New FSM Essential Recap: UFC 255 – Figueiredo vs Perez

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UFC 255 went down Saturday night from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Neveda.

 

Two flyweight title fights topped the bill as Deiveson Figueiredo put his belt on the line against No. 4-ranked Alex Perez in the card’s main event. The co-main event featured Valentina Shevchenko defending her women’s title versus No. 3-ranked Jennifer Maia.

 

Figueiredo won the belt in July, plowing through Joseph Benavidez via first-round submission to win his first world title. The Brazilian had been set for his first title defense with Cody Garbrandt. But in October, Garbrandt tore his bicep and was pulled from the card. The UFC didn’t have to look too far as Perez was already on the card against Brandon Moreno. Perez entered the UFC through the Dana White’s Contender Series. He has made the most of his opportunity by going 6-1 with four of those victories via stoppage.

Even though it lasted just under two minutes, it was an exciting two minutes. Figueiredo and Perez began things by slinging the leather and kicks. Based on that, it appeared we were going to be in for a thriller.

An early scramble in the first moments of round one set Perez into a dangerous position, and it didn’t take long before the champion, Figueiredo, capitalized on the position, grabbed Perez’s neck, and secured a guillotine from hell to force the tap before the halfway mark of the first round. The official time for the fight was 1:57.

 

Shevchenko def. Maia by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) to retain the women’s flyweight title.

 

After losing a split decision to current dual champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 215, Shevchenko has gone on an absolute tear, dominantly winning five consecutive bouts with three of those victories coming inside the distance. In her last time out, Shevchenko destroyed Katlyn Chookagian via third-round TKO at UFC 247 to defend her championship for the third time.

 

Maia earned her first UFC title shot by winning three of her last four, including a first-round submission of Joanne Calderwood at the beginning of August.

Many experts expected Shevchenko to plow through Maia. But Maia showed a ton of heart and had better skills than most thought. Because of that, Shevchenko changed it up and used her grappling chops to control Maia.

When she needed to go back to her bread and butter, which is her striking, Shevchenko did so and bloodied up Maia in the fifth round and successfully defended her title for the fourth time.

Maia showed that someone could take a round from the champ, so the door is ajar slightly. It’s going to take a special competitor to dethrone Shevchenko.

 

Also on the UFC 255 card were some other exciting bouts:

 

Mike Perry (14-6 11 Ko’s) vs. Tim Means (30-12 19 KO’s) – Means def. Perry via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).

Katlyn Chookagian (14-4) vs. Cynthia Calvillo (9-1) – Chookagian def. Calvillo by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Maurício “Shogun” Rua (27-11 21 KO’s) vs. Paul Craig (13-4 12 SUB’s) – Craig def. Rua by TKO at 3:36 of the second round.

 

 

Another good fight card is in the books as the UFC continues to entertain us week after week during this tough period we’ve been in. Whether we are watching champions, former champions, title contenders, or up and comers, the UFC will continue to give us entertaining fight cards to enjoy.

 

 

Be sure to check out franchisesportsmedia.com for all your latest in MMA, Las Vegas sports news, events, previews, and recaps.

 

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-Kalani Lua – Franchise Sports Media

 

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