UFC Fight Night 218 play-by-play and live results

Synopsis: Tatsuro Taira was the biggest favorite on the card, but early in the fight it looked liked Jesus Aguilar was primed for an upset. When Taira got the fight to the canvas, Aguilar caught him in a guillotine choke and kept him subdued for much of the opening round. But when Taira finally pulled his head out, he went to work, reversed, and got a triangle choke. He held Aguilar in place, grabbed his arm, then pivoted again and gave Aguilar no way to tap – forcing him to verbally submit before taking more damage to his arm.
Result: Tatsuro Taira def. Jesus Aguilar via verbal submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:20
Recap: Tatsuro Taira stays unbeaten with slick armbar finish
Photos: UFC Fight Night 218 – Best photos from Las Vegas
Records: Tatsuro Taira (13-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) def. Jesus Santos Aguilar (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Division: Flyweight
Broadcast: ESPN+
Referee: Chris Tognoni

That Armbar was slick 🔒 #UFCVegas68 pic.twitter.com/CE6a2EKtBA

— ESPN+ (@ESPNPlus) February 5, 2023

Synopsis: Junyong Park made things look easy against Denis Tiuliulin. Park made his way to full mount on the canvas and softened Tiuliulin up with punches and elbows. By the time Tiuliulin was a bloody mess and dripping all over the canvas, he got tired of getting hit in the face and gave his back. Park stayed latched to him, got a body triangle, then got his arm under Tiuliulin’s chin. A few seconds later, Park had a nice and easy first-round submission win when Tiuliulin went to sleep.
Result: Junyong Park def. Denis Tiuliulin technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:05
Photos: UFC Fight Night 218 – Best photos from Las Vegas
Records: Junyong Park (16-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) def. Denis Tiuliulin (11-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC)
Division: Middleweight
Broadcast: ESPN+
Referee: Mark Smith

Park put him to sleep 😴 #UFCVegas68 pic.twitter.com/1KQJkZUCiP

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 5, 2023

Synopsis: Sung Hyun Park was known for getting opponents out of the cage in a hurry, but he had to put a little work in Saturday and mount a comeback of sorts. But after he worked his jab to near perfection, Park found himself on the canvas with an opportunity to take Seung Guk Choi’s back. Once he did, the rear-naked choke finish was fairly standard stuff – and it gave Park a flyweight contract with the UFC win a win in the final of the “Road to UFC” flyweight tournament. Park became the first South Korean to earn his way into the UFC’s 125-pound division.
Result: Sung Hyun Park def. Seung Guk Choi via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 3:11 – to win “Road to UFC” flyweight tournament
Photos: UFC Fight Night 218 – Best photos from Las Vegas
Records: Sung Hyun Park (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) def. Seung Guk Choi (6-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Division: Flyweight
Broadcast: ESPN+
Referee: Marc Goddard

Hyunsung Park earns a UFC contract 👏 #UFCVegas68 pic.twitter.com/FAH0tvbGmB

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 5, 2023

Synopsis: Rinya Nakamura came out like a man possessed and left no doubt about his intentions against Toshiomi Kazama. Kazama came forward with reckless abandon – the kind of abandon befitting a big underdog who said before the fight he likely would retire if he lost. Nakamura landed punches on him quickly and knocked him down. When Kazama popped back up quickly and threw a right, Nakamura took a step back, reset himself, then drilled Kazama and put him out cold on the canvas. It was the second fastest debut finish in UFC bantamweight history and got Nakamura a contract through the “Road to UFC” bantamweight final.
Result: Rinya Nakamura def. Toshiomi Kazama via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:33 – to win “Road to UFC” bantamweight tournament
Photos: UFC Fight Night 218 – Best photos from Las Vegas
Records: Toshiomi Kazama (10-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC), Rinya Nakamura (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC)
Division: Bantamweight
Broadcast: ESPN+
Referee: Keith Peterson

NAKAMURA SLEPT HIM 😮 #UFCVegas68 pic.twitter.com/GTLhTUIfP1

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 5, 2023

Synopsis: The “Road to UFC” saw its featherweight final go back and forth, and was the first fight of the card to go the distance after four straight finishes. Even though Yi Zha spent a good amount of time in top position against Jeong Yeong Lee, two of three judges thought Lee did enough in two of the three rounds to get the nod. The dissenting third judge scored all three rounds for Zha.
Result: Jeong Yeong Lee vs. Yi Zha via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28) – to win “Road to UFC” featherweight tournament
Photos: UFC Fight Night 218 – Best photos from Las Vegas
Records: Jeong Yeong Lee (10-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) def. Yi Zha (21-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Division: Featherweight
Broadcast: ESPN+
Referee: Mark Smith
Judging: Junichiro Kamijo 29-28 Lee (R1-2), David Lethaby 29-28 Lee (R1, R3); Jacob Montalvo 30-27 Zha

Synopsis: Jeka Saragih did some showboating in the first round against Anshul Jubli, but it didn’t get him anything but some steady punishment. Jubli steadily wore Saragih down and got to full mount in the second round. From there, he landed ground-and-pound until he finally got the stoppage and a UFC contract as the lightweight winner of “Road to UFC.” He became the second fighter from India to fight in the UFC.
Result: Anshul Jubli def. Jeka Saragih via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:44 – to win “Road to UFC” lightweight tournament
Photos: UFC Fight Night 218 – Best photos from Las Vegas
Records: Anshul Jubli (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) def. Jeka Saragih (13-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Division: Lightweight
Broadcast: ESPN+
Referee: Marc Goddard

Round 1 – After a feeling-out process in the first minute, Kinoshita drilled Futitt with a head kick. Somehow, Fugitt ate it and walked through it enough to land a takedown. With Kinoshita pressed against the fence, Fugitt tried to recover from the kick and kept Kinoshita stifled and tied up. When Kinoshita got back to his feet, Fugitt consistently wrestled him back to the canvas. With about two minutes left in the frame, Kinoshita broke free and looked confident until Fugitt drilled him in the chin with a straight left and put him on the canvas. Kinoshita popped back up, but ate a knee and soon found himself back on the mat. Fugitt worked Kinoshita over with punches and elbows and finally, with Kinoshita able to go nowhere, he got the TKO finish.

Result: Adam Fugitt def. Yusaku Kinoshita via TKO (strikes) – Round 1
Photos: UFC Fight Night 218 – Best photos from Las Vegas
Records: Adam Fugitt (9-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) def. Yusaku Kinoshita (6-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Division: Welterweight
Broadcast: ESPN+
Referee: Keith Peterson

FUGITT SHOWED NO MERCY 😤 #UFCVEGAS68 pic.twitter.com/Sc5SarHzCj

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 5, 2023

Round 1 –

Result:
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Records: Dooho Choi (14-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC), Kyle Nelson (13-5 MMA, 1-4 UFC)
Division: Featherweight
Broadcast: ESPN+
Referee:
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Round 1 –

Result:
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Records: Blagoy Ivanov (19-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC), Marcin Tybura (23-7 MMA, 10-6 UFC)
Division: Heavyweight
Broadcast: ESPN+
Referee:
Judging:

Round 1 –

Result:
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Records: Devin Clark (13-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC), Da-un Jung (15-3-1 MMA, 4-1-1 UFC)
Division: Light heavyweight
Broadcast: ESPN+
Referee:
Judging:

Round 1 –

Result:
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Photos:
Records: Derrick Lewis (26-10 MMA, 17-8 UFC), Serghei Spivac (15-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC)
Division: Heavyweight
Broadcast: ESPN+
Referee:
Judging: