LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — This UFC fight night had everything from close fights to knockouts, and streaks were both extended and broken.
The main card started off hot, with a huge knockout from undefeated up-and-coming bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov.
The action did not stop there, with Roman Kopylov finishing Punahele Soriano by TKO, and a close, top-5 matchup between Raquel Pennington and Ketlen Vieira saw Pennington win by split decision.
Pennington says because of injuries, it was already a grind even before the fight.
"This entire 14 weeks, I've just been kind of climbing mountains and coming back down and climbing some more, and so to go out there and actually get my hand raised and continue on my win streak, I'm just happy,
In the co-main event, Dan Ige got a sensational knockout win against Damon Jackson, snapping his three-fight losing streak.
Ige says he got emotional after the fight and that this win meant a lot after going almost two years without a win.
"This one was for me," Ige said. "This was to prove to myself that i can still achieve greatness."
The main event had plenty of action, with Sean Strickland and Nassourdine Imavov trading punches,but in the end, it was Strickland, who took the fight on a week's notice, that got his hand raised after winning by unanimous decision.
Of course, Strickland is never one to be at a loss for words and says he felt good in the cage even with the short notice.
"I've never had a job," Strickland said. "I've slept in gyms. I've been doing this every single day of my life since I was 14. I can take a week off. I'm not getting out of shape in a week.
The UFC will have a Pay-Per-View later this month in Brazil, but they will be back here at the APEX on February 4th.
