UFC Vegas 31 results and recap: Makhachev submits Moises as Tate makes winning return

Las Vegas, July 18: Islam Makhachev choked Thiago Moises to earn a crucial win in UFC Vegas 31: Makhachev vs Moises event (also known as UFC on ESPN) at the Apex Facility in Las Vegas on Saturday (July 17) night.

While the headliner ended in stoppage, the four other bouts on the main card and three bouts on the preliminary card of the UFC Fight Night event also ended in stoppage victories as the co-headliner saw a former champion make a winning return to the Octagon.

In the main event, surging lightweights Makhachev and Moises but on a nail-biting first round of striking and clinching that ended with the expected takedown by Makhachev. Makhachev worked his wrestling for dominant second and third rounds, and finally got the back choke submission that made Moises tap out in the fourth.

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In the women's bantamweight division, Marion Reneau made her retirement fight against former UFC champion Miesha Tate's comeback fight, and the two displayed high level MMA action.

Tate showed she hasn't missed a step in her five years away from the Octagon with good striking, takedowns and control. In the third round, Tate utilized her ground and pound to finish Reneau for the TKO win and earned a Performance of the Night bonus.

Also on the main card, lightweight powerhouse Mateusz Gamrot wasted no time shooting on massive veteran Jeremy Stephens, taking him down, and locking up a kimura for the tap at just 1:05 of the very first round, earning a well-deserved Performance of the Night award.

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Stand out grapplers at middleweight Rodolfo Vieira and Dustin Stoltzfus displayed striking skills and good game plans that tied them up after two rounds of action. Vieira's jiu jitsu came out in force in the third, and he made Stoltzfus tap out to a rear naked choke for the submission victory and a Performance of the Night bonus.

The Fight of the Night went to the featherweight bout that opened the main card as TUF and DWCS alumni Billy Quarantillo and Gabriel Benitez slugged and grappled for 2 rounds until the referee called it off. Quarantillo's punches, elbows and ground dominance were too much for Benitez and he got the TKO victory in the second round.

Earlier in the preliminary card, Amanda Lemos took out prospect Montserrat Conejo with punches in just 35 seconds for the second-fastest finish in UFC women's strawweight history, increasing her win streak to four in a row.

And to round off the prelims, Daniel Rodriguez and Rodrigo Nascimento claimed stoppage wins against Preston Parsons and Alan Baudot respectively, while Sergey Morozov and Malcolm Gordon earned decision wins over Khalid Taha and Francisco Figueiredo respectively.

UFC Vegas 31 Results

Main Card

1. Lightweight bout: Islam Makhachev defeated Thiago Moises via fourth-round submission

2. Women's Bantamweight bout: Miesha Tate defeated Marion Reneau via third-round TKO

3. Lightweight bout: Mateusz Gamrot defeated Jeremy Stephens via first-round submission

4. Middleweight bout: Rodolfo Vieira defeated Dustin Stoltzfus via third-round submission

5. Featherweight bout: Billy Quarantillo defeated Gabriel Benitez via third-round TKO

Preliminary Card

1. Welterweight bout: Daniel Rodriguez defeated Preston Parsons via first-round TKO

2. Women's Strawweight bout: Amanda Lemos defeated Montserrat Conejo via first-round KO

3. Bantamweight bout: Sergey Morozov defeated Khalid Taha via unanimous decision

4. Flyweight bout: Malcolm Gordon defeated Francisco Figueiredo via unanimous decision

5. Heavyweight bout: Rodrigo Nascimento defeated Alan Baudot via second-round TKO