UFC 224 results: Nunes breaks Pennington's nose and retains title

Rio de Janerio, May 13: Amanda Nunes leaves Raquael Pennington and the canvas bloodied to retain the Women's Bantamweight championship in the main event of UFC 224: Nunes vs. Pennington on Saturday (May 12).

The UFC women's bantamweight bout took place at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro which was witness to a night dominated by stoppages, 11 of 13 to be precise.

The champ is in rare form tonight.@Amanda_Leoa #UFC224 pic.twitter.com/mrkFZ5Zpdp

— UFC (@ufc) May 13, 2018

Pennington started strong but Nunes took her down with a leg kick in the first round and from then it was total domination by the Brazilian till the end. With the result seeming to be a foregone conclusion in the fifth, Pennington told her corner she was done, but her coaches didn't agree.

To her credit Pennington came out on the attack but Nunes took her down and sensing an opportunity to end the fight, Nunes unleashed a barrage of ground-and-pound strikes that busted open Pennington's nose, which left the canvas as well as Pennington' s face to be bloodied. This earned the Brazilian a stoppage at the 2:36 mark of the final round.

THE UNDISPUTED CHAMPION OF THE WORLD!

🏆 @Amanda_Leoa #UFC224 pic.twitter.com/eQNYoax6wl

— UFC (@ufc) May 13, 2018

In the co-main event, Kelvin Gastelum picked up a signature win in a very close fight after three thrilling rounds with Ronaldo Souza in middleweight title contenders bout.

The battle of Brazilian legends opened the main card and it was Lyoto Machida who proved victorious over Vitor Belfort with a front kick to win via knockout under a minute of the second round.

Next up, John Lineker continued to prove he is one of the most dangerous fighters in the lightweight divisions after scoring a third-round finish of Brian Kelleher via KO.

HANDS OF STONE! @JohnLineker #UFC224 pic.twitter.com/LYmkOSBtNF

— UFC (@ufc) May 13, 2018

Going into the Women's strawweight bout Mackenzie Dern missed weight by seven pounds. But, the fight still went on with the acceptance of Amanda Cooper. Although Dern might have lost fans after missing weight, she certainly would've got them on their side after submitting Cooper in the first frame.

Earlier on the prelims, seven of eight fights on the card ended in stoppages with submission wins and three knockouts. In the only decision on the card Ramazan Emeev scored a trio of 30-27 points against Alberto Mina.

As for the stoppages, Cezar Ferreira, Aleksei Oleinik, Davi Ramos and event opener Markus Perez all earned submission wins. While, Jack Hermansson, Warlley Alves and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos won via knockouts.

WHAT. A. COMEBACK.@JackTheJokerMMA #UFC224 pic.twitter.com/Xcg3ydPWxD

— UFC (@ufc) May 12, 2018

Check out the final results of UFC 224:

Main Card

1. Women's bantamweight title bout: Amanda Nunes defeated Raquel Pennington by TKO (punches) - Round 5, 2:36

2. Middleweight bout: Kelvin Gastelum defeated Ronaldo Souza by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

3. Women's Strawweight bout: Mackenzie Dern defeated Amanda Cooper by submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 2:27

4. Bantamweight bout: John Lineker defeated Brian Kelleher by knockout (punch) - Round 3, 3:43

5. Middleweight bout: Lyoto Machida defeated Vitor Belfort by knockout (kick) - Round 2, 1:00

Preliminary Card

1. Middleweight bout: Cezar Ferreira defeated Karl Roberson by technical submission (arm-triangle choke) - Round 1, 4:45

2. Heavyweight bout: Aleksei Oleinik defeated Junior Albini by submission (Ezekiel choke) - Round 1, 1:45

3. Lightweight bout: Davi Ramos defeated Nick Hein by submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 4:15

4. Welterweight bout: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos defeated Sean Strickland by TKO (kick, punches) - Round 1, 3:12

5. Welterweight bout: Warlley Alves defeated Sultan Aliev by TKO (doctor stoppage) - Round 2, 5:00

6. Middleweight bout: Jack Hermansson defeated Thales Leites by TKO (punches) - Round 3, 2:10

7. Welterweight bout: Ramazan Emeev defeated Alberto Mina by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

8. Middleweight bout: Markus Perez defeated James Bochnovic by submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 4:28