UFC Fight Night 149 Results: 34-year-old fighter retires after big win, 2 undefeated streaks ended
UFC stopped over in St. Petersburg in Russia for a card headlined by a heavyweight showdown between good friends and MMA veterans Alistair Overeem and Alexey Oleinik.
Valentina Shevchenko's elder sister put her undefeated streak on the line against The Happy Warrior, Roxanne Modafferi. Elsewhere on the card, many Russian-born fighters took centre stage on a card that had it all - finishes, innovative submissions and closely contested decisions.
Here are the results and highlights of UFC Fight Night 149/ UFC St. Petersburg:
UFC Fight Night 149, UFC St. Petersburg Results - Prelims
* Movsar Evloev def. Seung Woo Choi via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-26)
* Sultan Aliev def. Keita Nakamura via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
The 34-year-old Dagestani Aliev announced his retirement in his post-fight interview backstage after his win.
Alexander Yakovlev def. Alex da Silva via submission (Schultz headlock) (Round 2, 3:10)
Shamil Abdurakhimov def. Marcin Tybura via TKO (p\Punches) (Round 2, 3:15)
Gadzhimurad Antigulov def. Michal Oleksiejczuk via KO (Punches) (Round 1, 0:44)
Magomed Mustafaev def. Rafael Fiziev via TKO (Spinning back kick and punches) (Round 1, 1:26)
UFC Fight Night 149, UFC St. Petersburg Results: Main Card
#1. Krzysztof Jotko (19-4) vs. Alen Amedovski (8-0) (Middleweight)
The Macedonia born Amedovski came into the UFC with a spotless record. His first UFC opponent was an 11-fight UFC veteran Krzysztof Jotko, who had lost all of his three previous fights.
Round 1: Amedovski looked stiff as expected while in stark contrast, Jotko was extremely loose with his movements.
Amedovski kept pushing Jotko back, who landed a jab and a straight kick before shooting for a takedown. He managed to get into top position, but Amdedovski powered out from the bottom. Jotko held onto him, Amedovski flipped and landed in Jotko's guard. He connected with some big elbows from the top.
Amedovski got back up to his feet and didn't fall into Jotko's bait. Amedovski pushed further and connected with a spinning back fist, Jotko ricocheted back from the cage, level changed and scored a takedown.
Jotko maintained top position as he trapped Amedovski's right leg. Jotko finished the round strong with a few forearm strikes. A highly professional performance by Jotko in the first round.
10-9 Jotko
Round 2: Jotko came in with a straight kick to the body to open the second round. Amedovski looked reluctant to throw and was a victim of another takedown. Jotko took advantage of Amedovski coming recklessly in with his lead leg and comfortably got him down to the mat.
Jotko connected with the short elbows in half guard and constantly looked for the underhooks. Amedovski looked to wriggle out but his hips were turned the wrong way. Jotko kept tagging away with short punches and elbows in side control.
Jotko gave Amedovski no chance to scramble as a potential choke looked to be in the works. Jotko trapped Amedovski's left arm between his legs and kept his right hand down with his body. Jotko unleashed some vicious ground and pound in the crucifix position. There is a reason why this position is considered to be the worst in MMA. Amedovski realised it the hard way. However, he survived until the end of the round.
10-8 Jotko
Round 3: Amedovski needed a knockout to win and his corner called for more volume on the feet.
Both men moved around as Jotko overextended himself for a left. Another level-change and takedown for Jotko.
Want to know what happened next? Jotko pinned Amedobski down and didn't let go until the end of the fight while dishing out punishment from top position. A clinic on the ground from Jotko.
10-8 Jotko
Result: Krzysztof Jotko def. Alen Amedovski via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-26)
From almost quitting MMA to defeating a hard-hitting UFC debutant in Amedovski, Jotko has certainly worked hard in the gym and the results were there to be seen. He landed 118 strikes in total in comparison to Arlovski's paltry figure of 8. A well-deserved return to the win column for the Polish fighter.