We made it to Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for UFC 223.
A 12-fight card has been reduced to a 9-fight show thanks to Conor McGregor’s actions on Thursday, but Khabib Nurmagomedov can still become the lightweight champion while Rose Namajunas attempts to defend her title against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in a highly anticipated rematch.
Here are the results and a breakdown of the fights as they happen in Brooklyn.
| Matchup | Weight Class | Results | Bonus |
| Devin Clark vs. Mike Rodriguez | Light Heavyweight | Clark by UD 30-27×2, 29-28 | |
| Evan Dunham vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier | Lightweight | Aubin-Mercier by R1 TKO | |
| Bec Rawlings vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith | Women’s Flyweight | Evans-Smith by UD (30-27×3) | |
| Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Felice Herrig | Women’s Strawweight | Kowalkiewicz by SD (29-28×2, 28-29) | |
| Joe Lauzon vs. Chris Gruetzemacher | Lightweight | Gruetzemacher by R2 TKO | |
| Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Kyle Bochniak | Men’s Featherweight | ||
| Renato Moicano vs. Calvin Kattar | Men’s Featherweight | ||
| Rose Namajunas vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk | Women’s Strawweight Title | ||
| Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Al Iaquinta | Lightweight Title |
Clark Takes Down Rodriguez
Despite being at a clear disadvantage in the reach department, Devin Clark earned his third fight in his last four bouts as he took the unanimous decision from Mike Rodriguez. Clark’s wrestling led to eight takedowns and dominance in top position.
Devin Clark will get the decision win. Solid game plan against Mike Rodriguez, who you have to expect the UFC will book him against a non-wrestler in his next fight #UFC223
— Jason Floyd (@Jason_Floyd) April 8, 2018
Clark is still just 27 years old, so his best days could be ahead of him at light heavyweight. This was Rodriguez’s UFC debut, and we’ll likely see him again. Clark was rebounding from a submission loss at the hands of Jan Blachowicz. Based on what we saw from Blachowicz last month against Jimi Manuwa, that defeat looks a little more respectable for Clark.
We’ll see if he gets a shot at a ranked light heavyweight in his next fight.
Evans-Smith Punishes Rawlings
Dropping down to 125 pounds look like a good decision for Ashlee Evans-Smith. The former women’s bantamweight was the bigger and stronger fighter on Saturday as she pressed forward and imposed her will with a heavy striking attack against Bec Rawlings.
Evans-Smith enjoyed a sizable advantage in strikes landed and easily pushed Rawlings back for most of the time during the three rounds. Rawlings might be in danger of being cut. She has lost four fights in a row and hasn’t looked like a contender in quite awhile. Her pro record drops to 7-8 with the loss.
Bec Rawlings drops to 0-4 in her past four fights with her last two at flyweight. If UFC doesn’t keep her around, Invicta FC would be a good place to build back up again #UFC223
— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) April 8, 2018
Evans-Smith stopped her own two-fight losing streak with the win. She’s now 6-3 and could perhaps have new life at 125 pounds.
Aubin-Mercier Shocks Dunham
After being caught with a counter left hand, Olivier Aubin-Mercier showed some surprising striking skills. He landed a well-placed knee to Evan Dunham’s liver and poured it on as his opponent tried to recover against the cage. Referee Todd Anderson had no choice but to stop the onslaught as Dunham wasn’t responding.
Olivier Aubin-Mercier pulls off a stunner, as the grappling wizard crumples Evan Dunham with some harsh knees to the body! He becomes only the third person to stop Dunham with strikes and the first since Edson Barboza in 2014. #UFC223 pic.twitter.com/w5LkPp3DbA
— Kyle Johnson (@KidNobuhiko) April 8, 2018
The 29-year-old Canadian secured his fourth consecutive victory and delivered an entertaining post-fight interview.
OAM: “I just wanted to be a Canadian gangster.” #UFC223
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) April 8, 2018
Aubin-Mercier will almost certainly get a shot at a ranked lightweight in his next bout. His win streak would warrant that opportunity.
Dunham had been performing well. He hadn’t lost a fight in almost four years before he ran into Aubin-Mercier. We’ll see where he goes from here.
Kowalkiewicz Wins Tough Split Decision Over Herrig
Karolina Kowalkiewicz’s work in the clinch was the difference in a rugged battle with Felice Herrig. Kowalkiewicz’s length and strength in close gave her the striking advantage and she used elbows over the top to do some damage to her opponent.
Herrig had a moment in the third round when she landed this left hook.
Herrig tags Kowalkiewicz towards the end of round 3 and hurts her! #UFC223 pic.twitter.com/FLqCCsxL5A
— UFC (@ufc) April 8, 2018
The punch clearly hurt Kowalkiewicz, but Herrig smothered her own action by pressing her opponent against the cage. Kowalkiewicz was able to recover and she looked to have regained all of her faculties by the end of the frame. Kowalkiewicz has to be in a position to challenge for the title sometime soon. She owns a win over Namajunas and she fought Jedrzejczyk to a five-round decision.
It’s easy to make a case for her challenging for the gold again next. Kowalkiewicz also delivered this touching message during her post-fight interview:
Kowalkiewicz: “I fight and win for my stepfather. He’s very sick, he has cancer. I win for you, now you must win your fight.” #UFC223
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) April 8, 2018
Herrig made a good account of herself in defeat. She shouldn’t see her ranking fall at all, in my opinion. Another Top-10 opponent should be next for her.
Gruetzemacher Pummels Lauzon
After a strong early push from Joe Lauzon, Chris Gruetzemacher took over the fight midway through the first round and continued the onslaught through the rest of that frame and the second.
Gruetzemacher pouring it on in round 2!@SodaPopFuzz #UFC223 pic.twitter.com/5mua9HW8xR
— UFC (@ufc) April 8, 2018
By the end of the second round, Lauzon was simply taking a beatdown. Ever the warrior, Lauzon tried to fight back, but his right eye was completely closed and that side of his face was covered in blood from multiple cuts.
Justifiably, Lauzon’s corner stopped the fight between the second and third rounds.
Good work by Lauzon’s corner. That’s how you take care of your fighter. Hopefully it reminds other people that you’re allowed to do this in MMA.
— Ben Fowlkes (@benfowlkesMMA) April 8, 2018
There was no official announcement, but one can only hope this was Lauzon’s last fight. He has taken so much damage in his long career, and at this point, he’s done all he can do in the sport as a fighter.
Gruetzemacher snapped a two-fight losing streak with the biggest victory of his career.
