The UFC Vegas 60 main event came to an unceremonious end witth a doctor’s stoppage. But with all the blood spilled on this card, UFC fans should be satisfied for the next couple weeks until the next card.
Cory Sandhagen and Song Yadong weren’t the only ones covered in blood this week. Gregory Rodrigues fought through one of the worst cuts I’ve ever seen to grab a win in the co-main event. Just before that, Andre Fili and Bill Algeo were also covered in blood in their razor-thin matchup that ended in a split decision. We were also treated to some nasty finishes, courtesy of Gillian Robertson and Joe Pyfer.
All of the bouts from UFC Vegas 60 are covered below along with BLÜ’s favourite performances of the night: the BLÜ BONUSES.
UFC Vegas 60 Prelim. Action
Fight #1
Nikolas Motta def. Cameron VanCamp by TKO in the 1st Round
The fight started off slow with neither man throwing anything significant for the first minute. As they started to throw more out there, every time Motta made a move, VanCamp would slip out of the way and counter with a couple heavy shots. Motta started to pressure harder as the round went on though, landing crisp shots and pushing VanCamp back. He dropped VanCamp on his back with an extra crispy shot. With Cameron not really able to recover, the ref called it, giving Motta his first UFC win.
Fight #2
Javid Basharat def. Tony Gravely by Unanimous Decision
Gravely was the one pressing forward early, landing some heavy leg kicks. He was having a hard time with Basharat’s movement, but eventually pushed him into the fence and started to take him down. Basharat has some great grappling skills but was starting to get thrown around by Gravely. Sadly, Basharat was already facing some unnecessary adversity from a clash of heads, leaving his face pretty bloody.
Gravely was looking crisp with his striking until Basharat started to find his rhythm and wobble Gravely. Basharat dragged him down to the ground, but, after getting caught in a guillotine, went back to his feet. It was back and forth, but Gravely had seemingly done enough to grab the round on the cards.
Knowing he probably had a wrestling advantage, Gravely tried hard to move the fight to the canvas. He was in deep on a takedown, but was actually reversed by Basharat and found his back to the canvas. Gravely defended fairly well and eventually got back to his feet. Unfortunately for him, he was starting to slow down. This allowed Basharat to let loose, landing some heavy combos. With all that offence, it was a clear round for Basharat, likely leaving us with a 1-1 scorecard.
Once again, Gravely opened with a takedown attempt, but he was clearly the slower fighter at this point. Basharat seemed to be on another level, picking Gravely apart with jabs. It never reached the point where Gravely was in danger of being finished, but Basharat had clearly taken the final round and won the decision. The judges agree, all scoring it 29-28.
Fight #3
BLÜ’s Prelim. Pick #1
Mariya Agapova vs. Gillian Robertson
They’ve both struggled at times in the UFC, but Robertson seemed like the clear choice here stylistically. Agapova has been submitted twice by grapplers that aren’t as talented as Robertson. Although Robertson has some losses, she’s also submitted top UFC prospects like Molly McCann, Cortney Casey and Priscila Cachoeira. Agapova could pose problems with her size, but I figured she’d be able to grab another submission win.
BLÜ’s Prediction
Robertson by Finish
Robertson was aggressive early, dragging Agapova to the ground within the first 30 seconds. She got up, but Robertson refused to let go, smothering Agapova with all sorts of crazy grappling moves. Robertson was getting smoked with some heavy elbows, but was still wrapped around the back of Agapova. Amazingly, Agapova got her off, getting back to her striking.
With 30 seconds left, Agapova was stuck in a BAD spot. She was getting choked out pretty hard, but managed to get out of the round. Cormier and Felder were saying the damage of all of those clinch strikes from Agapova stole the round, but that was a LOT of grappling prowess from Robertson and could have gone either way.
Once again, Robertson ran in and dragged Agapova to the ground. She was met with a lot less resistance this time, moving into a VERY dominant position quickly. From there, Agapova made a mistake, letting Robertson take her neck. Unbelievably, Robertson had that choke LOCKED in for almost a minute and Agapova couldn’t do anything about it. She never tapped and was eventually put to sleep, turning stiff as a board in a SCARY 2nd Round finish.
Result
Gillian Robertson def. Mariya Agapova by Submission in the 2nd Round
Fight #4
Trey Ogden def. Daniel Zellhuber by Unanimous Decision
This fight started out as a chess match with neither man making a real move for quite a while. Ogden made the first move, lunging in for a takedown, but was brushed off easily by Zellhuber. Halfway into the round, Zellhuber started to wake up, throwing out some heavy, crisp strikes. He needed to get moving though because Ogden was clearly the more active fighter. That patience likely cost him the opening round on the cards.
Zellhuber picked up the pace in the second, really throwing out some lightning-quick kicks and jabs. That didn’t slow Ogden down though as he kept his pace from the 1st Round. Every time Zellhuber made a move he was doing some good work, but it didn’t seem like it was enough to overcome the output of Ogden. To really solidify the round on the cards, Ogden shot in with a huge takedown, dragging Zellhuber to the canvas.
