Julian Erosa vs. Steven Peterson at UFC Vegas 47 had all the makings of a Fight of the Night sort of match-up.

Between the two, nearly sixty fights worth of experience. Both men were coming off highly entertaining performances. And the pair had essentially booked the fight themselves, with Erosa sliding into Peterson’s DMs in an attempt to make the bout happen.

The only negative, Peterson had missed weight for the featherweight contest — his second consecutive miss at the scales.

Still, high expectations were met and then some when Erosa and Peterson finally threw down on the UFC Vegas 47 main card.

The first round was a good one for ‘Juicy J’. From the word go he was pressuring Steven Peterson along the fence, landing big combinations that saw his opponent retreating the entire time. Peterson landed his fair share of shots, especially in the final seconds of the round as he cracked Erosa. However, Erosa responded with a big flurry that saw Peterson’s nose get busted up heading into round two.

Round two opened with a great start for Steven Peterson, who found a home for his right hand. Despite his face being a mess, he began timing his right straight perfectly, even forcing Julian Erosa to shoot for a takedown. Peterson landed two big right hooks that hurt Erosa badly, which caused him to get into the clinch. Peterson landed a few massive shots but Erosa then dropped Peterson with a spinning back fist, which caused Peterson to clinch. Both men survived the wild exchange, but they were looking rough heading into round three.

THIS FIGHT 🤯 #UFCVegas47 pic.twitter.com/3FlcmhgUPx

— UFC (@ufc) February 6, 2022

The third saw an early takedown landed by Julian Erosa. However, he was caught in a guillotine attempt by Steven Peterson, though he worked his way out. Peterson was the more active fighter early, continuing to wing big shots. However, Erosa worked his way back into the fight over the course of the round, as he continued pressuring. Erosa got another big takedown near the end of the round. The two men ended the fight on the feet, swinging away to the judges’ scorecards.

In a fight that absolutely entertained and then some, Erosa would take the split decision win.

Official Result: Julian Erosa def. Steven Peterson by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

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The featured preliminary fight at UFC Vegas 47 on Saturday featured a bantamweight showdown between Miles Johns and John Castaneda.

Both men were coming off wins (two for Johns, a single W for Castaneda), both were looking to build off extremely impressive performances. In the case of Castaneda, he’d finished UFC and WEC veteran Eddie Wineland in his last outing. Johns, for his part, had put on back-to-back Performance of the Night winning shows against Kevin Natividad and Anderson dos Santos.

Round one saw a fair bit of feints early. Neither man seemed overly willing to commit to much outside of leg kicks, with Johns laying a few in early. Castaneda began pressuring over the course of the round and showcased a speed advantage as he clipped Johns on a few occasions with the right hook. Castaneda ended the round with a variety of kicks, highlighting an increase in volume over the course of the round.

Castaneda opened the second round with a groin kick just seconds in. After a brief delay, they were back at it. Johns had a quick flurry, but Castaneda landed a couple of counters that forced him to retreat. He then rocked him with a head kick, but Johns was able to survive after eating some hard shots. Castaneda began to weaponize pressure, and Johns began to wilt. Johns shot for a labored takedown, but was stuffed and then promptly rocked with a right hand. Castaneda landed on top after a scramble but ended the round on the feet after a dominant second frame.

Castaneda quickly got the fight to the ground via a knee knockdown early in round three. He stepped into mount and began working on an arm-triangle choke. Castaneda stepped over once again and sunk the choke fully in. He put Johns to sleep to end the fight and score the biggest win of his career.

What a showing!!!! 👏

Impressive from beginning to end for John Castaneda! 💪

[ #UFCVegas47 on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/IFB2CNuefN

— UFC (@ufc) February 5, 2022

Official Result: John Castaneda def. Miles Johns by technical submission (arm-triangle-choke), Round 1, 1:38

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One of four Canadian fighters on the UFC Vegas 47 card, featherweight “Mean” Hakeem Dawodu was paired up with Ultimate Fighter winner Mike Trizano.

Dawodu had seen his five-fight win streak snapped in his last outing, dropping a decision to Movsar Evloev. Trizano, meanwhile, was looking to build off a win against L’udovit Klein in his last fight.

Round one was a relatively clean frame for Dawodu. He completely dictated the fight, as he found a perfect home for his calf kicks as well as a right straight. Trizano had a good jab going, but refused to follow up on it by throwing anything but the jab. Dawodu dominated the first frame, but Trizano showed some heart going into the second round. The first round also saw some insane output from the Canadian, as he landed over 40 strikes in the first five minutes alone.

