LAS VEGAS – While Cody Garbrandt may be the man known as a knockout artist, it was Pedro Munhoz who used his heavy hands to end their fight in the first round.
The bantamweight bout opened up the main card of today’s UFC 235 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and UFC Fight Pass.
Garbrandt (11-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) moved forward at the start and missed on a low kick. Munhoz (18-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) caught a second effort and dropped for a submission but was forced to return to the feet after Garbrandt was able to pull free from the quick attempt. Back on the feet, both men seemed to favor kicks as their weapons of choice, attacking at all levels.
As the round wore on, Garbrandt started to let his hands go a bit, as well. Munhoz countered in spurts, but Garbrandt’s comfort level was clearly growing. Munhoz landed a nice spinning kick to the body, but Garbrandt shook it off and pointed back to the center of the cage, where the two returned.
As they stood in the pocket, a Munhoz left wobbled Garbrandt, who slowly tumbled to the floor, seemingly complaining of a headbutt on the way down. Munhoz tried to grab the guillotine when he jumped on top, but it wasn’t there. Garbrandt powered his way back to the feet, and sheer madness ensued.
The started teeing off on the feet. With power shots flying from both men, Garbrandt dropped in a flying knee, as well. But Munhoz would not be denied, and as he dug in and kept firing, a big right hand landed clean and sent his opponent crashing to the canvas. Munhoz jumped on top with more big shots that ended the fight with eight seconds left in the first round.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 235 results include:
- Pedro Munhoz def. Cody Garbrandt via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:52
- Zabit Magomedsharipov def. Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Johnny Walker def. Misha Cirkunov via TKO (flying knee, punches) – Round 1, 0:36
- Cody Stamann def. Alejandro Perez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Diego Sanchez def. Mickey Gall via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:13
- Edmen Shahbazyan def. Charles Byrd via TKO (elbows, punches) – Round 1, 0:38
- Macy Chiasson def. Gina Mazany via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:49
- Hannah Cifers def. Polyana Viana via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
For complete coverage of UFC 235, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
