Welcome to the recap of Fighters Only’s live coverage of UFC on ABC 3, as the world’s top MMA promotion took centre stage on national broadcaster ABC in the United States.

Throughout the event, we posted live fight-by-fight updates and results as we ran through the fight card in Long Island, New York.

Headlining the event was a bout between rival featherweight contenders Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez, with Michelle Waterson-Gomez and Amanda Lemos in action in the co-main event.

Recap our fight updates, in reverse chronological order, below.

UFC on ABC 3: Live Updates

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YAIR RODRIGUEZ DEF. BRIAN ORTEGA VIA TKO (INJURY) – ROUND 1, 4:11

The eagerly-anticipated main event clash between top featherweight contenders Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez promised so much, but ultimately ended in disappointment as an unfortunate injury to Ortega forced a premature end to the headline matchup.

Rodriguez was finding a home for his strikes throughout the opening round, but Ortega enjoyed some success of his own with his shots.  But, when the fight went into the clinch, Ortega appeared to have the better of things as he imposed himself on his Mexican opponent.

And when Ortega dragged the action to the canvas toward the end of the round, the former title challenger would have felt right at home, but when he attempted to free his arm after it was partially trapped, he winced in pain and rolled to his back in frustration as the fight was immediately stopped. Ortega had dislocated his right shoulder, and both he and Rodriguez recognised the situation and stopped fighting, with referee Keith Peterson waving off the fight at the 4:11 mark.

It meant Rodriguez picked up the victory via injury TKO, and the Mexican was classy in victory as he revealed his disappointment at not winning in the manner he had hoped for, while also offering to face Ortega again once “T-City” had fully recovered from his injuries.

It was a disappointing end to a spectacular night that saw a host of thrilling performances throughout the fight card.

AMANDA LEMOS DEF. MICHELLE WATERSON-GOMEZ VIA SUBMISSION (GUILLOTINE CHOKE) – ROUND 2, 1:48

Brazil’s Amanda Lemos continued her relentless rise up the UFC women’s strawweight division with an impressive victory over Michelle Waterson-Gomez.

Lemos, whose lone defeat in the UFC came last time out against former champion Jessica Andrade, threw her strikes with speed and ferocity throughout as she connected on Waterson-Gomez with powerful shots. But in the end it was her slick submission skills that proved decisive as she stuffed a takedown attempt, then snatched Waterson-Gomez’s neck to lock up a tight guillotine choke. And, while Waterson-Gomez’s tap may have occurred out of the line of sight of referee Kevin McDonald, Lemos relinquished the hold after the tap, and Waterson-Gomez ruefully accepted her defeat with grace.

Lemos’ victory puts her back in the win column and back in the mix at 115 pounds, where bigger fights are sure to follow.

LI JINGLIANG DEF. MUSLIM SALIKHOV VIA TKO (PUNCH AND ELBOWS) – ROUND 2, 4:38

After a lopsided defeat to Khamzat Chimaev in his last outing, Chinese welterweight contender Li Jingliang was looking to bounce back into the win column and he did so in spectacular fashion with a second-round TKO finish of Muslim Salikhov.

Salikhov had the crowd gasping in amazement at the blurring speed of his spectacular spinning kicks, but Li did well to stay out of range of most of the Russian fighter’s high-velocity strikes. In Round 2, Li’s pressure started to wear down on his opponent and, with Salikhov starting to slow, the Chinese fighter saw his chance and pushed the pace.

He was briefly dropped by a big right hand, but rallied well and recomposed himself before ploughing forward again. This time he found his mark with some heavy shots that pushed Salikhov backward, then one more huge right hand sent “The King of Kung Fu” face-first into the canvas. A flurry of follow-up elbows sealed the victory as Li claimed a huge victory to return to winning ways in the super-competitive UFC welterweight division.

https://twitter.com/btsportufc/status/1548399669457219589

MATT SCHNELL DEF. SUMUDAERJI VIA SUBMISSION (TRIANGLE CHOKE) – ROUND 2, 4:24

On a night packed with thrilling encounters, Matt Schnell produced one of the UFC’s great comeback victories as he came back from the brink to defeat Sumadaerji after a wild battle.

