Join Bloody Elbow tonight (Saturday, January 20th) for live results, discussion, and round-by-round scoring and commentary for UFC 220 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic battles the highly touted Francis Ngannou in the main event, while Daniel Cormier puts his light heavyweight strap on the line against the heavy-handed Volkan Oezdemir in the co-main event.
This post will cover the six-fight preliminary card. The featured bout is a featherweight clash between Kyle Bochniak and Brandon Davis. Live results and play-by-play will commence with the Fight Pass broadcast at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT. The rest of the prelims will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT. The main card will be covered in a separate post.
The fight lineup is as follows:
Kyle Bochniak vs. Brandon Davis - Featherweights
Round 1 -Lots of feints and very little throwing, more than a minute into the final preliminary card bout. Quick 1-2 by Bochniak as Davis returns fire with a right hand. Bochniak tags Davis with another two-punch combo. Sharp leg kick thrown by Davis. Bochniak grabs hold of a leg and after a long struggle he gets the takedown, but Davis is back to his feet. Bochniak has Davis pinned against the fence and is looking for the outside trip. He scoops up the left leg and puts Davis down, only for Davis to stand up again. It’s a relative stalemate in the clinch, with Bochniak throwing a knee to the body, and Davis just threw an illegal elbow to the back. Bochniak goes for the back while standing, but time runs out for one last takedown. 10-9 Bochniak.
Round 2 - Bochniak connects with a right hand, Davis with a leg kick and body kick in rapid succession. Left hook lands for Bochniak. Good right hand as well, then Davis slams home another leg kick. One more buckling leg kick is there for Davis, and Bochniak is feeling the effects. A tussle in the clinch ensues and Davis gets in a nifty elbow. Davis eggs on Bochniak to come and fight him, or more likely brawl with him. Whiff on the spinning backfist and Bochniak pounces in hopes of getting Davis down. No dice. Close round, but I give it to Bochniak. 20-18 Bochniak.
Round 3 - Head kick by Davis sweeps across Bochniak’s face. The toes seemed to at least land on Bochniak but that’s it. Bochniak with a straight right to the body. Kyle in pursuit of the takedown and Davis is trying to punish him with elbows. Bochniak can’t keep Davis down, but on the way up he cracked Davis clean with a right hand. Another brutal leg kick by Davis. It’s Davis hitting a reactive takedown, or so it seemed, because Bochniak sprung up immediately. There’s a whole lot of missing going on in this one. Bochniak is in on a single-leg, Davis defends. Davis letting his hands go and also a front kick in the closing seconds. 10-9 Davis but 29-28 Bochniak.
Official result: Kyle Bochniak def. Brandon Davis by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Sabah Homasi - Welterweights
Round 1 - Excellent leg kick from Alhassan. Homasi with a head-body combination. Alhassan goes after the lead leg again. Alhassan just misses with a laser of a right hand. Furious exchange in the clinch but not a whole lot landed. Flying knee by Homasi, and then a failed takedown. Hard right hand by Homasi stunned Alhassan. Now they’re back to the crazy swinging from the first fight. Homasi completes the takedown this time and Alhassan is on his backside. Referee stands them up for... some reason. Good right hand by Alhassan. Big uppercut by Alhassan DESTROYS Homasi! Fight over! That was vicious!
Official result: Abdul Razak Alhassan def. Sabah Homasi by KO (uppercut) at 3:47 of round 1
Dustin Ortiz vs. Alexandre Pantoja - Flyweights
Round 1 - Pantoja comes out aggressively, and so is Ortiz. Ortiz clinches and takes Pantoja down right away. Pantoja with a back elbow to the face, and Ortiz might give up his back in a scramble. Ortiz fighting the hands, now throwing elbows. Knees to the body by the Brazilian. Some ground-and-pound from Pantoja and he’s got the back and the body triangle. Pantoja threatening with the rear-naked choke but Ortiz is privy to it. Back to the body shots for Pantoja, then attacks the neck again. This is all Pantoja so far, and he still had the body triangle and punching Ortiz’s ribs. More hard body shots and he goes for the neck again. Might even be a neck crank here. Ortiz is in trouble with a minute to go. Ortiz escapes and now he’s on top. Knee by Ortiz and that may have been illegal. He’s going for Pantoja’s back in the closing seconds. Dustin raining down punches and going for the choke but doesn’t have enough time. 10-9 Pantoja.
Round 2 - Quick-fire striking to start this round. Ortiz showing off his boxing while Pantoja throws the leg kick. Slick right hand by Ortiz, who then takes a leg kick on the inside. Pantoja counters Ortiz with the jab, and Ortiz fails on the single. Hard body kick thrown by Ortiz. Good right hand by Ortiz, as well. Another takedown attempt by Ortiz and he’s on the verge of getting Pantoja’s back. Ortiz throws some knees to the thigh. Pantoja down on one knee and purely defensive. Not a whole lot of offense from Ortiz but it’s way more than Pantoja. Ortiz in danger of being reversed, Pantoja does well to minimize the damage and return to his feet. Big right hands from both fighters before Ortiz closes the distance and drops for a takedown. He gets it, but Pantoja steps over Ortiz’s left leg to neutralize Dustin advancing his position. Ortiz drags him towards the fence, Pantoja is warned for throwing elbows to the spine, and the round ends. 19-19.
