Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will end the year with a bang by way of the UFC Vegas 17 mixed martial arts (MMA) event, taking place TONIGHT (Sat., Dec. 19, 2020) exclusively on ESPN+ from inside APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. Headlining duties will fall to welterweight contenders Stephen Thompson and Geoff Neal, who battle for a spot in the 170-pound title chase. In the UFC Vegas 17 co-main event, former featherweight titleholder Jose Aldo continues his bantamweight run against the venerable Marlon Vera.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 17 fight card below, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time at 7 p.m. ET.
Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps, and post-fight analysis following “Thompson vs. Neal.” Without further delay, see below for the latest UFC Vegas 17 results. (Note: This will go from the bottom up; therefore, scroll toward the bottom for the latest detailed round-by-round action.)
UFC VEGAS 17 QUICK RESULTS:
Stephen Thompson vs. Geoff Neal
Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Vera
Michel Pereira vs. Khaos Williams
Marlon Moraes vs. Rob Font
Greg Hardy vs. Marcin Tybura
Alex Morono vs. Anthony Pettis
Sijara Eubanks vs. Pannie Kianzad
Deron Winn vs. Antonio Arroyo
Gillian Robertson vs. Taila Santos
Tafon Nchukwi vs. Jamie Pickett
Cody Durden vs. Jimmy Flick — Flick def. Durden by submission (flying triangle choke) at 3:18 of Round One — HIGHLIGHTS
Christos Giagos vs. Carlton Minus — Giagos def. Minus by unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-28)
UFC VEGAS 17 PLAY-BY-PLAY:
170 lbs.: Stephen Thompson vs. Geoff Neal
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Round 4:
Round 5:
Final result:
135 lbs.: Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Vera
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
170 lbs.: Michel Pereira vs. Khaos Williams
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
135 lbs.: Marlon Moraes vs. Rob Font
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
265 lbs.: Greg Hardy vs. Marcin Tybura
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
170 lbs.: Alex Morono vs. Anthony Pettis
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
135 lbs.: Sijara Eubanks vs. Pannie Kianzad
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
195 lbs.: Deron Winn vs. Antonio Arroyo
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
125 lbs.: Gillian Robertson vs. Taila Santos
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
185 lbs.: Tafon Nchukwi vs. Jamie Pickett
Round 1: 3-1 and head kick attempt from Nchukwi to start. Pickett tries a head kick, eats a right hook. Nchukwi counter left, working from southpaw. Good left hook on the fence. Pickett mobile as usual, but not pulling the trigger much so far. Foot sweep from Nchukwi a minute in. Knee in the clinch. Nchukwi with another stiff jab, clinchwork. Clubbing left. Pickett with a counter right two minutes in. He ducks a right hook for a level change, ultimately getting Nchukwi to the mat. Nchukwi stands, lands some knees before separating. Combination on the fence. They trade jabs. Two minutes to go.
Hard two-piece by Nchukwi, tries to follow with a head kick. Another near-miss on the head kick. Pickett steps into the clinch, can’t get the trip. Nchukwi holding onto the front headlock. Pickett scrambles back to his feet. One minute to go. Nchukwi with a spinning elbow attempt in the clinch. Pickett body kick. Nchukwi with some good shots inside. Pickett ducks a left, eats a knee. 10-9 Nchukwi.
Round 2: Nchukwi rishes in with a flurry. Jab exchange. Pickett tries a sneaky head kick. He ducks a hook, gets pressed against the fence. Pickett body kick and side kick. Nchukwi keeps walking him to the fence. Nchukwi head kick on the fence a minute in. Hard knees to the body. Punches as well in the clinch. Two minutes in. Pickett separates after eating a left. They exchange, left hand by Nchukwi. Both looking for jabs. Nchukwi with a quick foot sweep. Pickett tries a knee with tow minutes to go.
Pickett just can’t get anything going, he’s not throwing much at range and keeps losing the clinch battle whenever he steps in. Now a 1-2 lands for him. He shoots, eats knees. Nchukwi with body punches on the break. One minute to go. Trying to open up on the fence, more clinch shots. Good combination by Pickett and suddenly Nchukwi seems stunned. Pickett initially tries to flurry, but lets up rather than press the advantage. Uppercut lands for Nchukwi. Nasty clash of heads. 10-9 Nchukwi.
