It took just over a minute for Dominick Reyes to figure out the grappling of Chris Weidman. And when he did ... it was absolute devastation.
While moving back calmly, Reyes caught Weidman with a straight left hand that dropped the "All-American" with a thud. "The Devastator" then surgically stepped between Weidman's legs and hit him with three straight hammer fists before Herb Dean rushed to protect the veteran. Just like that, Reyes was awarded with the first-round TKO in just one minute and 43 seconds into the main event of UFC Boston at the TD Garden on Friday night.
The left hand dropped him, the hammer fists finished him!@DomReyes is FOR. REAL. #UFCBoston pic.twitter.com/knGFpIgijp
— UFC (@ufc) October 19, 2019
Following the emphatic KO that he predicted all fight week long, Reyes called out UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones for a crack at the title.
"Hey, Jon, I don't want any party favors, man," Reyes said during his postfight interview in the octagon. "I want that belt. Let's go!"
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He hardly broke a sweat in dispatching of Weidman. After the "All-American" took him down and grappled him up against the cage, Reyes was able to buy enough real estate to land that left hand, which spelled the beginning of the end for Weidman.
"I was out there having fun, feeling loose," Reyes said following his first main event. "He came in and I put him down."
With the win, Reyes improves to 12-0, including seven knockouts.
Co-main event: Yair Rodriguez gets the best of Jeremy Stephens in hard-fought war; featherweights
There wasn’t any disappointment with the rematch.
About a month after their initial meeting ended in a no-contest due to an accidental eye poke, Rodriguez and Stephens let it all hang loose, before the Mexican fighter scored the unanimous decision (29-28 on all three scorecards).
Rodriguez nearly scored a finish during the second round after he blasted Stephens with a punishing body kick and proceeded to pummel him with punches and hammer fists.
The sound of that strike! How did Stephens survive!?#UFCBoston pic.twitter.com/MRcXWZfWOz
— UFC (@ufc) October 19, 2019
Stephens, however, showed plenty of heart by digging his way back into the frame and landing some heavy shots of his own.
What. A. Round.#UFCBoston pic.twitter.com/sGmpIb9VXD
— UFC (@ufc) October 19, 2019
The third round had Stephens once again putting Rodriguez on notice of his punching power, as he mounted the Mexican fighter while looking for openings to let his hands fly. But Rodriguez survived the attack to have his hand raised, as the two fighters buried their bad blood with an embrace as a mutual sign of respect following their war.
Rodriguez’ wide array of kicks — whether to the body, head or legs — paced him to take the first two rounds and that was all he needed to win the fight.
Greg Hardy's unanimous decision over Ben Sosoli changed to no-contest; heavyweights
In what turned out to be the longest fight of Greg Hardy’s MMA career, the former NFL star outlasted Ben Sosoli to win by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28), but the victory didn’t last long.
Hardy used an inhaler between the second and third rounds and that's what changed Hardy's win to a no-contest following the event.
ESPN2’s broadcast team initially announced that Hardy received permission from a commissioner to use the inhaler. Daniel Cormier, who was working the broadcast booth, was outraged by Hardy’s inhaler use. He wasn’t alone with that feeling, either.
Greg Hardy uses an inhaler between rounds. Marc Ratner, UFC vice president of regulatory affairs, comes on the broadcast and calls it "completely illegal, no question about it."
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) October 19, 2019
The no-contest ruling came shortly after UFC Boston concluded.
Inhaler gate aside, Hardy looked composed in the octagon and was the sharper striker as he managed to stay on the outside and pepper Sosoli with stinging punches over the three rounds, while avoiding his opponent’s compact home-run swings.
Joe Lauzon pummels Jonathan Pearce in first-round TKO (punches); lightweights
Chalk one up for the home team. Fighting in front of his hometown fans, Lauzon trapped Pearce in a half nelson. He then rained down on Pearce with his right hand, while still cranking his body. The ground-and-pound attack was enough for the ref to end the fight right there in the opening round to the crowd’s roar.
LAUZON FIRST ROUND FINISH! BOSTON IS GOING CRAZY!#UFCBoston pic.twitter.com/9jBGBNw904
— UFC (@ufc) October 19, 2019
After snapping his three-fight skid, Lauzon acknowledged that this win could very well be his final bout.
Maycee Barber destroys Gillian Robertson by first-round TKO (punches); flyweights
Barber entered the Octagon with "8-0" written on her gloves.
She rocked Robertson with a left hook and unloaded with a barrage of elbows and hooks on Robertson against the cage, before the ref stepped in and ended the punishment to make her premonition come true.
The Future is bright for @MayceeBarber!!
— UFC (@ufc) October 19, 2019
What a finish! #UFCBoston pic.twitter.com/0yt59JK7lm
Barber (8-0) proceeded to "call" out Paige VanZant following the win.
"Paige VanZant, I’m giving you a call," Barber said, holding her hand to her ear as if it were a phone. "You going to answer or not?"
Darren Stewart edges Deron Winn by split decision; middleweights
Stewart had just enough pressure and answers for Winn on the ground to pick up the unanimous decision victory by the scores of 29-28 across the board. The bout marked Winn’s first pro loss.