Sherdog’s live
UFC Macau coverage will begin Saturday at 4 a.m. ET/1 a.m. PT.
The event is also known as
UFC Fight Night 277.
BETTING
PREVIEW | SCOUTING
REPORT | ODDS: Amorim (-120); Lookboonmee (+105)
Round 1
Lookboonmee (10-4; 7-3 UFC) and Amorim (10-2; 4-2 UFC) go to work
in matching orthodox stances under the watchful eye of referee
Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro. The Brazilian walks the foe to the fence,
where she closes the distance in a hurry and takes underhooks,
looking to drag the muay thai standout to the canvas. Lookboonmee
is wise to it, however, and refuses to be taken down, then spinning
Amorim against the cage. Amorim turns, nearly turning her back all
the way to her opponent, before hauling her down with a brief
kneebar attempt. She can’t get it, but ends up on top in the
ensuing scramble. A little past the halfway point of the round,
Amorim slides into side control at the base of the fence.
Lookboonmee fights off a kimura attempt, but Amorim keeps the
two-on-one and isolates Lookboonmee’s left arm in an armbar.
Lookboonmee is gritty, and Amorim is forced to adjust the angle
twice before Lookboonmee finally taps. Referee
“Shaolin” is there in a flash to prevent any needless damage, and
Jaqueline Amorim has kicked things off in Macau with a slick
first-round submission.
The Official Result
Jaqueline Amorim def. Loma Lookboonmee R1 4:04 via Submission
(Armbar)
BETTING
PREVIEW | SCOUTING
REPORT | ODDS: Vera (-120); Zhu (+100)
Round 1
In the first of several matches of debuting fighters at UFC Macau,
Zhu (21-4, 1 NC) meets short-notice signee Vera (21-1-1), who steps
in for the injured Ramon Taveras, with a 13-fight win streak in
tow. The third man in the cage is Lukasz Bosacki. The
featherweights touch gloves and meet in the middle of the Octagon
with an exchange of low kicks. Both men go upstairs with punches
and start exchanging hard shots. Each gets his fair share of licks
in, but Zhu nearly takes Vera off his feet with a couple of vicious
leg kicks. Vera changes levels for a takedown, driving Zhu into the
fence as he transitions from a double-leg to a single. Zhu fights
off the takedown and they go back to work as they come careening
away from the fence. Again, both men land, but this time it’s Vera
who lands the telling blow. He sits Zhu down with a blistering left
hook, then pounces and puts him away with a stream of ground
punches. Bosacki gives the native fighter every chance to
recover—Zhu may actually have gone out for a second and come
back—but he righteously waves off the fight as Vera jumps up to
celebrate a life-changing win in front of the shocked crowd.
The Official Result
Rodrigo Vera def. Kangjie Zhu R1 1:50 via TKO (Punches)
BETTING
PREVIEW | SCOUTING
REPORT | ODDS: Xiong (-210); Hill (+175)
Round 1
Former ONE champ Xiong (19-2) has been one of the top women
operating outside the UFC for at least six years. She finally makes
her Octagon debut against “Overkill” Hill (18-16), who has been in
the thick of things in the UFC strawweight division literally since
the beginning. Mark Craig draws his first referee assignment of the
evening. Hill declines the glove touch offered by Xiong and they’re
off to work, both women in orthodox stance. Xiong hurts Hill with a
couple of punches, but Hill comes right back and lands a
three-piece flurry that sits the Chinese fighter down for an
instant, more off-balance than hurt. Hill pursues and meet Xiong by
the fence, where she takes the Thai clinch and tries to drive some
knees up the middle. Xiong shucks her off and lands a couple of
hard punches, and they break away from the fence. Two minutes down
in a frenetic first round and Hill again grabs the Thai plam
against the fence, kneeing Xiong in the gut and then throwing a
front kick to the head when Xiong breaks the clinch. They meet
again and Hill looks for a guillotine, but can’t get it. Xiong
sticks Hill with a hard one-two, then gets rocked by a lovely
flying knee-to-punch combination. Ninety seconds to go and Hill
steps into the pocket, meeting Xiong with another intercepting
knee. Hill stalks forward and catches Xiong with another knee, then
a front kick up the middle. Xiong is still throwing back, but is
clearly taken aback by the American’s relentless attack. Xiong
lands a spinning kick, then grabs a headlock at the 10-second
clapper. The horn sounds. 10-9 Hill.