Round 3: Pickett really not wearing that headbutt well.
Nchukwi goes back on the advance, lands a combination on the fence. Head kick just misses. Hard counter right lands for him. One minute in. Good combo by Nchukwi, Pickett ties up and eats knees. Both land elbows before separating. Two-piece by Nchukwi, 3-1 afterwards. 1-2-knee elbow, bullying in the clinch. He takes Pickett down, can’t establish. More knees from Nchukwi, who stings Pickett with a head kick. A knee to the face sends Pickett to his knees and Nchukwi tries to pound him out. Two minutes to go.
Pickett ultimately makes it back to his feet, eats more knees to the body, separates. They trade 1-2s. Right hook, knees, elbow inside. Pickett tries to shoot, avoids a spinning elbow on the break. Counter two-piece by Nchukwi. 10-8 Nchukwi.
Final result:
125 lbs.: Cody Durden vs. Jimmy Flick
Round 1: Durden opens with a heavy uppercut, avoids a right cross in return. He catches a low kick and takes Flick to the mat, immediately latching onto his back. Good punches. Flick scoots to the fence a minute in. Back to his feet. Durden holding onto the rear waistlock, ultimately separates and lands a stiff jab. Good right hand. Low kick exchange. Sneaky head kick from Flick, Durden denies the subsequent takedown attempt and fires a combination on the fence. Durden head kick attempt. Flick fires a head kick, then uses it to wrap up a flying triangle. It takes some adjustments, but he forces the tap. Terrific submission by “The Brick.”
Final result: Flick def. Durden by submission (flying triangle choke)
160 lbs.: Christos Giagos vs. Carlton Minus
Round 1: Minus looking to jab early. Low kick from Giagos, who disguises a double-leg with an overhand right. He looks for Minus’ back in the scramble. One minute in. Minus makes it up, turns to face Giagos. Giagos hits a double-leg, looks for an arm triangle, settles for mount. Hard elbow, takes the back. Heavy punches from Giagos, back to looking for the choke. Good balance by the Greek. Minus tries to sit up, can’t do so. Two minutes to go.
Punches from mount. Minus manages to turn and slip out the back door to stand. Giagos fires a right hand and shoots a blast double to dump him down against the fence with a minute to go. Back to mount. Now looking for the arm triangle after Minus attempts to turn. He abandons it, lands punches. 10-8 Giagos.
Round 2: Minus on the front foot to start. Counter right by Giagos, then a counter 2-3. Looping overhand whiffs. Minus catches him leaning with a head kick. Giagos with a long 1-2, then a reactive double-leg as Minus overextends. Full mount a minute in. Side control, back to mount, then the back. Minus regains half guard two minutes in, then to his knees. Giagos briefly retakes his back before forcing him back down. Two minutes to go.
Short hammerfists by Giagos. Minus trying to sit up, slips out the back door, then tries to slam Giagos to the mat. Giagos uses the opportunity to regain mount. Looking for the arm triangle, loses it again with a minute to go. Minus makes it to his feet and separates. Giagos shoots again, stuffed. He looks a bit winded. Overhand right by Minus, counter left by Giagos. 10-9 Giagos.
Round 3: Low kick from Minus, who denies a level change. They trade inside. Better entry by Giagos, can’t get it, re-shoots and grabs the rear waist lock. Back down he goes a minute in. Giagos on top in side control. Looking for the back against the fence. Trying to play backpack as Minus stands two minutes in. Minus turning and trying to separate, ultimately dislodges Giagos. Giagos is definitely fading but Minus isn’t doing enough to capitalize. Right cross from Minus, denies a level change. Two minutes to go.
Combination from Minus, stuffs a shot, eats a knee. Another denied takedown. Jabs from Minus, overhand right whiffs. One minute to go. Giagos low kick. They trade at close range. Sneaky uppercut lands for Minus. Another one catches Giagos leaning to no visible effect. 102 from Minus, stops yet another takedown. And another, short uppercut on the break. One final exchange. 10-9 Minus.
Final result: Giagos def. Minus by unanimous decision