Fight of the Night: Michael Johnson vs. Jamie Mullarkey

Two fighters who consistently provide fans with thrilling bouts delivered as they stepped in the cage to open up the main card. 

Late in the first round, Michael Johnson dropped Jamie Mullarkey with a hard left hand, but Mullarkey was able to recover quickly and earn a knockdown of his own moments later to close out the opening five minutes. As time went on, Mullarkey hit his stride, landing accurate strikes with volume while evading power shots from Johnson. In the final round, both fighters slugged it out, but it was Mullarkey who came away with a close split-decision victory. 

Performance of the Night: Rafael Fiziev

In the main event Rafael Fiziev proved that he belongs in the UFC lightweight division’s top-10, defeating former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos by TKO in round 5. 

Showing off exceptional striking skills through three rounds, Fiziev consistently landed the harder strikes more often than his opponent. Heading into the fourth and fifth rounds, dos Anjos’ durability and cardio started to shift the fight in his favor. However, Fiziev’s power carried into the final round, dropping dos Anjos with a left hook. Jumping on top and landing ground-and-pound, Fiziev closed the show before the the fight went to the judges. 

Performance of the Night: Chase Sherman

In the only heavyweight fight on the card, Chase Sherman vs. Jared Vanderaa delivered fast-paced action for as long as it lasted.

Heading into the bout on a four fight skid, Sherman showed technical striking, hurting Vanderaa often with heavy shots. As both fighters were finding their timing, Sherman finally rocked Vanderaa and swarmed him up against the cage, unloading on his opponent until referee Mark Smith stopped the fight. 

This story first published at UFC.com.