UFC Edmonton: Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi: Full results
UFC Edmonton just wrapped up. The Fight Night event took place at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta on Nov. 2. It marked the promotion's first visit to the Canadian city since UFC 240 in July 2019. This article recaps the fights and explores the full results.
In the main event, former two-time flyweight champion Brandon Moreno put his No.2 rank on the line against No.3-ranked Amir Albazi in a five-round contest. Heading into the fight, Albazi had the momentum on his side with a six-fight win streak in the UFC. Meanwhile, Moreno was coming off a split-decision defeat against Brandon Royval in his last outing. He lost the 125-pound title to Alexandre Pantoja before that.
Moreno took a more measured approach in the fight and fought effectively behind the jab, thwarting the Iraqi fighter's takedown attempts. The damage on Albazi’s face got progressively worse as he had no answer to the jab and well-timed combinations. The former two-time champion used kicks to the head and body while effectively maintaining cage generalship.
Forced to fight going backward, Albazi appeared to be biting on the feints and had little success outside front kicks and leg kicks. While he showed urgency in the later rounds, Moreno stopped the advances with effective counters.
The former champion also had the biggest moments of the fight when he rocked Albazi with a right hand and step-in elbow in Round 5. The striking masterclass earned 'The Assassin Baby' a unanimous decision victory. He became the first man to defeat Albazi in the UFC.
In the co-main event, No.6-ranked women's flyweight contender Rose Namajunas aimed for her third straight win as she took on No.7-ranked Erin Blanchfield. The former two-time strawweight champion was coming off a dominant victory over Tracy Cortez in her last fight. Meanwhile, Blanchfield was hoping to bounce back from a lopsided unanimous decision loss against Manon Fiorot.
Namajunas enjoyed success early and forced Blanchfield to commit to defense. However, the momentum started shifting by the midway point as Blanchfield raked up control time after taking down the former strawweight champion in Round 3.
While 'Thug' continued to perform better in the stand-up, Blanchfield had success on the ground, especially in Round 5, and walked away with a unanimous decision win. The judges scored three of five rounds in her favor.
UFC Edmonton main card results
In the only light heavyweight bout on the card, Caio Machado and Brendson Ribeiro produced competitive performances. However, Ribeiro edged past Machado to earn a split-decision victory.
'Queen of Violence' Ariane da Silva returned to competition against Jasmine Jasudavicius on the main card. A competitive affair on the feet, the fight quickly leaned in Jasudavicius' favor once it hit the ground. Da Silva had no answer to her opponent's relentless ground-and-pound and submission attempts and succumbed to a D'arce choke in Round 3.
Middleweight contenders Dustin Stoltzfus and Marc Andre Barriault produced an exciting one-rounder on the main card. The fight hit the ground after the initial feeling-out process.
Barriault muscled his way out of the bottom position and the pair engaged in a close-range brawl. Stoltzfus clipped Barriault with a vicious right hand that knocked him out on impact. The referee stopped the action after a few follow-up strikes.
Local favorite Mike Malott kicked off the main card along with Trevin Giles. Despite high expectations, Malott suffered a late TKO stoppage against veteran fighter Neil Magny in his last fight after tasting early success. He hoped to show his learnings from the loss against Giles, who was also finished in his previous two outings.
Malott, who paid the price for punching himself out in his last outing, took a more measured approach and outstruck Giles to get the judges' nod in the form of a unanimous decision win.
UFC Edmonton preliminary card results
Streaking bantamweight Aiemann Zahabi put his four-fight win streak on the line against perennial contender Pedro Munhoz in the preliminary card headlining bout.
Zahabi came out with a cautious approach and fought effectively behind the guard. He outstruck Munhoz while avoiding most of the damaging shots and cruised to a comfortable unanimous decision victory.
Fan favorite Charles Jourdain fought Victor Henry on the preliminary card. Noted for his exciting fighting style, Jourdain suffered his first KO defeat against Jean Silva at UFC 303. He made his bantamweight debut against Henry. A big question heading into UFC Edmonton was whether the weight cut and recent KO defeat would affect his ability to take a shot or compel him to change his approach.
Jourdain proved to be the better striker, connecting clean from distance and in the clinch. Henry resorted to striking in the second round but succumbed to a tight guillotine choke. The win stapped Jourdain's two-fight skid.
Featherweight contender Youssef Zalal forced Jack Shore to tap out after catching him in a tight arm triangle choke.
Elsewhere, Alexander Romanov and Cody Gibson defeated Rodrdigo Nascimento and Chad Anheliger by unanimous decision, respectively. Meanwhile, Serhiy Sidey and Jamey-Lyn Horth scored split-decision wins over Garnett Armfield and Ivana Petrovic, respectively.
Check out the full UFC Edmonton results below:
Main card
Men's flyweight - Brandon Moreno def. Amir Albazi by unanimous decision (50-45 X 2, 49-46)
Women's flyweight - Erin Blanchfield def. Rose Namajunas by unanimous decision (48-47 X 3)
Light heavyweight - Brendson Ribeiro def. Caio Machado by split decision (29-28 X 2, 28-29)
Women's flyweight - Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Ariane Da Silva by submission (D'Arce choke) (R3, 2:28)
Middleweight - Dustin Stoltzfus def. Marc-Andre Barriault by T/KO (R1, 4:28)
Welterweight - Mike Malott def. Trevin Giles by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 X 2)
Preliminary card
Bantamweight - Aiemann Zahabi def. Pedro Munhoz by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 X 2)
Bantamweight - Charles Jourdain def. Victor Henry by submission (Guillotine choke) (R2, 3:43)
Featherweight - Youssef Zalal def. Jack Shore by submission (Arm-triangle choke) (R2, 0:59)
Heavyweight - Alexander Romanov def. Rodrigo Nascimento by unanimous decision (30-27 X 3)
Bantamweight - Serhiy Sidey def. Garnett Armfield by split decision (29-28 X 2, 28-29)
Bantamweight - Cody Gibson def. Chad Anheliger by unanimous decision (30-27 X 2, 30-26)
Women's flyweight - Jamey-Lyn Horth def. Ivana Petrovic by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)