Both fighters were looking to return to the win column, with Brazil’s Turman entering the night off back-to-back defeats at the hands of Andre Petroski and Randy Brown. As for Gooden, he was in search of the first win of his second UFC stint.

The fight began with Gooden looking to put on the forward pressure where he let his hands start flying straightaway. Turman moved laterally whilst trying to land some counter shots as Gooden pushed forward. After the initial exchanges, Turman caught Gooden a few times with some hard shots, but it didn’t deter “NiteTrain” from coming forward. Through the first half of round one, both men had their moments of good work. The Brazilian started to ramp it up though and landed a solid flying knee which momentarily wobbled Gooden. Not long after, “The Prodigy” caught a leg of Gooden’s and took him for a big ride as he secured a slam takedown. For the final minute of the round, Turman did well to advance his positions on the ground where he looked for a guillotine, but couldn’t quite find it.

As round two began, Wellington Turman looked to keep his foot on the gas after an impressive first round. Within the first few punches, he hurt Gooden and had him on wobbly legs. Gooden returned a huge barrage of punches of his own which then wobbled the Brazilian and had him clearly dazed. The 29-year-old knew that he had to put Turman away as he was likely still hurt himself. From there he secured the clinch and landed a powerful hip toss where he transitioned to the back of Turman. He sunk in the rear-naked-choke and Turman had to tap.

Despite it only having been the second fight of the night, it would be hard for it to be beat for Fight of the Night.

Official result: Jared Gooden def. Wellington Turman via submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 1:11

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Turman decided to move down from middleweight after his last loss, to Andre Petroski, brought his record under .500 in the UFC at 3-4. Brown’s was quite different at 10-5, though perhaps the weight difference would help Wellington Turman overcome the experience gap.

Despite being from a higher weight class Turman is listed as being three inches shorter than ‘Rudeboy,’ and that height differential was immediately apparent when the fight started as well as the six inch reach disadvantage. Brown came out right away with several jabs while advancing rapidly. He landed some decent strikes and fought his usual rangy style thereafter. Wellington looked to return with looping hooks which Randy was mostly able to just slide back and avoid. Turman did land some good low kicks though, a consistent weakness of Randy Brown’s due to his long legs and heavily forward stance. .

Two minutes in, Brown caused a stoppage after eye-poking his opponent. When the fight resumed Brown landed a front kick to the stomach while Turman landed a straight right to the chin and quite a few calf kicks. Brown defended a takedown attempt and tried to turn the tables but accidentally landed a knee to the groin in the clinch. Randy tried to use his kicks more next from front kicks to leg kicks to head kicks. He threw a flying knee in the final ten seconds and then lifted and slammed his foe to the mat with a body lock right at the buzzer. The round was close and could have gone either way, though the leg kicks of Turman drew the biggest reactions.

Round two began with Randy using his in and out movement to pop with straight punches and try to avoid return strikes. Brown defended a takedown one minute in with his long legs and turned Turman’s back to the fence in the clinch. He landed constant short knees to the thighs and stomach of Wellington for some time. Turman almost turned back to the center of the ring a few times but Randy used his underhook to keep the spin going and regain the outside position. Whether from technique or actual strength, Brown seemed the physically stronger fighter despite not being the one moving down in weight. Turman tried a lateral drop and landed a short elbow. They jockeyed for position and he got a body-lock, using it to try to force Brown to his knees, but Brown stood right back up.

The crowd began to boo with thirty seconds left in the round after almost three consecutive minutes of clinchwork. Randy was able to lift and throw Turman to the ground with twenty seconds left though. Wellington stood back up but Brown leapt onto his back and threatened a rear-naked choke until the bell sounded, likely sealing the round in his favor.

On the feet Randy Brown started the final round with better volume, pot-shotting his opponent as Turman tried to press forward. Turman came forward with a spinning backfist but Randy timed it and landed a flying knee somewhat on the chin. Wellington grabbed that leg and tried to get a takedown but ended up in the clinch. After losing clinch positions in the previous round Turman smartly separated from that area of the fight and looked to strike. Randy slowed down on his volume on the feet throughout the round, though he did find some sharp shots there was nothing that really hurt Turman.