Round 2
Hill comes forward again to open Round 2 and Xiong gives ground,
then plants and fires a one-two that glance off the guard. Hill
keeps coming forward, landing a jab and a switch kick to the body.
Xiong halts Hill’s advance with a nice jab to the body. Xiong meets
Hill’s next advance with a spinning backfist that lands cleanly but
without much on it. Hill dips a shoulder and drives her foe to the
fence, then hooks a leg and dumps Xiong to the mat. She takes top
position but can’t get anything underway before the bigger woman
surges back to her feet. Xiong steps into the pocket and gets kneed
to the face. Xiong comes up short with a pair of hooks and the
action slows just a tick in the second half of the frame. Hill hops
into the pocket with a jab and right cross, slips the counter and
lands a nice right hook. Xiong steps forward and right into another
intercepting knee to the body, but comes back with a pair of hard
hooks. Xiong takes a level elbow in close quarters, then a knee to
the face. The 10-second clapper sounds and Hill comes forward,
slapping a glancing kick off Xiong’s face before the horn.
10-9 Hill.
Round 3
If our scorecards are any indicator, Xiong needs to do something
big here, and she seems to agree, as she comes forward and lands
the first significant blows of the round, a pair of solid hooks.
Hill knees her up the middle and within seconds, it’s once again
the American on the front foot. Xiong circles away, conscious that
Hill is trying to walk her into the fence, and meets an advance
with a flurry of hooks to the body. Hill backs off and flicks out a
front kick to the belly. Hill slides into the pocket and is met
with a glancing elbow to the face. Hill steps in, launches a flying
knee that does not land cleanly, but follows up with a front
headlock, which she releases quickly. The round is half gone and
it’s still very much Hill’s fight, as she is marching forward
fearlessly on the bigger woman and landing almost anything she
wants. Ninety seconds to go in the round and Xiong is still looking
to land the huge shot or shots that might save the day for her, but
Hill is throwing, and landing, far more. Hill rushes forward and
drives Xiong to the fence where she takes her opponent’s back
standing, snaking one leg around for a single hook. She can’t get
it, but the last20 seconds find her pursuing her hurt foe along the
fence with a swarm of punches, looking for a late finish. The final
horn sounds on an absolutely sensational showing by Angela Hill.
10-9 Hill (30-27 Hill).
The Official Result
Angela Hill def. Jingnan Xiong via Unanimous Decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27)
BETTING
PREVIEW | SCOUTING
REPORT | ODDS: Tsuruya (-220); Gurule (+180)
Round 1
Gurule (11-3; 1-3 UFC), just two weeks removed from his first UFC
win, looks to build on that momentum as he steps up on short notice
against Tsuruya (10-1; 1-1 UFC), who was last in action over a year
ago against now-champ Josh Van and most now rebound from that
setback. The habitual flyweights have agreed to meet at 135 pounds
here, and Marc Goddard is the referee. Tsuruya refuses the glove
touch, and his southpaw stance against Gurule’s orthodox attack
leads to immediate jostling of the lead hands. A few awkward,
glancing exchanges result, but Tsuruya’s advantages in height and
reach are stark. He lands a hard left that buckles Gurule’s legs
momentarily, and he presses his advantage. He can’t land any more
clean strikes, but hustles the American to the canvas, where he
gradually moves to take back control. Gurule halts his positional
advance, and Tsuruya punishes him with a brutal stream of ground
punches that have Goddard looking on closely. Gurule survives and
shells up, but when he tries to stand, Tsuruya hoists him, slams
him back to the ground and takes back mount. Tsuruya sinks a body
triangle and starts fishing for a choke. He gets a neck crank and
applies torque, and it’s enough: Gurule is forced to tap and
Goddard is there for the save. Impressive work from Rei Tsuruya to
bounce back from his first professional loss in dominant
fashion.
