UFC Vegas 27 results: Font out-strikes Garbrandt as Esparza stops Xiaonan

Las Vegas, May 23: Rob Font out-struck Cody Garbrandt to win the thrilling battle of bantamweight contenders in UFC Vegas 27: Font vs. Garbrandt at the Apex Facility in Las Vegas on Saturday (May 22) night.

In the main event bantamweight bout, #3 ranked Font and former champion #4 ranked Garbrandt opened the bout with an exchange of fury. Font's striking edged higher and faster as the rounds wore on, as Garbrant looked to mix things up with takedown attempts.

The fourth round saw Font's output surge and Garbrant had to abandon his shoots. The fifth and final round was a firecracker as Garbrandt caught his rhythm and made it competitive. Font's significant strikes likely made a record for the second-most at bantamweight as he took home the unanimous decision.

A striking masterclass showcase 🤜

@RobSFont landed in the pocket to make it 4️⃣-straight wins! #UFCVegas27 pic.twitter.com/bs8eUJimPz

— UFC (@ufc) May 23, 2021

In the co-main event, top five women's strawweights #3 Yan Xiaonan and #4 Carla Esparza engaged for a potential title shot.

Yan rushed in which let Esparza and her wrestling take her down and dominate the first round. This repeated in the second, and Esparza worked to crucifix position then pounded on Yan until the referee stopped the fight, giving her the TKO victory.

Stunning performances from these two to earn your POTNs 💸

💰 @CarlaEsparza1
💰 @BrunoBulldogUFC pic.twitter.com/ARTYouvSNt

— UFC (@ufc) May 23, 2021

Also on the main card, Heavyweight finishers Justin Tafa and Jared Vanderaa put on the expected powerful slugfest with strategy and technique making it a nail-biter.

In the second round, Vanderaa came on strong with a massive flurry of kicks, punches and elbows. Surprisingly it went the distance, and Vanderaa deservedly took home the win.

Former women's featherweight title challenger Felicia Spencer and short notice replacement Norma Dumont waged their battle on the feet until the end of the final round, which saw Spencer do work on the ground. The scorecards reflected Dumont's edge in striking with a split decision victory.

A high-paced featherweight bout went the distance with Ricardo Ramos using his grappling against Bill Algeo's striking. The well-rounded pair made it competitive, leaving the judges to score it in favor of Ramos' takedowns.

This heavyweight brawl paid off 🤑

💵 @Justin_Tafa & @JaredVanderaa earn your FOTN at #UFCVegas27

[ B2YB @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/CXMAQX707U

— UFC (@ufc) May 23, 2021

In a crafty bout between middleweight rankers, #7 Jack Hermansson got back in the win column with a unanimous decision thanks to a dominant third round of ground and pound against #12 Edmen Shahbazyan.

Earlier in the preliminary card, Ben Rothwell, Bruno Silva and David Dvorak earned stoppage wins, while Court McGee, Josh Culibao and Damir Ismagulov claimed decision wins. And due to health issues, Damir Hadzovic was removed from the lightweight bout with Yancy Medeiros and the bout will be rescheduled at a later date.

UFC Vegas 27 Results

Main Card

1. Bantamweight bout: Rob Font defeated Cody Garbrandt via unanimous decision

2. Women's Strawweight bout: Carla Esparza defeated Yan Xiaonan via TKO at 2:58 of round 2

3. Heavyweight bout: Jared Vanderaa defeated Justin Tafa via unanimous decision

4. Women's Featherweight bout: Norma Dumont defeated Felicia Spencer via split decision

5. Bantamweight bout: Ricardo Ramos defeated Bill Algeo via unanimous decision

6. Middleweight bout: Jack Hermansson defeated Edmen Shahbazyan via unanimous decision

Preliminary Card

1. Heavyweight bout: Ben Rothwell defeated Chris Barnett via submission at 2:07 of round 2

2. Welterweight bout: Court McGee defeated Claudio Silva via unanimous decision

3. Flyweight bout: Bruno Silva defeated Victor Rodriguez via TKO at 1:00 of round 1

4. Featherweight bout: Josh Culibao defeated Shayilan Nuerdanbieke via unanimous decision

5. Flyweight bout: David Dvorak defeated Juancamilo Ronderos via submission at 2:18 of round 1

6. Lightweight bout: Damir Ismagulov defeated Rafael Alves via unanimous decision