UFC Raleigh: Blaydes Finishes JDS

Curtis Blaydes and Junior dos Santos battled to maintain prime position in the UFC heavyweight rankings, and it was Blaydes who scored arguably his biggest win yet in the main event of UFC Raleigh.

Blaydes initially struggled against the former heavyweight champion, missing on several takedown attempts in the opening frame. That same span, however, saw Blaydes land several hard strikes to the head, and Blaydes took to that strategy in the second round.

Blaydes connected with a hard one-two that stunned JDS, before following up with a knee and a flurry that resulted in a TKO win, increasing Blaydes’ win streak to three.

Relentless. #UFCRaleigh pic.twitter.com/oolTFVwBJF

— UFC (@ufc) January 26, 2020

RAZOR. BLAYDES. #UFCRaleigh pic.twitter.com/71vUfAvdIM

— UFC (@ufc) January 26, 2020

In the co-main event, Michael Chiesa continued his success at welterweight, outworking former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos on the ground en route to a unanimous decision win. Following the fight, Chiesa called out former interim champion Colby Covington for a showdown in July.

Welcome to the division's elite, @MikeMav22! 👏 #UFCRaleigh pic.twitter.com/ooLtCR5jgf

— UFC (@ufc) January 26, 2020

"Colby Covington, I'll see you in July."

SHOT CALLED. 👀 @MikeMav22 #UFCRaleigh pic.twitter.com/pzynAHpIj3

— UFC (@ufc) January 26, 2020

Main card results:

Curtis Blaydes def. Junior dos Santos via TKO (Rd. 2, 1:06)

Michael Chiesa def. Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Alex Perez def. Jordan Espinosa via submission (arm-triangle) (Rd. 1, 2:33)

Angela Hill def. Hannah Cifers via TKO (Rd. 2, 4:26)

Jamahal Hill def. Darko Stosic via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)

Preliminary card results:

Bevon Lewis def. Dequan Townsend via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Arnold Allen def. Nik Lentz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Justine Kish def. Lucie Pudilova via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Montel Jackson def. Felipe Colares unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25)

Sara McMann def. Lina Lansberg via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-25)

Brett Johns def. Tony Gravely via submission (rear-naked choke) (Rd. 3, 2:53)

Herbert Burns def. Nate Landwehr via KO (Rd. 1, 2:43)