UFC’s annual “International Fight Week” was headlined by two title fights this year. As usual, live from Las Vegas, the 12 fight card saw Champions Jon Jones and Amanda Nunes face their respective challengers, Thiago Santos and Holly Holm. The card also had big names like Jorge Masvidal, Ben Askren, Luke Rockhold and more. With knockouts, records broken and more, let’s look at UFC 239.

Bout 1: Pannie Kianzad (11-4) vs. Julia Avila (6-1) (Bantamweight)

The first fight of the evening was the debut of Julia Avila and the return to the UFC for Pannie Kianzad. Very early in the bout Kianzad had Avila pinned up against the cage. Avila turned it around, putting Kianzad up against the cage. She landed elbows and knees. They broke free for more stand-up, but Kianzad clinched up against the cage once again. Leaving clinch she landed a good two punch combo. Avila landed more strikes which backed Kianzad up against the cage. Early in the second round it was Avila who engaged in a clinch. Avila landed a takedown later on but got up shortly after. Kianzad landed a good flurry of strikes in the fourth minute which cut Avila. Avila had a flash of greatness seconds after, putting together punches which had Kianzad panicking. Avila landed a hard front kick in the final seconds of the round. Avila defended a takedown and took control on the ground as the round closed out. Kianzad was dropped with strikes a minute or so into the final round. Avila went into top position on the ground. She took her back after Kianzad rolled around. Avila tried for a rear naked choke but Kianzad got out of it. Avila stayed on control on the ground until the round concluded. Julia Avila was given the victory via the judges (30-27, 30-26 & 30-26).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Kianzad	9	9	9	27
Avila	10	10	10	30

Bout 2: Chance Rencountre (13-3) vs. Ismail Naurdiev (18-2) (Welterweight)

The next bout was a welterweight battle between Chance Rencountre and Ismail Naurdiev. Early on both fighters were landing good shots. Rencountre had Naurdiev on the ground up against the cage for a while. The round ended in this position. At the start of the second round Rencountre got control on the ground again. He was on Naurdiev’s back this time. He started to throw punches. Naurdiev flipped over, but Rencountre still had half guard. They stayed in this position until the round concluded. Rencountre shot for another takedown twice in the third round but Naurdiev defended it. Both fighters had strong punches despite being visibly fatigued. Halfway through the round, Rencountre got on Naurdiev’s back once again. He flattened out Naurdiev and started to land punches. Naurdiev landed a takedown in the final seconds. Chance Rencountre was victorious, winning via scorecards (29-27, 29-28 & 30-27).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Rencountre	10	10	10
Naurdiev	9	8	9

Bout 3: Jack Marshman (23-8) vs. Edmen Shahbazyan (9-0) (Middleweight)

In the final early prelim bout, Jack Marshman faced a young and undefeated Edmen Shahbazyan. Joe Rogan pointed out that Shahbazyan was born the year he started to call UFC fights. In the first minute of the bout Shahbazyan landed a takedown. From above he landed hard punches. He put in a rear naked choke which made Marshman tap out in no time. Edmen Shahbazyan extended his undefeated record into double digits in a short bout.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Marshman
Shahbazyan

Bout 4: Alejandro Perez (21-7-1) (#13) vs. Yadong Song (14-4) (Bantamweight)

Starting off the preliminary card on ESPN was Alejandro Perez versus Yadong Song. The fight had close striking until Song dropped Perez cold with a right hook to end the fight.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Perez
Song

Bout 5: Claudia Gadelha (16-4) (#5) vs. Randa Markos (9-6-1) (#14) (Strawweight)

In the first matchup that had two ranked fighters, Claudia Gadelha faced Randa Markos. Throughout the first round both fighters kept a hunched over stance and were somewhat inactive. The second round was much like the first except Gadelha shot for a takedown in the final seconds which wasn’t successful. The fight went the distance to the displeasure of the audience. The judges gave the fight to Claudia Gadelha (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27). 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Gadelha	10	10	10	30
Markos	9	9	9	27

Bout 6: Marlon Vera (15-5-1) vs. Nohelin Hernandez (10-2) (Bantamweight)

In another bantamweight bout, Marlon Vera fought Nohelin Hernandez. Vera took Hernandez’s back early in the first round. He tried for a rear naked choke for many minutes before transitioning into an armbar. Hernandez landed punches which got him out of the armbar predicament. Hernandez put in a d’arce choke as the round concluded. In the second round Hernandez got top position on the ground. He landed some punches before leaving the position, letting Vera stand up as well. Vera connected with a knee in stand-up which put Hernandez on the ground. Vera put in a rear naked choke which made Hernandez tap out.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Vera	9
Hernandez	10

Bout 7: Arnold Allen (14-1) vs. Gilbert Melendez (22-7) (Featherweight)

After a near two year break, Gilbert Melendez returned in this next fight to face Arnold Allen. This match concluded the preliminary card. The first round had Allen out-striking Melendez. The second round felt like more of the same. Allen landed a takedown in the first minute of the third round. They went back to their feet shortly after. All three judges gave the fight to Arnold Allen (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Allen	10	10	10	30
Melendez	9	9	9	27