Just like the 2nd Round, Zellhuber opened the 3rd round hard, knowing he needed a finish. Once again, Ogden was just edging ahead thanks to his output. It’s too bad, Zellhuber looked like a fantastic fighter, but because of his fight IQ, he lost this UFC card.
Fight #5
Loma Lookboonmee def. Denise Gomes by Unanimous Decision
Loma was trying to get her kicks going early, but Gomes wasn’t scared, walking straight at her. Eventually Gomes caught one of the kicks and pinned Loma along the fence. Loma was in the air, but somehow reversed positions and found herself on Gomes’ back. It’s a great position to be in, but Loma is essentially a pure striker. This led to Gomes taking the top position and sinking in a DEEP arm triangle. Loma managed to slip out of it, actually retaking the dominant position on top. It was a tight round, but I’d have to score it for Loma thanks to the damage.
In a questionable move, Loma was the one moving this UFC fight to the ground at the start of the second. She landed some decent ground and pound but then wisely decided to stand back up. From there, Gomes pushed her into the fence, trying to get to the canvas herself. Once again, Loma was the one who found herself on top again. With that, she was likely up 2-0 going into the final round.
Gomes came in HARD the final round, throwing everything at Loma. Just like the other rounds though, Loma was the one who found herself on top on the canvas. Still a little inexperienced on the ground though, she let Gomes lock in a heel hook, which then led to Gomes taking her back. Loma was doing well to defend, but was in a bad spot with a few minutes left on the clock. Amazingly, Loma got out of it, stood back up and grabbed a takedown of her own. Gomes had the chance to grab the win, but without a finish, Loma had clearly cruised to an easy win on the cards. The judges agreed, scoring it 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.
Fight #6
Trevin Giles def. Louis Cosce by Unanimous Decision
This was another UFC fight that started off slow with neither fighter making any move for the first couple minutes. With Cosce landing a blistering total of… ONE strike in the 1st Round, it seemed pretty clear that Giles took it on the cards, but he didn’t really throw much out there either.
Cosce turned it up a bit early in the second, but Giles countered and got a few of his own strikes going. Finally, Cosce tried to get his wrestling going, but Giles quickly dodged him and actually took his back along the fence. Once again, minimal action in the round, but Giles seemed to barely edge ahead.
Finally, the action started to heat up as Cosce opened with an easy takedown. He wasn’t getting any damage or submissions going, but he was easily controlling Giles down on the canvas. After a few minutes of control, Cosce was then reversed by Giles. Contrary to Cosce’s approach, Giles was trying to get things going with his own grappling. It was a bizarre, slow fight, but Giles seemed to grab the easy decision on the cards. The judges agreed scoring it 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 for Giles.
Fight #7
Damon Jackson def. Pat Sabatini by TKO in the 1st Round
Jackson landed the first big shot early, slamming a HUGE kick to the chin of Sabatini. From there it was just a matter of following up with ground and pound until the ref stopped it. Maybe a bit of an early stoppage, but it was an impressive win for an emotional Damon Jackson.
UFC Vegas 60 Main Card Action
Fight #8
Anthony Hernandez vs. Marc-André Barriault
BLÜ’s Prediction
Hernandez by Decision
Hernandez opened hard early, lighting Barriault up with a HUGE combo along the fence. Barriault was doing well to slow Hernandez’s pace down, but he was getting dominated along the fence. All that pace was starting to get to Barriault as Hernandez was throwing him around on the canvas. With Barriault spending almost the entire round with his back on the fence or on the ground, Hernandez was clearly up 1-0.
Hernandez opened hard again, dragging Barriault to the mat. This time he started to get some heavy elbows going really threatening a finish. Barriault got back up a couple of times, but Hernandez kept smothering him with grappling and ground and pound. It was so dominant that Barriault’s hair looked like the Canadian flag with red all over. In the 3rd Round, Hernandez slammed the head Barriault straight into the ground. From there, Hernandez kept fighting for the submissions and eventually put Barriault to sleep in the 3rd Round.
Result
Anthony Hernandez def. Marc-André Barriault by Submission in the 3rd Round
Fight #9
Tanner Boser vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
BLÜ’s Prediction
Boser by Finish
Boser started out HARD with massive, massive shots, but Nascimento powered through to grab a big takedown. With all that extra weight, Nascimento stayed on top for a while. Boser recovered though, slamming some more heavy shots into Nascimento along the fence. With Nascimento’s grappling and Boser it was tough to tell who took the opening round, but I’d have probably given it to Boser.
Nascimento pressured early, walking Boser down. Then it was Boser that started to land, wobbling Nascimento. Boser was landing some good shots, but it wasn’t really slowing Nascimento down. This then led to another takedown from Nascimento, which then led to a DEEP submission attempt. Boser got out of it, but was stuck on the ground for the rest of the round.
Once again, Nascimento used his size to drag Boser down and smother him with his wrestling. Nascimento was never really close to finishing the fight, but Boser just couldn’t get back up. The ref stood them back up, allowing Boser to land some decent shots. Sadly, it was too late for Boser to save the round. I’d have scored it 29-28 for Boser but it could’ve gone either way. The judges were split and seemed to be somewhat confused, scoring it 30-27, 28-29 and 29-28 for Nascimento.
