UFC Atlantic City, Erin Blanchfield vs. Manon Fiorote Results: It was a night where both fighters claimed a genuine eye poke (which was evident in replays) and a bizarre knockout after a loss.
UFC Atlantic City, Erin Blanchfield vs. Manon Fiorotto results
UFC Atlantic CityErin Blanchfield vs. Manon Fiorot Results: The latest edition of UFC Fight Night, held at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, was a bit controversial. That was the night two fighters complained of genuine eye pokes and bizarre knockouts that were evident on replays after losses.
Before we dig into the details, Manon Fiorotto, currently No. 3 in the UFC women's flyweight rankings, defeated Erin Blanchfield in the main event. She secured a unanimous victory in a fight that lasted all five rounds. Following her result she made her intentions clear and demanded a title shot in her next match.
Meanwhile, Joaquin Buckley exited the semi-main event with a technical knockout victory over Vicente Luque in a men's welterweight bout. Buckley dominated his opponent in the second round, which lasted just over three minutes.
Returning to the controversy, former UFC middleweight champions Chris Weidman and Nursulton Rujiboev won their respective bouts, but the ruling divided the opinion of many fans.
Weidman faced Bruno Silva. This behavior included repeatedly poking him in the eye and pausing midway through the contest. The referee ultimately stopped the fight at 2:18 of the fourth round after Weidman threw a series of punches while Silva was on the canvas. However, Silva and his teammates immediately staged a protest, which was met with no acceptance.
Silva claimed that his opponent poked him in the eye, but television replays confirmed that he was stabbed in both eyes. His decision was then changed from TKO to Weidman winning by decision, which clearly upset his opponent.
Meanwhile, similar behavior was witnessed in the match between Ruziboev and Cedriquez Dumas. Television replays confirmed that Luzhiboev had been stabbed in the eye, but the fight was still ruled a TKO victory for Uzbekistan. Rujiboev celebrated his victory by pulling out Cristiano Ronaldo's iconic “Siu” inside the Octagon.
Both players also addressed the incident in their post-match interviews. Weidman admitted to being poked in the eye, but he felt he shouldn't have given Silva the chance to go down and go for the finish. Luzhboev, on the other hand, denied poking him in the eye and claimed it was a punch to his face.
Fans also witnessed a strange ending in the preliminary card fight between Jacob Marcon and Andre Petroski. Both fighters appeared evenly matched in the first round, but there was some confusion in the second round. As Petroski went for a takedown, he stumbled awkwardly against Marcon's hip. At that moment, Marcon briefly gained the advantage, then pounced on his opponent with a body kick and a series of punches, forcing the referee to stop the fight.
UFC Atlantic City, Erin Blanchfield vs. Manon Fiorotto resultss
Manon Fiorotto defeated Erin Blanchfield by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
Joaquin Buckley defeated Vicente Luque by TKO at 3:17 of round two.
Chris Weidman defeated Bruno Silva by technical decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after the bout ended with an eye poke at 2:17 of the third round.
Nursurton Rujiboev defeated Cedriquez Dumas by TKO at 3:18 of the first round.
Kyle Nelson defeated Bill Algeo by TKO 4 minutes into the first round.
Chidi Njokuani defeated Rhys McKee by split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-37).
Nate Landwehr defeated Jamall Emmers by KO at 4:43 of round 1.
Vilna Jandilova defeated Loopy Godinez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-37)
Julio Arce defeated Herbert Burns by TKO at 2:00 of round 2.
Dennis Buzkuja defeated Connor Matthews by TKO at 0:22 of round 3.
Ivo Aslan defeated Anton Turkari by TKO at 1:32 of round 3.
Viktoriya Dudakova vs. Melissa Gatto (match canceled just before winning by default)
Jacob Marcon defeated Andre Petroski by TKO at 0:39 of round 2.
Caolan Laurent defeats Angel Pacheco by unanimous decision
