ROUND ONE: Making the return to the ATL, we are greeted with a sold-out crowd buzzing for barbaric combat. Kicking off the night, the debuting Venus Sagapolutele takes on Kaprice Gamble in a battle in the Middleweight Division, and referee Jack Gibbs draws the bout assignment. Sagapolutele begins by measuring her range with some kicks that batter Gamble’s ribs and shows some solid footwork dodging traffic. Sagapolutele stays patient and develops a solid counter game, tagging Gamble with several stinging jabs and crosses. Gamble tries to fire back with a flurry of his own, but Sagapolutele makes him miss and stops him in his tracks with a vicious middle kick to the rib cage. Kaprice Gamble grimaces with the air knocked out of him, but presses forward with some right hands that go nowhere. Sagapolutele keeps her head on a swivel and fires back with a nasty calf kick that appears to have hyperextended Gamble’s knee. The desperation is evident at this point as Gamble begins to throw big bombs but they are wildly missing the target. With Gamble off balance, Sagapolutele lands a head kick that could be heard from the nosebleeds, causing a rouse from the crowd. Gamble fumbles around to stay upright, while Venus pounces on the opportunity and tags him with a series of alternating lefts and rights. Gamble gets backed into the fence, but manages to circle out and gain some distance. Sagapolutele walks him down, looking to keep the pressure on Gamble. Sagapolutele gets within striking range just as Gamble changes levels looking for a takedown, but Sagapolutele yeets a flying knee that obliterates him! Gamble is out cold on the mat, eyes rolled in the back of his head, while Venus Sagapolutele celebrates a stunning first round knockout victory.
Winner: Venus Sagapolutele by KO (Knee) at 2:29 Round 1
Statistics: Venus Sagapolutele
Punches 9/15 (60%)
Kicks 5/5 (100%)
Clinch strikes 0/0 (0%)
Takedowns 0/0 (0%)
GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)
Submissions 0/0 (0%)
Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)
Time on the ground 0 s
Statistics: Kaprice Gamble
Punches 2/21 (10%)
Kicks 0/0 (0%)
Clinch strikes 0/0 (0%)
Takedowns 0/0 (0%)
GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)
Submissions 0/0 (0%)
Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)
Time on the ground 0 s
Isaac Cohen’s Opinion: What an incredible way to start the night with a first-round flying knee knockout! The long awaited debut of Venus Sagapolutele couldn’t have gone any better for the Prodigy 206 prospect. In the two and a half minutes, we saw a fighter that can generate a ton of power in close quarters and has the range to still land powerful shots on the perimeter. I’m sure she’ll be looking up in the rankings in terms of her next opponent, and very well try to strike a quick turnaround fight, given the minimal amount of damage she took here tonight.
ROUND ONE: Right from the first minute of this fight it became clear that wrestling and grappling would be major factors in this fight. Ardan Kelly came out aggressive and took Ekström by surprise, taking him down twice in the first couple of minutes. It became clear that Ekström didn’t have much in the way of takedown defense, but the man was resilient on the ground, thwarting anything Kelly was trying to do; forcing the referee Dusty Whittaker to stand both fighters up. From there it became evident that Ekström had a clear advantage on the feet controlling the pace of the fight, even landing some good shots that staggered the former title contender in Kelly; who in an attempt to defend himself managed to take Ekström down once more, making it three takedowns in this round. In the scramble, it was clear that Ekström was in really good shape, because he didn’t falter under pressure and even landed a couple of good shots from bottom to a surprised Ardan Kelly, who didn’t find an opening to do any damage, until Mikael Ekström managed to reverse position on the ground! He unleashes a couple of shots but Kelly grabs him and the fight stalls, until Whittaker stands them up again. A brief punching exchange finished up the round.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 Ekström
ROUND TWO: The story of this round was much the same as the first, with Kelly landing an early takedown, but this time he didn’t waste any time and went for the leg lock. Ekström seemingly had it well scouted as he thwarted that attempt as soon as Kelly looked to lock the hold in. A lot of movement on the ground, but not much damage from either of the fighters followed by an attempt by Ekström to stand up. He managed to do so, while both fighters ate some decent punches to the body against the cage. Yet, the stand up part of the round didn’t last that long as Ardan Kelly managed to land a sweep single, taking Ekström down once more. As in the first round it was Ekström who was looking to do damage from bottom, landing a couple of punches to Kelly’s ribs and reversing the position on the ground. Whittaker saw enough inactivity by both fighters so he stood them up; only for Kelly to bring the fight back to the mat with his third takedown of the round; again looking for the leg lock and again getting thwarted just before he could hook the leg properly. With the clock winding down, Whittaker stood them up to finish the round, something the crowd really appreciated. A couple of jabs from Kelly didn’t do much to Ekström, but the front kick from Ekström did as it sent Kelly backwards. As Kelly moved forward, he ate an uppercut from Ekström that sent him against the cage as the round came to a close.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 Kelly (19-19 Push)
