UFC Fight Night 61 Main Card Results: Mir Destroys Bigfoot In The First

This evening’s (Sun., February 22, 2015) UFC Fight Night 61 is in the books from Ginasio Gigantinho in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

The card’s pressure-filled heavyweight main event between fast-fading stars Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva and Frank Mir kicked off with Mir scoring some solid punches. All of the sudden, Mir dropped ‘Bigfoot’ with a massive left hook, following to the ground with a barrage of ground shots to earn the impressive stoppage.

In the co-main event, No. 6-ranked lightweight Edson Barboza faced the returning Michael Johnson in a pivotal 155-pound scrap. Johnson came out aggressive with his strikes, backing Barboza up. ‘Junior’ countered with an uppercut as Johnson kept pressing the action. He landed some big punches, and Barboza countered with kicks and a hook. Johnson rode his break-neck pace to an effective end to an action-packed round.

Barboza snapped a brutal body kick in the second, yet Johnson cut off the Octagon. Barboza countered with beautiful hooks as Johnson landed a few punches and reversed a takedown attempt to land on top. The round ended with another seamless combo from Johnson. Barboza turned it up with some big shots in the third, but Johnson continued to score more stalking shots. He bloodied Barboza and never quit, grabbing a late takedown to win a pivotal unanimous decision.

Cezar Ferreira and Sam Alvey  middleweight in a bout of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) veterans. ‘Mutante’ landed varied kicks and punches in the early going, with his overhand right finding a home. It was all ‘Mutante’ as Alvey didn’t throw much. But it only took two quick shots, as Alvey threw a huge right followed by a left that had Ferreira out cold.

Rustam Khabilov fought Adriano Martins at lightweight, and the bout started slow to boos from the Brazilian crowd. The action was finally kicked off by a takedown and rear naked choke attempt from Martins. Khabilov scored with some strong shots. The second frame began tentatively with both fighters hesitant to engage in combat.

The action picked up slightly when Khabilov landed a back elbow and some hooks, but Martins got a very brief takedown. Khabilov continued to throw strikes as Martins landed a decent blow to drop the Russian at the end the round. Martins got a takedown and mounted Khabilov in the third. And although Khabilov wobbled Martins late, it wasn’t enough as Martins ultimately won a unanimous decision with a late takedown.

Talented bantamweight veteran Iuri Alcantara faced wrestler Frankie Saenz. Alcantara landed a stiff front kick early and fended off a takedown, and Saenz scored a knee to the body followed by some punches. Saenz closed the round on top landing some shots. Alcantara landed a strong left kick to start the second, but Saenz took advantage of a missed left to smother Alcantara with damage on the ground.

Underdog Saenz fended off a few submission attempts and some strikes to close out a strong round. Saenz controlled Alcantara on the fence in the third, scoring a takedown and landing some brutal knees to the thighs. Alcantara got a takedown late, but was reversed by Saenz, who locked up a shocking unanimous decision victory.

The card was kicked off by welterweights Santiago Ponzinibbio and Sean Strickland. Ponzinibbio came out slugging with some hard right hands, and Strickland got a short-lived takedown. ‘Tarzan’ worked his jab and rushed forward with some hard punches. Ponzinibbio landed a massive left head kick and followed with big shots, grabbing a solid double leg slam to finish out the round. The second round saw Ponzinibbio batter Strickland’s lead leg with low kicks.

He scored some decent punches but Strickland got a takedown and took the back of Ponzinibbio briefly, who quickly got up to land two solid right hands before the bell sounded. Strickland dropped Ponzinibbio early in the third and got a takedown, but again it didn’t last long. Ponzinibbio landed another head kick and continued stocking Strickland until the last bell, locking up a unanimous decision.

UFC Fight Night 61 Main Card Results:

Frank Mir def. Antonio Silva via R1 KO (punch, 1:40)

Michael Johnson def. Edson Barboza via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Sam Alvey def. Cezar Ferreira via R1 KO (punch, 3:34)

Adriano Martins def. Rustam Khabilov via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Frankie Saenz def. Iuri Alcantara via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Santiago Ponzinibbio def. Sean Strickland via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)