Round two was more of the same from “Mean” Hakeem. His output from the first carried over into the second, as he began drilling away to the body of Trizano as well. Trizano tried to string together combinations but ate big shots nearly anytime he took a step forward. Dawodu’s beautiful shot selection paved the way to a big lead on the judges’ scorecards heading into the third and final round.

Trizano tried to bring the pressure in the final round, but Dawodu clinched his larger foe to slow down the pace. Trizano was able to score a big takedown and briefly got the back with a rear-naked choke attempt before Dawodu spun out and got back to the feet. After surviving the submission attempt, Dawodu began ripping to the body once again. Trizano had his moments in the final round, but it wasn’t enough to get the finish or sway the judges his way.

Official Result: Hakeem Dawodu def. Mike Trizano by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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The lone fight on the female side of things at UFC Vegas 47 featured Canada’s Alexis Davis up against fellow bantamweight Julija Stolianrenko.

A former title challenger, Davis was 1-1 since returning to the 135lb division in 2021. Stoliarenko, who suffered a scary mishap at weigh-ins last year, appearing to faint ahead of her fight with Julia Avila, was 0-2 since joining the UFC as a former Invicta FC bantamweight champ. 0-3, counting her 2018 bout at The Ultimate Fighter 28 finale.

Davis jumped on top to start the bout after Stoliarenko slipped to end up on her back. Davis jumped in guard and began landing big ground and pound, but Stoliarenko locked up a deep armbar attempt. However, the Canadian battled out and began landing some shots from the top. Stoliarenko continued to look for the armbar for the rest of the round to no avail. The biggest moment came near the end of the round, as Davis ate an illegal upkick that temporarily halted the fight for several minutes.

Stoliarenko answered Davis’s grappling in round two with a wild stand-up approach. The former Invicta FC bantamweight bloodied up her Canadian counterpart with a variety of left hands and began to find a home for her calf kick as well. Davis for her part continued marching forward and showcased her trademark toughness to lead into the third and final round.

Davis opened the final round with a massive calf kick of her own, that dropped Stoliarenko. The Canadian jumped in the guard and began raining down blows while her opponent began to look for an armbar. Davis dominated the rest of the round from the top, and bloodied up Stoliarenko with elbows while the former Invicta FC champion was unable to stop any of the damage from the bottom.

Official Result: Alexis Davis def. Julija Stoliarenko by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 30-27)

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After picking up arguably the biggest win of his career against Bryan Barberena in his last outing, a well-rested Jason Witt returned at UFC Vegas 47, where he threw down with Phil Rowe.

Contender Series alum Rowe was coming off the first win of his UFC tenure, over Orion Cosce last July, winning the bout via knockout in the second round.

It appears round two is simply Rowe’s round, as he found the finish there once again on Saturday night.

Witt began the fight with heavy pressure, trying to get into range. He quickly found issues actually landing shots against his taller foe; he then decided to take the fight to the mat after scoring a big double-leg takedown. Rowe worked his way to his feet briefly, before being slammed down once again. He shut down most of the damage on the mat, but couldn’t get up until the final seconds of the round. Rowe was able to end the round with a solid right hook, but it was a clear first frame for Witt.

The second round saw more grappling from Witt, scoring a big takedown against the fence early. However, Rowe was able to get up from the fence and began looking to pressure Witt up against the cage. Out of nowhere, Rowe landed a slick three-punch combination that sat down the Kansas City-native. He jumped on with some ground and pound, and that was all she wrote.

PHILLY FRESH w/ the 2nd round FINISH! @PhillyFreshMMA#UFCVegas47 pic.twitter.com/46puWelkHa

— UFC (@ufc) February 5, 2022

A fantastic knockout victory for Phillip Rowe to take him to 2-0 in the UFC, as he won the bout with one of the greatest combinations seen in some time. The win moved him to 9-3 overall in his professional career. On the other end, Jason Witt now drops to 19-8 in his pro career, and 2-3 inside of the UFC octagon.

Official Result: Phil Rowe def. Jason Witt by TKO, Round 2, 2:15

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Kicking off the televised prelims at UFC 270 — assuming there were no further last minute cancellations after two bouts fell off the event Friday — were lightweights Matt Frevola and Genaro Valdez.

DWCS alum Valdez was making his promotional debut in the fight, while “Steamrolla” Frevola was looking to snap a two-fight skid.

A fight that was under the radar, Frevola vs. Valdez stole the show in Anaheim.