The action went into overdrive in Round 2 as Sumadaerji found his range with some thumping short elbows that put Schnell on the brink of being knocked out. But, incredibly, Schnell rallied and, after stinging the Chinese contender with some solid shots of his own, turned to his grappling as he took the action to the mat and locked up a triangle choke to put his man to sleep and complete a stunning turnaround.

Schnell’s win gave him this third UFC victory via triangle choke and cemented his status as the No. 8-ranked flyweight fighter. And, after his win, he turned his attention to the next man up in the rankings, No. 7-ranked Matheus Nicolau, as he called for a bout at Madison Square Garden in November.

SHANE BURGOS DEF. CHARLES JOURDAIN VIA MAJORITY DECISION (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)

Featherweights Shane Burgos and Charles Jourdain served up an exciting war, with New York’s Burgos taking the majority decision victory after a thrilling three-rounder.

After a razor-close opening round, Burgos took control in Round 2 to put him in the box seat heading into the final frame. Perhaps knowing that he needed a huge round to claim victory, Jourdain let fly with his full arsenal of strikes as he pushed “Hurricane” Shane to the limit in the final five minutes. But, despite landing a plethora of strikes, including a huge head kick in the closing seconds, Jourdain ended up disappointed as the judges returned a majority decision verdict in Burgos’ favour with scores of 29-28, 29-28, 28-28.

LAUREN MURPHY DEF. MIESHA TATE VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

In the opening main card contest, “Lucky” Lauren Murphy scored one of the biggest wins of her career as she delivered a superb performance to defeat former UFC bantamweight champion Miesha Tate.

Murphy’s high-pace, high-pressure approach was just too much for Tate to handle as the former flyweight title challenger outworked Tate, who was making her debut in the UFC’s 125-pound division. The judges were unanimous in awarding the bout to Murphy, with the scorecards reading 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.

After her victory, Murphy called for a fight against the winner of the UFC Paris bout between Jessica Andrade and Manon Fiorot, declaring, “I’m not done until I say I’m done – and I’m not done!”

PUNAHELE SORIANO DEF. DALCHA LUNGIAMBULA VIA KNOCKOUT (PUNCHES) – ROUND 2, 0:28

In the night’s featured preliminary card bout, Punahele Soriano flattened fellow hard-hitting middleweight Dalcha Lungiambula early in the second round to score one of the most impressive finishes of the night.

Soriano entered the bout on a two-fight skid and potentially fighting for his spot in the UFC’s 185-pound division. But the heavy-handed Hawaiian proved he’s far from done as he claimed a massive knockout victory to wow the crowd in Long Island. Lungiambula threw a powerful body kick in the opening seconds of Round 2, but Soriano fired back with a huge punch that dropped Lungiambula to the canvas. “Puna” followed him to the mat and finished the job with some heavy ground shots to knock out his man and claim an emotional victory – his third in the UFC and ninth overall.

RICKY SIMON DEF. JACK SHORE VIA SUBMISSION (ARM-TRIANGLE CHOKE) – ROUND 2, 3:28

In a bantamweight battle between two up-and-coming ranked fighters, Ricky Simon prevailed via second round submission as he handed Wales’ Jack Shore the first defeat of his career.

Simon pushed the pace on Shore from the very start and relentlessly pursued the takedown throughout Round 1, but it was in Round 2 that he made the breakthrough as he stunned Shore with a solid shot to the temple that had “Tank” on wobbly legs. Simon took the action to the mat and locked up an arm-triangle choke to force Shore to tap, then called for a fight with fellow rising bantamweight star, Sean O’Malley.

BILL ALGEO DEF. HERBERT BURNS VIA TKO (RETIREMENT) – ROUND 2, 1:50

Former CFFC star Bill Algeo produced arguably his most impressive performance so far in the UFC as he fought BJJ ace Herbert Burns to standstill in their featherweight bout on the preliminary card.

