The judges were not needed for the first few fights on the UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare main card on Fox Sports 1. We were treated to a trio of great submissions and a dominant performance from a top 10 women's bantamweight contender. Here's a look at the results from all of the main card bouts preceding the night's co-main and main event:
Godofredo Pepey (12-3) def. Andre Fili (14-3) via submission (triangle choke) at 3:14 of round 1 - Featherweights
It took awhile for him to actually get it, but Godofredo Pepey just about won via flying triangle choke. The TUF Brazil 1 runner-up was setting it up as Fili was trying to slam his way out of it, but Pepey held tight and worked his way towards fully locking it in. Once the BJJ black belt did, Fili was forced to tap. Pepey has now won 3 straight fights by 1st round stoppage, with two by submission and one by flying knee knockout, while Fili drops to 2-2 inside the Octagon.
Gilbert Burns (10-0) def. Alex Oliveira (10-2-1, 1 NC) via submission (armbar) at 4:14 of round 3 - Lightweights
"Cowboy" (no, not that one) proved to be an ultra tough short notice opponent for the touted multi-time BJJ champion "Durinho" Burns. Replacing an injured Josh Thomson, Oliveira was able to take advantage of Burns' 1st round passiveness by busting him up with effective striking. Burns took Oliveira down in the 1st minute but couldn't do anything after that. The 2nd round was another Oliveira round as Burns' left eye was swollen and Oliveira was stuffing the takedowns and continuing to land hard punches on Burns. Down two rounds, Burns immediately got a body lock takedown on Oliveira straight into mount. From there, he spent more than half the round looking for an omoplata but Oliveira defended well. With time running out, Burns switched to a mounted triangle and armbar combo, but with Oliveira thwarting the triangle, Burns transitioned to a belly-down armbar. Oliveira tried to roll, but it just improved Burns' position to secure the armlock and force an incredible stoppage. Burns improves to 3-0 in the UFC and he dug deep to get this one, while a valiant Oliveira loses his debut but gained plenty of respect.
Amanda Nunes (9-4) def. Shayna Baszler (15-10) via TKO (leg kick and punches) at 1:56 of round 1- Women's Bantamweights
At virtually no point did Baszler look competitive against Nunes. The Brazilian was the vastly superior striker and Baszler never got her down. Nunes hurt Baszler with a body kick and some punches to the head, but what put Baszler down for good was the last of several hard kicks to Baszler's lead leg. Baszler crumpled in pain, Nunes pounced, Mario Yamasaki stopped the fight but Nunes threw at least one extra strike after Yamasaki intervened. Nunes bounces back from her loss to Cat Zingano and improves her record to 3-1 in the UFC. Baszler falls to 1-4 in her last 5 fights and it's hard to see "The Queen of Spades" competing again.
Leo Santos (14-3-1) def. Tony Martin (9-3) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:29 of round 2 - Lightweights
After a slow 1st round with little in the way of action from either fighter, Santos changed the course of the fight with a beautiful takedown near the fence. Martin managed to get into a sitting position but Santos, a high-level BJJ black belt who once submitted Georges St-Pierre in an ADCC event, mounted the American and that proved to be the beginning of the end. Santos took Martin's back, positioned himself for a rear-naked choke, locked it in, and forced Martin to submit. The TUF Brazil 2 winner ups his mark to 3-0-1 inside the Octagon, while Martin falls to 1-3 and his future with the promotion is now surely in jeopardy.