Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to its APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the UFC Vegas 65 mixed martial arts (MMA) event TONIGHT (Sat., Nov. 19, 2022), streaming LIVE on ESPN+. UFC Vegas 65 will be headlined by a 265-pound showdown between Top 15 heavyweights Derrick “Black Beast” Lewis and Serghei “Polar Bear” Spivac. Before that five-round clash of styles gets underway, veteran light heavyweight Ion “The Hulk” Cutelaba looks to snap a two-fight losing streak by turning away hot-and-cold 185-pound “African Savage” Kennedy Nzechukwu in the UFC Vegas 65 co-main event. Elsewhere on the card, Andre Fialho and Muslim Salikhov go to war at welterweight shortly before Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Chase Sherman collide at 265 pounds.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 65 fight card below, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” undercard bouts at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time at 4 p.m. ET. Bet on all the UFC Vegas 65 action with our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook right here.
Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps, and post-fight analysis following “Lewis vs. Spivac.” Without further delay, see below for the updated UFC Vegas 65 results. (Note: This will go from the bottom up; therefore, scroll toward the bottom for the latest detailed round-by-round action).
UFC VEGAS 65 QUICK RESULTS:
Derrick Lewis vs. Serghei Spivac — CANCELLED
Ion Cutelaba vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Chase Sherman
Andre Fialho vs. Muslim Salikhov
Jack Della Maddalena vs. Danny Roberts
Charles Johnson vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
Jennifer Maia vs. Maryna Moroz
Miles Johns vs. Vince Morales — Johns def. Morales by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)
Kevin Natividad vs. Ricky Turcios — Turcios def. Natividad by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Maria Oliveira — Demopoulos def. Oliveira by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Fernie Garcia vs. Brady Hiestand — Hiestand def. Garcia by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Tereza Bleda vs. Natalia Silva — Silva def. Bleda by TKO (spinning back kick and punches) at 1:27 of Round Three — HIGHLIGHTS
UFC VEGAS 65 PLAY-BY-PLAY:
205 lbs.: Ion Cutelaba vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
265 lbs.: Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Chase Sherman
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
170 lbs.: Andre Fialho vs. Muslim Salikhov
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
170 lbs.: Jack Della Maddalena vs. Danny Roberts
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
125 lbs.: Charles Johnson vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
125 lbs.: Jennifer Maia vs. Maryna Moroz
Round 1: Sharp right cross from Moroz after eating a low kick. Aggressive start from both women. There’s a nice right by Maia inside. Continuing to trade a minute in. Maia leg kick and counter right. Another clean right. Moroz continuing to march forward. Maia 1-2. Low kick and right cross. Combo to body kick. Vicious 1-2 two minutes in. Another right cross. Another right hand lands as they trade. Moroz still marching forward but she’s getting pieced up whenever they trade. 1-2 buzzes Moroz, then a 3-2 behind it. Two minutes to go.
Counter 2-1 from Moroz, her best sequence of the fight. They tie up and Maia puts her on the fence. One minute to go. Solid knee from Maia as she tries to get past Moroz’s whizzer. 10-9 Maia.
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
135 lbs.: Miles Johns vs. Vince Morales
Round 1: Feinting early. Johns jab, Morales check hook. Low kick from Johns. Quick jab a minute in. Both men hesitant to commit. Morales tries a teep. Two minutes in. Jab exchange. Sticking to jabs. Two minutes to go.
Morales tries a front kick. Johns backs away from a low kick, eats a double jab. 3-2 attempt. Morales falls short with a left hook. One minute to go. Jabs from Morales. Johns whiffs on an overhand right, shoots, denied. Glancing Johns overhand, then a better left hook. Body shot. Big exchange before the bell. That sucked. 10-9 Johns?
Round 2: Light low kick from Johns. Fake level change. Jab exchange. One minute in. Great, they’re back to the staring contest. Jab and low kick by Johns. Reactive single-leg attempt. Two minutes in. Morales limp-legs out and separates. Morales takes a finger in the eye and some time to recover. Johns showing a bit of pressure. He swings and Morales changes levels before separating. Jab exchange. Two minutes to go.
Low kick and right hook by Johns. Morales fires front kicks downstairs. Johns jab. Good flurry with a minute to go. Overhand right falls short, as does Morales’ 1-2 in return. Johns tries a 3-2, then a single-leg attempt. Morales lands some elbows, but gets slammed at the bell. 10-9 Johns.
Round 3: Jab lands for Morales. Counter right. Johns shoots and hauls him to the fence. Morales pops up as soon as he hits the mat and they separate a minute in. Jab exchange. Calf kick by Johns. Morales body kick met by a jab. Both whiff on right hands two minutes in. Solid combo by Morales as he retreats. Johns tries an overhand, then back to the jabs. He shoots, denied. Morales body kick, long right hand from Johns in return. Johns shoots again. Two minutes to go.