Wellington clinched up but Randy broke free and landed some violent body shots around the midpoint of the round. Turman responded with a good clinch elbow, a strike he landed a few times in the last half of this round, which eventually was shown to have caused Brown’s nose to bleed quite a bit and his eye to swell up badly. Brown got free but that visual was not good for his prospects on the scorecards. He went back to flowing on the feet and landed long strikes but Turman clinched up again. Wellington landed another elbow, showing how different the work in the clinch this round was for him, right before the bell.

A close fight left the scorecards were uncertain after Turman’s late rally in round three. The scores took a while to be tallied and revealed but when they were, Bruce Buffer announced that the decision was unanimous, 29-28 in favor of Randy ‘Rudeboy’ Brown.

Official Result: Randy Brown def. Wellington Turman by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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To a backdrop of U.S.A. chants inside Madison Square Garden, Turman held center, firing kicks to the body while Petroski stayed busy outside. A high kick by Turman was blocked; Petroski connected moments later with a right hand that drew a reaction from both the crowd, and the Brazilian middleweight.

Wellington’s kicks, meanwhile, were finding some success, as he worked over the lead leg of Petroski — resulting in a stance switch, though Petroski had shown several of those early in the fight. The fight wouldn’t stay standing long however. Near the midway mark, Petroski shot in for a takedown, and after encountering a bit of resistance, landed it.

Back on the feet, Turman began working over the body as the round wore on, and Petroski had seemingly slowed. With under 20 seconds to go, however, Petroski grabbed a leg, finishing one last takedown just prior to the buzzer — but eating a few elbows for his efforts.

A Petroski body kick was the first significant strike of the second frame; Turman, meanwhile, continued to attack the lead leg of his opponent. Petroski then changed levels to grab a leg, but nearly gave up his neck in a guillotine attempt. Still, the danger quickly subsided and resulted in Petroski having side control. He transitioned to the top, and took the back as Turman attempted to escape up and out. The end result of that was Turman being dragged back down, though he wouldn’t stay down for long.

Back at center, Turman mixed up his hands and front kicks, but Petroski again snatched a leg. Again, he had to contend with a guillotine, but he found less resistance in this second attempt. Turman was back up much more quickly this time out, and when Petroski tried to drag him down again, Turman turned the tables, snapping Petroski down to the mat. They wouldn’t stay down long, and it was Petroski getting the fight back down towards the final minute, briefly taking mount before moving back into half-guard and dropping some heavy elbows.

The third round started strong for Petroski, as he got the fight down early and moved into mount. Elbows flowed, and Petroski went hunting for an arm-triangle. The scrambles from Petroski and Turman had been slick all night, but Petroski clearly had the edge, transitioning from position to position with ease.

The Ultimate Fighter 29 alum Andre Petroski finished out the round riding the back as Turman stood up, then slamming the Brazilian down with little more than a minute remaining. Turman was in need of a Hail Mary, but such divine intervention was nowhere to be found. Instead, Petroski was in the driver’s seat to the final buzzer, following which a clear-cut decision victory was awarded to the Pennsylvania native.

Official Result: Andre Petroski def. Wellington Turman by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

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There’s always a “but” in these situations though, isn’t there? That arrived Monday. So let’s play matchmaker for the winning side of UFC Vegas 49 — knowing that Makhachev’s return could come sooner than expected.

Islam Makhachev

This one’s easy, right? While Bobby Green wasn’t a top-10 fighter in the UFC’s lightweight division, he’s always game, and Makhachev now sports a 10-fight win streak. That alone should land him a shot at the winner of Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje.

And let’s be honest: this was a dangerous fight for Makhachev. Sure, he went out and dominated Green, but a loss really would have taken the wind out of the Dagestani’s sails. Even a gruelling, lengthy affair (think Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Al Iaquinta) could have thrown a wrench in the works for what feels like an otherwise inevitable title shot.

So it’s the title next, right? Sure seemed that way Monday morning. Then along came the MMA gods to thumb their nose at the sport and force Rafael Fiziev out of his fight with Rafael dos Anjos this weekend.

