ROUND ONE: Right out of the gate Alex Cox is swinging for the fences. Belazco keeps distance and dodges a few strikes then connects with an uppercut while Cox lands some great crosses. As the round progresses, it seems that Cox is taking the best of the fight with the best of a couple brief punching exchanges. Belazco stays patient and avoids big shots with checks and parries, but can’t seem to get his offense in rhythm. Cox fakes a move and launches a nice uppercut, then some counter punches land while Belazco is on his bicycle. Belazco begins to launch a barrage of punches but Cox is smart enough to keep his head on a swivel and dodge the traffic. Cox launches a kick but Belazco avoids it and lands flush with a counter hook! Belazco launches a couple of jabs that are answered by Cox with a stiff cross, and soon the two engage in a wild exchange. Cox gets the edge in the exchange as he lands a few more strikes right before the horn.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 Cox
ROUND TWO: Cox and Belazco circle around the center of the cage looking for some angles. A solid combination from Cox mostly hits air and a counter right from Belazco makes him stumble back in his heels. Cox narrowly avoids a dangerous strike from Belazco and counters with a solid straight! After a brief exchange, Cox starts targeting the legs with low kicks that seem to be bothering Belazco. A crispy uppercut by Cox followed by a hard jab causes Belazco to wobble, but he circles out to avoid any more damage. The fighters size each other up in the center of the cage then Cox finds another gear and starts to put on a boxing clinic. He picks Belazco apart with nice one-two combinations and cuts him over his left eye. The referee is warning Belazco to defend himself, but Cox fakes a move to freeze up Belazco and then fires off a ferocious uppercut. It lands clean and uncontested and by this time the referee has seen enough. He jumps in between the fighters and stops the punishment for Belazco, giving Alex Cox the biggest win in the infancy of his career.
Winner: Alex Cox by TKO (Uppercut) at 3:17 Round 2
Statistics: Alex Cox
Punches 41/67 (61%)
Kicks 10/13 (77%)
Clinch strikes 0/0 (0%)
Takedowns 0/0 (0%)
GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)
Submissions 0/0 (0%)
Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)
Time on the ground 0 s
Statistics: Xabier Belazco
Punches 8/23 (35%)
Kicks 0/0 (0%)
Clinch strikes 0/0 (0%)
Takedowns 0/0 (0%)
GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)
Submissions 0/0 (0%)
Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)
Time on the ground 0 s
Isaac Cohen’s Opinion: Not a bad fight overall to kick things off, despite what the statistics may indicate. Alex Cox has to be excited to score a big win and put a known name on his resume and get back in the win column. Cox has won three of his last four now, and should think about becoming more active and potentially make some noise for himself in a division that has thinned out a bit here recently. On the other side, this now makes five straight losses for The Black Knight. Belazco showed short bursts of offense, but couldn’t get anything going and especially looked lost out there in the second round. I believe his age is playing a big role in this skid, and with younger and faster prospects entering the ranks, he’s now at a very difficult crossroad in his career.
ROUND ONE: James wants to set the tone of this fight early and shoots for a double leg takedown. Chraibi sprawls back and manages to stay on his feet, but James doesn’t quit and catches the far ankle and trips him to the mat with a sweep single. On the ground, Chraibi moves from a closed to a high guard and tries to lock in an armbar. James rolls on the ground and breaks free from it, and the two jockey for position until the referee decides to stand up the fighters since there was not much action on the ground. James goes for a takedown which Chraibi sprawls back in, but another catches him off guard and takes the fight to the mat. Chraibi attempts a triangle from bottom but James slips out. Chraibi quickly turns his hips over and switches to an armbar, throwing everything at him but Reggie slips out from that as well. As the round progresses, this seems to be the common theme: Reggie James hits the takedowns but Suhaim Chraibi works for submissions on the ground until someone gets back to their feet. Toward the end of the round though, Chraibi seems to be breathing heavily and slowing his pace, which James capitalizes on and works on a number of leg locks until the horn.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 James