Johns looks for the ankle pick, can’t get it. Morales body kicks. Straight right by Johns. They trade in the center. One minute to go. Johns keeps trying the same single-leg. He briefly gets Morales down, then grabs a body lock on the way up. 10-9 Morales.
Final result: Johns def. Morales by unanimous decision
135 lbs.: Kevin Natividad vs. Ricky Turcios
Round 1: Turcios comes out swinging and gets taken down for it. Blasting each other with hammerfists. Turcios sits up for his own takedown attempt against the fence. One minute in. Short right hands. Natividad scrambles to the feet and they trade shots on the break. Turcios sprawls on the next shot and lands elbows as Natividad tries to wrangle him down. Natividad wants the back two minutes in. Turcios scrambling. Nearly in a banana split position but manages to land on top and land punches. Natividad sits up into an attempted level change and gets to his feet with two minutes to go.
Solid elbow from Natividad, then a heavy knee. Turcios responds with a takedown. Natividad sits through and another scramble ensues. Front headlock for Natividad, looks for a knee. They separate with a minute to go. Heavy kicks from Natividad. Turcios ducks a right hand for another takedown. Looking for the back. 10-9 Turcios.
Round 2: Jabs from Natividad. He lands body kicks and denies a takedown to land on top. Front headlock, but Turcios gets to his feet and separates. Natividad leg kick and a nice double-leg into guard, dropping elbows a minute in. Turcios gets to his feet, dragged back to a knee. Two minutes in. Turcios spins to his knees and puts him on the fence. Natividad separates and badly rocks Turcios with a left hook as he does. Turcios somehow withstands it and puts him on the fence. They separate with two minutes to go.
Hard right hand from Natividad that Turcios ducks right into. Turcios responds with a flurry and they’re trading on the fence until Natividad takes him down and looks for the back. Turcios manages to turn into top guard, then look for the back in return. Natividad gets to his feet with a single-leg and puts him on the fence with a minute to go. Elbows from Turcios. He blatantly grabs the fence to hit a switch. They end the round trading. 10-9 Natividad.
Round 3: Natividad throwing hard to start. Nice low single into guard. Turcios already sitting up into him, landing hammerfists off his back. He gets to his feet and Natividad wrenches him back down with a front headlock. Scrambling a minute in and they return to their feet. Uppercut from Natividad, then a flush flying knee that Turcios ducks into but manages to weather. They separate. Another flying knee connects, as does a front kick. Turcios responds with straight rights. Another knee from Natividad before Turcios forces him to the fence two minutes in. Natividad shoots and runs the pipe on a single-leg. Turcios sits through and puts him on the fence. They separate and Turcios again changes levels. Two minutes to go.
Right hand from Turcios on the break. Natividad shoots, Turcios hits the switch and lands elbows. Looking for the back, gets the body triangle. One minute to go. Turcios pounding away and he’s got the RNC under the neck. Natividad fighting the other hand, keeping Turcios from cinching it up. He flashes a thumbs-up. Turcios switches to blasting with punches until the bell. fun fight. 10-9 Turcios.
Final result: Turcios def. Natividad by split decision
115 lbs.: Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Maria Oliveira
Round 1: Both women staying out of range to start. Counter right from Oliveira. Demopoulos whiffs on a big overhand. Good combo by Oliveira in return. One minute in. Low kick exchange. Intercepting knee lands for Oliveira. Teep. Once again they trade leg kicks. Oliveira digs a flying knee to the body. Quick jab, avoids a level change. Counter right two minutes in. Low-high 2-3 from Demopoulos, who continues to give ground. Nice double-leg from Demopoulos puts her on top in side control. Back to half guard with two minutes to go.
Short elbows from Demopoulos. A heavier flurry and she uses the threat of a guillotine to keep Oliveira from sitting up. One minute to go. Quarter mount, now full as she drops elbows. She postures up for a vicious flurry in the final seconds. 10-9 Demopoulos; not enough early work for the 10-8.
Round 2: Good 1-2 from Demopoulos to start. Oliveira looks for the body, continuing to work behind her jab. Front kick downstairs. 1-2. Demopoulos goes low-high, gets picked off by counters a minute in. Liking the body work from Oliveira. Oliveira catches her coming in with a knee, denies a takedown, eats an elbow before separating. Both miss with right hands. Oliveira knocks her over with a teep two minutes in. Left hook by Demopoulos and both start swinging big. Oliveira throws a naked low kick and gets leveled by an overhand right. Demopoulos follows her into half guard and pounds away. Two minutes to go.
Oliveira has her wits back and is holding her right. Demopoulos sneaking her knee through the guard. Full mount, dropping punches. One minute to go. Shoulder strikes from Demopoulos as Oliveira holds her close. Demopoulos blasts her with nasty elbows in the final seconds. 10-9 Demopoulos, again right on the borderline of 10-8.
