The magic of Madison Square Garden delivers again. UFC made its annual visit to the World’s Most Famous Arena on Saturday night for UFC 295 and fans were treated to one of the most action-packed main cards imaginable. Each of the five final bouts ended by knockout and each seemingly more vicious than the last.
It culminated with Alex Pereira taking the vacant light heavyweight title by stopping former champion Jiri Prochazka with vicious standing elbows in the second round of their main event bout. Pereira became a two-division champion with the win in just his seventh UFC fight, an incredible feat in its own right. It matched the mark he left in Glory Kickboxing where he accomplished the same status.
In the co-main event, Tom Aspinall earned the interim heavyweight crown with a vicious knockout of Sergei Pavlovich. The fight last just over one minute as Aspinall clipped Pavlovich on the side of the head and sent him reeling. Aspinall dedicated the win to his father, who was in his corner for the bout. Elsewhere, Jessica Andrade got back in the win column win a TKO of Mackenzie Dern, Benoit Saint-Denis obliterated Matt Frevola with a head-kick knockout and Diego Lopes battered Pat Sabatini for a first-round TKO.
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CBS Sports was with you throughout fight week with the latest news, in-depth features and betting advice to consider. Thanks for stopping by and we’ll see you at UFC 296 in Las Vegas.
UFC 295 fight card, results
- Alex Pereira (c) def. Jiri Prochazka via second-round knockout (elbows)
- Tom Aspinall (ic) def. Sergei Pavlovich via first-round TKO (punches)
- Jessica Andrade def. Mackenzie Dern via second-round TKO (punch)
- Benoit Saint-Denis def. Matt Frevola via first-round knockout (head kick)
- Diego Lopes def. Pat Sabatini via first-round TKO (punches)
- Steve Erceg def. Alessandro Costa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Loopy Godinez def. Tabatha Ricci via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
- Mateusz Rebecki def. Roosevelt Roberts via first-round verbal submission (armbar)
- Nazim Sadykhov vs. Viacheslav Borschev ends in majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28)
- Jared Gordon def. Mark Madsen via first-round TKO (punches)
- John Castaneda def. Kyung Ho Kang via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Joshua Van def. Kevin Borjas via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jamal Emmers def. Dennis Buzukja via first-round TKO (punches)
UFC 295 countdown
- Mahjouri: Top fights to make for new champions after UFC 295
- Campbell: Five biggest takeaways from a wild night at MSG
- Staff predictions and expert picks for the main card
- Campbell: UFC prioritizing money over fans in recent matchmaking
- Brookhouse: Best bets to consider from the main card
- Brookhouse: Winner of Prochazka-Pereira could bring stability to division
- Mahjouri: Undercard fights to watch this weekend
- Mahjouri: Prochazka, Pereira explain why experience trumps all
- Campbell: Top storylines, things to know ahead of return to New York
- Jon Jones forced out of main event, interim title fight added