Result
Rodrigo Nascimento def. Tanner Boser by Split Decision
Fight #10
Alen Amedovski vs. Joe Pyfer
BLÜ’s Prediction
Pyfer by Finish
Pyfer took a slower approach than expected, but was clearly the larger, harder-hitting fighter in this matchup. He was walking forward constantly, landing the occasional HUGE shot. Amedovski landed a couple of good shots, but Pyfer countered with HUGE shots. Then it was all over as Pyfer landed a BOMB that put him on his back for an unsurprising, but still impressive 1st Round finish.
Result
Joe Pyfer def. Alen Amedovski by TKO in the 1st Round
Fight #11
Andre Fili vs. Bill Algeo
BLÜ’s Prediction
Algeo by Decision
Fili landed the first couple strikes, following it up with a nice little dance move. Algeo started to get more going, but Fili was really feeling his rhythm and taking the action to Algeo. With Fili doing most of the damage, he likely took the tight opening round on the cards.
Both guys dove in early with the striking once again to open the 2nd Round. Neither man was really separating himself as they were both landing some fantastic combos. With the action of that round being dead-even, it was impossible to say where the scores were at.
After some more striking, Fili decided to switch it up with a beautiful takedown. From there, Fili was dominant, locking in a DEEP rear naked choke. It was looking pretty rough for Algeo, but he somehow fought out of it. Algeo had split Fili open pretty bad, but you’d have to imagine that Fili was still winning on the cards thanks to his dominant position and submission attempts. The judges were split once again, scoring it 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28 for Fili.
Result
Andre Fili def. Bill Algeo by Split Decision
UFC Vegas 60 Co-Main Event
Chidi Njokuani vs. Gregory Rodrigues
BLÜ’s Prediction
Njokuani by Finish
Chidi was the one pressuring first, slamming HUGE kicks into Rodrigues. Rodrigues was about to go for a takedown when Chidi threw up a knee straight to his forehead. As usual though, Rodrigues fought through it and even managed to grab a quick takedown. It was looking bad for Rodrigues though as he was draped in his own blood. Amazingly, that didn’t slow him down as he dropped Chidi multiple times with HUGE shots. It was back and forth, but I’d have given the round to Rodrigues with those knockdowns.
Rodrigues opened the next round with a vengeance, walking Chidi down again with HUGE combos. Then it was the grappling of Rodrigues that became the focus of the fight. He kept dropping massive shots over and over until the ref was forced to stop it. His face was destroyed by one of the worst cuts I’ve ever seen, but he fought through it to grab a WILD come-from-behind finish.
Result
Gregory Rodrigues def. Chidi Njokuani by TKO in the 2nd Round
UFC Vegas 60 Main Event
Cory Sandhagen vs. Song Yadong
BLÜ’s Prediction
Sandhagen by Decision
Sandhagen tried to control the pressure of Song early, pushing him into the fence. After a beautiful counter from Yadong, Sandhagen went for a takedown. Sadly for him, Song reversed him and was all over him for about a minute. With more razor-thin striking to close the round, it could’ve gone either way on the cards.
Song landed his biggest shot of the fight early in the second round, wobbling Sandhagen backwards into the fence. The tables turned quickly though as Sandhagen SHREDDED Song with elbows. This slowed down Yadong quite a bit and likely stole the round with all of the damage on the face of Song.
The doctor was brought in to check on his cut, but quickly left. Once again, it was an all-out brawl for the first couple minutes of the round. Song’s cut then started to leak and Sandhagen took advantage, lighting him up with shots along the fence. Yadong was toughing his way through it and walking him down, but he was getting ripped apart by all of Sandhagen’s elbows.
Opening up the 4th Round, Yadong managed to get Sandhagen down to the ground, but he kept getting back up and made Song’s cut even bigger. Sandhagen then started to steal another round on the cards as he had Song with his back on the canvas. Going into the final round, the blood was really starting to flow from Yadong. After all that damage, the doctor came in and sadly, the fight came to an unceremonious end from a doctor’s stoppage. That was the end of this UFC Card, it was kind of anticlimactic.
Result
Cory Sandhagen def. Song Yadong by Doctor Stoppage after the 4th Round
BLÜ’s Record for the Night
Prelims: 1-0
Robertson (W)
Main Card: 3-3
Hernandez (W)
Boser (L)
Pyfer (W)
Algeo (L)
Njokuani (L)
Sandhagen (W)
BLÜ BONUSES
KO of the Night: Joe Pyfer
Sub. of the Night: Gillian Robertson
Brawl of the Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Song Yadong
Most Valuable Fighter
Gregory Rodrigues
Once again, this man walked through fire to grab a win. I wouldn’t say it was a come-from-behind win, because I thought he won the first round, but when you’ve got a cut that bad, the doctor could stop the fight at any moment. You have to be some kind of special athlete and UFC fighter to fight through all those massive shots AND a wild cut like that.
