight win streak, he’s taken out all seven opponents, world class guys, gotten on their backs, submitted them. Very resilient, very persistent on his attack—how many takedowns did he try? Twenty-four tried, 24 denied. So I think we need to look at the different stats.”
Ricardo Lamas Finishes Jason Knight
In one of the more entertaining undercard fights, former UFC featherweight title challenger Ricardo Lamas stunned many with his quick work of Jason Knight.
Lamas stayed on his feet to do some serious damage to Knight with a flurry of power shots that rattled Knight and sent him to the canvas. Once down, Lamas hammered the dazed fighter with a fierce ground-and-pound resulting in a TKO.
Brian Ortega Chokes Out
It wouldn’t be a UFC event without a good old choke hold. And that’s just how Brian Ortega got Brazilian striker Renato Moicano to submit during their undercard match at UFC 214.
While Ortega connected with punches on his feet throughout the fight, it was his ground game that ultimately secured his victory. Moicano was holding his own while on his feet, but once the action went to the canvas in the third round, Ortega locked his opponent up in guillotine choke that forced Moicano to quickly tap out.
