Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)

UFC on ESPN 11

- Contact Adam Hill at ahill@ reviewjour­nal.com. Follow @AdamHillLV­RJ on Twitter.

■ Curtis Blaydes def. Alexander Volkov, unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-46), heavyweigh­ts

■ Josh Emmett def. Shane Burgos, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27), featherwei­ghts

■ Raquel Pennington def. Marion Reneau, unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28), women’s bantamweig­hts

■ Belal Muhammad def. Lyman Good, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28), welterweig­hts

■ Jim Miller def. Roosevelt Roberts, submission, first round (2:25), catchweigh­t (160 pounds)

■ Bobby Green def. Clay Guida, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27), lightweigh­ts

■ Tecia Torres def. Brianna Van Buren, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), women’s strawweigh­ts

■ Marc-Andre Barriault def. Oskar Piechota, KO, second round (4:50), middleweig­hts

■ Gillian Robertson def. Cortney Casey, submission, third round (4:32), women’s flyweights

■ Justin Jaynes def. Frank Camacho, KO, first round (0:41), catchweigh­t (158 pounds)

■ Lauren Murphy def. Roxanne Modafferi, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28), women’s flyweights

■ Austin Hubbard def. Max Rohskopf, retired, second round (5:00), lightweigh­ts on his back until the final bell to win his fourth-straight fight and improve to 8-1 in his last nine bouts.

Volkov finally had success with his striking late in the fourth round and early in the fifth against an exhausted Blaydes, but it wasn’t enough.

The judges scored the fight 49-46, 48-47 and 48-46.

Torres and Pennington made a mark on the card beyond just the two fights in which they competed.

Pennington helped make Torres’ plan to honor Pride Month come to fruition as several fighters incorporat­ed rainbow color schemes into their fight kits.

Torres said she reached out to the UFC and Reebok to no avail, but Pennington used her close relationsh­ip with UFC president Dana White to make it happen. Once the variation on the uniforms was approved, several fighters joined the cause.

“I was so happy,” Torres said. “She texted him and he was like, ‘Hell yeah, that’s freaking awesome.’ So he got it done for us. Then I show up and see all these rainbows. They were like, ‘After you got it approved, we asked other fighters if they wanted to wear it.’ ”

Pennington and Torres would typically be working each other’s corners, but enhanced protocols due to coronaviru­s prevented that from happening.

A request by Torres to remain in the building was denied.

“Unfortunat­ely, I can’t stay here and wish her good luck and kiss her after her fight,” Torres said after her win. “I asked if I could stay and I’m not allowed.”

Pennington took a FaceTime call from Torres as she walked from the cage back to the locker room.

“She was blowing up all of our coaches’ phones,” Pennington laughed.

Also on the card, Josh Emmett knocked down Shane Burgos twice in the final round to take a unanimous decision in a wild featherwei­ght bout.

 ?? Chris Unger Zuffa LLC ?? Tecia Torres puts a kick to the body of Brianna Van Buren in their women’s strawweigh­t bout during UFC on ESPN 11 on Saturday night at the UFC Apex facility. Torres scored a unanimousd­ecision upset victory.
Chris Unger Zuffa LLC Tecia Torres puts a kick to the body of Brianna Van Buren in their women’s strawweigh­t bout during UFC on ESPN 11 on Saturday night at the UFC Apex facility. Torres scored a unanimousd­ecision upset victory.

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