Heavyweights are always a fan favorite, and UFC Vegas 39 paired up a couple of proven finishers.
Alexander Romanov entered the event with a perfect record, and 13 of his 14 wins coming via some form of stoppage. Jared Vanderaa had found the finish in 10 of his 12 victories prior to Saturday. In other words, there was a good chance someone was going out in the featured prelim at UFC Vegas 39.
Both men took the center of the octagon after a touch of gloves. Romanov landed a body kick to start the fight, followed by a low kick. Romanov next went high with a head kick, and Vanderaa partially blocked it. Vanderaa landed his own low kick. Romanov landed a punch, rushed Vanderaa but found himself caught in a guillotine. Romanov escaped and then landed a takedown, followed by a suplex. Vanderaa got to his knees and crawled to the fence. With just over a minute and a half left, Romanov landed another takedown and immediately took Vanderaa’s back. Vanderaa defended and got back to his feet with a minute left in the round. Both men swung for the fences with seconds left and landed.
The second round started with a hook from Romanov and then a takedown attempt which Vanderaa defended. Romanov landed a trip and put Vanderaa on his back. Vanderaa tried to reverse, and Romanov landed in full mount. Romanov started dropping elbows and cut Vanderaa. He was leaking a bit of blood from the bridge of the nose. Vanderaa tried to explode again, but Romanov kept him in side guard. Romanov trapped Vanderaa’s arm and landed more elbows, bring about even more blood. Vanderaa got back to his knees and crawled to the fence. Romanov didn’t let him escape and dropped more ground and pound, causing the referee to step in and wave the fight off.
Brutal ground and pound gets Alexandr Romanov the W 👊
[ #UFCVegas39 | Prelims LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/lm6KCi7EVT
— UFC (@ufc) October 9, 2021
By the end, Romanov vs. Vanderaa marked the third bloodbath through the first four fights at UFC Vegas 39.
Official Result: Alexander Romanov def. Jared Vanderaa by TKO, Round 2, 4:43
