Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Despite taking a fight on extremely short notice, Jimmie Rivera still put on striking showcase to get his first win since 2018. Over three rounds, Rivera consistently beat Cody Stamann to the punch, winning the exchanges and connecting with the better shots to ultimately win a unanimous decision. While the judges all gave him the victory with scores reading 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28, Rivera was still disappointed with his performance afterewards. “I’m not happy with the win,” Rivera said. “I just had a couple days to get ready for a fight. I’m a perfectionist. I want to do better.” Regardless of his self-deprecating analysis, Rivera didn’t look like he missed a step in his first fight back in over a year while also recovering from a bout with COVID-19. The New Jersey native was fast on his feet and lightning quick with his counters as he looked to make Stamann pay with every offensive flurry. !@JimmieRivera135 is looking for a quick night #InAbuDhabi @VisitAbuDhabi #UFCFightIsland1 pic.twitter.com/gojDj2mL7b— UFC (@ufc) July 16, 2020 With a higher output and better accuracy, Rivera looked strong with his striking, which led to Stamann altering his game plan as he began looking to work from the clinch and trying for the takedown. Unfortunately for him, Rivera was largely able to stay off his back as they were battling for position against the fence. Any time the fighters separated, Rivera just looked a little quicker on the trigger as he continued to tag Stamann from the outside. Just before the final horn sounded, Rivera threw one last combination that ended with a stinging left hand that cracked Stamann as the exclamation point on his performance. Following two straight losses in a row, Rivera definitely wanted to get the win and he delivered with the unanimous decision over Stamann at UFC on ESPN 13.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images After suffering the first loss of her career in her UFC debut, Taila Santos was anxious to prove she was worthy of the contract she earned on The Contender Series. At UFC on ESPN 13, Santos not only defeated veteran flyweight Molly McCann but she put on a dominant performance on the feet and on the ground to win a lopsided decision after three rounds. All three judges gave Santos the fight with 30-27 scores as she gets her first UFC win while moving to 16-1 overall “I was really nervous in my UFC debut. I didn’t show 10 percent of the fighter I was,” Santos said post fight. “This fight gives me a lot of confidence. Having a win over her really gives me a lot of confidence.” With both fighters looking to stand and trade, Santos showed a nasty kicking game while trying to chop down McCann by targeting the legs and the body. Santos was on the attack early and often, battering McCann with knees from inside the Muay Thai clinch as well. The striking exchanges eventually gave way to some grappling attempts as McMann looked to close the distance on her opponent but it was Santos who quickly took advantage of the position. With just over two minutes remaining in the second round, Santos secured a takedown as she advanced positions to look for submissions and then punishing McMann with some severe ground and pound. Still, McMann was able to survive the onslaught, which allowed her an opportunity to attempt a comeback late in the fight. The British fighter came out firing with five minutes remaining but she was still struggling to reach Santos in the exchanges. In return, Santos stayed composed in the pocket, connecting with long, straight punches and eventually dragging the fight back to the ground again. While she was obviously up on the scorecards, Santos kept looking for the finish until the fight came to an end. She may have come up short in her first UFC appearance but Santos definitely showed she’s a force to be reckoned with in the women’s flyweight division with her win on Wednesday night.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Mounir Lazzez is a name to remember after his impressive debut at UFC on ESPN 13. The Tunisian welterweight engaged in a fire fight with Abdul Razak Alhassan and he not only survived but ended up winning a unanimous decision after three thrilling rounds. The judges scored the fight 30-27, 30-27 and 20-27 with Lazzez getting the job done in his octagon debut. “It’s been a long journey,” Lazzez said after his win. “Abdul was coming to fight and that’s exactly what I want. It’s just the beginning.” After nearly two years away from the cage, Alhassan looked to let out all his frustration in the opening minute of the fight as he came after Lazzez with pure aggression. Once he pushed Lazzez across the fence, Alhassan opened up with a huge barrage of punches that looked like a combination that would have put most welterweights to sleep. Instead, Lazzez somehow absorbed the shots and came back at Alhassan with a smile on his face. As the first round continued, Lazzez started to connect with well-timed knees to the body and a slick standing elbow strike that continuously found a home on Alhassan’s chin. With each passing minute it appeared Alhassan’s conditioning was beginning to fade, which allowed Lazzez to begin mixing up his combinations without nearly as much fear of reprisal. Lazzez continued to pepper away at Alhassan with strong boxing and a variety of kicks. Just !They're going back and forth in RD 2. #InAbuDhabi @VisitAbuDhabi #UFCFightIsland1 pic.twitter.com/i2Lqz6Qh0m— UFC (@ufc) July 16, 2020 Even in the few moments when the fight hit the ground, Lazzez showed off a strong grappling game as he kept Alhassan underneath him while constantly looking to advance his position. When the final horn sounded, Lazzez held his hands high in victory and afterwards, he wasted no time making his first call out as a member of the UFC roster. “I would like to call out that idiot, put him in his place — Mike Perry,” Lazzez said. “I want to put his head back in the right position.”

