After a long hiatus in terms of their usual scheduling, the Octagon returned Sunday night with UFC Fight Night 74.
Max Holloway was declared the winner of the main event after an injury to Charles Oliveira ended the contest early in the first. Oliveira appeared to hurt his left shoulder after going in for a takedown.
Referee Herb Dean immediately stepped in and called a stoppage to the fight, as Oliveira was in obvious pain and took several minutes of medical attention before he could be moved.
Fighting on short notice was no problem for Neil Magny, as he bounced back from a loss to Demian Maia by controlling Erick Silva and scoring a decision. Magny, who is now 8-1 over his last nine, replaced Rick Story in the co-main event.
Former UFC middleweight title contender Patrick Cote flexed his power, handing Josh Burkman his first stoppage loss via TKO. Cote landed with a clean shot in the third after a slugfest between the two veterans, following up on the ground for the win.
One of three unbeaten fighters competing on the card, Chad Laprise was unable to keep his record intact, as Francisco Trinaldo delivered a powerful first round finish of the Canadian. Trinaldo flattened Laprise out and pounded away until the referee stepped in.
Olivier Aubin-Mercier pushed his pro MMA record to 7-1 with a strong win over Tony Sims. While he was unable to secure the finish, OAM used his judo and wrestling skills to control Sims and claim a decision.
Canada’s own Valerie Letourneau kicked off the main card with a decision victory over Maryna Moroz. The loss was the first in the career of Moroz, who was coming off a stunning upset of Joanne Calderwood.
Frankie Perez earned the biggest win of his career, and decided that was the right time to walk away from MMA. Despite being just 26 years old, Perez announced his retirement after finishing Sam Stout in the prelim main event.
Brazil’s Felipe Arantes traveled into hostile territory and walked out with a submission victory over Canadian Yves Jabouin. It marked the debut at bantamweight for Arantes, who is 4-3-1 over eight Octagon appearances.
Nikita Krylov and Marcos Rogerio de Lima went full-speed ahead in a light heavyweight affair, as Krylov defended two deep guillotines and locked up his own rear-naked choke. The win was the third straight for “Al Capone.”
Chris Kelades opened up the televised action by scoring a decision victory over Chris Beal. Despite one judge giving Beal all three rounds, the other two ruled in favor of Kelades.
Shane Campbell improved to 8-2 over his last 10 with a decision victory vs. Elias Silverio. Misha Cirkunov, who trains out of Toronto, started his UFC career with a convincing first round finish over fellow Octagon newcomer Daniel Jolly.
Arantes and Perez were awarded $50,000 each for “Performance of the Night,” while Cote and Burkman the same for “Fight of the Night.” The attendance for the first-ever UFC event in Saskatchewan was 7,202 for a live gate of $949,000 Canadian ($717,000 U.S.).
Complete results can be found below:
Max Holloway def. Charles Oliveira via TKO (injury) at 1:39 of Round 1
Neil Magny def. Erick Silva via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
Patrick Cote def. Josh Burkman via TKO (strikes) at 1:26 of Round 3
Francisco Trinaldo def. Chad Laprise via TKO (strikes) at 2:43 of Round 1
Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Tony Sims via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Valerie Letourneau def. Maryna Moroz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Frankie Perez def. Sam Stout via TKO (strikes) at :54 of Round 1
Felipe Arantes def. Yves Jabouin via submission (armbar) at 4:21 of Round 1
Nikita Krylov def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:29 of Round 1
Chris Kelades def. Chris Beal via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Shane Campbell def. Elias Silverio via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Misha Cirkunov def. Daniel Jolly via KO (strikes) at 4:45 of Round 1
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