UFC Vegas 41: Marvin Vettori Defeats Paulo Costa In A Slobberknocker

The heated and controversial main event between Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori delivered on the promise all the pre-fight beefing had indicated, and rescued a dreadful UFC Vegas 41 main card. Check out the Costa/Vettori highlights, as well as the excellent clips from the prelim card after the jump.

Marvin Vettori def. Paulo Costa via Unanimous Decision (48-46, 48-46, 48-46)

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In an excellent hard-fought main event, Marvin Vettori earned the narrow decision over Paulo Costa. Vettori used his normal volume striking approach, and nearly doubled Costa's headstrike count, however Costa returned ably with massive power both with his stiff punches, but also heavy, heavy right kicks. Continuing the theme of the main card, Costa was deducted a point for an eye poke, which luckily didn't wind up being a deciding factor. Great fight, that saved what had been a dreadful the main card.

Grant Dawson vs. Ricky Glenn fought to a Majority Draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28)

Grant Dawson controlled almost all of the first two rounds vs. Ricky Glenn, but by the time the third round came around Dawson looked very tired, and Glenn completely dominated the third round, earning a 10-8 round to get the draw. Glenn remains one of the UFC's best prospect killers, and showed in the third round why, as he had a deep d'arce choke locked in at the bell of the fight, and it looked like Dawson was very close to being out.

Jessica-Rose Clark def. Joselyne Edwards via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

In a terrible fight, Jessica-Rose Clark dominated Joselyne Edwards with a wrestling-heavy approach that was incredibly dull to watch, but very effective. Edwards had no ability to either stop the takedown, or get off her back, but Clark took no chances, and just largely layed and prayed.

Alex Caceres def. Seung Woo Choi via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) (Rd. 2 3:31)

In the third consecutive fight marred by a foul, Alex Caceres came back from being hit with an illegal knee to rally in the second round and get the rear-naked choke submission finish over Seung Woo Choi. Choi had rocked Caceres with a huge right hand, and had him in serious danger only to have the flurry stopped and a point deducted when he hit Caceres when he was down. Caceres showed major heart in the second round, jumping for an athletic back-take and finished the fight with a tight rear-naked choke.

Francisco Trinaldo def. Dwight Grant via Split Decision (29-27, 29-27, 27-29)

In a boring foul-filled fight, Francisco Trinaldo emerged victorious over Dwight Grant. The portions of the fight on the feet were measured, with both men looking to counter-punch, but Trinaldo did control most of the ground exchanges. Trinaldo did have a point deducted for a very bad eye poke, but it wasn't enough to matter on the judges scorecards.

Nicolae Negumereanu def. Ike Villanueva via TKO (Punches) (Rd 1 1:18)

In a very quick and violent fight, Nicolae Negumereanu got the finish over Ike Villanueva. Negumereanu caught him with a shot behind the ear, and closed the show with some ground and pound that looked dangerously close to the back of the head.

Gregory Rodriguez def. Jun Yong Park via TKO (Punches) (Rd. 2 3:13)

In an outstanding fight, Gregory Rodriguez emerged victorious over Jun Yong Park. Rodriguez got back control for a large part of the first round, but Park came out in the second and rocked Rodriguez and threatened with a d'arce choke. While it looked Rodriguez was in trouble he stormed back with excellent counterpunching and flurried to get the finish.

Mason Jones def. David Onama via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Mason Jones used his superior takedown game to get the decision win over the newcomer David Onama. Despite the loss, the story of the fight will likely be Onama, who came in on 5 days notice, fighting up a division at lightweight and pushed Jones to the limit. Great scrap.

Tabatha Ricci def. Maria Oliveira via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Tabatha Ricci had her way with Maria Oliveira scoring takedowns at will and controlling the fight from top position. Ricci was close to securing an arm-bar during the second round, and Oliveira was never really in this fight for a second. Even though it was against a debuting fighter on short notice, this was a good bounceback performance by Ricci after dropping her UFC debut.

Jai Herbert def. Khama Worthy via TKO (Punches) (Rd. 1 2:47)

In a fighter featuring heavy shots, Jai Herbert rocked Khama Worthy near the midpoint of the first round with a flurry of blows that lead to the finish. An essential win for the former Cage Warriors champion who was trying to avoid going 0-3 to start his UFC career.

Jeff Molina def. Daniel da Silva via TKO (Punches) (Rd. 2 0:46)

In a thrilling contest, Jeff Molina weathered an incredible early storm from Daniel da Silva, including a standing rear-naked choke attempt. Once the second round started, da Silva seemed incredibly discouraged, having never reached the 2nd round before, and Molina quickly knocked him down with a counter right hand. After short ground and pound the fight was called. Molina looks to be a very interesting rising contender in the flyweight division, whose fights are guaranteed to be entertaining.

Randa Markos def. Livia Renata Souza via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

In a very fun grappling match, Randa Markos emerged victorious over Livinha Souza. Souza threatened early with an unconventional arm-bar attempt, and a rear-naked choke, but Markos came out strong in the last two rounds, and controlled a tiring Souza to get the decision. One of the better performances by Markos recently, and a fight worth checking out.

Jonathan Martinez def. Zvaid Lazishvili via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

In a tightly contested kickboxing match, Jonathan Martinez outpointed Zvaid Lazishvili. Martinez effectively countered Lazishvili takedown attempts early on and was able to carve Lazishvili up on the feet after that. Good performance by Martinez.

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