Who were the winners at UFC 201: Lawler vs Woodley? Click below to get the results for all the fights at Philips Arena in Atlanta on Saturday, July 30, 2016.
Lawler vs Woodley | Namajunas vs Kowalkiewicz | Brown vs Ellenberger | Rivera vs Perez | Benoit vs Serrano | Krylov vs Herman | Pearson vs Masvidal | Hamilton vs Grabowski | Reis vs Sandoval | Graves vs Velickovic | Arzamendia vs Brown
UFC 201: Lawler vs Woodley main card
Main event UFC welterweight title fight: Tyron Woodley defeats Robbie Lawler
AND NEW! Woodley hit Lawler with a perfect overhand right that sent him straight to the ground, with the ensuing ground-and-pound just for extra credit as the referee jumped right in to end the fight in the first round. At 2:21, Tyron Woodley earns the fastest finish in UFC Welterweight Championship history. He becomes the 9th undisputed UFC Welterweight Champion.
They said it:
Tyron Woodley: “You say ‘And new’ and I say thank God. This isn’t the first fight I would pick, he’s a friend of mine but I’ve been envisioning that belt around my waist my whole life. My boys, your dad is the world champ! When I saw the opening I went for the right hand, something kept telling me the right hand would be there. He had the belt and that’s what I was going for.”
Robbie Lawler: “It is what it is. He feinted me and my hand went down and he caught me. I expected that kind of stuff but I was sitting back and not moving like I should and he took advantage.”
More from UFC 201: Results | Kowalkiewicz, Ellenberger, Perez get key wins | Krylov, Hamilton hit big KO's in 201 prelims | Big KO, majority draw kicks off UFC 201 | Backstage interviews: Nikita Krylov, Anthony Hamilton, Wilson Reis | Watch it again! FIGHT PASS prelims on demand | Order UFC 201 replay
Co-main: Karolina Kowalkiewicz defeats Rose Namajunas
The fight was billed as a potential title eliminator, and the combatants fought like champions. Kowalkiewicz landed a greater number of strikes (131-79) and recorded a significant knockdown in the third round to help her get the split decision victory over Namajunas (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
They said it:
Karolina Kowalkiewicz: “I am one step closer to making my dreams come true. Rose is very strong and she’s a very good fighter. I’m happy I won and now I want a fight with Joanna Jedrzejczyk.”
Rose Namajunas: “I was landing more shots and besides the clinch, I feel like I won every area. Even when I was on the bottom I was trying to finish. She wasn’t doing any damage and I know I hit her with some big shots. I let it go to the judges though, it’s my fault. I need to train harder and work on my clinch I guess.”
Jake Ellenberger defeats Matt Brown
Ellenberger came out of the gates swinging, getting a flash knockdown in their first clash. Brown recovered and mounted a comeback, but a left kick to the body dropped him, allowing “The Juggernaut” to pounce and land a bevy of head shots before the fight was stopped for a TKO win at 1:46 of the first round.
They said it:
Jake Ellenberger: “I think the key word is preparation. The guys that I train with at Kings MMA have really pushed me. I did a lot of southpaw stuff this camp to learn to switch my stance up, but like I said the guys I train with really deserve the credit. I knew Matt was a durable guy, he’s really tough. Master Cordeiro is brilliant; I knew I needed to step up and make some changes and he definitely helped me accomplish that. I’m going to get back in the training room and just continue to move forward.”
Erik Perez defeats Francisco Rivera
This was a marathon fight – with both fighters channeling their inner Rock 'Em Sock 'Em robots, especially at the start of the final round when both fighters came out swinging to the point where Rivera fell to the ground from exhaustion. But in the end it was pretty straight forward on the scorecards, with Eric “Goyito” Perez winning by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-28)
They said it:
Erik Perez: “I got crazy in the third round. Maybe I wanted a little extra bonus money. I want to have more exciting fights, I’m Mexican, we’re known for that in our boxing fights. Francisco Rivera has very powerful hands so I wanted to make sure to set the pace. I would love to fight in Mexico City next. Mexico City, or there’s a card coming up in Hidalgo, Texas, I want to be on one of those two cards.”
Ryan Benoit defeats Fredy Serrano
An entertaining fight that saw plenty of back-and-forth action went the distance and saw the judges split on the decision, with Benoit getting the nod (29-28, 29-28, 28-29). How close was the fight? Serrano got the edge in terms of total strikes (67-44) and takedowns (5-0), but Benoit landed more significant strikes (35-21).
They said it:
Ryan Benoit: “I expected him to shoot, I didn’t expect those crazy kicks he kept throwing. When he hit me with that first axe kick I thought ‘well, that was awful!’ then he hit me with it again. Luckily I found my rhythm after that and they didn’t bother me anymore. I’ve never had anyone attempt those kicks on me and they really are awful. I think I could’ve finished it if there was one more round. I know I was starting to gas a little bit, but I could hear him starting to breathe heavier and I should have finished him. … I was really eager to get another fight, that’s why I took this one on such short notice. I was really down and kind of depressed after my last performance, so I needed to get out of that funk. Eight days’ notice is never a good thing, but if I’m going to do it, Fredy is the type of opponent I want. I fought an Olympian and I won. I’m really proud of myself. … I want another really similar fight to that one next. I’m not afraid to step up and fight anyone. I fought an Olympian on 8 days’ notice – I’ll fight anyone.”