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Andreas Michailidis’ body language forced immediate referee intervention at the conclusion of his first round against Modestas Bukauskas. After five minutes of spirited action at UFC on ESPN 13, Bukauskas landed a series of brutal lateral elbows as Michailidis shot for a takedown. The round bell sounded, but when referee Dan Movaheti ordered Michailidis back to his corner, the fighter was slow to respond. Then as Michailidis tried to right himself, he fell backward onto the apron as the UFC crew opened the cage door, and Movaheti waved off the bout, giving Bukauskas the TKO stoppage at the 5:00 mark of the first frame. Check out the finish here. "Fights over."@ModestasBukaus1's elbows end the night as Michailidis fails to make it to the corner.Action continues on @ESPN #InAbuDhabi @VisitAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/Ww2juBJmCa— UFC (@ufc) July 16, 2020 Although UFC commentator Michael Bisping questioned whether all of the strikes were legal, replays appeared to show the strikes avoided the part of the skull and neck that’s considered a foul. Damage seen on Michailidis’ head also backed their legality. The losing fighter sat on his stool for several moments after the stoppage, appearing dazed. On Instagram, UFC President Dana White praised the referee’s performance. “I think that was a good stop by the ref,” he said. Bukauskas, who picked up his first UFC win after a long stint in Cage Warriors, defended his work and looked forward to his next challenge. “Those shots were clean,” he said. Michailidis suffers his first UFC loss and sees a three-fight streak on the international circuit snapped.

Esther Lin, MMA Fighting A long awaited showdown between former teammates Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley was in the works for the UFC event on Aug. 22, according to Covington, but the fight will no longer happen. Covington on Wednesday posted a copy of a bout agreement for the bout and said the ex-UFC champion ultimately pulled out of the event. “This was supposed to be your main event August 22nd on ESPN until Tyrone did what his daddy should’ve and pulled out... AGAIN!” Covington wrote on Instagram. View this post on Instagram ‪This was supposed to be your main event August 22nd on ESPN until Tyrone did what his daddy should’ve and pulled out... AGAIN! ‬#AmericasChamp #PeoplesChamp #espn #ufc #KAG2020 A post shared by colbycovington (@colbycovmma) on Jul 15, 2020 at 3:18pm PDT Following his initial post, Covington issued a statement to MMA Fighting about the matchup falling through again. “He gassed out against a fat school teacher the other night playing relay races on NBC, and I think the people close to him finally had a come to Jesus meeting about the suicidal tendencies he is exhibiting by wanting to sign a contract with my name on the other end of it,” Covington said of Woodley. “It’s a death sentence and he knows it, everyone knows it.” The “relay races” Covington mentioned is Woodley’s recent appearance on the reality competition series Titan Games hosted by actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. MMA Fighting reached out to Woodley’s management team for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publication. When it comes to the fight, Covington and Woodley have been engaged in a heated rivalry for several years. But despite the bad blood between them, they have still never clashed inside the octagon. It appeared the matchup would happen in 2018 after Covington captured the interim welterweight title while Woodley was still the reigning 170-pound champion. Unfortunately, Covington underwent sinus surgery after a big win over ex-lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos, and he was unable to make a quick turn around to fight again in September. Woodley went onto defeat Darren Till, and then he suffered a thumb injury that kept him from competing again for the remainder of the year. Eventually, Woodley lost his title to Kamaru Usman in 2019, and Covington finally made his return to action later that year when he picked up a win over former champion Robbie Lawler. It has appeared Covington and Woodley were destined to meet, but the fight has never come together. In March, Covington volunteered to step in when Leon Edwards was ruled out of UFC London when the promotion tried to move the card to the U.S. due to the coronavirus pandemic. Then Woodley invited Covington to fight one month later at UFC 249 and promised to write him off for good without an agreement. According to the most recent contract, the UFC tried to book the fight as the main event for the Aug. 22 card scheduled for the APEX facility in Las Vegas. But yet again, the rivals will not be meeting.