UFC Vegas 47 results and recap: Strickland claims split decision over Hermansson in pivotal middleweight match

(R-L) Sean Strickland punches Jack Hermansson during UFC Vegas 47 on February 05, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photos by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Las Vegas, February 6: Sean Strickland outworked Jack Hermansson to claim a crucial win in the middleweight headliner in UFC Vegas 47: Hermansson vs Strickland at the Apex facility in Las Vegas on Saturday (February 5) night.

The main event of the UFC Fight Night 200 saw middleweight contenders clash as No. 6 ranked Jack Hermansson and No. 7 ranked Sean Strickland played five rounds of chess in the Octagon.

Hermansson threw punches and shot for takedowns, but Strickland's excellent defense denied him success. Hermansson's grappling couldn't come into play as Strickland stuffed every takedown and kept his punch landing rate to just 15%.

After earning the split decision, Strickland said, "I would like to think his face shows the results - no offense, Jack, you're a killer. I should have stayed in the pocket and thrown more. Lesson learned, I won't let it happen again. I would love to get a title shot... but I will fight who you put in front of me."

Middleweight finishers Punahele Soriano and Nick Maximov went the distance, in a grueling 3-rounder. The first two were arguably split, leaving the final round to be decisive, and Maximov's wrestling surged him to victory on the scorecards.

Remaining undefeated, Maximov said, "Props to him - he's good. He's a tough Hawaiian and I would have liked to get the finish, but it's all good. Shout out to the Nick Diaz Army."

The main card opener, which was the fight of the night saw all heart, action and grit for three rounds between featherweights Julian Erosa and Steven Peterson, who put on a show before Erosa emerged with the split decision victory.

The non-stop action earned the Fight of the Night award for both, but due to Peterson missing weight, he was ineligible to receive the bonus, so all $100,000 went to Erosa.

A look at the other key moments from UFC Vegas 47:

Kazakh Contender

Shavkat Rakhmonov remained undefeated when he landed a spinning hook kick to the head of Carlston Harris and put him out with punches on the ground. The first round KO puts Rakhmonov on the radar of every UFC welterweight.

Wiped the Smile Off His Face

Although 50-fight veteran "Smiling" Sam Alvey changed up his training camp, Brendan Allen jumped up a division in the last-minute fill-in and spoiled his plans. Allen wobbled Alvey at the end of round one, then knocked him down in round two and elected to finish the fight with a rear naked choke.

The (Real) Ultimate Fighter Finale

TUF 29 semifinalist finally Tresean Gore got his day in the Octagon against Bryan Battle after injury caused him to drop out of the TV show. But the underdog last pick Battle kept his TUF champ status intact by outworking Gore to earn a unanimous decision.

The Next Generation

Dana White's Contender Series alumnus Chidi Njokuani's long-awaited UFC debut didn't last long: in just 16 seconds he stopped Marc-Andre Barriault with a stellar striking display. Another Dana White's Contender Series graduate, Jailton Almeida impressed in his UFC debut by taking Danilo Marques to the ground and pounding him out in the first round.

Comeback Kid

In welterweight action, Phil Rowe rebounded from a rough first round being stuck on his back to stop Jason Witt in the second stanza with a right-left-right combo and hammerfists for good measure.

UFC Vegas 47: Jack Hermansson vs. Sean Strickland Final Results

Main Card

1. Middleweights bout: Sean Strickland defeated Jack Hermansson via split decision (49-46, 49-46, 47-48)

2. Middleweight bout: Nick Maximov defeated Punahele Soriano via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)

3. Welterweight bout: Shavkat Rakhmonov defeated Carlston Harris via KO at 4:10 of round one

4. Light Heavyweights bout: Brendan Allen defeated Sam Alvey via submission (rear naked choke) at 2:10 of round two

5. Middleweight bout: Bryan Battle defeated Tresean Gore via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

6. Featherweight bout: Julian Erosa defeated Steven Peterson via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

Preliminary Card

1. Bantamweight bout: John Castaneda defeated Miles Johns via submission (arm triangle) at 1:38 of round three

2. Featherweight bout: Hakeem Dawodu defeated Michael Trizano via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

3. Middleweight bout: Chidi Njokuani defeated Marc-Andre Barriault via TKO (strikes) at :16 of round one

4. Women's Bantamweight bout: Alexis Davis defeated Julija Stoliarenko via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 30-27)

5. Light Heavyweights bout: Jailton Almeida defeated Danilo Marques via TKO (strikes) at 2:57 of round one

6. Welterweight bout: Phil Rowe defeated Jason Witt via TKO (strikes) at 2:15 of round two

7. Flyweight bout: Malcolm Gordon defeated Denys Bondar via TKO (injury) at 1:22 of the first round

Story first published: Sunday, February 6, 2022, 10:46 [IST]

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