Stay up to date with what’s happening today at UFC Vegas 61, which is going down from a more private than usual APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The top of the billing will see top-10 strawweights wage war as the #5 ranked, Mackenzie Dern, meets the #6 ranked, Xiaonan Yan. In the card’s co-main event, surging welterweight Randy Brown will go toe to toe with longtime UFC veteran Francisco Trinaldo.
The main card is slated for 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT, and the preliminary bouts begin at 4:00pm ET/1:00p, PT — all of which can be streamed on ESPN+.
Main card:
Xiaonan Yan def. Mackenzie Dern by majority decision (48-47 x2, 47-47): Strawweight
Yan came out deploying a range striking game, looking to keep Dern on the outside. When Dern did close the distance, Yan did a great job of making her way back to open space. The second round started with Dern initiating a grappling exchange off the strength of a butt scoot. In a scramble, Dern locked up an omoplata, and used it to transition to an arm triangle. Yan defended well, but Dern was on top. Yan exposed her back, and Dern maintained control and sprinkled in ground strikes until the bell.
Dern pulled guard within the first-minute of the third round, but Yan was able to free herself this time. On the feet, Yan was landing from the outside, preventing Dern from getting on the inside. Dern did finally get a takedown in the closing seconds, but didn’t have any time to do anything with it.
Dern was hunting for the takedown in the fourth frame, but Yan was being stubborn and finding ways to avoid the ground. Dern ended up pulling guard, but Yan remained safe, despite closing out the round inside of an armbar attempt. The fifth round started with Dern going right at Yan, and was able to hit a throw to get on top with a lot of time left. Yan gave up her back and Dern began punching away, making up for lost time. Mackenzie went for an armbar in the closing moments, but Yan found a way to escape.
Randy Brown def. Francisco Trinaldo by unanimous decision (29-28 x3): Welterweight
The fight started with the fighters exchanging low kicks, until Brown briefly dropped Trinaldo with a piston of a right hand. Trinaldo switched gears and started looking for the takedown, but Brown got away with a fence grab to remain vertical. When Trinaldo did finally get the takedown, Brown quickly reversed the position and ended the round by attacking a ninja choke.
The second round was a bit more sticky, with Trinaldo trying to push a pace and Brown utilizing head movement and footwork to be elusive. There weren’t a bunch of wow moments this round, but Trinaldo seemed to be the busier fighter. The third round saw some more stickiness on the feet, but Trinaldo was able to buckle Brown with a leg kick to get on top. Trinaldo maintained the position up until the bell.
Raoni Barcelos def. Trevin Jones by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-27 x2): Bantamweight
Barcelos was dictating the pace right away, keeping Jones on his back foot. Jones fought off the first takedown attempt, but the second one from Barcelos got him down. Jones did not return to his feet that round. In the second act, Barcelos dropped Jones with some heavy hands, and then proceeded to get on top and drop some punishment. Again, Jones did not return to his feet. Barcelos continued to shut out Jones in the final frame, landing strikes behind his pressure while Trevin remained mostly defensive.
Sodiq Yusuf def. Don Shainis by submission (Guillotine) at :30 of round 1: Featherweight
Yusuff came out and quickly entered into the Thai clinch. From there he peppered the midsection of Shainis with piercing knees. Shainis started shooting for the takedown, but Yusuff jumped a guillotine that Shainis couldn’t escape. Sodiq is now 6-1 in the UFC.
Mike Davis def. Viacheslav Borshchev by unanimous decision (30-26 x2, 29-28): Lightweight
Davis drew first blood here, dropping Borshchev with a savage knee to the face from the clinch. Mike ended up getting to full mount, and then dropped some serious ground and pound on Borshchev. The second round was much better for Borshchev. He was pressing forward behind rights and lefts, finding success when he pushed Davis backwards. After the midpoint, Davis started to work his wrestling and kept Borshchev on his back until the bell.
The final round opened up with bag left hand from Borshchev that caused some serious swelling on the right eye of Davis. Mike wisely hit a takedown to plant Borshchev on his back again, and keep him in that position until the bell. This makes three wins in a row for Davis.
Maxim Grishin vs. Philipe Lins: Light Heavyweight
Prelims:
Daniel Santos def. John Castaneda by KO at 4:28 of round 2: 140-pounds
Early in round one, Castaneda wobbled Santos with a nasty head kick. When Santos stood up, Castaneda floored him with a stiff straight right. Credit to Santos for recovering so quickly, but another head kick was on the way. Castaneda stung Santos and proceeded to tag him up with the hands. Santos appeared to have more in the tank than Castaneda to start the second round. Santos came forward and kept Castaneda moving backwards. As he was flurrying, Santos mixed in a knee to the face that landed flush. Castaneda dropped and the referee was right there to stop the fight.
Ilir Latifi def. Aleksei Oleinik by unanimous decision (30-27 x3): Heavyweight
Latifi got on top of Oleinik in the opening frame, and pretty much spent the bulk of the rand there. The second stanza saw more standup form the combatants, with Oleinik pressing forward but Latifi doing damage with his hefty punches. Latifi then found an opportunity to hit a takedown, and was able to grind away from top position. The final frame was where Oleinik started to let his hands go a bit, although Latifi did a descent job of staying elusive and returning stiff counters.
Joaquim Silva def. Jesse Ronson by TKO at 3:08 of round 2: Lightweight
The opening act had a bit of a feeling out process to begin with, but the ending to the round was explosive. Silva started to let his hands go, and then followed up his flurry with a jump knee that dropped Ronson. In the second stanza, Silva went back to that knee and dropped Ronson again with it. Silva immediately unleashed hammers, refusing to let Ronson off the hook. Th referee mercifully stepped in and stopped the match.
Brendan Allen def. Krzysztof Jotko by submission (RNC) at 4:17 of round 1: Middleweight
Both men seemed prepared to fight on the ground here, with Jotko taking top position early. Allen reversed the situation to get on top. From side control, Allen put Jotko in a gift wrap, and used the hold to transition to the back. Allen quickly locked up a rear-naked choke, and Jotko was out of options and had to tap. Allen now enjoys a three-fight winning streak.
Chelsea Chandler def. Julija Stoliarenko by TKO at 4:15 of round 1: 140-pounds
Stoliarenko came out and realized an early takedown and then quickly transitioned for an armbar, but Chandler quickly defeated the attempt and got on top. After stopping a couple other armbar attempts, Chandler dished out a bunch of ground and pound. On the feet, Chandler was landing the much heavier shots. Stoliarenko went for a desperation takedown, but ended up fully mounted because of it. From there, Chandler started to rain down punishment until the referee said to stop.
Guido Cannetti def. Randy Costa by submission at 1:04 of round 1: Bantamweight
Costa pressured right away, with Cannetti countering with stinging kicks to the body and legs. Cannetti kicked out a leg as Costa was kicking, causing Randy to fall to his back. As Costa went to stand up, Cannetti jumped on his back and sank an RNC without even needing his hooks. Costa tapped out and that was that.
