UFC Vegas 74 results and recap: Amir Albazi edges Kai Kara-France, surges up flyweight ranking

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Las Vegas, June 4: Amir Albazi jumped up the flyweight rankings after split decision win over Kai Kara-France in the main event of UFC Vegas 74: Kara-France vs. Albazi at the UFC Apex Facility in Las Vegas on Saturday (June 3).

The 13-fight card saw five fights end in stoppages and eight go the distance. Among the five stoppage wins, three were technical knockouts, while one was a knockout and the other a submission.

The co-main event fight between Alex Caceres and Daniel Pineda was awarded the fight of the night bonus, while Jim Miller and Muhammad Naimov pocketed an extra USD50K for their respective stoppage wins on the undercard.

In the pivotal main event, No. 3 ranked UFC flyweight Kara-France and No. 7 ranked Albazi engaged across all five rounds with high level, razor close action. Kara-France used his jab and racked up the strikes, Albazi looked to grapple and had a near submission on the ground.

When the scorecards were read, Albazi won the split decision and said, "I know it was a close fight, that's not how I planned for it to go. But I showed my guts, what I can bring to the table.

"And I can stand with these guys. I'm having fun - maybe too much fun. There is only one thing I want. That title. That is all that matters.," Caceres added that he wants the title shot.

In the co-main event, exciting "OG" featherweights No. 15 ranked Caceres and Pineda delivered a fantastic scrap complete with powerful striking exchanges and furious grappling scrambles.

Caceres racked up increasing damage with body shots, but Pineda stayed in the firefight and got a knockdown at the final bell, leaving the decision up to the judges who declared Caceres the winner.

After the win, Caceres said, "I wanted to attack the body earlier... but he was a lot tougher than I expected, he kept coming forward. (I want) anybody above me.

"Let me climb those rankings, please. Nothing against Alexander (Volkanovski), but I want Yair (Rodriguez) to win the (UFC featherweight) title because I want that fight back for the title. Hopefully in the future I can take that belt from him."

Also on the main card, UFC record holder for the most fights (42) and most wins (25), massive veteran "A-10" Miller, did it once again with a fantastic first minute, first round knockout of Jesse Butler.

Plus, Karine Silva put the women's flyweight division on notice with a stunning kneebar finish of Ketlen Souza in the first round, while Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Tim Elliot earned decision wins in their respective bouts.

On the preliminary card, Don'Tale Mayes detonated a looping right hand on the jaw of Andrei Arlovski to register the biggest win of his career after Muhammad Naimov and Da'Mon Blackshear landed TKO wins.

It was all gas, no break between John Castaneda and Muin Gafurov, with punches, kicks, spinning attacks, and level changes through all three rounds, and the judges gave Castaneda the hard-earned unanimous decision.

UFC Vegas 74 Results

Main Card

1. Flyweight Bout: Amir Albazi (48-47, 48-47) defeated Kai Kara-France (48-47) by split decision

2. Featherweight Bout: Alex Caceres defeated Daniel Pineda by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

3. Lightweight Bout: Jim Miller defeated Jesse Butler by KO (left hand) at 0:23 of Round 1

4. Flyweight Bout: Tim Elliott defeated Victor Altamirano by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

5. Women's Flyweight Bout: Karine Silva defeated Ketlen Souza by submission (kneebar) at 1:35 of Round 1

6. Welterweight Bout: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (29-28, 29-28) defeated Abubakar Nurmagomedov (29-28) by split decision

Preliminary Card

1. Bantamweight Bout: Daniel Santos defeated Johnny Munoz by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)

2. Heavyweight Bout: Don'Tale Mayes defeated Andrei Arlovski by TKO (right hand) at 3:17 of Round 2

3. Bantamweight Bout: John Castaneda defeated Muin Gafurov by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)

4. Lightweight Bout: Muhammad Naimov defeated Jamie Mullarkey by TKO (right hook and punches) at 2:59 of Round 2

5. Women's Strawweight Bout: Elise Reed defeated Jinh Yu Frey by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

6. Bantamweight Bout: Da'Mon Blackshear defeated Luan Lacerda by TKO (strikes) at 3:54 of Round 2

7. Light Heavyweight Bout: Philipe Lins defeated Maxim Grishin by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)