ROUND TWO: The first round was a very measured pace with mostly grappling and groundwork, but this time out, Chraibi is more comfortable with his distance. He still has to fight off James who continues to spam him with takedown attempts, but he’s able to land some standup striking in the mix of it all. Reggie James gets more aggressive when the fight goes to the ground, using some ground and pound to set up triangle chokes and leg locks. Chraibi still manages to slip out of those very dangerous situations and get to his feet where he touches up James with some nice short combos. James has to get a little creative as he’s been hit-and-miss with the takedowns, and pulls out a wild maneuver by jumping and scissoring Chraibi's left leg in a flying heel hook attempt! Again, Chraibi gets back to his feet and launches a brilliant combination that forces James to try and defend better. After a one sided exchange, James gets a hold of Chraibi's arm, leaps into the air, and wraps his leg around his left shoulder in a flying omoplata attempt but James cannot lock it up. Chraibi smiles to acknowledge the audacious submission attempt and tries to take advantage of the situation. Chraibi launches a kick to James's thigh while he’s still on the ground, and dodges a few kicks back at him. James creates enough space to get back up and quickly hits a sweep single to bring both fighters to the mat. As the two jockey for control, Chraibi throws his legs up in a triangle attempt. James gets caught but tries to break the lock by slamming Chraibi against the mat! Chraibi hits the mat hard but doesn't allow James to escape, instead he tightens the Triangle Armbar. James looks to be in a very dangerous situation but somehow he manages to stay alive until the horn.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 Chraibi (19-19 Push)
ROUND THREE: With the final round underway, it seems like it’s all tied up on the scorecards based on the both fighter’s cornermen. James keeps plowing through with the takedown attempts with mixed results. James eventually keeps Chraibi in place on the ground to work in some leg locks, and get some much needed ground and pound. Chraibi rolls to get to full mount and nearly secures a kimura. You can see the pain and worry reflected in James' eyes, but he holds his own arm and struggles until he gets free and scrambles to his feet. James keeps committed with the takedowns and brings the fight back down with a single leg, and during a scramble where Chraibi gets top control, James times up a guillotine. Chraibi narrowly slips his head out and James attempts a triangle from bottom! Chraibi slips out and James quickly turns his hips over and switches to the armbar! He's throwing everything at him.
Suhaim Chraibi slips out and backs away to avoid any more danger. When the fight goes back to the mat, James pushes Chraibi against the fence and then tries to improve his position. James passes his leg around Chraibi's shoulder and rolls on the ground! Chraibi works his way out of that omoplata and launches himself over his opponent, winning side mount position! The two scramble for control but eventually they both stall out from exhaustion and the referee stands them back up. From here on out, this fight turns into a straight up wrestling match as Reggie James continues to spam Chraibi with takedowns and suffocate his standup offense to the final horn.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 James (29-28 James)
. JUDGES’ SCORECARDS .
Reggie James 10 9 10: 29
Suhaim Chraibi 9 10 9: 28
Reggie James 10 10 10: 30
Suhaim Chraibi 9 9 9: 27
Reggie James 10 9 10: 29
Suhaim Chraibi 9 10 9: 28
Winner: Reggie James by Unanimous Decision
Statistics: Reggie James
Punches 0/4 (0%)
Kicks 0/0 (0%)
Clinch strikes 1/4 (25%)
Takedowns 12/23 (52%)
GnP strikes 8/18 (44%)
Submissions 16/16 (100%)
Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)
Time on the ground 468 s
Statistics: Suhaim Chraibi
Punches 12/18 (67%)
Kicks 1/1 (100%)
Clinch strikes 0/0 (0%)
Takedowns 0/0 (0%)
GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)
Submissions 6/6 (100%)
Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)
Time on the ground 420 s
Isaac Cohen’s Opinion: This was definitely a tougher fight than expected for Reggie James. Suhaim Chraibi made him earn those takedowns, and kept things relatively close on the ground. There’s no question James has one of the best grappling games in all of MMA, but I would like to see him open up his striking a little more. When Chraibi was able to stuff the takedowns and find a bit of rhythm with his striking in the second round, it looked pretty rough for Reggie. Chraibi also nearly ended the fight at the end of the second round when he trapped James in the triangle. If the ScrapYard prospect can incorporate some effective striking into his game, I believe he could really elevate to championship levels. Until then, he’ll have to rely on a heavy dose of takedowns, submissions, and ground and pound to continue stacking wins.
