UFC 222 Results: Cyborg vs. Kunitskaya

Cris Cyborg retained the women’s featherweight championship against Yana Kunitskaya at UFC 222 on March 3, 2018, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Brian Ortega’s first-round knockout of Frankie Edgar added a major development in the men’s featherweight division.

View the official UFC 222 event archive on UFC.com.

Cyborg ends the title challenge in round one

The card’s original title fight between Max Holloway and Edgar was canceled after Holloway suffered an injury. Cyborg’s defense against Kunitskaya became the new main event, while Edgar stayed on the card against Ortega.

Kunitskaya, making her UFC debut, used grappling to seek a way into the contest. Cyborg’s striking ultimately proved decisive, and punches brought a TKO at 3:25 of round one.

The victory gave Cyborg another successful defense following her five-round win over Holly Holm at UFC 219. This time she did not need a prolonged championship contest to settle the outcome.

Ortega becomes the first fighter to stop Edgar

Edgar had previously lost decisions but had never been finished in his professional MMA career. Ortega changed that record with a first-round knockout at 4:44, using his striking to produce a result beyond the submission threat for which he was already known.

Sean O’Malley defeated Andre Soukhamthath by unanimous decision despite a foot injury late in the contest. Andrei Arlovski outpointed Stefan Struve, and Ketlen Vieira received a split decision over Cat Zingano.

Dern and Hernandez win their debuts

Mackenzie Dern began her UFC run with a split decision over Ashley Yoder. Alexander Hernandez needed just 42 seconds to knock out Beneil Dariush, giving the preliminary card a sudden lightweight upset.

John Dodson, Cody Stamann and Jordan Johnson also earned split decisions. Zak Ottow stopped Mike Pyle in the opening round. C.B. Dollaway defeated Hector Lombard by disqualification after Lombard struck him following the first-round bell; the official result was a Dollaway win, not a no contest.

Complete UFC 222 results

• Cris Cyborg defeated Yana Kunitskaya — TKO (punches), R1, 3:25; women’s featherweight title.
• Brian Ortega defeated Frankie Edgar — KO (punches), R1, 4:44.
• Sean O’Malley defeated Andre Soukhamthath — unanimous decision, R3, 5:00.
• Andrei Arlovski defeated Stefan Struve — unanimous decision, R3, 5:00.
• Ketlen Vieira defeated Cat Zingano — split decision, R3, 5:00.
• Mackenzie Dern defeated Ashley Yoder — split decision, R3, 5:00.
• Alexander Hernandez defeated Beneil Dariush — KO (punch), R1, 0:42.
• John Dodson defeated Pedro Munhoz — split decision, R3, 5:00.
• C.B. Dollaway defeated Hector Lombard — disqualification (punches after the bell), R1, 5:00.
• Zak Ottow defeated Mike Pyle — TKO (punches), R1, 2:34.
• Cody Stamann defeated Bryan Caraway — split decision, R3, 5:00.
• Jordan Johnson defeated Adam Milstead — split decision, R3, 5:00.

Sources

UFC 222 official fight reports; Event results record.

Article Tags

UFC, UFC 222, Mixed Martial Arts