The Official Result
Rei Tsuruya def. Luis Gurule R1 3:19 via Submission (Neck
Crank)
BETTING
PREVIEW | SCOUTING
REPORT | ODDS: Haddon (-350); Aori (+280)
Round 1
Aussie bantamweight prospect Haddon (8-1; 1-0 UFC) looks to follow
up on his debut win against Aoriqileng (26-12, 1 NC; 4-4, 1 NC
UFC), who will attempt to turn things around for the host country,
as Chinese fighters are 0-2 on the evening thus far. Jason Herzog
is the referee on duty. Both fighters are orthodox and Aoriqileng
looks a full weight class larger than Haddon. It’s Haddon pushing
the action, however, sliding forward into the pocket and exchanging
glancing punch combinations with the “Mongolian Murderer.” Neithen
man lands anything clean, but Haddon steps into the pocket again,
tries a knee pick, and then uses a body lock to hoist and slam
Aori. He slides to the back and pounds his foe’s head with both
fists as they sink to the canvas. Haddon is in complete control,
mindful of his postur and position as he continues to hammer the
near-helpless Aori. Making things worse, Aori’s right arm becomes
pinned under his body for a moment, and the Australian takes full
advantage, pounding away with elbows and punches. Herzog is
hovering nearby, but letting Aori work his way out of danger, and
his patience is vindicated as Aori rolls and frees his arm. It’s
still 100% Haddon, however, and with under a minute to go he pauses
the unending storm of punches to try for a rear-naked choke. Aori
spins out of back mount, forcing Haddon to give up the choke, but
he continues to pour on the punishment until the horn sounds.
Complete thrashing in Round 1 by the younger man. 10-8
Haddon.
Round 2
Aori looks much recovered to start Round 2, and he comes forward
right away, swinging hooks with both hands. Haddon drops for a
takedown and gets absolutely pancaked, recovers and enters again,
only for Aori to catch him in a front headlock and snap him down.
Aori looks for the guillotine and is legitimately threatening
Haddon’s neck, but Haddon eventually extricates himelf from the
choke and they return to their feet. From there, he is quick to
enter once again, dropping for a smooth-looking double leg. Aori
stands him up with underhooks, at which point Haddon hits him with
two knees to the liver, the second of which absolutely melts him.
Haddon follows Aori back to the mat and pours on the punches at the
base of the fence, and it’s clear that Aori is cooked. Herzog steps
in for the save and the domination is complete. Brutal, brutal work
by the man from Western Australia.
The Official Result
Cody Haddon def. Qileng Aori R2 2:21 via TKO (Knees to the Body and
Punches)
BETTING
PREVIEW | SCOUTING
REPORT | ODDS: Ding (-125); Souza (+110)
Round 1
They may both have lost on
Dana White’s Contender Series, but welterweight hopefuls Ding
(35-9) and Souza (8-1) get the call here anyway. The difference in
experience is one of the widest in modern UFC history; we’ll see if
it shows in the cage. Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro will be in charge of
rules enforcement once the action starts, and at a word from
Ribeiro, they go to work in the center of the cage. Both fighters
are orthodox, and Souza’s advantage in height appears to be closer
to six inches than the one inch advertised by the tale of the tape.
His reach is also much greater, especially with his legs, but it
makes little difference in the early going, as Ding bounces around
on the outside, then enters range with single leg kicks or jabs.
Souza sticks Ding with a one-two that snaps his head back and
reddens his face. Ding shakes it off but appears wary to enter the
pocket again, reacting to Souza’s every feint. Ding hacks at the
lead leg with an outside kick, then another. Halfway through the
round, it’s Souza’s long jab and right cross against Ding’s
persistent calf kicks, and Ding starts to pull ahead. Ding backs
Souza to the fence and explodes into range with a trio of punches
to the head and chest. Souza circles away from the fence and pops
Ding with a nice jab, but his punching volume has waned badly. The
horn sounds. 10-9 Ding.
Round 2
Souza immediately reaches out with the jab, and appears to be
waiting on Ding’s calf kicks, looking to counter. Ding marches him
down, and Souza meets him with a nice kick to the body. Ding is
struggling to get inside Souza’s huge range early, but he lands his
first calf kick of the round about 40 seconds in and it’s a good
one. Souza catches Ming entering the pocket and meets him with a
flush knee to the jaw that has the Chinese fighter backing away.
Souza stays disciplined but pursues, looking to capitalize. Ding
recovers quickly, but Souza steps into the pocket and meets him
with a boot right up the middle that lands mostly on the cup.
“Shaolin” pauses the action, but Ding takes only a few seconds to
recover. When they resume, Souza has gone southpaw, perhaps in
deference to the damage his left leg has already taken, and his
right jab is immediately in Ding’s face. Ding catches a kick,
rushes forward and corrals Souza against the fence with a flurry of
punches that mostly glance off the arms. With under a minute to go,
they have returned to the center of the cage and Ding is very much
the aggressor, charging into range with punches. The horn sounds.
10-9 Ding.