The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday pitched its tent in Norfolk, Virginia, where UFC Fight Night 169 descended upon the Chartway Arena and gave rise to stellar efforts from Felicia Spencer, Brendan Allen, Megan Anderson, and several others. While there were a number of memorable performances, five stood out.
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UFC Fight Night 169
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5. Spike Carlyle
Carlyle dazzled in his organizational debut, as he cut down Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Aalon Cruz with punches in the first round of their featherweight encounter. Cruz succumbed to blows 1:25 into Round 1, suffering his first loss in nearly three years. A short-notice substitution for Steven Peterson, Carlyle connected with a head kick, denied an attempted takedown and staggered the Floridian with a close-quarters elbow strike. He then flurried with punches, drove Cruz to the canvas and sealed his fate with a burst of punches. Caryle, 26, has rattled off five consecutive victories.
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4. Kyler Phillips
Clean combination punching and stellar topside grappling carried the MMA Lab prospect to a unanimous decision over Gabriel Silva in a three-round bantamweight scrap. All three cageside judges struck 30-27 scorecards for Phillips, yet another intriguing talent spawned by Dana White’s Contender Series. Silva was aggressive in spurts but lacked the horsepower necessary to give the John Crouch protégé real pause. Phillips pieced together two-, three- and sometimes four-punch volleys and wore down the Team Nogueira representative with sustained offense. He more than held his own on the ground, too, as he achieved full mount on multiple occasions and threatened Silva with a brabo choke in the third round. Phillips has rebounded from his first professional setback—a split decision loss to Victor Henry in 2018—with back-to-back wins.
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3. Megan Anderson
The former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder knocked out the previously unbeaten Norma Dumont Viana in the first round of their women’s featherweight showcase. Viana bowed out 3:31 into Round 1, as she crashed and burned in her organizational debut. Anderson remained patient when the Shooto Americas veteran closed the distance, pinned her to the fence and fed her a few knees to the body. The Glory MMA-trained Australian forced a separation, retreated to the center of the Octagon and caught Viana moving forward with a perfectly timed counter right that prompted referee Kevin MacDonald to act. The 30-year-old Anderson has rattled off seven wins in nine appearances, cementing herself as a potential No. 1 contender at 145 pounds.
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2. Brendan Allen
The onetime Legacy Fighting Championship titleholder put away Tom Breese with punches in the first round of their featured middleweight prelim. In his first appearance since May 27, 2018, Breese packed his bags 4:47 into Round 1. Still unbeaten under the Ultimate Fighting Championship banner, Allen countered a takedown from the Tristar Gym rep, landed in top position and eventually transitioned to side control. From there, he attempted to frame a kimura, bailed on the submission and let punches and elbows do the rest. Despite repeated calls from referee Bill Bookwalter to defend himself, Breese could only turtle at the base of the cage. Allen, 24, will carry a six-fight winning streak into his next assignment.
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1. Felicia Spencer
The former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder wrecked Zarah Fairn dos Santos with elbows and punches in the first round of their women’s featherweight co-main event. The woefully overmatched Fairn dos Santos met her end 3:37 into Round 1. Spencer executed a takedown roughly a minute into the fight and immediately moved to full mount. Fairn dos Santos offered no resistance and looked lost on the mat, caught somewhere between hapless and helpless. Spencer then cut loose with elbows and punches until referee Dan Miragliotta had seen enough. It goes in the books as the fourth first-round finish of Spencer’s career.
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