UFC Vegas 79 Results and Recap: Mateusz Gamrot Lands Stoppage Win After Tragic Injury To Rafael Fiziev

Add as a preferred source on Google

Las Vegas, September 24: Mateusz Gamrot landed a second-round stoppage after tragic knee injury to Rafael Fiziev in the main event of UFC Vegas 79: Fiziev vs. Gamrot at the UFC Apex Facility in Las Vegas on Saturday (September 23).

The 11-fight card saw six fights end in stoppages, including a disqualification, while five fights went the distance for the decision on the main card. Among the 5 stoppage wins, 3 were knockouts or technical knockouts and 1 was a DQ, while twowere submission wins.

The welterweight bout between Tim Means and Andre Fialho on the preliminary card was awarded the fight of the night bonus, while Marina Rodriguez and Charles Jourdain pocketed an extra USD50K as performance bonuses for their respective stoppage wins on the main card.

In the main event, lightweight contenders No. 6 ranked Fiziev and No. 7 ranked Gamrot put on a brilliant first round, as expected. Fiziev's combinations landed from body to head; Gamrot was relentless with his takedowns.

Tragedy struck in the second round when Fiziev kicked and lost stability of his supporting leg, giving Gamrot the win via TKO to injury. Following the bout, Gamrot said that he did not like the way the fight finished.

"Of course, this was not the finish I would like. To be honest, when I prepared for this fight, I prepared so my defense would be stronger than his kick," Gamrot said in the Octagon interview.

"It was a bad accident, I wish a quick recovery to Rafael. A win is a win, so I'm looking forward to the next one. My dream is Islam Makhachev, but I'd like to challenge myself with the best man on the ground, Charles Oliveira."

In the co-main event, featherweights No. 10 ranked Bryce Mitchell and No. 12 ranked Dan Ige showcased their styles: Mitchell finished the first round in mount, and Ige's punches did damage in the second.

But at the end of round 2, Mitchell had mount again. In the third, Mitchell immediately took it to the canvas and attacked with submission attempts, which swayed the scorecards to his favor.

After earning the points on the judges' scorecard, Mitchell said, "He's the hardest hitter I've ever fought. I didn't expect him to be so fast and move so well. His grappling defense is so good, too.

"I'll be donating $5,000US to Dan Ige tonight (for the Hawaii fire relief), because I know he lost friends, they lost their homes, they have children."

Also on the main card, Marina Rodriguez stopped Michelle Waterson-Gomez in the second round of a women's strawweight bout after Bryan Battle and Charles Jourdain claimed submission wins in their respective welterweight and featherweight bouts against AJ Fletcher and Ricardo Ramos.

On the preliminary card, Japan's strawweight finisher Mizuki Inoue returned after a three-year layoff in excellent condition, going all three rounds with Hannah Goldy.

Her striking was conservative in the opening stanza; instead, both spent the time jockeying in the clinch. Mizuki's karate was on display in the third round and it earned her the unanimous decision win.

Miles Johns, Mohammad Usman and Montserrat Rendon also earned decision wins in their respective bouts on the prelims, which also saw Means stop Fialho in the third round of a welterweight bout after an illegal elbow by Jacob Malkoun handed Cody Brundage TKO win.

UFC Vegas 79 Results

Main Card

1. Lightweight Bout: Mateusz Gamrot defeated Rafael Fiziev by TKO (injury) at 2:03 of Round 2

2. Featherweight Bout: Bryce Mitchell defeated Dan Ige by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

3. Women's Strawweight Bout: Marina Rodriguez defeated Michelle Waterson-Gomez by TKO (strikes) at 2:42 of Round 2

4. Welterweight Bout: Bryan Battle defeated AJ Fletcher by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:32 of Round 2

5. Featherweight Bout: Charles Jourdain defeated Ricardo Ramos by submission (guillotine choke) at 3:12 of Round 1

Preliminary Card

1. Bantamweight Bout: Miles Johns defeated Dan Argueta by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

2. Welterweight Bout: Tim Means defeated Andre Fialho by TKO (strikes) at 1:15 of Round 3

3. Middleweight Bout: Cody Brundage defeated Jacob Malkoun by DQ (illegal blow) at 4:15 of Round 1

4. Heavyweight Bout: Mohammad Usman defeated Jake Collier by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

5. Women's Strawweight Bout: Mizuki Inoue defeated Hannah Goldy by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

6. Women's Bantamweight Bout: Montserrat Rendon (29-28, 29-28) defeated Tamires Vidal (29-28) by split decision