Namajunas batters VanZant; Northcutt survives Pfister at UFC Fight Night 80 — PHOTOS
Thursday night's Ultimate Fighting Championship card at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas was supposed to be a showcase event for two of the organization's youngest and brightest stars.
While both suffered early adversity, only one was able to get through the night unscathed.
Sage Northcutt bounced back after an early takedown by Cody Pfister to claim a second-round submission victory in a lightweight bout. Paige VanZant was never able to mount any sort of comeback against Rose Namajunas in the main event fight between women's strawweight contenders.
VanZant was battered around the cage for five rounds before Namajunas finally finished her off with a rear naked choke in the fifth round.
Namajunas was in control from the beginning, dominating to the point of winning all four rounds on all three scorecards and even getting three 10-8 rounds. She nearly finished several submission attempts before the final sequence.
VanZant refused to quit, earning more and more applause from the crowd in the intimate theater with each drop of blood and escaped submission.
But it was Namajunas's night
"I feel great. I don't know what else to say," Namajunas said after finishing off the biggest win of her career. "I just want to pet my dog right now."
Northcutt, 19, lived up to expectations after a slow start. Pfister took him down seconds into the fight, and Northcutt took advantage of a break when the referee stopped action to stand the fighters back up late in the round despite Pfister's activity from top position.
Northcutt turned the tables and secured a quick takedown, punishing Pfister with short punches and elbows before the bell.
He made quick work of Pfister in the second round, securing mount and locking in a guillotine when Pfister raised his head too far off the mat.
"I tried to be patient and wait for the submission to come to me," the perpetually enthusiastic Northcutt said. "I never really have a game plan other than to finish my opponent as quickly as possible. Tonight it came in the second round, and I'm very happy to come out on top.
"I'm looking forward to my next fight. I hope it comes in the next couple of months."
Lightweight Michael Chiesa won for the fourth time in five fights with a second-round submission of Jim Miller, then used the opportunity to lobby for a spot in the top 15 in the UFC's media rankings.
"All you guys over there in the front row sitting there on your computers, mark it down right now. Michael Chiesa in the top 15, and I'll be in the top five by the end of 2016," he said. "I'll take on anybody else in the top 15 next, but I'm not taking a step backwards."
Chiesa took down Miller early in each of the first two rounds in the matchup of skilled grapplers, only to have Miller work for submissions each time. After Miller tried a leg lock in the second, Chiesa made him pay with punches, then locked in a rear naked choke after hurting him.
Thiago Santos opened the main card with a unanimous decision over Elias Theodorou in a middleweight bout.
Santos spent the first round patiently waiting, as Theodorou launched a full arsenal of kicks that did little damage. When the second round began, Santos took over.
By the end of the fight, the first round was a distant memory for a bloody and battered Theodorou.
Rising bantamweight star Aljamain Sterling highlighted the preliminary card with a second-round submission of Johnny Eduardo.
Sterling improved to 12-0 overall and 4-0 in the UFC by securing a guillotine choke after battering Eduardo with punches and elbows on the mat against the cage.
"Those doubts creep into your mind every time, but you have to do your best to silence them and trust your abilities," he said. "I just told myself that 11 have tried and 11 have failed. This one turned out to be no different than the ones before."
Sterling hopes the victory helps propel his career.
"I'm so happy with the win, and I'm ready to climb the ladder," he said. "That belt is the goal, and I'll keep fighting to get there every time I step into the octagon or onto the training mat."
After losing her first two UFC fights, Kailin Curran got in the win column with a second-round submission of veteran Emily Kagan in a women's strawweight bout.
"I'm so excited to get this win, and I'm ready for whatever the UFC has next for me," she said.
Curran did, however, indicate her preference would be a rematch against VanZant, who knocked her out in the UFC debut of both fighters in November 2014.
Welterweight Danny Roberts won by technical submission over Nathan Coy midway through the first round, and featherweight Zubaira Tukhugov earned a split decision over Phillipe Nover.
Tim Means, Sergio Moraes and Santiago Ponzinibbio recorded knockout victories.
A middleweight bout between Antonio Carlos Junior and Kevin Casey was declared a no contest after 11 seconds when Casey was poked in the eye and couldn't continue.
— Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj
