The Octagon invades Ohio for tonight’s UFC Columbus event, a thirteen-bout fight card headlined by Curtis Blaydes vs. Chris Daukaus.
Blaydes (15-3 MMA) will be returning to action for the first time since September of 2021, where he earned a unanimous decision victory over Jairzinho Rozenstruik. That win was of course preceded by a nasty knockout loss to Derrick Lewis at UFC Vegas 19.
Meanwhile, Chris Daukaus (12-4 MMA) will enter tonight’s UFC Columbus event in hopes of rebounding from his recent knockout loss to ‘The Black Beast’. The Philadelphia native was KO’d by Lewis in the first round last December, a loss which snapped his five-fight winning streak.
Tonight’s event is co-headlined by a women’s flyweight fight featuring Joanne Wood taking on Alex Grasso.
Also featured on the UFC Columbus main card is a welterweight bout pitting hometown favorite Matt Brown against fellow brawler Bryan Barberena.
Brown (23-18 MMA) last competed in June of 2021, where scored a sensational second round knockout over Dhiego Lima. That win snapped a two-fight losing skid for the Ohio native, as ‘Immortal’ had previously suffered setbacks to Carlos Condit and Miguel Baeza.
As for Bryan Barberena (16-8 MMA), ‘Bam Bam’ most recently competed in December, where he picked up a unanimous decision win over Darian Weeks.
If that wasn’t enough to get you interested, UFC Columbus also features a highly anticipated men’s flyweight bout between top contenders Askar Askarov and Kai Kara-France.
Askarov (14-0-1 MMA) will be returning to action for the first time since UFC 259, where he picked up a lopsided unanimous decision victory over Joseph Benavidez.
As for Kai Kara-France (23-9 MMA), the Kiwi most recently competed at December’s UFC 269 event, where he scored a first round knockout victory over former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt (see that here).
UFC Columbus Main Card (ESPN+ at 7pm EST)
Curtis Blaydes vs. Chris Daukaus – Blaydes def. Daukaus via TKO at 0:17 of Round 2
Joanne Wood vs. Alexa Grasso – Grasso def. Wood via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:57 of Round 1
One & done for @AlexaGrasso 💪 #UFCColumbus pic.twitter.com/5U2uKgIGfK
— UFC (@ufc) March 27, 2022
Matt Brown vs. Bryan Barberena – Barberena def. Brown by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Askar Askarov vs. Kai Kara-France – Kara-France def. Askarov by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Neil Magny vs. Max Griffin – Magny def. Griffin by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Ilir Latifi vs. Aleksei Oleinik – Cancelled last minute
UFC Columbus Prelims (ESPN+ at 4pm EST)
Marc Diakiese vs. Viacheslav Borshchev – Diakiese def. Borshchev by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Sara McMann vs. Karol Rosa – McMann def. Rosa by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Chris Gutierrez vs. Danaa Batgerel – Gutierrez def. Batgerel via TKO at 2:34 Round 2
https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1507846185993789446
Aliaskhab Khizriev vs. Denis Tiuliulin – Khizriev def. Tiuliulin via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:58 of Round 3
1️⃣4️⃣ and 0️⃣
Aliaskhab Khizriev has all the confidence right now! #UFCColumbus pic.twitter.com/V06k4UIKPD
— UFC (@ufc) March 26, 2022
Jennifer Maia vs. Manon Fiorot – Fiorot def. Maia by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Matheus Nicolau vs. David Dvorak – Nicolau def. Dvorak by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Luis Saldana vs. Bruno Souza – Saldana def. Souza by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Who are you picking to win tonight’s UFC Columbus main event between perennial heavyweight contenders Curtis Blaydes and Chris Daukaus?