Could Islam Makhachev save the bout, and turn around on a week’s notice to fight a former champ? The bout would likely come at welterweight, but who cares? RDA and Makhachev have a lengthy history, and the fight between them has fallen through more than once. Islam appears willing to do it, and a win against RDA, even up a weight class, locks him in as the next lightweight contender. It would be really hard to argue against that were he to beat Green and RDA a week apart.

This is how legends are made. This is the fight the UFC should be booking right now. If not, it’s the title shot.

Makhachev’s next fight: RDA or a title shot

Wellington Turman

Middleweight Wellington Turman’s co-main event fight against Misha Cirkunov did not look to be going his way after the opening round. Cirkunov appeared to have settled in, likely won the opening frame, and all expectations were that he’d so the same over the next two rounds.

Then, Turman hit an arm-bar out of nowhere. Cirkunov tapped before most onlookers even realized what had happened. Just like that, Turman, who trains alongside Glover Teixeira, was sitting on a two-fight win streak.

Turman is now 3-3 inside the octagon, but probably isn’t going to be rushed to the top just yet. Marc-André_Barriault had a two-fight win streak snapped earlier this month by Chidi Njokuani. That feels like a solid match-up.

Turman’s next fight: Marc-André_Barriault

Priscila Cachoeira

Outside of Islam Makhachev, no fighter had a bigger night at UFC Vegas 49 than Brazilian Priscila Cachoeira. After her December bout with Gillian Robertson, which was marred by illegal eye gouging on the Brazilian’s part, her peers were outright calling for her to be cut from the UFC.

That meant she was under the microscope on Saturday. One wrong move, and she could have been on the scrap heap. Instead, she got into a war with Ji Yeon Kim that captured Fight of the Night, using some nasty standing elbows in the third round to claim the victory.

Sure, it could have gone the other way, but the win leaves Cachoeira at 3-1 in her last four fights. The “dirty fighter” label will be forgotten for the time being, because MMA fans have short memories. It’s all about what you’ve done lately, and Cachoeira put on a very entertaining performance Saturday.

Next up: Queen of Violence Ariane Lipski. She just pulled out of a March 12 date with JJ Aldrich, and will hopefully be ready to go later this year. This just feels like another fun, violent fight.

Cachoeira’s next fight: Ariane Lipski

Arman Tsarukyan

Armenian-Russian lightweight Arman Tsarukyan arrived in the UFC with a ton of hype behind him, then flopped out of the gate. That’s one way of looking at things. Another is that he ran into Islam Makhachev too early in his career — and that’s a match-up we may want to see again some day.

Since the Makhachev loss, Tsarukyan has won his next five bouts in the promotion, earning back-to-back Performance of the Night bonuses in his last two. Not to mention, the Makhachev bout earned Fight of the Night when they met in April 2019.

Tsarukyan isn’t a ranked fighter yet, but he will be soon if he keeps performing this way. Joel Alvarez had been on a four-fight win streak, and Tsarukyan finished him inside the distance. It’s time for a step up. Damir Ismagulov is undefeated in the UFC, and 20-1 overall. If he gets his weight under control — he came in so heavy against Magomed Mustafaev back in October that their fight was scrapped — this is the bout to make.

Tsarukyan’s next fight: Damir Ismagulov

Armen Petrosyan

It’s hard to gauge where Petrosyan is based off his performance opposite Gregory Rodrigues, for two reasons: one, the split decision could have gone the other way, and two, Rodrigues opted to forgo the obvious path to victory, his grappling, and engaged in a stand-up battle against the striker.

Petrosyan has wins by head kick, body kick, and had never gone the distance prior to UFC Vegas 49. He at least proved he has the gas tank to go all three rounds.

Chidi Njokuani was also successful in his promotional debut recently — that match-up could go off with a bang.

Petrosyan’s next fight: Chidi Njokuani

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Fight of the Night went to Priscila Cachoeira and Ji Yeon Kim, a fight that delivered on every level. Both ladies landed bombs throughout the entire three-round affair, in what turned out to be a very close bout. A good number of media members and fans actually scored the bout in favor of Kim, but it was ultimately “Zombie Girl” who ended up getting the unanimous decision victory in an absolute punishing performance. Her elbows in the final round were a thing of beauty.

