UFC Fight Night 74 ended in shocking fashion as Charles Oliveira was forced to wave the white flag against Max Holloway after suffering what appeared to be a neck injury.
A little over a minute-and-a-half into the first round, Holloway pressed Oliveira headfirst against the cage and seemed to yank back on Oliveira's left shoulder a bit. Oliveira got back up on his feet and quickly realized something was wrong. He held his left arm up to signal he was hurt.
Referee Herb Dean then stopped the fight and medical personnel immediately tended to Oliveira. According to MMAjunkie's Matt Erickson, doctors placed Oliveira in a neck brace and stretchered him to the back.
Holloway was a bit conflicted in his emotions after the fight, per MMA Fighting:
The final moments of the main event certainly overshadow everything else that happened during Fight Night 74, which ran nearly six hours between the preliminary and main cards.
Below, you'll find the full results from the entire night and brief recaps for the remaining bouts on the main card.
UFC Fight Night 74 Results
Main Card Recap
Valerie Letourneau def. Maryna Moroz
Maryna Moroz suffered the first loss of her professional career after she fell to Valerie Letourneau. The bout went the full distance, with Letourneau coming out on top on all three of the judges' scorecards.
She owned the edge in just about every statistical category, landing more overall strikes (106) than Moroz (79) and connecting on 69 significant strikes, compared to 55 for her opponent. Letourneau also scored a takedown in the third round.
The third and final round was what likely secured the win for Letourneau. She and Moroz had been neck-and-neck through the first two rounds. Then, the 32-year-old Montreal native got Moroz down on the mat and unloaded on her with punches.
Although Moroz eventually worked her way back to her feet, the damage was already done.
Now having won her third fight in a row since joining UFC, Letourneau is putting herself in line for a title shot fairly soon down the road.
Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Tony Sims
Olivier Aubin-Mercier eschewed aesthetics as he ran his competitive record to 7-1 in a winning effort over Tony Sims.
Aubin-Mercier had control for 11 minutes and 48 seconds of the fight, compared to 1:28 for Sims. Sims owned a distinct advantage in significant strikes (23 to 3), but Aubin-Mercier countered with six takedowns to Sims' zero. Nobody really expected anything less from a fighter who has built his reputation as more of a grappler.
OAM can also take heart from the fact he set a new UFC record, per Michael Carroll:
While he may have picked up the victory, some will likely have expected more from Aubin-Mercier. Sims is a slight level below him in terms of talent, and he was unable to end the fight before the final bell. MMA Fighting's Luke Thomas also remains skeptical as to the ceiling for the "Quebec Kid":
Still, a win is a win, and Aubin-Mercier continues moving up the pecking order in the UFC lightweight division.
Francisco Trinaldo def. Chad Laprise
In what was the first fight not to get out of the first round on the main card, Francisco Trinaldo soundly defeated Chad Laprise via technical knockout.
The finish came after Trinaldo countered with a vicious left hand that sent Laprise to the mat. Sensing his opportunity, Trinaldo went in for the kill, and once he got wrapped around Laprise, he wasn't letting go. Trinaldo rained punch after punch in on his opponent, leaving Dean no choice but to end the fight.
Those who bet on the Brazilian had a pretty good night, per MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani:
Trinaldo turns 37 on Monday, so his family back home will be left to celebrate without him. But fear not, for he has that covered, per Bleacher Report MMA:
If you want to be critical toward Trinaldo, the result didn't exactly dispel the notion he lacks a lot of punching power. The referee called for the bells more for the volume of Trinaldo's blows rather than the individual impact of them.
Patrick Cote def. Josh Burkman
Josh Burkman enjoyed some brief spells where he looked to be getting the better of Patrick Cote, but Cote ultimately landed a massive right hand in the third round that served as a prelude to Burkman's demise.
Once Burkman hit the mat, Cote followed up with hammerfist after hammerfirst before the referee intervened to stop the fight. It's the first time Burkman has ever lost via TKO.
This was easily the most entertaining of the main card fights, as Burkman and Cote exchanged plenty of offense. If not for the stoppage, the judges would've had a hard time determining a winner.
Roy Nelson offered a hearty endorsement of both fighters:
Following the victory, Cote wasted little time looking ahead to the future.
"Hector Lombard, when you come back in January, I'll be there for you, man," he said in his post-fight interview, per Fox Sports' Elias Cepeda.
It might be a case of Cote's mouth writing him checks his body can't cash. Lombard is the better fighter, and if the two were to meet in the Octagon, Cote would probably find that out the hard way.
Neil Magny def. Erick Silva
The judges may have been split as to who was the better fighter between Neil Magny and Erick Silva, but it sure looked as though Magny owned a decided edge by the time the final bell rang.
Not only did the 28-year-old own a plus-39 edge in significant strikes, he also landed one more takedown than Silva over the course of the bout.
Magny looked in control for the most part, which belied the fact he had little preparation time after replacing Rick Story on the card. In addition, this was his second fight in August after he lost to Demian Maia at UFC 190.
As Bleacher Report MMA noted, Magny is quickly earning a reputation as the hardest working man in UFC:
Maybe now that he's back in the win column again, he can take a well-earned break for a bit.
Note: Fight stats are courtesy of UFC.com.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com
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