The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday returned to Houston with a pair of title fights atop UFC 247 at the Toyota Center: Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes and Valentina Shevchenko vs. Katlyn Chookagian. The card featured five finishes, two of the sub-minute variety, but they were overshadowed by repeated judging controversies, most notably in the main event. While there were a number of memorable performances, five stood out.
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UFC 247
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5. Youssef Zalal
The Factory X prospect impressed in his promotional debut, as he cruised to a unanimous decision over Fortis MMA’s Austin Lingo in a three-round featherweight pairing. All three cageside judges arrived at the same verdict: 30-27 for Zalal. Lingo seemed to be a step behind on the feet and on the ground. Zalal blended together his skills beautifully, firing off leg kicks, knees and sneaky hooks, one of which bloodied his counterpart’s nose in the first round. The 23-year-old struck for takedowns in all three rounds, applied his ground-and-pound in spurts and ran through a series of submission attempts, from anaconda and brabo chokes to the guillotine. While his efforts failed to result in a finish, Zalal left no doubt as to who was the superior fighter.
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4. Journey Newson
The onetime Cage Sport titleholder cut down Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Domingo Pilarte with punches in the first round of their encounter at 135 pounds. Newson brought it to a close 38 seconds into Round 1, winning for the seventh time in eight outings. The 30-year-old Pilarte connected with an early head kick but lowered his guard in his overzealous pursuit of a finish. The price was steep. Newson stepped into a devastating overhand right that floored the Texan, then pounded away with follow-up punches until referee Jacob Montalvo had seen enough.
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3. Dominick Reyes
Reyes gave reigning light heavyweight champion Jon Jones all he could handle before losing a controversial unanimous decision in the main event. Despite the fact that the previously unbeaten Reyes outstruck “Bones” in the first, second and third rounds, the judges awarded the champion 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 scores. The win was Jones’ 14th in a UFC title fight, breaking a tie with Georges St. Pierre for most all-time. Reyes connected with more significant strikes (116) on the Jackson-Wink MMA representative than any other opponent—only Alexander Gustafsson had managed to reach triple figures—and denied seven of his nine attempted takedowns across 25 enthralling minutes. The contentious nature of the decision has many calling for an immediate rematch.
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2. Kalinn Williams
The King of the Cage veteran could not have made a stronger first impression, as he disposed of Alex Morono with punches in the first round of their welterweight tilt. A short-notice substitution for the injured Dhiego Lima, Williams drew the curtain 27 seconds into Round 1. Morono—who entered the cage on a three-fight winning streak—decided to engage the Octagon rookie in a firefight and wandered into immediate danger. Williams sent him careening backward with a left hook, pursued him to the fence with a ferocious volley of punches, bailed on a takedown and connected with a thudding uppercut that folded the Fortis MMA representative where he stood. The 25-year-old Williams has rattled off seven straight wins.
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1. Valentina Shevchenko
Shevchenko retained the undisputed women’s flyweight championship in overwhelming fashion, as she stopped Katlyn Chookagian with punches and elbows in the third round of their co-main event. Finished for the first time in her career, Chookagian bowed out 63 seconds into Round 3. Shevchenko had a field day. The 31-year-old Tiger Muay Thai-trained superstar tore into Chookagian’s lead leg with kicks, assaulted her with blinding combinations and opened a cut above her left eye with a single elbow strike from inside the guard in the first round. The challenger’s situation only deteriorated from there. Shevchenko landed a wheel kick with surgical precision in the second round, delivered the second of her three takedowns and continued to chip away at the former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder’s shaken resolve. Early in Round 3, she took down Chookagian for the final time, moved to side control and trapped her in a mounted crucifix before smashing away with unanswered punches and elbows to force the stoppage.
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