UFC 251: Alexander Volkanovski vs Max Holloway, Aussie champion down – NEWS.com.au

The UFC has one new champion will it be adding one or two more today on Fight Island?Petr Yan was the first to grab gold on Fight Island, seizing the bantamweight belt vacated by Henry Cejudo by finishing Jose Aldo in the fifth round of a violent match-up.
Watch UFC 251 live from Fight Island on Main Event on Foxtel this Sunday 12pm AEST. ORDER NOW >
Next up is Alexander Volkanovski’s defence of the featherweight strap in a rematch against Max Holloway, before Kamaru Usman squares up with Jorge Masvidal in a welterweight championship bout.
Earlier, the fortunes of two fan favourite female fighters were changed in contrasting ways as the UFC 251 main card began with a pair of big results.
Paige VanZant opened proceedings on Fight Island against Amanda Ribas, entering the Octagon on the final fight of her UFC contract. She will be exploring free agency on the back of a loss after becoming the latest victim of undefeated Amanda Ribas (4-0).
You wouldn’t have known by her bloody and busted open face, but Rose Namajunas did just enough to win her rematch against Jessica Andrade via split decision.
Thug Rose moved well to race to an early lead on two scorecards before Andrade busted her up in the third.
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GUIDE: How to watch UFC 251
Fight fans have been holding their breath waiting for the UFC 251 Fight Island spectacular and finally, the day has arrived. Here’s how it’s played out so far.
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI (c) vs MAX HOLLOWAY – Featherweight title fight (LIVE)
Alex Volkanovski shocked the UFC world when he toppled Max Holloway at UFC 245 but the former champion is back to his best today.
Holloway looked exceptionally sharp early and managed to catch the Aussie with a head kick late in the first round that momentarily put him down.
He repeated the dose in the second, stunning the former rugby league player with an uppercut that also saw him tumble off-balance to the canvas.
Volkanovski steadied in the third but still may not have done enough to get the points, likely leaving him chasing a finish as the fight enters the championship rounds.
The Australian managed a takedown in the fourth round but Holloway popped straight back up as he continues to hold all the cards.
PETR YAN defeated JOSE ALDO – Bantamweight title fight
Petr Yan’s demolition job on the bantamweight division continued against Jose Aldo as he secured the bantamweight title.
The Russian took his winning streak to 10 against the former long-reigning featherweight king, who has now lost six of his past nine fights.
It was a helluva fight.
The duo exchanged shots early in the first round before Yan put Aldo on his back and landed some heavy ground and pound that had the Brazilian hanging on for dear life as the buzzer sounded.
Aldo bounced back well in the second round, landing some heavy leg kicks to take the sting out of Yan’s attacks and likely level the fight at a round apiece.
The third could have gone either way as Aldo scored early but Yan finished stronger. The man whose vacated belt they were fighting for liked what he saw.
Yan resumed control of the fight in the fourth, firing back with interest every time Aldo landed to move within five minutes of the championship.
He didn’t need the full five, landing vicious strike after vicious strike in the fifth round to force the stoppage with 3:24 on the clock and grab the belt.
ROSE NAMAJUNAS defeated JESSICA ANDRADE – Women’s strawweight
You wouldn’t have known by her bloody and busted open face, but Rose Namajunas did just enough to win her rematch against Jessica Andrade via split decision.
In a match-up of former champions, Namajunas moved and scored well in the first two rounds to build a lead before Andrade came roaring back in the third.
In the most decisive round of the fight she took Namajunas down twice and busted her face open with heavy shots but didn’t do quite enough for a fight-tying 10-8 round.
The points win (29-28 x 2, 28-29) lifts Namajunas in position for another crack at the title, which is currently held by Weili Zhang.
AMANDA RIBAS defeated PAIGE VANZANT – Women’s flyweight
The UFC was doing Paige VanZant no favours in the final fight of her UFC contract.
Amanda Ribas is a future player in the women’s flyweight division and proved it by staying undefeated in the UFC (4-0) with a first round demolition of VanZant.
Ribas took her opponent down early before securing an armbar and forcing a tap 2:21 into the first round.
VanZant was the underdog for the bout as she fought for the first time in 16 months following arm injuries. She’ll now enter free agency with less bargaining power than she did entering UFC 251.
Ribas, meantime, is proving she’s the real deal in the Octagon and a potential future challenger for champion Valentina Shevchenko.
STILL TO COME …
KAMARU USMAN (c) vs JORGE MASVIDAL – Welterweight title fight
In the space of 48 hours Usman went from having a fight, to not having a fight, to having a fight once again.
Masvidal on less than a week’s notice stepped in to challenge the champ with the UFC’s BMF hoping to emulate his miraculous opening second knockout against Ben Askren.
In his last title defence Usman dismantled Colby Covington, much to the delight of fight fans everywhere, and he issued a damning warning to Masvidal ahead of their showdown.
“All I’m going to say is I’m going to bless him with these hands in any way possible. Whether he’s on his back, I’ll bless him with these fists. Whether he’s standing up, I’ll bless him with these fists,” Usman said.
“It’s up to him how he’s able to handle that. Whether he lets me bless him in the first round where there’s no more suffering, or he can take it like Covington and I’ll bless him for 24 minutes until I get him out of there.”
But Masvidal isn’t a push over and will take the fight right up to Usman, even after stepping in on late notice. Expect this one to go close to the distance.

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