Recap: UFC: 255

 Recap: UFC: 255

                Figueiredo submits Alex Perez to successfully defend his Flyweights title. | UFC.com

Grade For Event: B-

Picks Record For Event: 7-4

Figueiredo vs Perez: 125lb Title:

Deiveson Figueiredo submits Alex Perez with a guillotine choke 1:57 into the first round. Figueiredo, 32, successfully defends his Flyweight belt for the first time and it is the first time since January of 2019 that the 125lb title has been defended. After feeling each other out in the beginning of the fight, Perez attempted a takedown and looked to have it and take Figueiredo’s back in the process. Figueiredo gets up, reverses position and locks up a tight guillotine choke from the bottom, resulting in Perez tapping. Figueiredo moves to 20-1 overall and 9-1 in the UFC. He also extends his win streak to five in a row. During the post fight press conference, UFC President Dana White said that Figueiredo will have a quick turnaround and defend the belt again at UFC 256 on December 19th against Brandon Moreno, who won his fight last night with a first round TKO over Brandon Royval. 

Shevchenko vs Maia: 125lb Title:

After closing as a -2000 favorite on some betting sites, Shevchenko, 32, won a much closer fight than I think a lot of fans and pundits had thought it would be originally. I agreed with the judges' scorecards of a 49-46 decision for Shevchenko. I gave the second round to Jennifer Maia as she took Shevchenko down and controlled her on top for most of that round. Most of the fight saw Shevchenko dominant on the feet and on the ground when she initiated the takedowns. Shevchenko improves to 20-3 overall and 9-2 in the UFC. Dana White said during the press conference that right now he is leaning toward Jessica Andrane getting the next title shot. I love that matchup as Andrane is a power puncher and Shevchenko has had problems with that style of fighter like her fights with Amanda Nunes. 

Best of the Rest:      

Tim Means (31-12-1, 12-10 1NC UFC) wins a unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 X2) over Mike Perry (14-7, 7-7 UFC).

Katlyn Chookagian (15-4, 8-4 UFC) wins a unanimous decision (30-27 X3) over Cynthia Calvillo (9-2-1, 6-2-1 UFC).

Paul Craig (14-4-1, 6-4-1 UFC) wins a second-round TKO (3:36) over Shogun Rua (27-12-1, 11-10-1 UFC). 

Brandon Moreno (18-5-1, 6-2-1 UFC) wins a first-round TKO (4:59) over Brandon Royval (12-5, 2-1 UFC).

Joaquin Buckley (12-3, 2-1 UFC) wins a second-round KO (0:18) over Jordan Wright (11-1 1NC, 1-1 UFC). 

Antonina Shevchenko (9-2, 3-2 UFC) wins a second-round TKO (4:33) over Ariane Lipski (13-6, 2-3 UFC).

Nicolas Dalby (19-3-1, 2NC, 3-3-1 UFC) wins a unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 X2) over Daniel Rodriguez (13-2, 3-1 UFC).

Alan Jouban (17-7, 8-5 UFC) wins a unanimous decision (30-27 X3) over Jared Gooden (17-5, 0-1 UFC).

Kyle Daukaus (10-1, 1-1 UFC) wins a unanimous decision (30-27 X2, 30-26) over Dustin Stoltzfus (13-2, 0-1 UFC).

Sasha Palatnikov (6-2, 1-0 UFC) wins a third-round TKO (2:47) over Louis Cosce (7-1, 0-1 UFC).