In the featherweight opener, Austin Lingo scored his first UFC victory, as he won a shutout three-round decision over Jacob Kilburn.

Scores were 30-26 twice and 30-27 for Lingo, now 8-1. Kilburn falls to 8-4.

A right hand by Lingo put Kilburn on the seat of his pants as the bout began, but Kilburn got up immediately and cleared his head. Lingo’s left hand was sharp, though, and when the right followed, it kept rattling his opponent. Kilburn bought some time with a takedown attempt that came up empty, and late in the round he got a small measure of revenge with a spinning backfist that landed flush.

Kilburn opened round two with a takedown but wasn’t able to keep Lingo grounded for long. A sharp left hook by Lingo reminded Kilburn that he was still there, and midway through the frame, a right hand followed with the same result. After a few failed takedown attempts by Kilburn, it was Lingo who put his opponent on the deck in the final minutes, likely earning him the round.

The bout found its way to the canvas in the opening stages of round three, staying there until three minutes remained. And while both fighters tired, Lingo’s work with his hands remained sharp until the final horn.

Official Result: Austin Lingo def. Jacob Kilburn by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)

In bantamweight action, Brazil’s Vanessa Melo scored a three-round unanimous decision over Canada’s Sarah Moras.

Scores were 30-27 and 29-28 twice for Melo, now 11-8. Moras falls to 6-8.

The pattern of the bout was set immediately, as Melo chased and Moras used every inch of the Octagon real estate in order to establish and keep her range. That strategy worked well for Moras in the first round, but in the second, Melo began getting closer, as she knocked Moras’ mouthpiece out and also bloodied her nose with flush shots.

Moras got busier in the third, but was missing more than landing, and Melo’s aggressiveness appeared to be enough to sway the judges.

It was 20 the hard way for welterweight up and comer Ramazan Emeev, who fought off a stellar effort from David Zawada to take a three-round split decision for his 20th pro victory.

Scores were 29-28 twice and 28-29 for Russia’s Emeev, now 20-4. Germany’s Zawada falls to 17-6.

Zawada was aggressive at the start but Emeev responded well, bruising up his foe’s face with a punch before getting a quick takedown. Zawada jumped up almost immediately, only to have Emeev lock him up against the fence for a spell before another takedown. Once standing in the final minute, the two exchanged, Emeev getting the better of the action.

Staying in the fight, Zawada kept pressing in the second, with leg kicks being his weapon of choice. Emeev did get an early takedown and landed some hard punches, but it was Zawada largely dictating the action.

A takedown by Emeev started round three, a bloodied Zawada staying busy from his back before getting to his feet. Emeev looked for a choke and the two went back to the mat, but Zawada got loose and began working from side control until getting into the mount with a little over two minutes left. Emeev turned things around, scrambling back to his feet, where the two battled it out until the final horn.

Heavyweights Carlos Felipe and Justin Tafa took a little time to get warmed up, but once they did, it was bombs away, with Felipe emerging with the win via split decision.

Scores were 29-28 twice and 28-29 for Brazil’s Felipe, now 10-1. Australia’s Tafa falls to 4-2.

The big men were patient in their approach in the first round, with kicks doing much of the scoring for both men. It was Tafa landing the harder shots, though, and it allowed him to take the opening frame.

Tafa continued to control the action for much of the second stanza, but with under two minutes left, Felipe answered back, hurting Tafa and putting him in trouble against the fence. With 30 seconds left, Tafa was back in business with an uppercut, kicking off a heated exchange just before the horn.

The pace of the action stayed high into round three, each fighter having his moments. Tafa did score a brief takedown in the closing stages of the bout, and the crowd roared as the two slugged it out in the final minute, capping off an entertaining scrap.

The first woman from Panama to fight in the UFC became the first to score a victory as well, as Joselyne Edwards won a three-round unanimous decision over China’s Wu Yanan.

Scores were 30-27 twice and 29-28 for Edwards, now 10-2. Yanan falls to 11-4.

A trip to the canvas early in the opening round set up an interesting battle as Edwards looked for an armbar. Wu was patient in trying to escape, and with less than 90 seconds remaining, she got free. Wu got aggressive, landing some hard shots until Edwards scrambled and took her foe’s back. Another scramble saw Wu get the dominant position until the horn.

Wu did good work on her feet in the first two minutes of round two, but a takedown ended with Edwards in the top position, where she landed several shots until the pair stood up and kept it standing for the rest of the frame, both bantamweights getting their shots in.

With the fight close, Wu showed a sense of urgency to begin round three, and her striking was sharp. Edwards, a late replacement for Bethe Correia, was fatigued, but not backing down, and in the final minute she made a late surge to leave an impression with the judges.

Unbeaten middleweight Punahele Soriano got the night off to a good start for Hawaii in the main card opener, as he stopped fellow Contender Series graduate Dusko Todorovic in the first round.