ROUND ONE: Dunne and Harris move forward as the bell signals the beginning of the fight. Within seconds, Harris rushes forward and launches a Superman punch! Dunne stumbles back and allows Harris to lock in an easy clinch. Dunne is able to recover and postures up to unload a series of punches. Harris takes a hit but he fires right back while also targeting the ribs. Dunne pushes off of Harris then launches a flurry of hooks and body shots. Harris stumbles back but Dunne chases him and continues the rain of blows. Harris grabs one of Dunne's arms and with a twist of his hip, throws Dunne to the mat like a rag-doll. Harris doesn’t follow through and instead allows Dunne to pop right back up to her feet and the two begin trading blows. The momentum swings back and forth as both fighters get their moments, but Harris gets the edge with the bigger shots landing. Dunne misses a step and Harris sees an opportunity to counter her with a furious flurry of punches. Dunne gets cut on her cheek and eats a powerful looping right hand before backpedaling out and circling around to kill the clock.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 Harris
ROUND TWO: Harris once again comes out of the gate guns blazing, however this time Dunne is ready for him and shows off some slick head and body movement to evade a bevy of strikes. Harris does connect with a leg kick, but this allows Dunne to close the distance and secure a clinch and push the much bigger competitor up against the fence. It’s Dunne who cranks the tempo up now as she throws a flurry of punches. Harris cannot break off from the clinch and Dunne begins working the body with some sharp hooks to the ribs. The two pummel for control before Dunne pushes off of Harris and starts launching a flurry of hooks and body shots! Harris stumbles back into the fence but Dunne walks him down and continues the onslaught. Lilly Dunne is in full control at this point and has the referee watching very closely, ready to stop this fight at any time. Harris has no other choice but to hold his opponent tight while he tries to cool down the action. Harris gets a few shots in, but eventually the action grinds to a halt and the referee finally steps in to break them up. Back in the center of the octagon, Harris launches a big head kick but misses terribly, and slips to the mat. Dunne is cautious here and after landing a couple kicks to the thigh, she backs off to give Harris room to stand back up. Harris tries landing a leg kick but Dunne checks it and counters with a great combo to cap off the round.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 Dunne (19-19 Push)
ROUND THREE: With the final frame underway, it’s clear that it’s all tied up and whoever finishes strong wins the fight. Dunne takes this notion into account and comes out strong with a looping right hand while Harris jumps back and jabs. Dunne gets clipped and wobbles as Harris runs in to capitalize with a bunch of jabs and crosses. Dunne launches a couple of jabs to try and slow Harris down, but he answers back with a stiff cross! A wild exchange unfolds as the two throw caution to the wind and just trade hands back and forth. Dunne tries to lock in a clinch but Harris reads it and ducks under. Dunne then throws a combo but again Harris ducks under and catches her with a counter straight. Dunne swings again, only to get countered once more! Dunne is looking bad here! Harris has found an opening in the defense of Dunne and continues to drop bombs. Dunne stumbles back but plants her back foot and the two engage in a wild exchange of punches. Dunne puts the end of the exchange by securing a single collar tie and swings the momentum back in her favor in a big way. She empties the clip with a flurry of hooks and body shots. Harris can’t escape and stumbles around but Dunne chases him and continues the rain of blows. After a brutal onslaught, Dunne takes a break to breathe while holding Harris and not long after the official breaks them up and directs them back toward the center. In the final moments of the fight, Dunne catches a kick from Harris and counters with a big hook. She goes right back into the clinch and pushes Harris against the cage. Dunne hammers down a few more hooks to the body before the horn signals the end of the round. The fighters shake hands as they head back to their corners and Lilly Dunne feels confident she’s done enough to pull out the victory.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 Dunne (29-28 Dunne)
. JUDGES’ SCORECARDS .