Round 3: Oliveira marching after her. Good body shot starts a flurry on the fence. Really opening up. Demopoulos responds with a double-leg that puts her on top in half guard. One minute in. Shoulder pressure from Demopoulos. Two minutes in. She pins an arm and sneaks in an elbow. More elbows as she looks for mount. Two minutes to go.
Oliveira regains half guard. Shortly after, she manages to scramble to her feet and go back to stalking. Demopoulos shoots, denied, eats a knee downstairs. One minute to go. Counter 1-2. Another counter right. Oliveira sprinting after her and throwing heat. Nice flurry. 10-9 Oliveira.
Final result: Demopoulos def. Oliveira by unanimous decision
135 lbs.: Fernie Garcia vs. Brady Hiestand
Round 1: Garcia blasts Hiestand with a vicious counter combo in the first 15 seconds and nearly wraps up a bulldog choke in the scramble, but Hiestand manages to end up on top and take side control. One minute in. Both land elbows. Garcia sweeps up, avoids an anaconda, and looks to take the back. Again Hiestand wins the scramble and hunts the back two minutes in. Garcia turns into guard and starts dropping GnP. Hiestand wriggles free and hits another takedown. Garcia gets to his feet with two minutes to go.
Hiestand wants the back, looks for the RNC with one hook. Both hooks in, now the body triangle. Garcia tucking his chin well as Hiestand softens him up. One minute to go. Back to half guard as Hiestand drops punches. Garcia looks for a front choke and gets to his feet. Nice exchanges. 10-9 Garcia.
Round 2: Stiff jabs from Garcia. Dart right by Hiestand. Sneaky switch head kick lands for him a minute in. Another switch head kick from Hiestand as he circles. Garcia fires a flurry. Hiestand shoots, gets sprawled on. Leg kick. Garcia answers in kind and follows with a 1-2 two minutes in. Good low kick. Quick jab. Hiestand fires a reactive single-leg, hits the ankle pick, and drags him down against the fence. Garcia holding onto a guillotine, wrong side, drops it. Two minutes to go.
Side control for Hiestand, then north-south. Garcia rolls to his feet. Good body kick by Hiestand, eats a pair of right hands in return. Garcia changes levels with a minute to go. Hiestand looks for a knee on the break. Garcia low kick and another shot. Hiestand rolls him over, looks for a front choke, loses position, shoots at the bell. 10-9 Hiestand.
Round 3: Garcia lands a leg kick, gets hauled to the fence. Hiestand drags him down and looks for the back. One hook in a minute in. Continuing to control and look for the RNC two minutes in. Body triangle. Garcia fighting the hands but unable to improve position. Two minutes to go.
Garcia still can’t get Hiestand off of him. One minute to go. Hiestand trying to squeeze on the chin, no dice. They bludgeon each other in the final seconds. 10-9 Hiestand
Final result: Hiestand def. Garcia by unanimous decision
125 lbs.: Tereza Bleda vs. Natalia Silva
Round 1: Early low kicks from Silva. Quick exchange in the center. Silva tries a spinning back kick and Bleda uses it to put her on the fence. Silva holding into a whizzer as they jockey for position. Nice hip toss a minute in, but Bleda stays attached and gets right back to her feet. Double underhooks for Silva. She hits another throw when Bleda tries to force her way off the fence, but ends up on the bottom in half guard two minutes in. Short punches from Bleda. Two minutes to go.
Silva tries to regain guard, can’t get it, but uses the opportunity to hit a sweep. Bleda working on a triangle and she’s got it locked up. One minute to go. Bleda looking for the armbar now. Silva manages to survive until the bell. 10-9 Bleda.
Round 2: Bleda opens with a leg kick, gets blasted with a counter right. Silva firing her own inside low kicks. Bleda changes levels and takes her to the fence. One minute in. Silva gets double unders, reverses, gets reversed in return. They separate. Nasty counter right again from Silva, tries to follow with a head kick. Two minutes in. Bleda changes levels again as Silva throws a low kick. Silva trying to push her head down as Bleda fights to lock her hands and it’s Bleda who accomplishes her task. Silva works her way back up and drives her hips into Bleda’s head. Two minutes to go.
Silva reverses and separates. Spinning back kick. Bleda looking like she’s running out of steam. Big flurry from Silva. 1-2. Bleda fires a tired-looking low kick with a minute to go. Knee stomp from Silva. Brutal counter left and she follows with a flurry that forces Bleda to change levels and put her on the fence. 10-9 Silva.
Round 3: Back to the inside low kicks from Silva. She catches a kick and tries to jump on Bleda, prompting a scramble before they separate. Body kick by Silva. Brutal combination in center cage a minute in. 1-2. Once again Silva goes for the spinning back kick, and this time Bleda ducks right into it and takes it flush on the chin. Somehow she’s still awake, but a few more vicious punches send the ref into action.
Final result: Silva def. Bleda by TKO (spinning back kick and punches)
