If you’re a heavyweight not named Francis Ngannou, you’d better watch out for Curtis Blaydes, who absolutely manhandled Justin Willis for three rounds on Saturday night in Nashville, Tennessee, in an emotionally charged but barely competitive co-main event of UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Pettis at Bridgestone Arena.
It wasn’t pretty for “Big Pretty” Willis (8-2), who came in on an eight-fight win streak. Blaydes (11-2, 1 NC), whose only career losses came at the heavy hands of Ngannou, dominated from the start. Three times in the first round, he violently threw Willis to the mat, then rode him while landing the occasional punch to the head.
From then until the three-round fight’s final horn, Willis, who had done a lot of trash talking in the lead-up, had no answer for the smothering top game of “Razor” Blaydes.
All three judges scored the bout for the Chicago-based Blaydes, naturally. One had it 30-27, another scored it 30-26 and the third saw it 30-26.
“It feels so good to shut him up,” Blaydes said afterward in the Octagon. “Go home and learn wrestling. Go home.”
Blaydes, who is No. 5 in the ESPN heavyweight rankings, then let it be known what he wants next.
“I hope to see Junior [dos Santos], Derrick [Lewis] or Stipe [Miocic],” Blaydes said. “One of those three.”
John Makdessi defeats Jesus Pinedo by unanimous decision
It was not a crowd-pleasing fight, as the fans loudly made it known they wanted more, but Pinedo’s reddened right thigh would beg to differ. Makdessi delivered an onslaught of leg kicks in a technically sound striking performance that earned him his third straight victory and ended Pinedo’s seven-fight win streak.
All three judges scored it for Makdessi (17-6), two of them by 30-27 cards, as Pineda (16-5), fighting in the UFC for just the second time, was unable to draw the tactical Canadian into a firefight.
Jussier Formiga defeats Deiveson Figueiredo by unanimous decision
Formiga fought a smart, well-rounded fight, beating the power-punching Figueiredo to the punch and seizing control on the canvas to win his fourth in a row and deal Figueirdedo his first career loss. Two judges scored the bout 29-28 and the other had it 30-27, all for Formiga.
Formiga (23-5), who ranks No. 4 in the ESPN flyweight rankings, had an experience edge, having previously shared the Octagon with the likes of Joseph Benavidez and a pre-championship Henry Cejudo. That seasoning showed, as he was able to keep fifth-ranked Figueiredo (15-1) at bay — although an elbow strike from bottom position did open up Formiga in Round 2. But he fought on and never was in trouble.
Luis Pena defeats Steven Peterson by unanimous decision
Pena has received much of his attention for an ironic nickname — he’s “Violent Bob Ross,” after the decidedly nonviolent onetime PBS painting show host — but his fighting took over the spotlight in this strong performance against Peterson, as Pena got the better of exchanges on the feet and scrambles on the mat to earn three 30-27 scorecards.
Pena (6-1), who missed the featherweight limit by two-and-a-half pounds on Friday, bounced back from suffering his first career loss in November by keeping the bout at distance for the most part. He peppered Peterson (17-8) from there, staggering him a couple of times. And whenever the fight went to the ground, Pena always ended up in the more advantageous position.
Maycee Barber defeats JJ Aldrich by second-round TKO
Barber may not have been as dominant as she would have preferred, but the 20-year-old flyweight — the UFC’s youngest fighter — was mighty impressive nonetheless, withstanding a difficult first round in which she was knocked to the canvas before turning up her own offense and scoring the TKO to remain unbeaten.
Barber (7-0) was on her heels for much of the opening round, with Aldrich (7-3) stalking her and repeatedly beating her to the punch. But Barber started getting the better of exchanges in the second and eventually staggered her opponent, who didn’t go down but was unable to defend herself, leading to the finish at 3:01.
Bryce Mitchell defeats Bobby Moffett by unanimous decision
Mitchell persevered through a ruggedly entertaining grappling battle with submission specialist Moffett, didn’t shy away from imposing his own ground skills and came away with a tight decision win, with all three judges scoring two of the three rounds his way.
Both fighters had to contend with tight submission attempts that appeared deep enough to finish the fight. Mitchell is now 11-0, although he did lose on “The Ultimate Fighter,” where the bouts are considered exhibitions. Moffett (14-4) saw his four-fight win streak come to a halt.
Marlon Vera defeats Frankie Saenz by first-round TKO
Vera caught the timing of the aggressive Saenz very early, then caught him with a crisp jab that dropped the former NCAA Division 1 wrestler and led to a quick ground-and-pound TKO at 1:25 of Round 1.
Vera (13-5-1) won for the third straight time, all by finish. Saenz (13-6) saw his two-fight win streak come to a brutal end.
Jennifer Maia defeats Alexis Davis by unanimous decision
Maia got off to a fast start with sharp striking, had to withstand a difficult second round and managed to do just enough in Round 3 to eke out a unanimous decision for her first UFC victory. All three judges scored the bout 29-28 in her favor.
The former Invicta FC champion (16-5-1), who lost her promotional debut last summer to end a six-fight win streak, won the fight during a resilient final five minutes. She had to overcome a second round spent mostly on her back defending the ground-and-pound of Davis (19-9), who lost for the second straight time.
Randa Markos defeats Angela Hill by first-round submission
Markos was in charge from the start, securing an early takedown and seizing dominant position before finishing Hill with an armbar at 4:24 of Round 1.
Markos (9-6-1), who hadn’t won in over a year, never allowed Hill (8-6) to do anything but defend once the fight went to the mat. Markos methodically bettered her position and first threatened to finish with ground-and-pound, then by rear-naked choke before finally securing the arm to hand Hill her second straight loss.
Chris Gutierrez defeats Ryan MacDonald by unanimous decision
Gutierrez battered MacDonald relentlessly for three rounds, leaving him bloodied and bruised … and with his first career loss in his UFC debut. All three judges saw the bout for Gutierrez by 30-27 scores.
Gutierrez (13-3), who had been submitted in his first UFC fight in November, led the dance from the get-go, his aggressive attack immobilizing MacDonald (10-1) with leg kicks. Gutierrez left MacDonald a bloody mess thanks to a spinning elbow to the hairline that landed at the end of the first round.
Jordan Espinosa defeats Eric Shelton by unanimous decision
Though Shelton is the one who goes by the “Showtime” nickname, it was Espinosa who was the flashier fighter, setting a fleet-footed, forward-moving pace from the start to win his UFC debut, earning the nod from all three judges (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
It was the fifth straight win for Espinosa (14-5), an alum of “Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series.” He was busier than Shelton (12-6) and quick enough to avoid most of the big shots aimed his way.