Round 3 - Good right hand over the top from Pantoja, who is going all out. Takedown from Ortiz and Pantoja throws up his legs for an armbar, and then reverses position and winds up on top. Ortiz staying busy with elbows to the left side of Pantoja’s back. Pantoja gets the back but it doesn’t take long for Ortiz to stand up. The Brazilian has the bodylock and puts him to the canvas again. Ortiz trying to spin and sweep Pantoja, and he’s looking to shake him off. Now it’s Ortiz on top with 90 seconds to go. PPantoja takes a few punches and scrambles to his feet. Ortiz pushing the action and leaps into a left hook. Ortiz with the takedown and he scoops the legs, but Pantoja is doing well not to consistently lose these grappling exchanges. Good right hands by Ortiz in the closing seconds. Knee to the body by Ortiz and some more right hands before the fight ends. I score the round and the fight for Dustin Ortiz off of the damage he did. 10-9 Ortiz and 29-28 Ortiz overall.
Official result: Dustin Ortiz def. Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Julio Arce vs. Dan Ige - Featherweights
Round 1 - Ige catches a kick and tries to put Arce on the ground. Arce does a good job of springing back up. They separate from their clinch. Good leg kick from Ige. Another outside leg kick from Ige. He switches up and goes inside, then shoots for a takedown. Arce defends well, does take a knee to the body before Ige exits. This time Arce initiates the clinch, but nothing comes of it. Good straight left by Arce. Ige with another leg kick. Arce catches Ige with a straight left. Arce may have stunned Ige with a right hand. Brief scramble ensues on the mat after Ige shoots for a takedown, and they’re back to their feet. Arce is teeing off and wobbles Ige with a left hand. It’s not looking good for Ige. Great sprawl from Arce to end the opening frame. 10-9 Arce.
Round 2 - Ige coming forward and misses on a sweeping right hand. Arce measures Ige up with the jab but misses on the left. Another lovely straight left by Arce right down the middle. Considerable lull in the action right now, and Ige is essentially doomed to a kickboxing battle. They trade punches on the inside and Arce got the better of that exchange. Hard uppercut by Arce and Ige desperately shoots, and Arce sprawls with ease. Ige connects on a left hook. Nice right hand by Ige backs Arce up, and then he drops for a single-leg. Arce posts his hand up against the fence, and he was actually grabbing it, so the ref warns him. Ige just can’t take Arce down. One more sprawl by Arce and he throws some punches to either side of Ige’s body before Ige flops to his back. 20-18 Arce.
Round 3 - Arce slips a punch and rips up Ige with fast hands to the dome. A vicious uppercut stuns Ige. Straight left snaps Ige’s head back. Arce is timing Ige consistently on just about everything, and now he’s just hurt Ige with a body shot in the clinch. Ige went to his back, hoping for Arce to go into his guard, to no avail. Arce continues to pick Ige apart on the feet with precision boxing. Ige’s success is almost exclusively off of single strikes, and they’re few and far between. One minute to go and Ige needs to go for broke. Straight right hand lands for Ige, but he needs much much more than that. Big counter left hand by Arce stops Ige in his tracks. Ten seconds to go, and they clinch briefly. Ige throws some haymakers but he’s not going to get that miracle KO. 30-27 Arce.
Official result: Julio Arce def. Dan Ige by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Enrique Barzola vs. Matt Bessette - Featherweights
Round 1 - Early leg kick from Barzola, but it’s mostly a feeling out process. Another leg kick by the Peruvian. Sneaky right hand inside for Bessette. Head kick attempt from Bessette and it partially landed, at best. Hard body kick from Bessette, then a right uppercut is blocked. Barzola having lots of success with the leg kick, and he’s just avoided two head kicks in rapid succession. Both men exchanging some good strikes in the pocket. Head kick and uppercut by Bessette. Missed left hook by Bessette, now Barzola changes levels and slams Matt to the ground. Bessette rolls for a leglock, Barzols is aware of it, and now throws some punches while standing over Bessette. Good ground-and-pound from Barzola, then Bessette gets back to his feet.Another leg kick by Barzola and he shoots for a takedown against the fence, but it’s stuffed. Another head kick by Bessette gets through. Fun opening round. 10-9 Barzola.
Round 2 - Blood coming from the left side of Barzola. Bessette with early pressuring, and Barzola takes some punches to the body. Bessette blocks a flying knee, misses on a high kick and to the body. They trade leg kicks before Barzola throws a front kick. Bessette gets dropped with another kick to the calf, and he’s switching stances. Enrique has his takedown denied, and they’re back to the center of the cage. Good right hand by Bessette, he tries to work some combination punching before Barzola picks him up and dumps him on his back. Bessette once again threatens the leg, eats a few punches for his troubles. Barzola going to the body and Bessette is egging him on, now he’s back up. Another takedown for Barzola with a minute to go. more punches to the body and head thrown by the Peruvian, Bessette is upright once more. Barzola with one more takedown to end the round. 20-18 Barzola.
Round 3 - Bessette coming out firing to begin the final round. Not too many punches landed cleanly. Barzola with two jabs and then a right hand. Bessette with a hook to the body and an uppercut. Barzola continues to attack Bessette’s legs, and the discomfort is noticeable. Left hook by Barzola is answered with a right hand by Bessette. Nice knee by Bessette, and no sign of a takedown from Barzola with two minutes to go. Now Barzola is in on a double, switches to a single-leg, and Bessette is defending well so far. Barzola has double underhooks and Bessette pinned against the fence, drops down for the double again, and he’s got the hands locked for another takedown. Barzola took him to the center of the cage for that slam, too. Bessette absorbs a few short punches, now Barzola stands up and throws some strikes, but takes an upkick. They’re back to their feet in the closing seconds, Bessette emptying the tank. Close round, and I think Bessette took it because of the better shots landed on the feet. 10-9 Bessette and 29-28 Barzola.
Official result: Enrique Barzola def. Matt Bessette by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Islam Makhachev vs. Gleison Tibau - Featherweights
Round 1 - Not much happening so far. And then Makhachev just smashed Tibau with a left hand and he’s down and out! What a way to start the night.
Official result: Islam Makhachev def. Gleison Tibau by KO (punch) at :57 of round 1
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