Both fighters were thinking offense in the opening round, mixing up their strikes nicely. In the second minute, a left hand by Soriano rocked Todorovic, but the Serbian up and comer shook it off quickly and got back to his patient and effective striking attack. With 1:34 left, a left hand dropped Todorovic and a second one kept him in trouble. “Thunder” got to his feet, but another left hand-induced knockdown followed. This time, Todorovic got a much-needed break when his mouthpiece needed to be retrieved, but moments later, after another knockdown, referee Herb Dean had seen enough, stopping the bout at 4:48 of round one.

With the win, Soriano moves to 8-0. Todorovic falls to 10-1.

Official Result: Punahele Soriano def. Dusko Todorovic by TKO (strikes) at 4:48 of Round 1

Italian middleweight Alessio Di Chirico snapped his three-fight losing streak in the most emphatic way possible, knocking out rising star Joaquin Buckley in the first round.

Di Chirico looked sharp in the early going as Buckley tried to find an opening, but as he ducked down, he caught a flush right kick to the head and that was it, as referee Keith Peterson stepped in and stopped the fight at 2:12 of the opening frame.

With the win, Rome’s Di Chirico moves to 13-5. St. Louis’ Buckley falls to 12-4.

Official Result: Alessio Di Chirico def. Joaquin Buckley by KO at 2:12 of Round 1

Welterweight standout Li Jingliang spoiled the return of Santiago Ponzinibbio, as he knocked out the longtime contender in the first round.

Ponzinibbio, who was making his first start since November 2018, seemed to have difficulty getting in a rhythm after more than two years off, and Li took advantage, staying busy for much of the opening round until a miss by the Argentina native led to a flush left hook by Li that dropped the favorite and led to a stoppage by referee Jason Herzog at 4:25 of round one.

With the win, China’s Li moves to 18-6. Ponzinibbio saw a seven-fight winning streak snapped as he falls to 28-4.

Official Result: Li Jingliang def. Santiago Ponzinibbio by KO at 4:25 of Round 1

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Welterweight veterans Carlos Condit and Matt Brown finally got to face off, and the two left it all in the Octagon over 15 minutes, with Condit emerging with the victory via unanimous decision.

Scores were 30-27 across the board for Condit, now 32-13. Brown falls to 24-18.

Condit was the busier of the two as the fight began, leading to a Brown takedown a minute in. “The Immortal” was already bloodied on his forehead, but he was unbothered as he kept his foe grounded until the final 30 seconds, when Condit reversed position and ended the frame strong.

Brown nailed Condit with a flush elbow early in round two, forcing “The Natural Born Killer” to slow his aggressive pace momentarily, but he was back at it moments later, and the two vets traded momentum swings with each other. Midway through the round, Condit scored a pair of takedowns, the second one keeping Brown on his back for a longer spell as he implemented his ground-and-pound attack for the rest of the round.

Despite fatigue setting in, Brown kept marching forward, but a takedown attempt in the second minute led to Condit taking the Ohio native’s back. As the two battled, Brown found his way to his feet, and seconds later, he put the fight on the mat again, and this time he was on top. Condit stayed busy from his back, though, ultimately getting upright in the final minute before a final trip to the canvas. 

Official Result: Carlos Condit def. Matt Brown by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway delivered one of his best efforts to date in the UFC Fight Night main event on Fight Island, as he shut out ultra-tough contender Calvin Kattar over five rounds.

Scores were 50-43, 50-43 and 50-42 for the No. 1-ranked Holloway, 22-6, who was coming off a pair of losses to current champion Alexander Volkanovski. The No. 6-ranked Kattar falls to 22-5.

Holloway got down to business right away, sending straight punches down the middle in rapid-fire fashion. Kattar got in his shots, but not at the pace Holloway was throwing them. And as the round progressed, Holloway wasn’t slowing down, leaving Kattar on the defensive. Add in a couple body kicks and it was a big first round for “Blessed.”

It was more of the same in the second, and though Kattar did have his moments, when it looked like the New Englander might be getting into a rhythm, Holloway would take his work rate to a new level. With a little over a minute left, Holloway unleashed elbows that hurt Kattar and cut him, and just before the horn, a head kick put the Methuen native back in trouble.

Kattar got in a flush uppercut in the second minute of round three that froze Holloway momentarily, and a couple follow-up shots kicked off a nice exchange. Midway through the round, though, Holloway returned the favor with an uppercut that was answered by a right hand by Kattar. In the late stages of the round, Holloway dug to the body before going upstairs, and it was another dominant round.

After a fairly patient start to the fourth round, Holloway opened up with his entire arsenal, hurting Kattar and putting him in danger of being stopped. Yet just when it looked like referee Herb Dean was going to step in, Kattar would fire back, refusing to back down. 

Holloway hurt Kattar again in the second minute of round five, the Hawaiian refusing to take his foot off the gas. And he kept that pace until the final horn, capping off one of his greatest performances.

Official Result: Max Holloway def. Calvin Kattar by unanimous decision (50-43, 50-43, 50-42)

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