Frevola and Valdez opened up swinging right out of the gate, with Frevola scoring most of his hooks early. Hating the feeling out process, both men quickly began trading absolute bombs for the entirety of the first round, as long as it lasted. However, it was Frevola who was getting most of the success with the hands. Frevola knocked down Valdez four if not five (if not more) times within the first few minutes of the round, but Valdez refused to stay down and showed tons of heart. After what appeared to be a fifth knockdown, Frevola stopped trying bludgeon Valdez to death and instead looked for a submission.

Valdez did his best to survive and was able to avoid a submission attempt while giving his back to the veteran. However, Valdez was unable to do defend while Frevola was raining down blows from the back mount. A few hard-to-watch follow-up shots later, and Matt Frevola was back to his winning ways after scoring the TKO victory thanks to a stoppage from referee Mike Beltran.

How is he surviving?! @MattFre16 is just UNLEASHING on him 🤯 #UFC270 pic.twitter.com/QFKaATxbFn

— UFC (@ufc) January 23, 2022

It’s very early in the UFC 270 card, but there’s already an easy Fight of the Night contender for Matt Frevola vs. Genaro Valdez. For Frevola, he’s back on the winning track with one of the best fights of the year. Valdez on the other hand is now 0-1 inside the UFC’s octagon.

The UFC record for knockdowns in a fight, for those curious, is 5, set first in 2006 by Forrest Petz and against in 2017 by Jeremy Stephens. Frevola appeared to match that in a round. After the bout, the UFC would credit Frevola with four, tying a single-round record set by Josh Emmett and Khalil Rountree Jr.

Official Result: Matt Frevola def. Genaro Valdez by TKO, Round 1, 3:15

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Originally scheduled for UFC Vegas 46 a week ago, Silvana Gomez Juarez vs. Vanessa Demopoulos was pushed back a week, but finally arrived as part of Saturday’s UFC 270 early prelims.

Arrived in style, frankly.

The strawweight bout had Demopoulos returning to her natural weight class of 115lbs, after making her debut on short notice at flyweight last year. With Juarez having come up short against Loopy Godinez in her own promotional debut back in October, both fighters were looking to get back in the win column.

Juarez opened up active, landing a couple of leg kicks as well as a massive right hand that caught the attention of Demopoulos. Demopoulos tried to return fire but was caught by another, even more massive right hand and was sat down badly as a result. Juarez landed some massive shots on the ground, but referee Frank Trigg didn’t call an end to the fight. Demopoulos then pulled guard and quickly began an armbar attempt that was sunk in almost immediately. Juarez tried to gut out of the submission but once Demopoulos torqued on the arm that was it! An incredible comeback victory for Vanessa Demopoulos.

WHAT A COMEBACK! @Monster_Demo gets the first round submission!

[ #UFC270 | Early Prelims LIVE on @UFCFightPass & E+ ] pic.twitter.com/A8uKo6Qtld

— UFC (@ufc) January 23, 2022

With the come-from-behind win, Vanessa Demopoulos officially has her first win in the UFC, and in amazing fashion. Having to rally, “Lil Monster” even admitted in her post-fight interview with Joe Rogan that she actually woke up on the mat after being knocked down by Juarez in the early exchange. She then proceeded to have Rogan lift her up in celebration.

On the other end, Silvana Gomez Juarez showcased a lot of power in her second fight in the UFC, especially for a strawweight— but she now drops to 0-2 in the promotion.

#UFC270 pic.twitter.com/Mt2VUBPax1

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) January 23, 2022

Official Result: Vanessa Demopoulos def. Silvana Gomez Juarez by submission (armbar), Round 1, 2:25

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Returning to action for the first time in over a year, Kay Hansen kicked off the UFC 270 card by welcoming newcomer Jasmine Jasudavicius to the octagon.

The flyweight fight was the first for Canada’s Jasudavicius since winning her way into the promotion on Dana White’s Contender Series last season. A BTC and CFFC alum, Jasudavicius was looking for her third straight win, while Hansen sought to bounce back from a loss to Cory McKenna in November 2020.

Hansen started off fast and landed a quick right straight before a failed takedown attempt to open the action, and the card, on Saturday. Jasudavicius then began popping the jab and landing relatively easily on her shorter foe. Hansen countered with a quick jab followed by a right hook, before a quick double-leg attempt. However, Jasudavicius was able to stuff the takedown, and quickly get one of her own. Hansen tried to sweep to her feet, but Jasudavicius was having none of it and landed some massive elbows to punctuate an entertaining first round.

Hansen was able to get a massive takedown to start round two but was quickly swept. Hansen tried to go for an armbar to no avail, and Jasudavicius began landing big shots. However, after Hansen was able to stall the action the referee stood them up. Hansen then landed a solid combination punctuated by a spinning back elbow before another failed takedown attempt. Jasudavicius was able to reverse position and score a big takedown of her own to end the second frame.

