UFC Vegas 96 Results: Wang Cong Gets Fastest Debut KO in Her Division; Borralho, Ricci Climb Rankings

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Wang Cong announced her arrival in style, earning the quickest debut KO in her division before Caio Borralho and Tabatha Ricci earned crucial wins in the headliner of UFC Vegas 96: Cannonier vs. Borralho at the UFC Apex Facility in Las Vegas on Saturday (August 24).

The 11-fight card saw 6 fights, including the headliners, go the distance, while five fights ended in stoppages. Among the 5 finishes, four were either knockout (KO) or technical knockout (TKO), and 1 was a submission win.

It was a thrilling event at the UFC APEX that hosted the TUF 32 finale fights and two pivotal events at the top of the card: Ricci and Borralho both jumped the rankings with incredible victories.

China's newest phenom Wang, the first Road To UFC Season 3 signee, made her UFC debut and broke the record for the fastest KO of a debutant in the women's flyweight division, and the second-fastest overall.

The main event fight between Borralho and Jarred Cannonier picked up the fight of the night award, while Michael Morales and Gerald Meerschaert took home an extra USD50K for their respective stoppage wins on the main card. Here is the recap for the UFC on ESPN 62 event:

UFC Vegas 96 Recap

In the main event of UFC Vegas 96, middleweight mayhem was the theme when No. 5 ranked Cannonier and No. 12 ranked Borralho went all five rounds in a phenomenal contest.

With the fight seemingly hanging in the balance, Borralho turned up the pressure in the final round to earn the biggest win of his career, battering Cannonier to get the unanimous decision win on the scorecards.

After the win, Borralho said, "I had an amazing performance here today, but I've been in the UFC a long time. I knew it wouldn't be an easy road. All of my opponents were tough, they made me who I am today.

"They made me have this top five level! I'm the new face - even with some scratches. Everyone who sees these glasses must be afraid, we are coming to take over!"

In the co-main event, women's strawweight rankers No. 9 Angela Hill and No. 11 Ricci put on a thrilling 15 minutes of high-paced action. The momentum swung back and forth but was so close that the judges were called upon to score the contest and awarded the unanimous decision to Ricci.

Following the win, Ricci said, "She's a very tough fighter, and I thank her for taking the fight. Tonight, I fight for myself, I bet on myself, because I want to make sure I'm ready for the next level. I'm on my way."

Also on the main card, Ryan Loder stopped Robert Valentin in the second round of The Ultimate Fighter 32 Middleweight final after Mairon Santos finished Kaan Ofli in the second round of TUF 32 featherweight final.

Plus, Michael Morales and Gerald Meerschaert claimed stoppage wins over Neil Magny and Edmen Shahbazyan in their respective welterweight and middleweight bouts after the preliminary card closed with Francis Marshall edged Dennis Buzukja for a split decision win in a lightweight bout.

In the even opener, after becoming the first contract winner on ROAD TO UFC Season 3, China's undefeated women's flyweight Wang Cong made her UFC debut a memorable and record-setting one.

She stood and struck with Victoria Leonardo, and picked her moment to land an instant KO in just over 1 minute of the first round. Wang later aim at a main card opportunity before calling out Casey O'Neill.

"I'm not happy today today. I don't know why they put me as the first fight of the night. I need to be on the main card of UFC Macau! Next fight, Casey O'Neill, are you ready?!" Wang said in the post-fight Octagon interview.

The prelims also saw Zachary Reese, Viacheslav Borshchev and Jacqueline Cavalcanti earned decision wins in their respective bouts. Here is a look at the final results of UFC Vegas 96:

UFC Vegas 96 Results

• Middleweight Bout: Caio Borralho defeated Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 48-46)
• Women's Strawweight Bout: Tabatha Ricci defeated Angela Hill by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• TUF 32 Final - Middleweight Bout: Ryan Loder defeated Robert Valentin by TKO (elbows) at 1:49 of Round 2
• TUF 32 Final - Featherweight Bout: Mairon Santos defeated Kaan Ofli by knockout (left hook) at 1:30 of Round 2
• Welterweight Bout: Michael Morales defeated Neil Magny by TKO (strikes) at 4:39 of Round 1
• Middleweight Bout: Gerald Meerschaert defeated Edmen Shahbazyan by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:12 of Round 2
• Lightweight Bout: Francis Marshall (30-27, 29-28) defeated Dennis Buzukja by split decision (29-28)
• Middleweight Bout: Zachary Reese defeated Jose Daniel Medina by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Lightweight Bout: Viacheslav Borshchev (30-27, 29-28) defeated James Llontop by split decision (29-28)
• Women's Bantamweight Bout: Jacqueline Cavalcanti (30-27, 29-28) defeated Josiane Nunes (30-27) by split decision
• Women's Flyweight Bout: Wang Cong defeated Victoria Leonardo by knockout (right hand) at 1:02 of Round 1