UFC 245: Action-packed card sees one of three titles change hands

By Case Keefer (contact)

Published Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019 | 4:56 p.m.

Updated Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019 | 11:17 p.m.

No one at UFC 245 Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena will be complaining about not getting their money’s worth.

Fans got to see the maximum 15 combined rounds in the three title fights atop the final UFC pay-per-view of the year. And many of them were action-packed.

One of the three belts at risk changed hands, as Alexander Volkanovski derailed Max Holloway’s 15-fight winning streak at featherweight. The other two champions, welterweight Kamaru Usman and women’s bantamweight Amanda Nunes, ultimately retained their titles but not without some suspense.

In the main event, Usman likely dropped each of the first two rounds against former interim champion Colby Covington before coming to life in the third. Usman teed off with a minute to go, dropping his rival with right hand in the final two minutes of the fight and finishing with a knockout at 4:10 of the fifth round.

“He caught me a few times but I’m tougher than all these guys,” Usman said afterwards in the octagon. “I can prevail. I can step over that adversity and keep going.”

Many had asked Usman to shut up Covington, one of the UFC’s most prolific trash talkers, and he may have wound up doing it literally. Covington reportedly told his corner that he broke his jaw before the fourth round.

He fought through the pain but was never quite the same.

“This one is not just for me,” Usman said. “This one is for the entire world right now.”

There was less bad blood in the co-main event as a tactical battle emerged between the Australian Volkanovski and the long-reigning Holloway. Volkanovski stayed out of Holloway’s range throughout and didn’t allow the Hawaiian to attack with the volume he’s accustomed to.

Holloway found his distance a few times in the middle rounds, but it wasn’t enough. The judges awarded Volkanovki a unanimous decision (50-45, 48-47, 48-47).

 “I’ve done everything to win this belt,” Volkanovski said. “We’ve had this great champions in this division. Max was a great champion and I promise to be a great champion too.”

“I’m telling you, I’m going to stay champion for a long time.”

Volkanovski will be looking to follow a path similar to Nunes, a two-division champion who officially became the winningest female fighter in UFC history with her 12th win in the octagon. Nunes defeated Germaine de Randamie via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-45, 49-44) in UFC 245’s first title fight.

Nunes relied on her wrestling, dragging de Randamie to the ground in each of the final three rounds and keeping her there. The striker de Randamie had success on the feet in the second round, leading to Nunes taking the fight elsewhere.

“I wanted to show everyone something different,” Nunes said. “I wanted to show everyone I’ve been practicing jiu-jitsu too.”

Two legends, Jose Aldo and Urijah Faber, lost to kick off the main card. Marlon Moraes claimed a split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) over Aldo while Faber was knocked out 43 seconds into the third round by rising Russian bantamweight Petr Yan.  

Many have pegged Yan as a future champion, but UFC 245 showed how difficult it can be to reach that level. Covington looked well on his way after 10 minutes but couldn’t maintain the pace, and Volkanovski had to complete a perfect performance.

“I was so composed,” Volkanovski said. “I have a good fight IQ and I got the job done.”

Read below for full results from the preliminary card.

· An extremely close bantamweight fight fell in Marlon Moraes’ favor as he defeated Jose Aldo by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29). The two Brazilians engaged in a highly tactical striking battle where each had their moments.

· UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber could not make it two straight wins after coming out of retirement. Rising bantamweight Petr Yan left Faber bloodied and bruised, ultimately knocking him out with a kick to the face 43 seconds into the third round.  

· Geoff Neal continued rapidly rising the welterweight ranks, knocking out Mike Perry 90 seconds into the first round. Neal has won all six of his fights in the UFC, but said he would like two or three more bouts before a title shot.

· Ketlen Vieira could have potentially earned a women’s bantamweight title shot against Nunes on Saturday night. Instead, she got into a short slugfest with Irene Aldana, who ruined her championship aspirations with a right hook that secured a knockout at 4:51 of the first round.  

· Omari Akhmedov defeated Ian Heinisch by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in a middleweight bout.

· Matt Brown put on a vintage performance and knocked out Ben Saunders at 4:55 of the second round in their welterweight bout. The win was Brown’s 11th career UFC victory by knockout.

· Chase Hooper provided an early highlight, knocking out Daniel Teymur with elbows at 4:34 of the first round in their featherweight bout.

· Brandon Moreno beat Kai Kara-France via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in a flyweight bout.

· Jessica Eye came back from a tough weight cut, which saw her miss weight to make this a catchweight (131 pounds) bout, to upset Viviane Araujo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

· Punahele Soriano knocked out Oskar Piechota at 3:17 of the first round in a middleweight bout.

Pre-fight

For the first time in 14 years, the UFC did not schedule a New Year’s Eve weekend fight card on the Strip.

The locally based mixed martial arts promotion’s new deal with ESPN forced it to alter some of its schedule with the New Year’s Eve event being the most notable casualty — the channel does not want the card to go head-to-head with the College Football Playoffs. In the old tradition’s place comes tonight's UFC 245 at T-Mobile Arena with the rare triple title-fight feature at the top of the card.

The welterweight, featherweight and women’s bantamweight belts are all up for grabs once the headlining bouts begin, roughly around 8:15 p.m after two of the most decorated smaller-weight fighters of all-time open the pay-per-view at 7 p.m. Former opponents Jose Aldo and Urijah Faber take on Marlon Moraes and Peter Yan, respectively, in bantamweight bouts.

Here’s the rundown on the three title fights.

Welterweight championship: Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington

For as much as Usman and Covington clash, they’re remarkably similar from a fighting standpoint. They are both former college wrestlers who crossed into mixed martial arts and found natural striking ability.

The lineal champion Usman has big one-punch knockout power, while the challenger Covington overwhelms with volume. Of course, the actual matchup hasn’t drawn much attention. Not with the simmering feud between Usman and Covington outside the octagon being more compelling to many.

Covington has been calling out Usman for years — even before the latter became the champion this March at T-Mobile Arena. Usman says he’s long sought out to fight Covington, who he says has turned down reported offers until now.

Featherweight championship: Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski

Holloway is on a 15-fight winning streak at featherweight, where he’s been the champion for nearly three years. Volkanovski is on a 17-fight winning streak, including all seven of his bouts in the octagon, and should provide a new challenge.

Betting lines are tight, with Holloway less than a 2-to-1 favorite at sports books all around town. That’s because Volkanovski has high-level striking to throw at the champion along with toughness. Known for being a former rugby player, Volkanovski has hardly ever seemed bothered in a fight since joining the UFC.

This will be his first five-round fight, however, leaving an experience advantage for the champion.

Women’s bantamweight championship: Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie

A two-division champion, Nunes is nearly unanimously considered the greatest female fighter of all-time at this point. To keep that title, she’ll need to win her 10th straight fight, this one against a familiar foe.

Nunes defeated de Randamie via knockout in 2013. Both fighters have gotten a lot better since then, though.

De Randamie is also a former champion, having won the inaugural women’s featherweight title before being stripped for inactivity. She has no losses except against Nunes, however, and will be hungry to avenge the defeat.

Check back for live coverage during the pay-per-view card.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.