Ilia Topuria battered Josh Emmett and established himself as a main event competitor in the main event of UFC on ABC 5.
For the entirety of their featherweight bout, Topuria picked Emmett apart. There was no point in the fight where Topuria was in danger, and he pummelled Emmett to the point where it was getting ugly later in the fight.
When the fight hit the later rounds, things only started to go further south for Emmett. Topuria hurt him several times in the fourth, and in addition to several knockdowns, he was left bloodied and bruised. The doctor stepped in to clear Emmett for the fifth, where he’d absorb more punishment before the final bell.
There was no doubt by the time the scorecards were read that Topuria produced a masterpiece. He won by official scores of 50-44, 50-42, and 49-46.
Post-fight, Topuria called for his title shot against the winner of the upcoming Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez fight, but mentioned he’s willing to face Max Holloway as well.
“I can wait. One of the best skills that I have is the patience. If they offer me to fight with Max Holloway in Spain, let’s do it. If not, I’m going to wait for my title fight. That’s all.”
Topuria moves to a perfect 14-0 with the win.
Emmett drops his second straight, falling to 18-4 in defeat.
Austen Lane’s gruesome eye rake mars UFC on ABC show
Former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Austen Lane made his UFC debut a memorable one.
Lane’s fight with journeyman Justin Tafa ended in a no-contest after three of Lane’s fingers went right into Tafa’s eye socket. Thankfully for Tafa, referee Dan Miragliotta stepped in to break the action.
Three minutes later, the doctor and referee both agreed that Tafa couldn’t continue. Due to the accidental nature of the eye poke, the fight was ruled a no-contest
UFC On ABC 5 full results
Ilia Topuria defeats Josh Emmett by unanimous decision (50-44, 50-42, 49-45)
Maycee Barber defeats Amanda Ribas by TKO, Round 2, 3:42
Austen Lane vs Justin Tafa ruled a no contest (accidental eye poke) at 0:29 of Round 1
David Onama defeats Gabriel Santos by KO, Round 2, 4:13
Brendan Allen defeats Bruno Silva by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:39 of Round 1
Neil Magny defeats Phil Rowe by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Randy Brown defeats Wellington Turman by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Mateusz Rębecki defeats Loik Radzhabov by TKO (strikes) at 2:36 of Round 2
Tabatha Ricci defeats Gillian Robertson by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Joshua Van defeats Zhalgas Zhumagulov by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Chepe Mariscal defeats Trevor Peek by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jack Jenkins defeats Jamall Emmers by split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Sedriques Dumas defeats Cody Brundage by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
