The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to Hollywood, FL with UFC Fight Night 70 and the nine-fight card produced some exciting scraps and finishes. After the event concluded, the promotion handed out four $50,000 checks to four fighters for ‘Fight of the Night’ and ‘Performance of the Night’ honors. Betting lines to wager on such props were made available at Several Bookmakerss. UFC Fight Night 70’s Post-Fight Bonus’ went to… Lorenz Larkin and Santiago Ponzinibbio earned Fight of the Night honors for their incredibly entertaining battle in the co-main of the evening last night. Both men went to war, but it was Larkin who got the better of the Argentinian in the striking exchanges, ultimately knocking him out in the second round of action. Ponzinibbio’s chin held up as long as it could, as he kept eating shots and moving forward to land his own throughout the entirety of the bout. Fireworks from start to finish, this welterweight scrap certainly delivered. The impressive, highlight-reel victory puts “Da Monsoon” at 2-0 in the UFC’s 170-pound division, where he is certainly starting to make a lot of noise. Other noteworthy fight(s): – Alex Oliveira defeated Joe Merritt via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards following three closely contested rounds of action. It was an entertaining back and forth fight, but it was the Brazilian’s takedowns that ultimately proved to make the difference in the eyes of the judges’ at Octagon-side. It was a great fight and a solid promotional debut for Merritt, who displayed great heart throughout the contest and fougth through a lot of adversity. Yoel Romero earned Performance of the Night honors for his third round knockout of Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida. After a closely contested couple rounds of action, where many thought it was one round a piece heading into the third, Romero exploded with a takedown, following up with a brutal ground and pound using his elbows to put the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion out cold and get the stoppage from the referee. Yet another third round finish for Romero; his fourth inside the Octagon. The victory should set him up for the long awaited match-up of Romero vs Jacare. Thiago Santos earned Performance of the Night honors for his first round knockout of Canadian promotional newcomer and former professional hockey player Steve Bosse. Less than half a minute into the fight, “Marreta” followed a body-kick with a head-kick that laid Bosse out flat and had him out. It was the second UFC win for the Brazilian which came in under a minute of action, and his third by way of T/KO. Producing one of the best head-kick knockouts in UFC history, fight fans look forward to Santos’ next Octagon outing. Other noteworthy performances: – Antonio Carlos Junior defeated Eddie Gordon via rear naked choke submission in the third and final round of action. After threatening and neary finishing the fight multiple times throughout the contest, he finally earned the tap from “Truck” with less than half-a-minute left in the fight. It was the Brazilian’s debut in the UFC’s middleweight division and he looked very impressive. He is certainly one fighter to keep an eye at 185-pounds moving forward. ACJ’s submission of Gordon was the only submission victory on the entire UFC Fight Night 70 fight card. – Tony Sims defeated Steve Montgomery via first round knockout in what was his promotional debut. It was a picture-perfect UFC debut for the Colorado-based fighter, who undoubtedly added a highlight to his reel. After stepping up for a welterweight bout on short notice and getting his hand raised, he will drop back down to his natural weight class of 155-pounds for his next outing, which fight fans very much look forward to.
