Number 8-ranked Derek Brunson went into the three-round middleweight main event at UFC on ESPN+ 31 a +310 underdog against number 9-ranked 11-0 prospect Edmen Shahbazyan. After the Ronda Rousey-managed Shahbazyan suffered through some serious ground-and-pound in the second, commentators had to clarify for the audience that the fight wasn't stopped when referee Herb Dean signaled the end of the round (pictured above). Dean, whose refereeing has been the focus of some controversy of late, called in the ringside physician to examine Shahbazyan and clear him to continue. However, the clearance didn't last long as Dean called off the fight only 26 seconds into the third round, and Shahbazyan suffered the first professional MMA loss in his career.
In the co-main event, number 3-ranked Joanne Calderwood lost a likely title shot in the women's flyweight division when number 6 Jennifer Maia submitted her by armbar in the first round. After the event, Calderwood fainted backstage and was transported to the hospital.
Due to several changes and dropped fights, including the original five-round main event (Holly Holm vs. Irene Aldana), the card ended up moving ahead with only eight fights.
Full results:
- Middleweight - Derek Brunson def. Edmen Shahbazyan by TKO due to punches
- Women's Flyweight - Jennifer Maia def. Joanne Calderwood by submission due to armbar
- Welterweight - Vicente Luque def. Randy Brown by KO due to knee and punches
- Lightweight - Bobby Green def. Lando Vannata by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Bantamweight/Catchweight* - Jonathan Martinez def. Frankie Saenz by TKO due to knee and punches
- Featherweight - Nathan Maness def. Johnny Muñoz by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
- Featherweight - Jamall Emmers def. Vincent Cachero by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Bantamweight - Chris Gutiérrez vs. Cody Durden - unanimous draw (28-28, 28-28, 28-28)
$50k performance bonuses went to Jennifer Maia and Vicente Luque for their finishes and to Bobby Green and Lando Vannata for Fight of the Night.
Meanwhile, at themmacommunity.com, members chatted through the fights in the live discussion thread, and
@ShatsBassoon retained his title by winning Monster's Pick 'em Championship Season 26, with Brunson vs. Shahbazyan as its final event (results here).
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