Existing champions reigned supreme at UFC 211 as both Stipe Miocic and Joanna Jedrzejczyk remained on top of their respective divisions and retained their titles in Dallas, Texas.
UFC 211 took place on Saturday, May 13 inside the American Airlines Centre in Dallas, Texas and would feature two hotly anticipated title fights as UFC heavyweight champion Miocic defended his belt against former champ Junior Dos Santos in the main event. UFC women’s strawweight champion Jedrzejczyk met Brazilian challenger Jessica Andrade in the evening’s co-main event.
After a five round thriller in their first encounter back in 2014, there were high hopes for the heavyweight rematch between Miocic and Dos Santos in the UFC 211 main event. Despite taking damage to his shin early in the first round, Miocic turned up the heat against the Brazilian challenger and had Dos Santos on the backfoot. The champion swarmed him with combinations keeping Dos Santos’s back against the cage before landing a huge right hand that dropped the former champion.
The Cleveland native finished off the grounded Dos Santos with a series of left hands before referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at 2:22 of the first round. The victory was Miocic’s (17-2) second defence of his heavyweight title and his 14th KO/TKO win of his career. Dos Santos (18-5), meanwhile, has now gone 2-3 in his last five UFC bouts.
https://twitter.com/btsportufc/status/863621004010168320
Jedrzejczyk dominates Andrade on way to unanimous decision victory
In the co-main event of UFC 211, Joanna Jedrzejczyk would record her fifth title defence, dominating Jessica Andrade over five rounds and securing a clear unanimous decision victory.
Andrade started well, hurting the champion with a left hook which caused swelling to the forehead of Jedrzejczyk, however it was to be short-lived as it was one of the few positive moments for her in the bout. Joanna “Champion” settled into a rhythm and put on a five round striking clinic as she peppered her opponent with her stiff jab, sharp combinations and quick counters.
The Polish champion would outstrike Andrade in every round and picked her apart from distance as the Brazilian struggled to get in close enough range to land anything significant. Even when she did land a takedown, Jedrzejczyk (14-0) got straight back to her fight to top off a frustrating night for Andrade (16-6).
#AndSTILL your Strawweight Champion of the world! Nobody is taking this belt from me! #UFC211
— Joanna Jędrzejczyk (@JJoannaChampion) May 14, 2017
Jedrzejczyk got the shutout from all three judges in the unanimous decision victory, winning every round, and reminding everyone why she is peerless in the strawweight division with such a strong performance.
Maia records seventh win in a row with split decision win over Masvidal
Demian Maia rubber stamped his status of number one contender to Tyron Woodley’s UFC welterweight title when he defeated fellow challenger Jorge Masvidal in a relatively close split decision win.
With Masvidal winning the exchanges on the feet, it was up to Maia to take the fight to the ground and take advantage of his far superior ground game. The Brazilian would stay patient, limiting the damage he was taking on the feet, and in each round he would take Masvidal to the mat where he actively sought out submissions while his opponent could do nothing but fight to survive.
Masvidal (32-12) was able to do more physical damage to the submission specialist, however, Maia (25-6) controlled the fight overall and did enough to get the decision from two of the judges. After the fight, the 39-year-old confronted UFC President Dana White and got the verbal agreement that he would get his long-awaited welterweight title shot next after registering his seventh straight victory in Dallas.
TITLE SHOT É DE DAMIAN! Dana White garantiu a Damian Maia na grade do octógono que sua próxima luta será pelo Cinturão. #UFC211 pic.twitter.com/AsLcjiEpsj
— Octógono UFC (@OctogonoVirtual) May 14, 2017
UFC veteran Edgar halts the rise of top prospect Rodriguez with second round stoppage
Yair Rodriguez came up short in his toughest test to date against former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar as the New Jersey native forced the doctor’s stoppage after his focused attacks caused the young prospect’s left eye to become swollen shut by the end of the second round.
Edgar would take his 24-year-old opponent to the ground early in the first round and proceeded to maul him with vicious elbows and punches in ground and pound. Put in a position he hasn’t found himself in before, Rodriguez was lucky to make the end of the opening stanza as he was battered and bloodied by the relentless attack of Edgar.
There would be no letting up from the veteran in the second round as he took Rodriguez (10-2) down even earlier and continued his sustained assault on the ground. The Mexican prospect was helpless and had no answer for the top pressure offered up by Edgar (22-5), leaving his eye so grotesquely swollen by the end of the second round that the doctor had no choice but to stop the fight.
Photo of part of Yair Rodriguez's face falling off of his head courtesy of @allelbows pic.twitter.com/K3B67ictl0
— Bleacher Report MMA (@BR_MMA) May 14, 2017
“The Answer” made a plea to face the winner of Max Holloway vs. Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight title, and with his only defeats at featherweight coming to Aldo in title fights, he’s now 7-2 since dropping down to the 145 division.
Rounding out the main card, former WSOF champion David Branch (21-3) made a successful return to the UFC by winning a dull split decision over ranked Polish middleweight Kryzsztof Jotko (19-2). In a plodding encounter, Branch did the bare minimum to get the victory over the Pol, using his takedowns and superior physical attributes to control the fight.
UFC 211 Results
UFC Heavyweight Title: Stipe Miocic def. Junior Dos Santos via TKO (punches) (2:22 – Round 1)
UFC Women’s Strawweight Title: Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Jessica Andrade via Decision (Unanimous) (50-45, 50-44, 50-45)
Welterweight Bout: Demian Maia def. Jorge Masvidal via Decision (Split) (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Featherweight Bout: Frankie Edgar def. Yair Rodriguez via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) (5:00 – Round 2)
Middleweight Bout: David Branch def. Kryzsztof Jotko via Decision (Split) (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Lightweight Bout: Eddie Alvarez vs. Dustin Poirier declared a No Contest (illegal knees) (Round 2)
Featherweight Bout: Jason Knight def. Chas Skelly via TKO (punches) (0:39 – Round 3)
Heavyweight Bout: Chase Sherman def. Rashad Coulter via TKO (elbow) (3:36 – Round 2)
Lightweight Bout: James Vick def. Polo Reyes via TKO (punches) (2:39 – Round 1)
Women’s Strawweight Bout: Cortney Casey def. Jessica Aguilar via Decision (Unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Featherweight Bout: Enrique Barzola def. Gabriel Benitez via Decision (Unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Light-Heavyweight Bout: Gadzhimurad Antigulov def. Joachim Christensen via submission (Rear-naked choke) (2:21 – Round 1)