Arman Tsarukyan ended up getting one of the two Performances of the Night bonuses. After the first round, there was an absolute blood bath after Arman cut opponent Joel Alvarez’s nose with a very nasty elbow. Arman would go on to win in dominant fashion via TKO in round 2 of the fight.

The commentary team knew the end was near when this elbow landed 😳 #UFCVegas49 pic.twitter.com/3ATFeBQAoa

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 27, 2022

The final Performance of the Night winner was slight underdog Willington Turman. In a fight where it was likely that Turman dropped the first round, he was able to turn things around. Early in the second, he managed to get the fight to the ground, then proceeded to slap in a very quick armbar. A submission that happened so fast, even the announcers had to watch the replay.

ARMBAR OUT OF NOWHERE BY @TURMANMMA 🤯 #UFCVegas49 pic.twitter.com/fb4n7UHNnx

— UFC (@ufc) February 27, 2022

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On Saturday at UFC Vegas 49, Cirkunov was paired up with Wellington Turman, who was entering off a win over Sam Alvey. Turman, like Cirkunov, had seen an inconsistent run in the UFC, with a 2-3 record overall.

Cirkunov fired a powerful kick to the body in the opening minute, while Turman looked to take the fight down, changing levels for the attempt. He’d stay on it, and get Cirkunov down for moments. The Canadian popped back up, attempted to use the cage to keep himself up, then was taken back down. This time, Turman took the back on the way up, riding Cirkunov, who was carrying his opponent’s weight.

Turman had an arm under the neck, but Cirkunov controlled the other hand, preventing the Brazilian from finishing the choke. For a time, at least. Turman woudl finally get his hands together, and appeared to have things locked up, but Cirkunov shook him off, then landed a few big punches on his opponent, while Turman was on the mat. Cirkunov then set up a D’Arce choke, but Turman re-positioned. Misha then gave up on the choke, controlled from the back, and landed a few big strikes. He’d finish the round on top.

Just when it seemed as if Cirkunov had the advantage going into the second, Wellington Turman turned the tables in the blink of an eye. A trip got the fight down, and Cirkunov wound up in guard. Turnman then transitioned to an arm-bar, and it was tight! Cirknov tapped almost immediately, giving Turman his second consecutive win.

ARMBAR OUT OF NOWHERE BY @TURMANMMA 🤯 #UFCVegas49 pic.twitter.com/fb4n7UHNnx

— UFC (@ufc) February 27, 2022

Official Result: Wellington Turman def. Misha Cirkunov by submission (arm-bar), Round 2, 1:29

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The PPV event, which takes place this Saturday, was to be opened by an all-Brazilian middleweight affair between BJJ ace Rodolfo Vieira and Wellington Turman. Unfortunately, Vieira has been forced off the card due to undisclosed medical issues.

ESPN Deportes was first to report news of the bout’s cancellation. The promotion has yet to officially announce the news, and there’s no word on whether they’ll keep the match-up together for a later date.

Vieira (8-1), who has a massive collection of gold medals in the BJJ world, was looking for a second straight win, after submitting Dustin Stoltzfus back in July. Prior to that, the submission machine was himself submitted in a massive upset against Anthony Hernandez.

Turman (17-5) snapped a two-fight skid when he defeated Sam Alvey by split decision last August.

The UFC 270 card will now move forward with 12 fights. The event, which takes place Saturday, January 22, 2022 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA, breaks down as follows:

Francis Ngannou (c) vs. Ciryl Gane (ic) – for the UFC heavyweight championship / title unification bout
Brandon Moreno (c) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo – for the UFC flyweight championship
Michel Pereira vs. André Fialho
Cody Stamann vs. Said Nurmagomedov
Raoni Barcelos vs. Victor Henry
Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Jourdain
Trevin Giles vs. Michael Morales
Jack Della Maddalena vs. Pete Rodriguez
Tony Gravely vs. Saimon Oliveira
Silvana Gomez Juarez vs. Vanessa Demopoulos
Matt Frevola vs. Genaro Valdéz
Kay Hansen vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius

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Speaking to the media on Wednesday “The Black Belt Hunter” spoke on his opponent and fighting a fellow countryman in the octagon on Saturday Night at UFC 270.

