UFC Fight Night results: Rose Namajunas dominates, but Paige VanZant shows heart

With the Ultimate Fighting Championship running one of the biggest events in its history Saturday night, UFC 194, the promotion elected to serve up a pair of additional shows in Las Vegas to build up the pay-per-view. The first of those events Thursday night was informally labeled the “Paige and Sage Show” after photogenic young stars Paige VanZant and Sage Northcutt. The event was designed to showcase them and ended up a mixed bag in that regard.

At the entrance to the MGM Grand Garden Arena, UFC put up large banners showcasing its top stars. The banners featured all of the UFC’s champions plus two other fighters: the iconic Ronda Rousey and Paige VanZant. The banners were a reminder of the potential UFC sees in the attractive, youthful and likeable VanZant as she rises up the ranks. VanZant was matched Thursday night with Rose Namajunas, a former title challenger with an aggressive style similar to her own.

VanZant proved unable to deal with Namajunas’ pressure. Namajunas dominated the fight from beginning to end. She landed better shots on the feet. She took VanZant down over and over again. She controlled VanZant on the ground. She bloodied VanZant. She attacked aggressively with submissions and finally got the rear naked choke submission in the fifth round. It was an absolutely phenomenal performance by Namajunas.

While Namajunas won the bout handily, VanZant impressed the crowd in her own right by demonstrating tremendous heart. Despite being thoroughly dominated, she kept up the fight throughout and miraculously worked her way out of some dangerous submission attempts. She may not have the skills to compete with Namajunas at this stage but she has a mental disposition that will endear her to fans.

The other half of the “Paige and Sage Show,” Sage Northcutt, fared better competitively. Northcutt was matched with the lightly regarded Cody Pfister. Pfister scored an early takedown and controlled Northcutt for most of the first round. However, an awful referee standup changed the momentum. Back on the feet, Northcutt got a takedown and dominated the rest of the round. In the second, he submitted Pfister with a guillotine choke.

After the fight, Northcutt showcased his “aww shucks” routine, referring to “Mr. White” and “Mr. Fertitta,” imploring the crowd to Google a Biblical passage and doing a whole of smiling. Northcutt’s a long way from being a contender but it’s easy to see what UFC likes about him.

Michael Chiesa picked up arguably the biggest win of his MMA career, submitting Jim Miller in the second round of a fun ground battle. Chiesa was able to fend off Miller’s submission attempts by throwing punches and he locked in a slick rear naked choke to finish the bout. Afterwards, Chiesa spoke emphatically about wanting top competition in the lightweight division.

Thiago Santos ended Elias Theodorou’s undefeated record via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27). Theodorou won the first round with some flashy techniques on the feet. In the second and third, he tired and Santos took over. Santos just brutalized Theodorou with punches, kicks and knees, putting an emphatic stamp on the fight and making the judges’ decision clear.

Tim Means scored an important victory in one of the best fights of the card over John Howard. The fighters engaged in an exciting standup battle until Means knocked Howard out cold in the second round with a short left hook.

Means was gathering momentum in the welterweight division before a setback in his last fight against Matt Brown. This win and the impressive manner in which he scored it will help him quickly work his way back into high profile opposition.

Aljamain Sterling continued his ascent in the bantamweight division, submitting Johnny Eduardo in the second round with a guillotine choke. Eduardo might have had a slight edge in the striking but Sterling’s wrestling was the difference as he took down Eduardo twice and picked up the eventual submission.

The undefeated Sterling comically challenged Floyd Mayweather, Jr. to a fight after his win. It’s unlikely the boxing legend will take Sterling up on his offer. However, in a bantamweight division that doesn’t have a lot of young blood, Sterling is an intriguing matchup for many of the 135 pound best.

In other action:

-Sergio Moraes overcame early struggles to secure a come-from-behind third round TKO win over Omari Akhmedov. Akhmedov was generally getting the best of the exchanges and hurt Moraes badly in the first round, but Moraes stunned Akhmedov with punches in the third and the referee was forced to step in.

-Kevin Casey and Antonio Carlos Junior fought to an unfortunate first round no contest when Casey was poked in the eye and could not continue. The 11 second no contest was one of the shortest fights without a conclusive finish in UFC history.

-Santiago Ponzinibbio knocked out Andreas Stahl in the first round with punches. Ponzinibbio thoroughly dominated the standup, forcing Stahl to simply cover up and throw one shot at a time while getting lit up with combinations.

-English native Danny Roberts choked out Nathan Coy in the first round with a triangle choke. The 37-year-old veteran Coy was fighting in the UFC for the first time.

-Zubaira Tukhugov picked up a split decision victory (28-29, 30-27, 30-27) over Phillipe Nover. Nover was effective with body kicks throughout the fight, but Tukhugov was the more successful fighter otherwise.

-Hawaiian crowd favorite Kailin Curran scored her first UFC win submitting Emily Peters Kagan in the second round with a rear naked choke. Curran landed the best flurry of the fight in the first and then closed out the fight on the ground in the second.