UFC 216 Preliminary Results: Cody Stamman Edges Out Tom Duquesnoy

It’s once again fight day here at LowKickMMA, and the talent on display tonight (Saturday, October 7th, 2017) will come from in the form of UFC 216. Headlining the card are Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee, but there’s a whole bunch of great fights also taking place on the preliminary section of the card.

Tom Duquesnoy vs. Cody Stamman in a bantamweight bout closes the preliminary card on FX. In round 1, Spinning back kick to the face for Stamann just blocked by Fire Kid. He tries a side kick, misses, eats a leg kick then a right hand. Stamann with another power double and puts Duquesnoy on his back firmly this time. Duquesnoy able to stand and get back to range. Stamann eats an eye poke. Stamann back to fighting quickly after the poke. In round 2, Stamann shoots and hits a double leg. Duquesnoy briefly threatens with a triangle. Stamann landing mild ground and pound from guard. Duquesnoy works up. He grabs collar tie and hits an elbow. He tries to walk into the clinch to land more elbows but Stamann hits takedown. In round 3, Stamann is stealing this round and maybe this fight with his aggression and volume in the round. Duquesnoy has slowed significantly. They trade kicks but they’re mostly blocked. Duquesnoy lands a head kick but Stamann isn’t going anywhere. He’s right there throwing. The judges awarded the win to Stamann by decision.

Bobby Green vs. Lando Vannata is next in a lightweight bout. In round 1, Green pushes Vannata into the cage to land knees, blocks a head kick on the break. Vannata drops Green with a right hand. He swarms him with strikes and accidentally kneed him in the head. By looking at the replay, Vannata’s thigh actually landed to Green’s head, not his knee. After a pause in the action, the fight is back on. Vannata went for a guillotine choke, and they rolled back to their feet. Vannata with a standing choke now but Green powered out of it, and they separated. Vannata scored a takedown to end the round. In round 2, Green jabbing and lands a nice left hook. He eats a hard right, and then Vannata assaults his legs with kicks. Green kicks and a left hook. Right cross-connects for Vannata then a big leg kick. Both men’s faces busted up. It’s back and forth, but Vannata was getting better. Green is starting to turn things around a bit, dodging punches and scoring in the clinch. He has Vannata on the cage but gets taken down. In round 3, Double jab from Green snaps Vannata’s head back. Vannata was keeping pressure. Vannata is bleeding badly from multiple cuts, but he’s the one landing more cleanly. Green was getting his licks when Lando’s hands drop. These dudes were just exchanging. Great fight. Vannata was working for a nice takedown there, but Green scrambles through it to get back up. Green rocks Vannata in the final seconds of the final round. Somehow, we managed to get to the bell. The fight ended in a draw.

Poliana Botelho vs. Pearl Gonzalez is next in a women’s strawweight bout. In round 1, Gonzalez has Botelho stuck on the fence, kneeing the legs. Botelho hits elbows as Gonzalez tries to drag her down. Gonzalez with a few short leg kicks, and rushes right back to the cage. Botelho reverses this time for control. In round 2, Botelho lands a sharp front kick to the gut. Gonzalez was flicking out leg kicks. She shoots from too far, but Botelho backs straight up. Botelho was punching Gonzalez in the face as Pearl continues to pursue the takedown unsuccessfully. They trade knees. In round 3, more failed takedowns for Gonzalez. Both women are looking very limited, just in different ways. Gonzalez eats a couple of punches before pushing Botelho into the fence again. Herzog separates them with 30 seconds left. Botelho throws nasty head kicks before Gonzalez ties up again. But Botelho trips her down, ground and pound to end the round. Botelho scored the decision win.

Marco Beltran vs. Matt Schnell in a flyweight opens the FX preliminary bouts. In round 1, Schnell is leg kicking, but he eats a flush right that turns his head around. His chin holds up for now. A left hook stops Schnell mid-combo as he tries to step in. Schnell avoids a head kick, then lands a leg kick and shovel hook. Schnell throws a 3-2 combo to the body then eats a flush teep to the face, but Schnell comes back with a blistering combo. In round 2, Schnell doing a good job slipping the hands of Beltran for the most part. He hits a low leg kick. He slips a punch, hits uppercut. Schnell largely out boxing Beltran halfway thru this fight. Very little attempted grappling. In round 3, Schnell clinches Beltran to open the round and presses him to the cage. Beltran fights him off. Beltran was starting to walk Schnell down, but neither guy still really willing to sit on anything. Both guys picked up the pace in this round. Beltran was finally going for a takedown, dives right into Schnell’s guillotine at the buzzer. The judges gave the win to Schnell by decision.

Magomed Bibulatov vs. John Moraga in a flyweight bout finishes off the UFC Fight Pass preliminary card. In round 1, Moraga cracked him with a right hand then put him to sleep with a left hook and landed some extra strikes before the referee could get there. KO!

Opening the UFC Fight Pass prelims is Thales Leites vs. Brad Tavares in a middleweight bout. In round 1, Tavares clipped early with a jab. Tavares was pressing forward. Tavares throws lead leg head kick but eats a right hand. More leg kicks go in both directions. Tavares jabbing, Leites winging power. Tavares goes after him with a flying knee but gets tied up and pushed to the cage. Tavares stuffs the shot, but his back is stuck to the cage. Leites trying to trip him down but the referee restarts them again. They trade power punches with 10 seconds left with Tavares again getting the better of it. In round 2, Leites steps into the pocket to throw power then clinches the head as Tavares ducks down, but Tavares unloads power shots from there. Tavares was getting the better of the kickboxing so far. More volume, a crisp jab, better defense, and landing more flush. Leites clinches with him up against the fence. Leites with a very brief takedown, but Tavares right back up. In round 3, Leites comes out and shoots right away. He presses him to the cage and starts looking for a trip immediately. Leites had a cut under his left eye.  The Brazilian continues to come forward, and both men are eating shots but Tavares was getting the better. Leg kick drops Leites. The judges gave the win to Tavares by unanimous decision.

Here are the results:

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX/8 p.m. ET)

Bantamweight: Cody Stamann def. Tom Duquesnoy via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

Lightweight: Lando Vannata and Bobby Green fight to a draw (29-27, 27-29, 28-28)

Strawweight: Poliana Botelho defeated Pearl Gonzalez by Unanimous Decision 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Flyweight: Matt Schnell def. Marco Beltran via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass/7 p.m. ET)

Flyweight: John Moraga def. Magomed Bibulatov by knockout (punch) at 1:36 of Round 1

Middleweight: Brad Tavares def. Thales Leites via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)