Featherweight prospect Chase Hooper looked like a seasoned veteran in the opener, as he scored a come from behind third-round submission win over New England’s Peter Barrett.

The first round was largely waged on an even basis on the feet until a late takedown attempt by Hooper led to a leg lock attempt just before the horn sounded.

Hooper started off round two with a nice left hand upstairs, but soon, Barrett had his foe in trouble thanks to a series of leg kicks that had “The Dream” wobbling. That forced Hooper into a couple takedown attempts that came up empty until he rolled and put Barrett on the deck. But “Slippery Pete” was patient in getting out of trouble and back to his feet. 

Diving in on another takedown in the second minute of round three, Hooper landed several punches to the head while the two were locked up on the mat, and after biding his time and adjusting his position, he made his move, locking up the heel hook that produced the tap out at 3:02 of the third round.

Hooper moves to 10-1-1 with the win. Barrett falls to 11-5.

Official Result: Chase Hooper def. Peter Barrett by submission (heel hook) at 3:02 of Round 3

Perennial strawweight contender Tecia Torres impressed in her bout against late replacement Sam Hughes, stopping the newcomer in a single round.

Torres looked as good as she ever has in the first round, blitzing Hughes with strikes throughout before ending the frame with a takedown. Between rounds, Hughes’ corner wanted to stop the fight because she couldn’t see out of her left eye, and while Hughes said she wanted to continue, the doctor agreed with the corner, halting the bout immediately. The official time was 5:00 of round one.

Torres moves to 12-5 with the win. Hughes, who replaced Angela Hill, falls to 5-2.

Official Result: Tecia Torres def. Sam Hughes by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of Round 1

Canada’s Gavin Tucker snapped the eight-fight winning streak of Billy Quarantillo in featherweight action, as he scored a three-round unanimous decision victory.

Quarantillo rocked Tucker with a right hand in the early going, prompting a clinch and a quick takedown from Tucker. Quarantillo jumped up immediately and went right back to work, keeping his volume high. Tucker had success when he was able to fight on the inside and as the round progressed, he settled into his distance game as well, jarring his foe with a head kick before he scored a late takedown.

There was no let-up to the pace in round two, Quarantillo letting go with both hands, but Tucker’s shots were crisper and doing more damage. With under two minutes left, Tucker added another takedown to his tally and soon had Quarantillo’s back, but the Buffalo native got free and was upright moments later, finishing strong.

In the third, Tucker’s takedowns were the deciding factor, as he was able to neutralize Quarantillo enough to leave with the victory via three scores of 30-27.

Tucker moves to 13-1 with the win. Quarantillo falls to 15-3.

Official Result: Gavin Tucker def. Billy Quarantillo by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Lightweight prospect Rafael Fiziev was in frightening form in his bout against Renato Moicano, halting his veteran foe in the first round.

Fiziev’s kicks were coming fast and furiously in the opening round, but Moicano took everything well, even landing some hard punches in response. With under 90 seconds left, Fiziev started adding punches to the equation, and it paid immediate dividends, as a blistering left-right-left combination floored the Brazilian, and after a final right hand on the grounded Moicano, referee Chris Tognoni stepped in and halted the fight at the 4:05 mark of round one.

With the win, Fiziev moves to 9-1. Moicano falls to 14-4-1.

Official Result: Rafael Fiziev def. Renato Moicano by KO at 5:00 of Round 1

Veterans Cub Swanson and Daniel Pineda put on a show in their featherweight bout, with Swanson delivering an emphatic second-round knockout to emerge victorious in his first bout since October 2019.

The duo showed off all aspects of their MMA game in the first round, beginning with a standup attack that saw Pineda battering Swanson’s leg with kicks while Swanson showed off his boxing to great effect. After that, there were some back and forth grappling exchanges on the mat before Swanson closed the round out with a striking clinic that saw him nearly stop Pineda with right hands.

Swanson’s right hand kept landing in round two, prompting a takedown attempt by Pineda that came up empty. And once the two separated, another right sent Pineda down hard to the deck. One more follow-up shot and that was it, as referee Mark Smith halted the fight at 1:52 of the second round. 

With the win, Swanson moves to 27-11. Pineda falls to 27-14, 2 NC.

Official Result: Cub Swanson def. Daniel Pineda by KO at 1:52 of Round 

Making his first start of 2020, France’s Ciryl Gane ended the year on a high note, as he stopped former heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos in the second round of the main card opener.

Gane was smooth and relaxed in the opening round, landing several kicks to the body and legs of Dos Santos. The former champ wasn’t deterred as he marched forward, ultimately scoring with two hard punches to the head late in the frame, but it was a clear round for Gane.

After more of the same from Gane in the second, midway through the stanza, a right hand hurt Dos Santos, and a follow-up elbow sent the Brazilian to the canvas, bringing in referee Jerin Valel to stop the fight at the 2:34 mark of round two.

With the win, the No. 14-ranked Gane improves to 7-0. The No. 7-ranked Dos Santos falls to 21-9.

Official Result: Ciryl Gane def. Junior Dos Santos by TKO at 2:34 of Round 2

The year of middleweight contender Kevin Holland continued in spectacular fashion, as he earned his fifth victory of 2020 with a first-round knockout of Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.

Souza scored a takedown seconds into the fight, but Holland got back to his feet after landing some hard elbows. Souza stayed locked on to the Texan and put him back on the mat. But as Holland talked to Souza, he began to pull free, and as he did, he jarred the Brazilian with a right hand. A few more followed, and just like that, the fight was over. The official time of referee Mark Smith’s stoppage was 1:45 of round one.

With the win, the No. 15-ranked Holland moves to 21-5. Souza falls to 26-9, 1 NC.

Official Result: Kevin Holland def. Jacare Souza by KO at 1:45 of Round 1

Strawweight contenders Mackenzie Dern and Virna Jandiroba battled it out for three rounds, with Dern pounding out a hard-fought unanimous decision victory.

All three judges saw it 29-28 for the No. 11-ranked Dern, now 10-1. The No. 13-ranked Jandiroba falls to 16-2.

The jiu-jitsu black belts kept it standing in the first five minutes, Dern controlling most of the action until Jandiroba began finding her rhythm late in the frame.

Jandiroba kept her momentum going in the second round, and after bloodying Dern’s nose with a flush knee late, she scored the first takedown of the fight and kept it on the mat until the horn.

Dern went after the takedown early in the third, but Jandiroba defended well and went back to work with her strikes. Dern was right there with her, though, and she jarred Jandiroba with a right hand briefly before the fight went to the mat midway through the frame. Jandiroba stood up and Dern followed, and a slugfest broke out briefly until another trip to the mat for the final moments of the fight.

Official Result: Mackenzie Dern def. Virna Jandiroba by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Brazilian lightweight contender Charles Oliveira has had spectacular wins before, but none as complete as his three-round unanimous decision victory over former interim champion Tony Ferguson in the UFC 256 co-main event.

Scores were 30-26 across the board for the No. 7-ranked Oliveira, now 30-8, 1 NC. The No. 3-ranked Ferguson falls to 26-5.

Oliveira had a lot of success with his strikes in the early going, but everything was answered by Ferguson before “El Cucuy” was picked up and slammed in the second minute of the fight. Oliveira smoothly moved into the full mount and fired strikes until a last second armbar attempt that nearly ended the bout before the horn sounded.

His arm apparently injured from the armbar, Ferguson still came out for the second round trying to turn things around, but he was soon taken down by Oliveira, who now had a cut over the eye from an elbow. A momentary halt to the bout followed when Ferguson landed an upkick to his grounded foe, and when the bout resumed, Oliveira continued to control matters on the mat until the end of the frame.

An Oliveira slam kicked off the final round, and he nearly locked up a submission midway through before staying in total control until the bout’s conclusion.

Official Result: Charles Oliveira def. Tony Ferguson by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)

A point deduction cost UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo a victory in his UFC 256 main event against Brandon Moreno, but in an epic five-round Fight of the Year candidate, he retained his title for the second time by way of a majority draw.

Scores were 47-46 Figueiredo and 47-47 twice. 

Both champion and challenger were fighting three weeks after scoring wins on the UFC 255 card in Las Vegas, and despite the short notice, there was no let-up from either fighter for all 25 minutes.

Figueiredo (20-1-1) opened with a spinning back kick to the body and followed up with a hard punch upstairs which led to a takedown attempt. Moreno (18-5-2) eluded the attempt and brought the fight briefly to the mat, but soon it was back to the standup game, where Moreno scored some stiff jabs. Unbothered by the incoming fire, Figueiredo stalked his foe, digging to the body when he could. Moreno wasn’t backing down, though, and he stayed busy throughout the fast-paced first round.

The right hand of Figueiredo was on target in round two, and even though Moreno took them well, they were scoring points. The Mexican did even the score with a takedown, but the momentum was lost when Moreno was poked in the eye, bringing a momentary stop to the bout. When it resumed, Moreno was in the champion’s guard, but Figueiredo scrambled back to his feet and the two got into a heated exchange. Moreno continued to have success on his feet, and though Figueiredo jarred “The Assassin Baby” with a barrage of punches, Moreno responded with a takedown just before the end of the frame.

Figueiredo was throwing for the finish with every punch and kick as round three commenced, and Moreno clinched his foe in a quest to slow him down momentarily. Figueiredo shook it off and continued to march forward, intent on ending the night early. Yet after each flush shot landed, Moreno fired back. In the second half of the round, a flush low kick put Moreno on the deck in pain, halting the fight momentarily. Referee Jason Herzog deducted a point from Figueiredo, and when the bout resumed, the battle continued, with Figueiredo scoring a takedown. The combatants didn’t stay there long, and in the closing seconds, Moreno landed a hard shot that sent a stern message heading into the championship rounds.

The back-and-forth action didn’t let up in round four, but Moreno seemed to be getting the better of the exchanges, and in the second minute, he took Figueiredo to the mat. With three minutes left, the Brazilian was back on his feet and he continued to tag Moreno with no reaction from the challenger. Midway through the round, Moreno appeared to rock Figueiredo, but the champion quickly recovered and resumed unleashing bombs. With 1:15 remaining, Moreno shook off a couple flush right hands and scored a takedown. Figueiredo landed elbows from his back, but after the two rose, it was Moreno rocking his opponent once more as the round concluded.

Figueiredo landed three consecutive kicks early in the final round, and for the first time in the fight, Moreno’s work rate dropped as his left shoulder appeared to be injured. The heart from both fighters was unquestionable, though, as the exchanges were as intense as ever as the seconds ticked away. A late takedown from Figueiredo was a big one, yet when it was over, the respect between the two rivals was clear. It was the type of respect only earned by a 25-minute fight. And this was a special one.

“We need that rematch,” said the gracious Moreno, who was aiming to become the first Mexican champion in UFC history.

Official Result: Deiveson Figueiredo (47-46) and Brandon Moreno fight to a majority draw (47-47, 47-47)