UFC 215 results: Nunes edges past Shevchenko, dos Anjos dominates Magny

Amanda Nunes needed all five rounds to eke past Valentina Shevchenko on Saturday night at UFC 215 as she earned a second straight title defense as women’s bantamweight champion.

While most predicted that Nunes would come storming out of the gate to look for another first round finish, the incumbent champion instead showed incredible patience as she stood on the outside and picked away at Shevchenko with leg kicks and quick punches rather than loading up on power shots.

Shevchenko opted for a counter striking attack as she tried to catch the champion coming forward whenever she did get aggressive with her offensive output.

It was a tough fight to score but the fifth round seemed to seal the deal for Nunes, who landed a takedown late in an otherwise razor close matchup to earn the victory on the judges scorecards.

The final tallies came back 48-47, 48-47 and 47-48 with Nunes holding onto her title while also picking up a second win over Shevchenko after first defeating her more than a year ago.

While Shevchenko didn’t agree with the decision, Nunes definitely seemed happy with the result as she ears a second straight title defense while likely closing the door on a third fight with the No. 1 ranked contender for the immediate future.

DOS ANJOS MOVES TO 2-0 AS A WELTERWEIGHT

In the co-main event, Rafael dos Anjos continued his impressive run as a welterweight as he made short work of No. 6 ranked fighter Neil Magny with a first round submission.

Dos Anjos took the fight to the ground early in the opening round before applying his world-class grappling game to pass Magny’s defense and lock on a picture perfect arm triangle choke to get the win.

Dos Anjos is now 2-0 as a welterweight while also potentially positioning himself for a No. contender’s bout in the near future following his latest win.

Former flyweight title challenger Henry Cejudo put on arguably the best performance of his career as he knocked out Wilson Ries on the UFC 215 main card.

Cejudo was fast on the feet as he picked Reis apart before finally landing the finishing blow in the second round as he jumped on the cage in celebration following his first finish in the UFC.

Ilir Latifi put an end to Tyson Pedro’s undefeated record with a unanimous decision victory in the light heavyweight division. Meanwhile, Jeremy Stephens absolutely battered Gilbert Melendez’s lead leg with kicks over three rounds to earn a lopsided unanimous decision victory to kick off the UFC 215 main card.