Coming off a hot UFC 217 show, UFC’s Fight Nights tends to be a middle of the road affair more often than not. In this case, it definitely was.
The night started strong on the main card when Clay Guida knocked out Joe Lauzon in an exciting and dominant fashion. It was a fun bout that got the main card off to hot start; Guida looked great here and was a strong contender for performance and knockout of the night. The next three bouts however, were simply boring. Not a lot of action happened with guys mostly just standing there; or a hugfest in the Albini/Arlovski fight.
The knockout in the Assuncao/Lopez bout was cool and unexpected, but was a slog to watch before getting to that moment. Marquardt/Ferreira showed glimpses of an exciting fight with some fun exchanges, but mostly was trapped with the non-action carried over from the previous fight.
Regardless of the last three fights, I was still pumped to see Brown vs. Sanchez and that match did not disappoint. Out of the gate these two gave everything they had and showcased the fight of the evening thus far. Brown taking down Sanchez with a sick elbow was awesome and I hope this truly isn’t his last fight.
Brown vs. Sanchez was clearly the fight of the night thus far, so Pettis vs. Poirier had their work cut out for them. However, they succeeded and put on an excellent bout. Poirier was the standout here with his dominant performance, but Pettis proved why he was one of the best lightweights in the division. All in all, Guida/Lauzon, Brown/Sanchez, and Pettis/Poirier made this a worthy show to watch.
Main card (FOX Sports 1 at 10 p.m. ET)
Dustin Poirier def. Anthony Pettis
via TKO (injury)
Matt Brown def. Diego Sanchez via KO (elbow)
Andrei Arlovski def. Junior Albini
via unanimous decision
Cezar Ferreira def. Nate Marquardt via split decision
Raphael Assuncao def. Matthew Lopez
via KO (punch)
Clay Guida def. Joe Lauzon via TKO (punches)
Undercard (FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET)
Marlon Moraes def. John Dodson via split decision
Tatiana Suarez def. Viviane Pereira
via unanimous decision
Sage Northcutt def. Michel Quinones via unanimous decision
Nina Ansaroff def. Angela Hill via unanimous decision
Undercard (UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET)
Sean Strickland def. Court McGee via unanimous decision
Jake Collier def. Marcel Fortuna
via unanimous decision
Karl Roberson def. Darren Stewart via submission