UFC 201: Lawler vs Woodley FS2 prelims
Nikita Krylov defeats Ed Herman
Krylov with the walkoff KO! The Ukrainian fighter took control of the first round with a kick to the body midway through the round, but it was a spinning backfist followed by a head kick at 40 seconds into the second round that sent Herman straight to the ground and Krylov celebrating. Krylov now holds the longest active UFC finish streak at 5 consecutive finishes.
They said it:
Nikita Krylov: “I have to thank my coach as he was telling me what to do and what to change in the rounds; that’s why I ultimately got the finish. The only place for me to go is forward. That’s what we say in Russia, go forward. I want to move up in the rankings, see who the matchmakers will give me next and keep going.”
Jorge Masvidal defeats Ross Pearson
Ross Pearson just did not want to give up. Masvidal had a dominant performance this evening, winning on the judges’ scorecards (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) and scoring a knockdown with a left hook in the second round that almost ended the fight, but Pearson scrambled back up to his feet after dodging plenty of ground attacks and soldiered on to the finish.
They said it:
Jorge Masvidal: “My heart sank when I heard Buffer say 29-28. It wasn’t until I heard 30-27 that I knew I had it. I finally got a decision! He really didn’t do anything, I don’t understand the 29-28 score. I slipped and he held me down for about thirty-seconds, but that’s it. I want the winner of Matt Brown and Jake Ellenberger as soon as possible. I want to fight quick. I’m just going to stay healthy and in shape so I can fight immediately.”
Ross Pearson: “I was healthy after my last fight and I want to test myself against the world’s best. The timing was right to take this fight, but I need to think about switching things up. I hit as hard as any of these guys out there and I know I can be a force at lightweight or welterweight. I don’t think I lost that fight and it definitely wasn’t unanimous. It’s hard to lose another one like that.”
Anthony Hamilton defeats Damian Grabowski
The only heavyweight fight on the card did not disappoint as Hamilton and Grabowski came out swinging but “Freight Train” Hamilton landed an upper cut that rocked Grabowski that was followed by a barrage of shots that led to a KO stoppage within seconds of the fight starting. The result is the 2nd-fastest knockout in UFC heavyweight history in 14 seconds. (The fastest was Todd Duffee in 7 seconds).
They said it:
Anthony Hamilton: “This is amazing to hear that was the second fastest knockout in heavyweight history, I can’t even believe it. I knew I needed to get better with my striking. I have a great boxing coach in Seattle, Robert Morrison. I have great coaches and training partners at Jackson’s down in Albuquerque and that’s a recipe for success. I miss my family, I can’t wait to get home and see them.”
Wilson Reis defeats Hector Sandoval
Reis is renowned for being jiu jitsu specialist, proving it once again by submitting UFC debutant Sandoval within two minutes via rear naked choke. It is Reis’ seventh career first round finish. The win was also the fastest submission in UFC flyweight history at 1:49 of round one.
They said it:
Wilson Reis: “I expected him to come hard because he’s so heavy handed. I watched his tapes when I was preparing and he’s got okay jiu jitsu, but he didn’t show much defensive jiu jitsu so I knew there would be openings. I had enough motivation entering this fight after the fight with Demetrious was called off, but that would have been a life changing fight for me. Next, if Henry Cejudo or Joseph Benavidez gets hurt, I’d like to step in for one of them. Ian McCall on a quick turnaround would also be a possibility, but I’d have to talk to my coaches first.”
Hector Sandoval: “I was really excited to make my UFC debut, but I got caught and things didn’t go my way tonight.”
UFC 201: Lawler vs Woodley FIGHT PASS prelims
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Michael Graves and Bojan Velickovic ruled majority draw
What started as an unpredictable fight ended as such as the final result was a majority draw with two judges’ scoring it 28-28 and the third going 30-27 in favor of Graves. Graves had the majority of control after the first round, taking charge when the fight was on the ground and trying multiple submission attempts in the second round. But Velickovic led in strikes (26-3) and both tied with one takedown a piece.
They said it:
Michael Graves: “Obviously I wanted my grappling to be enough to earn me the win. If I could’ve done more on my feet I feel the fight would have been mine. Defensively I felt good, but I just couldn’t get anything going offensively. I couldn’t let it go like I wanted to. I’d like to fight again in November or December and keep it rolling.”
Bojan Velickovic: “I knew I won the first round, the second round he was all over my back so I knew the third round was going to be the key. Mike has never been taken down and I took him down in the third, I landed more shots in the third so I thought the fight was mine. Overall, I think the draw was a pretty good decision, but I’ll need to watch the fight again. I don’t mind fighting anyone in my division, I think Mike and I will both go far in the sport.”
Damien Brown defeats Cesar Arzamendia
Arzamendia came out more aggressive to start the fight, trying jumping roundhouse kicks and flying knees, but momentum switched within 90 seconds of the start as Brown caught him with one punch. The pair went back-and-forth until just before halfway in the round when Brown hit Arzamendia flush with two straight rights to send him to the ground for the KO win. Australian Brown improves to 16-9 as a professional with the victory
They said it:
Damien Brown: “I had him rocked early and I could tell right away it was going to take work to put him away, he was far from out the first time and he’s a really tough guy. The heel hook he got on me was tight, it was really tight, he had the hook but he didn’t have his bottom leg in position so I knew I could get out of it. I took two months off from my job to train for this fight and I will continue to do that for at least the next couple of fights so that I can continue to put on performances like that. I don’t call people out, but I don’t want to leave this sport without fighting the best so I hope whoever is next is someone good.”