Starting to just let it fly ✈️

[ #UFC270 | Early Prelims LIVE on @UFCFightPass & E+ ] pic.twitter.com/rn5bQJ5U6g

— UFC (@ufc) January 23, 2022

The third and final round was a much better round for Kay Hansen, but it wasn’t enough. She found a home for her check hook, and landed some really nice clean shots but wasn’t able to put enough on it to end the fight. For her part, Jasudavicius worked her jab, added some clinch knees late in the round, and was able to eat all that Hansen had and more to send the fight to the scorecards and secure her first UFC victory.

Official Result: Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Kay Hansen by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

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A rematch of their first meeting roughly two years ago, top women’s flyweights Katlyn Chookagian and Jennifer Maia faced off on the UFC Vegas 46 main card.

Their first meeting had ended with Chookagian earning a unanimous decision victory. But since then, Maia had managed to land herself a title fight with Valentina Shevchenko — and while she didn’t win the bout, she arguably found more success than Chookagian did in her own shot at gold.

Chookagian opened the fight with her trademark pressure and landed a crispy 1-2 clean to open the action. Maia landed a slick right hand in response but soon ate a push kick that sent her spiraling across the octagon. After resetting, Maia landed a chopping leg kick, and the two began trading in the pocket. Chookagian decided against that strategy and quickly got a big takedown to land in half guard. Chookagian did good work from the top, but Maia was able to scramble up to end the frame on the feet.

Chookagian came out with more pressure in round two and quickly found a home for her jab. Maia tried her best to score with the right hand, but Chookagian was able to just glide out of range. Maia shot for a couple of takedowns to no avail, and she ate a big knee after a failed attempt. Maia then was reversed on a takedown attempt, and Chookagian ended up with Maia’s back and tried to get a rear-naked choke attempt. However, she would run out of time as the round ended.

Chookagian continued with her approach in the third and final frame. She continued trading at a safe distance and continued landing her 1-2 seemingly anytime she wanted to. Maia tried her best to push forward and land the big right, but Chookagian saw them coming from a mile away. Chookagian did her best to get the durable Brazilian out of there but was unable to, but when the judges’ scorecard was read there was no doubt.

Katlyn Chookagian def. Jennifer Maia by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)

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On a card filled with bout cancellations and short-notice replacements, UFC Vegas 46’s Bill Algeo vs. Joanderson Brito was the fight that almost wasn’t.

Due to an inconclusive COVID-19 test during Fight Week, Brito was absent from Wednesday’s media day for precautionary reasons. Algeo had to sit and wait, wondering if he event had a fight. Luckily, after a fresh test declared him negative, Brito was ready to roll — and told Cageside Press that he was aiming for a Performance of the Night bonus.

Bill Algeo opened up with some repeated leg kicks to try and slow down the oncoming Brito. The Brazilian was undeterred, however, as Brito scored a massive slam takedown and quickly moved to get the back of Algeo. Brito gave Algeo no room to breathe and controlled the favorite, and quickly began looking for a rear-naked choke attempt. However, Algeo was able to escape the choke and wind up in full guard. Brito worked his way back up, and looked for a takedown but couldn’t get it to end the round.

Algeo landed a big right hand to hurt Brito in the opening seconds of the round, forcing the latter to shoot for a takedown. Brito was unable to get the takedown, and Algeo continued tuning him up on the feet. Algeo found a home for his jab and leg kicks, while Brito continued to shoot for a takedown and try to work against the fence. Brito didn’t find a home for the takedown that often, and headed into the third likely down two rounds.

Round three opened with Brito trying to pressure and find a home for his combinations. However, it was Algeo who was doing the better work off of the back foot, landing his jab at will before getting into the clinch. Algeo landed a couple of short elbows in the clinch before separating, and he went back to working his jab and right hand. Brito continued pressuring, but wasn’t landing much in terms of consequence, and was getting badly outlanded. To put a stamp on the performance, Algeo got a massive takedown and took the back, and landed massive shots.

Ending the fight with a salute to the crowd.

How did you score it? 📝

[ @ElSenorPerfecto | #UFCVegas46 ] pic.twitter.com/eMxhtNtsXp

— UFC (@ufc) January 16, 2022

After the fight, Algeo took to the mic to inquire if any Giga Chikadze fans were in the building — then told them to go home. After expressing his wish that Calvin Kattar beat the Georgian in the UFC Vegas 46 main event, he called out his longtime foe.

Official Result: Bill Algeo def. Joanderson Brito by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

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