UFC Fight Night: Hill Beats Santos, Usman and Miller Win TUF Honors

Jamahal Hill defeated Thiago Santos in the UFC on ESPN 40 main event, while Mohammed Usman and Juliana Miller won “The Ultimate Fighter” show. Tonight’s show in Las Vegas was highly amusing and only the second one in the history of the organization that saw a finish in each fight.

Those who were lucky to witness the spectacle at the UFC Apex facility saw Jamahal Hill (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) stepping up on the big stage, by knocking out the former light heavyweight challenger, Thiago Santos (22-11 MMA, 14-10 UFC), via ground and pound in the fourth round.

JAMAHAL HILL GETS THE LATE ROUND FINISH OVER THIAGO SANTOS #UFCVegas59 https://t.co/msef6XBM3m

— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) August 7, 2022

This was a back-and-forth contest, in which Hill had the edge in all the rounds, apart from the third, when Santos landed a few takedowns, controlling the rival on the ground and improving his pale impression. It is obvious that the Brazilian isn’t capable of fighting at his previous level anymore, and that his time in the organization is reaching its end.

Hill was far better, and the stats are suggesting that as well. He had 130 strikes, 89 of them significant, 68 to the head, while Santos ad 56 strikes, 52 significant, and 28 landed on his rival’s head. It was apparent already in the second round that Marreta doesn’t have good cardio and that he won’t be able to defeat Hill.

The American also wasn’t looking very good inside the octagon when it came to his fitness, and he also breathed heavily, but still, Hill was far better than the 38-year-old rival. He was no.9 before the bout and Santos No.6 in the lightweight division, and no doubt the following rankings will be much different.

The Ultimate Fighter 30 competition is over, and Mohammed Usman and Juliana Miller both ended up as winners in the respective divisions. Usman (8-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) , a younger brother of the UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru, defeated Zac Pauga (5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Before the battle began, Usman was a big underdog, but one short left hook crushed Pauga, who was stunned by the same and couldn’t recover.

https://twitter.com/ChillemThreebo/status/1556125300303577088

Meanwhile, Miller (3-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) won the TUF 30 flyweight competition. She was better than Brogan Walker (7-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in the finals. She was unstoppable on the mat, dragging her counterpart into a wrestling and grappling battle, and using all her superiority to force a finish that took place in the late part of the third round.

We also need to mention Geoff Neal’s (15-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) victory in a welterweight bout, which was the co-main event. The “Hands of Steel” is better than Vicente Luque (21-9-1 MMA, 14-5 UFC), knocking out the rival in the third round. This was the second straight win for Neal, who previously beat Santiago Ponzinibbio via split decision.

GEOFF NEAL WITH THE HUGE THIRD ROUND KO AND GETS THE FIRST KNOCKOUT OVER LUQUE #UFCVegas59 https://t.co/TZTFn7SZLv

— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) August 7, 2022

We saw him immediately imposing the pace, and, early on, knocking down Luque, who was never competitive in this clash. As time went by, Neal’s boxing was creating damage on Luque, and the KO was more or less inevitable. Neal called out Gilbert Burns following the fight, and he intends to attack the title in case of winning that bout.

Up next, we have the UFC Fight Night: Vera vs. Cruz in seven days.