Bout 8: Michael Chiesa (14-4) vs. Diego Sanchez (29-11) (Welterweight)

Moving to the main card, Michael Chiesa fought Diego Sanchez in a welterweight bout. A lot of the talk this weekend is from Diego Sanchez having one cornerman for this fight who doesn’t have much experience in MMA. Besides the absurdity, there is a possible health risk as a corner is supposed to look out for the health of their fighter. He sprinted out with a towel over his head during the walkout. In the first ten seconds of the fight Sanchez shot for a takedown. Chiesa was controlling on the ground, trying for a few submission holds. They stood back up where Chiesa landed some good knees. After being in a clinch for a while Chiesa threw Sanchez back to the ground. Chiesa took his back and put in a rear naked choke, but Sanchez escaped. He landed some elbows to the head and tried for it again but Sanchez escaped. They stood back up into clinch. Sanchez brought it back to the ground but Chiesa took the dominant position once again. The first round was a one-sided affair. Chiesa was the one to shoot for a takedown early in the second. He landed some punches to the head before they stood up once again. At one point Chiesa flattened out Sanchez and started to throw unanswered strikes. He put in a rear naked choke up Sanchez got out. Chiesa tried for a kimura until the second round concluded. The third round was another dominant one where Chiesa was always in control on the ground. The judges all had it in favour of Michael Chiesa (30-26, 30-26 & 30-26).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Chiesa	10	10	10	30
Sanchez	9	8	8	25

Bout 9: Luke Rockhold (16-4) vs. Jan Blachowicz (23-8) (#6) (Light Heavyweight)

In-between fights news broke that Khabib Nurmagomedov and Nate Diaz got into an incident in the crowd at the event. Security separated them before things got out of control. The next bout was Luke Rockhold versus Jan Blachowicz. After landing many kicks, Rockhold shot for a takedown. He tried for a few minutes but never secured it. As the horn went at the end of the round, Blachowicz fired off a fury of strikes including a kick after the horn which dropped Rockhold. Rockhold stepped towards Blachowicz after the bell as if he was either angry or not sure if the round ended. In the second round Rockhold was hit with punches that made him fall like a tree. Referee Herb Dean stepped in shortly after to end the bout.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Rockhold	9
Blachowicz	10

Bout 10: Ben Askren (19-0) (#5)  vs. Jorge Masvidal (33-13) (#4) (Welterweight)

In the next bout, two high ranked welterweights in Ben Askren and Jorge Masvidal faced off in a grudge match. In the first few seconds of the bout, Masvidal landed a flying knee which immediately knocked out Askren cold. Masvidal was in his face right after the fight ended. Ending at five seconds, it was the quickest fight in UFC history. Askren was guided out of the octagon before the decision was made. 

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Askren
Masvidal

Bout 11: Holly Holm (12-4) (#2) vs. Amanda Nunes (17-4) (UFC Bantamweight Championship)

In the co-main event slot of the evening, we had Holly Holm challenge Amanda Nunes for her UFC Bantamweight Championship. The first round was close until Nunes landed a kick to the head right her right leg which ended it.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Total
Holm
Nunes

Bout 12: Thiago Santos (21-6) (#2) vs. Jon Jones (24-1) (UFC Light Heavyweight Championship)

The main event of the evening was Thiago Santos challenging Jon Jones for his Light Heavyweight Championship. Jones had a huge reach advantage in this fight. Santos circled the outside while Jones stayed in the inside of the octagon. Jones caught a leg kick from Santos and tried a spinning back elbow when exiting the hold. Santos threw a few kicks to the leg in the opening minutes. After a combination of punches were thrown, Jones’ mouthpiece fell out. He put it back in and they continued. At the start of the second round the commentators claimed Santos hurt himself after throwing a kick. Santos fell and then was hit with a kick to the mid-section around halfway through the round. Santos landed some good combinations of kicks and punches as the round wound down. Santos kept exploding with punches in the third. Jones threw a flying knee but it either didn’t phase Santos or didn’t land. Santos slipped after throwing a leg kick, and was hit with an elbow when getting up. The elbow cut open Santos along the hairline. Jones landed a good head kick with 90 seconds in the third round. The crowd started to boo in the fourth round. Both fighters slowed their already slow pace, although Santos still exploded with punches a couple of times. Jones was often the one coming forward. Near the end of the round Santos’ injury became more apparent as he seemed to get the worst out of a kick that he threw. Santos continued with combinations in the fifth round, but it never seemed to hurt Jones. Jones threw more low kicks in this round to take advantage of the injury. The fight went all five rounds. Jon Jones got the victory via split decision (48-47, 48-47 & 48-47).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Total
Santos	10	10	9	9	9	47
Jones	9	9	10	10	10	48

UFC returns next week with a fight night from Sacramento, California. Germaine de Randamie and Aspen Ladd headline the 13 fight card. UFC veteran and Hall of Famer Urijah Faber returns in the co-main event, facing Ricky Simon. The next PPV is on July 27th, with Max Holloway defending his Featherweight Championship against Frankie Edgar.