Lilly Dunne 9 10 10: 29
Terrico Harris 10 9 9: 28
Lilly Dunne 9 10 10: 29
Terrico Harris 10 9 9: 28
Lilly Dunne 9 10 10: 29
Terrico Harris 10 9 9: 28
Winner: Lilly Dunne by Unanimous Decision
Statistics: Lilly Dunne
Punches 18/37 (49%)
Kicks 2/4 (50%)
Clinch strikes 74/110 (67%)
Takedowns 0/0 (0%)
GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)
Submissions 0/0 (0%)
Clinch Attempts 2/3 (67%)
Time on the ground 30 s
Statistics: Terrico Harris
Punches 41/55 (75%)
Kicks 0/5 (0%)
Clinch strikes 6/8 (75%)
Takedowns 1/1 (100%)
GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)
Submissions 0/0 (0%)
Clinch Attempts 1/1 (100%)
Time on the ground 45 s
Isaac Cohen’s Opinion: Without question this has been the most competitive fight so far on the night. Terrico Harris came out guns blazing in the opening round, teeing off on Lilly Dunne and putting her in some dire situations. The momentum swing came in the second round for Lilly Dunne when she adjusted her strategy and kept Harris trapped in the clinch. From there she controlled the tempo and was able to put Harris in a bind with her clinch striking. Dunne mixed up her targets and kept Harris guessing, and ran away with it on the scorecards in the last two-thirds of the fight. With a resounding win in this David versus Goliath showdown, Dunne should inch her way up the rankings and soon she’ll enter the title contender discussion in a very competitive division.
ROUND ONE: Aries Reed and Lars Levy touch gloves in the center to get this fight started. Reed avoids a dangerous haymaker from Levy and fends him off with feel-out punches before sinking Levy in double underhooks. Reed pushes off Levy and launches a flurry of hooks and body shots. Levy stumbles back but Reed walks him down and continues the rain of blows! Levy is getting swarmed early but manages to clamp down on Reed’s arms and halt his offense long enough for the referee to separate them. The two step back in with an exchange where Levy gets the upper hand. Levy whiffs with a kick and Reed lands flush with a counter hook then secures a single collar tie. Nothing doing and Reed decides to break away. He narrowly avoids a dangerous strike from Levy and counters with a solid straight. Levy tries to circle out but gets tagged with some punches while he's on his bicycle. Levy plants his foot and tries to shoot a takedown, but Reed shows great balance and stays upright. Levy is committed to the takedown but Reed stuffs them a couple more times before Levy finally hits a double leg. Unfortunately, time runs out on Levy before he can get anything going on the ground.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 Reed
ROUND TWO: Aries Reed comes out hot with strikes to the head and body and catches Levy with an uppercut right on the button. Levy stumbles back on his heels which allows Reed to hit a textbook single leg. The two jockey for position for a while and Reed eventually gets to full mount. Reed targets the body with punches all the while maintaining good control of his position. There’s no quit in Levy as he uses his ground skills to escape by pushing Reed's knee away and rolls to half guard. The two jockey for position some more until Reed rolls back to full mount. No sooner than a blink of an eye, Levy reverses back on top, but Reed uses that momentum to reverse right back into full mount. The wild back and forth gasses out both fighters and neither one makes any advancement, which causes the official to step in and bring them back up to their feet. After a quick breather, Levy and Reed engage in a heated exchange. Reed avoids a dangerous strike from Levy and counters with a solid straight! Levy tries to bring the fight back to the ground with a takedown but Reed stuffs it and secures a clinch. Reed pushes Levy against the cage but the horn goes off, signaling the end of the round.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 Reed (20-18 Reed)
ROUND THREE: Reed comes out surprising Levy with a hard-fought single leg takedown. Reed tries to improve his position from side mount but Levy creates space and scrambles back to his feet. Both fighters continue the fight on their feet. Reed unloads with perfect boxing, causing Levy to stumble back on his heels. The two exchange but Reed is connecting with a few more punches. Levy launches a kick but Reed avoids it and lands flush with a counter hook. Reed continues to tee off on Levy, putting him in very dangerous territory. Levy is busted open and looks rattled. Reed sees his opportunity to finish the fight and launches an aggressive flurry of punches. Levy is eating shots like he’s at a buffet, and one final clip drops him to the mat for the finish.
Winner: Aries Reed by KO (Punches) at 2:29 Round 3
Statistics: Aries Reed
Punches 38/46 (83%)
Kicks 0/1 (0%)
Clinch strikes 7/11 (64%)
Takedowns 2/2 (100%)
GnP strikes 2/5 (40%)
Submissions 0/0 (0%)
Clinch Attempts 1/1 (100%)
Time on the ground 174 s
Statistics: Lars Levy
Punches 3/11 (27%)
Kicks 0/0 (0%)
Clinch strikes 0/0 (0%)
Takedowns 1/5 (20%)
GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)
Submissions 0/0 (0%)
Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)
Time on the ground 174 s
Isaac Cohen’s Opinion: We’ve come to expect a high octane fight whenever Aries Reed steps inside the cage, but the biggest takeaway in this is probably Lars Levy’s ability to take a punch. He was clearly outclassed in this contest, but it took every fiber in Reed’s being to finish off the Red Rock product. One silver lining in this one sided affair, Levy will have plenty of film to study on to improve his game, but the aging fighter won’t need a film study to know that he needs to work on improving his ability to slip a punch and not just barbarically take one and keep pressing forward.
ROUND ONE: Despite being familiar adversaries, Lena and Yaz touch gloves to start. The respect is apparent as they cautiously move around to find their angles. Lena slaps Yaz’s thigh with a low kick then follows right behind with a flurry of punches. Vermeulen eats a ton of shots and looks to be in trouble, but she weathers the storm and recovers enough to start firing back, giving Lena an equal treatment of fists. Lena resets herself and goes back to the kicks, targeting the legs and body that keeps Vermeulen guessing. A monstrous left hook from Lyons just grazes the chin of Vermeulen, then a stinging middle kick gets blocked, causing the feverish crowd to choke up with tension. Lena begins to find her stride by mixing up low kicks with short bursts one-two jab combos. The two get into an exchange and both get wobbled with big shots, keeping every spectator on the edge of their seats. The two continue to exchange wildly before Lena jumps in with a clinch and pushes Vermeulen up against the fence. The two jockey for position and Yaz ends up turning out and presses Lena against the fence. A big flying knee to the chest and then a kick right down the middle wobbles Lena, but she recovers and lands a crispy uppercut followed by a hard jab. Yaz fumbles on her feet after getting rocked and Lena seizes the moment with a sweep single, taking the fight to the mat. The two scramble for position before Yaz inadvertently gives up her back! At this point, Lena takes full control of the fight and works her way into getting both hooks in and flattening Vermeulen out on the mat. Yaz tries to escape but eventually adopts the turtle defense and Lyons is ready for some ground and pound. Instead, Lena has one of her arms over Vermeulen's shoulders and is looking for a Rear Naked Choke! Lena throws her leg over one of Vermeulen's arms and firmly secures the forearm under the chin. Yasmine struggles but ultimately cannot defend with only one arm and has no choice but to tap to the choke just seconds before the horn!
Winner: Lena Lyons by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:55 Round 1
Statistics: Lena Lyons
Punches 23/32 (72%)
Kicks 6/6 (100%)
Clinch strikes 0/0 (0%)
Takedowns 1/1 (100%)
GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)
Submissions 1/1 (100%)
Clinch Attempts 1/1 (100%)
Time on the ground 76 s
Statistics: Yasmine Vermeulen
Punches 10/16 (62%)
Kicks 1/2 (50%)
Clinch strikes 1/1 (100%)
Takedowns 0/0 (0%)
GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)
Submissions 0/0 (0%)
Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)
Time on the ground 76 s
Isaac Cohen’s Opinion: What an incredible win for Lena Lyons. She avenges her TKO loss due to injury from UGP 17 with a resounding submission win, which by the way, is her first in Union GP. Lyons was dialed in from the moment the bell rang, and now stacks up her third victory in a row. This puts her right back in the thick of title contention. The top of the division is log jammed with contenders, which means she could realistically be next in line depending how the smoke settles after Howard v Meechan 2. For Yasmine, no doubt this is a tough loss, but she has proven in the past to bounce back in these situations. I don’t believe this loss will dramatically drop her down the rankings, so it’ll be best to take this in as a teachable moment and try to get back in the cage as soon as possible.
Venue: T-Mobile Arena
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Attendance: 13,150
Date: January 30, 2022
Gate: $2,385,230
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT
Lilly Dunne vs Terrico Harris
PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT
Aries Reed, Lena Lyons
TOP EARNERS
Aries Reed ($900,000)
Lena Lyons ($550,000)
Yasmine Vermeulen ($300,000)
Reggie James ($270,000)
Lilly Dunne ($220,000)
RECAP
Alex Cox def. Xabier Belazco by TKO (Uppercut) at 3:17 Round 2
Reggie James def. Suhaim Chraibi by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)
Lilly Dunne def. Terrico Harris by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)
Aries Reed def. Lars Levy by KO (Punches) at 2:29 Round 3
Lena Lyons def. Yasmine Vermeulen by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:55 Round 1