UFC Vegas 84 Results And Recap: Magomed Ankalaev Cements Light Heavyweight Title Bid With KO Of Johnny Walker

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Las Vegas, January 14: Magomed Ankalaev cemented his light heavyweight title bid with knockout of Johnny Walker in the main event of UFC Vegas 84: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2 at the UFC Apex Facility in Las Vegas on Saturday (January 13).

The 11-fight card saw 7 fights, including the main event, end in stoppages, while four fights went the distance for the decision. Among the 7 stoppage wins, 6 were either knockouts or technical knockouts and one was a submission finish.

While there was no fight of the night in UFC Vegas 84, also known as UFC Fight Night 234, four fighters - Ankalaev, Jim Miller, Marcus McGhee and Brunno Ferreira - pocketed an extra USD50K as performance bonuses for their respective stoppage wins on the card. Here is the recap:

UFC Vegas 84 Recap

In the main event, light heavyweight contenders No. 3 ranked Ankalaev and No. 7 ranked Walker finally rematched following their No Contest in October of last year.

After a back-and-forth battle of leg kicks, Ankalaev landed two consecutive right punches that hurt and sat down Walker in the second round, prompting the referee to jump in and stop the fight.

Following the stoppage win, Ankalaev said, "Everyone who fights with me tries to figure me out, but it's not something they can do. When I come in here, I am open for the hunt, and everyone in front of me is the hunted.

"I was prepared for this fight for a long time, I wanted the rematch right away, but this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is I am ready to fight for the title. I have ten victories in a row, I'm worth it, give me that fight for the title now."

Earlier, Octagon veteran Miller took on Gabriel Benitez in the surprise co-main event at lightweight after the original co-headliner was cancelled, and both experienced fighters delivered entertainment.

Miller rose to the occasion and secured a fight-finishing neck crank in the final round. With the record of most fights in UFC fifth 43, and 26 wins, Miller has cemented his legacy.

After the win, Miller said, "I knew it was going to be a hard battle on the feet. I knew I could win that leg kick battle, chip away, and make him tired. UFC 300 is coming up...There are a couple of intriguing names being thrown about. One of them is sitting at the desk, Paul Felder, that would be a fun fight. Matt Brown. If the purse is big enough, Brock Lesnar!"

Also on the main card, Mario Bautista earned a decision win over Ricky Simon in a bantamweight bout after Ferreira claimed a first-round stoppage win over Phil Hawes at middleweight. In the main card opener, Waldo Cortes-Acosta dominated Andrei Arlovski for a decision win in a heavyweight bout.

Meanwhile, the preliminary card saw Preston Parsons and Farid Basharat earn decision wins over late replacement Matthew Semelsberger and Taylor Lapilus in their respective welterweight and bantamweight bouts.

In the prelims opener, Myanmar-born Joshua Van dropped the opening round to Felipe Bunes, eating shots from the longer, rangier Brazilian, but made his expected comeback in the second.

Along the cage with a minute remaining in the round, Van unloaded a string of attacks, mixing body shots with knees to the head, sending Bunes to the canvas where he poured it on to earn the TKO finish victory, his third straight win in UFC and eight in a row.

After the TKO win, Van said, "He has a long reach, and he can take a punch, but we figured him out in the second round. I'm not going to lie, my coaches don't want me to go for the submission, but I want my black belt (in jiu jitsu).

"So I risked it, even though I didn't get it. But finally we got the finish, it feels amazing! What's next? I want to fight next week! This year, hopefully for the title, if not, in the top 15, top 5."

Also on the prelims, Nikolas Motta, Jean Silva and Marcus McGhee claimed stoppage wins over Tom Nolan, Westin Wilson and Marcus McGhee respectively. Here is a look at the final results of UFC Vegas 84 or UFC Fight Night 234:

UFC Vegas 84 Results

• Light Heavyweight Bout: Magomed Ankalaev defeated Johnny Walker by TKO (strikes) at 2:42 of Round 2
• Lightweight Bout: Jim Miller defeated Gabriel Benitez by submission (neck crank) at 3:25 of Round 3
• Bantamweight Bout: Mario Bautista defeated Ricky Simon by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Middleweight Bout: Brunno Ferreira defeated Phil Hawes by KO (strikes) at 4:55 of Round 1
• Heavyweight Bout: Waldo Cortes-Acosta defeated Andrei Arlovski by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Welterweight Bout: Preston Parsons defeated Matthew Semelsberger by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-37, 30-27)
• Bantamweight Bout: Marcus McGhee defeated Gaston Bolanos by TKO (strikes) at 3:29 of Round 2
• Bantamweight Bout: Farid Basharat defeated Taylor Lapilus by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Featherweight Bout: Jean Silva defeated Westin Wilson by TKO (strikes) at 4:12 of Round 1
• Lightweight Bout: Nikolas Motta defeated Tom Nolan by TKO (strikes) at 1:03 of Round 1
• Flyweight Bout: Joshua Van defeated Felipe Bunes by TKO (strikes) at 4:31 of Round 2