“I think he’s a very tough opponent. I have a lot of respect. We are Brazilian that’s a bad thing, but we need to fight. We need to do that for the UFC.”

Turman (17-5) is a fellow Brazilian coming off a split decision win over Sam Alvey in August 2021.

“Actually I don’t like, but when I was competing Jiu Jitsu I used to fight with a lot of Brazilians. MMA I think I only fought one Brazilian and that’s my second fight, fighting against a Brazilian guy. Like I said, I have to fight. I cannot say no to the UFC and make them find another opponent for me.”

Vieira (8-1) is well aware of his opponent’s abilities and is ready to match up with Turman wherever the fight ends up.

“I think he’s a very complete athlete. He does everything well he has very good striking, he has a very good wrestling game, Jiu Jitsu game, but I’m ready for that. I’ve improved a lot my game in every aspect. I’ve been doing a lot of striking, wrestling, Jiu Jitsu, and I believe in my game. I believe in my Jiu Jitsu and that’s what I’m going to do. Try to make him confused and as soon as I can, put him down.”

Turman spoke to the media earlier in the day and said that he believed gettign Vieira tired was the key to defeating him in the octagon.

“After my first loss I think everyone start to think that it’s going to be easy to finish me. I don’t care about that. I believe in my Jiu Jitsu. I know what happened in that fight. I still believe in my Jiu Jitsu that’s what I’m going to do best. That’s my main weapon. I’m ready, I’m ready. My Jiu Jitsu is ready, my wrestling is ready, my striking, my power,” Vieira said in response.

Watch the full UFC 270 media day appearance from Rodolfo Vieira above. Vieira takes on Wellington Turman this Saturday, January 22, 2022 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. More coverage of Wednesday’s media day can be found below.

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“Very excited for this fight,” Turman (17-5) told media outlets including Cageside Press during Wednesday’s media day. It’s the “first numbered UFC” for the Brazilian, which has him “excited for the event. It’s going to be great.”

Last time out, Turman got the W against Sam Alvey. His current opponent, Rodolfo Vieira, is a fellow Brazilian and a legend in the jiu-jitsu world. “Rodolfo’s a big name,” Turman acknowledged. When he started training, “Rodolfo was already competing and beat a top contender,” noted Turman, who reiterated his excitement for this fight.

Of course, last year, Vieira was upset, a shock submission defeat at the hands of Anthony Hernanez. While he subsequently bounced back, the defeat was picked by many as 2021’s Submission of the Year.

“For sure, he showed a lot of errors in his game,” Turman agreed, “but he’s changing, he changed, because he changed coaches, he’s getting better. But for sure, when he gets hit, that’s when he gets desperate a little bit.”

Turman will no doubt look to force Vieira to get desperate come UFC 270. The event takes place Saturday, January 22, 2022 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. More coverage of Wednesday’s media day can be found below.

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MMA Fighting was first to report the news that Rodolfo Vieira will fight Wellington Turman on January 22 at UFC 270. Turman would later confirm the booking on his Instagram story.

Vieira (8-1) bounced back from his first professional loss in July by submitting Dustin Stoltzfus, keeping his 100% finish rate intact. Before this most recent win, he was submitted himself by Anthony Hernandez at UFC 258. “The Black Belt Hunter” is a gold medalist at the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship, the Pan American Championship, the Brazilian World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, and the Abu Dhabi World Cup.

Turman (17-5) got back into the win column last month, snapping his two-fight losing streak and keeping his job. He defeated Sam Alvey at UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Chikadze. Turman is 2-3 in the octagon with losses to Karl Roberson, Andrew Sanchez, and Bruno Silva. “The Prodigy” will be looking to get to a .500 record.

No main event, location, venue, or broadcast plan has been announced for UFC 270. The rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker is rumored to take place in the main event, but has yet to be announced.

The first Ultimate Fighting Championship PPV card of 2022 looks like this so far:

• Jarred Cannonier vs. Derek Brunson
• Greg Hardy vs. Aleksei Oleinik
• Rodolfo Vieira vs. Wellington Turman
• AJ Dobson vs. Jacob Malkoun

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