UFC Fight Night 159 Recap
By Matt Wise
Mexico’s main event between Yair Rodriguez and Jeremy Stephens ended in a disappointing no contest after just 15 seconds of action.
In the very first exchange, Rodriguez threw a leg kick and inadvertently caught Stephens in the eye with his outstretched fingers.
Herb Dean did all he could to keep the contest alive, but the left eye of Stephens refused to open and the contest was waved off.
In the co-main event, Carla Esparza overcame Mexican striking specialist Alexa Grasso with a decision victory.
Grasso adopted a wide stance to try and combat the takedown threat of Esparza, but after landing a number of jabs and straight right hands, could not stop the American’s takedowns.
Esparza succeeded with another takedown early in the second round but Grasso did well to limit the damage and hold her opponent in her guard. Grasso struggled to return to her feet and largely controlled by Esparza during round two.
Likely two rounds down, for the third, Grasso came out intent on ending the fight early. She stifled almost all of Esparza’s takedowns, and presented a threat on the ground once Esparza finally got her down. The Mexican very nearly ended the fight with a nasty armbar in which Esparza’s arm flexed incredibly.
Esparza’s ground control ultimately won her the fight, with the judges scoring the contest 28-28, 29-28, 29-28.
Rest of the Main Card Results:
Brandon Moreno vs Askar Askarov
Fight declared a split draw (28-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Irene Aldana vs Vanessa MeloIrene
Aldana beat Vanessa Melo via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Steven Peterson vs Martin Bravo
Peterson beat Bravo via KO (spinning backfist) – Round 2, 1:31
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