Algeo looked in big trouble early as Burns locked up a triangle choke, then transitioned to a triangle armbar. But “El Senor Perfecto” stayed remarkably calm and managed to free himself of the predicament before punishing a clearly fatigued Burns with some heavy ground and pound. Burns tried to drag the bout back into the grappling realm again, but Algeo was too strong and too smart to let it happen twice, and easily reversed position before hurting Burns again.

By the end of the opening round, Burns looked a broken man as his corner, including his brother, UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns, desperately tried to lift his spirits ahead of Round 2. But ultimately Burns was an empty shell of a fighter as he left his corner for the second stanza and, after another failed attempt to lock up a submission on Algeo, was just too tired and demoralised to pick himself back up after Algeo backed away and motioned for him to return to his feet. It led referee Keith Peterson to step in and wave off the fight to give Algeo back-to-back wins in the UFC for the first time.

DUSTIN JACOBY DEF. DA UN JUNG VIA KNOCKOUT (PUNCH) – ROUND 1, 3:13

Dustin Jacoby extended his unbeaten run to nine fights with a stunning knockout of South Korea’s hard-hitting Da Un Jung in their light heavyweight matchup. Jacoby closed the show with a picture-perfect one-two combination that flattened Jung as referee Kevin McDonald stepped in to spare the downed fighter any unnecessary punishment.

It was a highlight-reel moment for Jacoby, who looks in career-best form in his second run in the UFC. His first stint was a shortlived two-fight affair that resulted in two losses. But now, after a successful stint as a kickboxer with Glory, Jacoby is back with the UFC and setting his sights on the light heavyweight top 10. After that performance, he might just get his wish in his next fight.

DUSTIN STOLTZFUS DEF. DWIGHT GRANT VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Dustin Stoltzfus made good use of his superior wrestling to earn a unanimous decision victory over Dwight Grant in their middleweight scrap. Grant was thought to have the striking advantage pre-fight, but Stoltzfus happily stood and traded with him, before mixing in takedown attempts to keep his man guessing throughout the bout.

After three high-pressure rounds, Stoltzfus got the nod with sores of 29-28 across the board to snap a three-fight skid and earn his first win in the UFC since arriving in the promotion via Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020.

EMILY DUCOTE DEF. JESSICA PENNE VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Leg kicks were the name of the game for UFC debutant Emily Ducote as she claimed victory over former strawweight title challenger Jessica Penne in the opening bout of the day. Ducote’s relentless attack of Penne’s left calf paid dividends by the third round, with Penne barely able to put any weight on her lead leg at times.

While not hammering Penne with low leg kicks, Ducote employed smart aggression as she boxed back and forth with Penne, whose toughness in defeat was a feature of the matchup. But it was Ducote’s day, as she claimed the unanimous decision victory with scores of 29-28, 29-28, 30-27.

PRE-FIGHT

It’s fight day in New York, as the home of the New York Islanders swaps the rink for the octagon for UFC on ABC 3. The fight card is packed with bouts that should deliver plenty of crowd-pleasing action. And, with an early start time for national television, it means fans on both sides of the pond will be able to enjoy some top-drawer UFC fight action during daylight hours – a rare treat indeed!

We’ll bring you updates throughout the night, so keep us bookmarked and hit the refresh link above (or just refresh your browser) to stay right up to date with our live results and commentary.

UFC on ABC 3: Official Results

MAIN CARD

  • Yair Rodriguez def. Brian Ortega via TKO (injury) – Round 1, 4:11
  • Amanda Lemos def. Michelle Waterson-Gomez via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 1:48
  • Li Jingliang def. Muslim Salikhov via TKO (punch and elbows) – Round 2, 4:38
  • Matt Schnell def. Sumudaerji via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 4:24
  • Shane Burgos def. Charles Jourdain via majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
  • Lauren Murphy def. Miesha Tate via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • Punahele Soriano def. Dalcha Lungiambula via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 0:28
  • Ricky Simon def. Jack Shore via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:28
  • Bill Algeo def. Herbert Burns via TKO (retirement) – Round 2, 1:50
  • Dustin Jacoby def. Da Un Jung via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 3:13
  • Dustin Stoltzfus def. Dwight Grant via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Emily Ducote def. Jessica Penne via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)