UFC Vegas 26-What a Show!

The co-main event did not contain the names that the UFC had in mind when they first put this card together, but in the end it turned out to be a hell of a show. And that is with the last minute changes of Alex Morono stepping for ousted Diego Sanchez with less than a week’s notice. Both Marina Rodrigez and Michelle Waterson had only two weeks to prepare for their strawweight match-up.

Without a star studded line up of names, the results were phenomenal and very entertaining. 

In the main event Rodrigez won in a unanimous decision that saw her dominate Waterson from the opening bell. Using kicks to the body, and landing a variety of punches and knees throughout the first three rounds. She kept pressing hard throughout the match.

Waterson did get some back in the fourth and fifth rounds. Knocking Rodrigez down

with a kick to the leg and the fourth Waterson took her down and rained down blows from the top position. She continued attacking in the fifth landing a kick to the chin that left a welt on Rodrigez, but in the end it wasn’t enough.

In the co-main event we saw a legend of the MMA world look like it might be coming to an end. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone lost in the first round by TKO to Alex Morono. A great result for Morono, although it won’t catapult him up the ranks, it will at least get him noticed. As for “Cowboy” he says he is not done yet, but we will have to wait and see if the UFC has anything left to offer him.

In a battle of ranked welterweights, #9 ranked Neil Magny handily defeated #10 ranked Geoff Neal. “The Hatian Sensation” attacked in a constant flurry throughout the fight. Neal got a couple of hard strikes in but it did nothing to slow Magny down. With one more win he will be tied for most wins all-time by a welterweight.

But the battle that took home “Fight of the Night” honors went to Gregor Gillespie and Diego Ferreira in the lightweight division.  Ranked #14 Gillespie took out #12 Ferreira in the second round with a series of blows to the side of the head just after he got him on the ground. This was Gillespies first fight since taking a brutal kick to the head that knocked him out at UFC 244. 

Unfortunately Ferreira will not be partaking in the $100K bonus due to the fact that he missed the target weight by 4.5lbs (2KG).

If you parlayed these fights and just bet the moneyline you came out pretty close to even. But if you took some chances on the over/under and prop bets, especially if you took the under on the Cerrone vs Morono fight, you did alright. 

With Vegas 26 out of the way all eyes are on UFC 262 and with just a few more big names in it.