ROUND THREE: Unlike the first two rounds, Kelly didn’t look for a takedown to begin this round, instead both fighters opened the round up with a flurry of punches that got the crowd riled up. However, from the exchange, Kelly exploited an opening and landed what would be his seventh takedown of the fight. Ekström pulled Kelly into his guard and he seemed to dictate everything that was happening, something that must’ve frustrated Kelly as he moved his head back and landed a headbutt. Referee Dusty Whittaker seemingly believed it was intentional as he paused the fight to take a point away from Kelly and allow Ekström time to recover from the blow. As the fight resumed, Kelly shot for a takedown that, FINALLY Ekström managed to sprawl out of and keep the fight standing. An exchange of punches ensued and Kelly seemed really good at hiding his takedown attempts as he managed to take Ekström down again for his eight takedown of the fight; again looking for a leg lock and again getting thwarted before he could lock it in. After that submission attempt really much of nothing happened, with Dusty Whittaker getting both fighters back to their feet. The fight seemed to be cooling down a bit as the round went on, with both fighters really doing much of nothing; only Kelly seemed to be pushing the pace a bit and getting punched softly, mostly to keep distance by Ekström. Just as the round came to a close, though, Ardan Kelly managed to secure his ninth takedown of the fight but the horn sounded and he couldn’t do much with it.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 9-9 Push (28-28 Draw)
JUDGES’ SCORECARDS
Ardan Kelly 10 9 9: 28
Mikael Ekström 9 10 8: 27
Ardan Kelly 10 10 9: 29
Mikael Ekström 9 9 8: 26
Ardan Kelly 9 10 9: 28
Mikael Ekström 10 9 8: 27
Winner: Ardan Kelly by Unanimous Decision
Statistics: Ardan Kelly
Punches 5/18 (28%)
Kicks 0/1 (0%)
Clinch strikes 1/1 (100%)
Takedowns 9/14 (64%)
GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)
Submissions 3/3 (100%)
Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)
Time on the ground 453 s
Statistics: Mikael Ekström
Punches 13/25 (52%)
Kicks 2/4 (50%)
Clinch strikes 0/1 (0%)
Takedowns 0/0 (0%)
GnP strikes 2/15 (13%)
Submissions 0/0 (0%)
Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)
Time on the ground 453 s
Isaac Cohen’s Opinion: I don’t know if I agree with the judges on that last round. Sure, Kelly did land three takedowns but he didn’t do much damage to his opponent. There’s a lot of room for improvement in Mikael Ekström’s game, as I feel he could make a run if he learns how to stuff those takedown attempts because he showed great resilience in basically dictating where the fight took place once it hit the ground. Ardan Kelly, with the changes coming for the Cruiserweight Division, might want to consider his options and improve on this bout. At Middleweight, fighters are a lot faster and at Heavyweight, most of the mistakes he made in this fight, could mean the end of the night. Not the most exciting fight to be honest, one that may be controversial to some… but overall a good chess match for those who enjoy the ground game.
ROUND ONE: Unlike Kelly versus Ekström, these two fighters weren’t looking to make it a ground game. Right from the beginning both Lyons and Saetang looked to rip each other’s heads off. Lyons was taking the center of the cage and continued throwing bombs at Saetang, cutting her left cheek. Saetang didn’t want to be outdone and landed a beautiful overhand right that bruised Lyon’s left cheek. The levels of Muay Thai on display by both fighters were something else, as neither gave an inch to the other and kept throwing bomb after bomb. Saetang managed to land some beautiful shots that staggered Lyons, but before she could go for the kill, Lyons hit her with a looping right that stopped any offense Saetang had in mind. Lyons moved forward but ate a jab followed by an uppercut that put her on Bambi legs! The crowd was going wild at this point with these two women just throwing everything but the sink at each other. As if by mere instinct, Lyons threw a jab and got into an exchange with Saetang in the middle of the cage. A thunderous leg kick by Lyons stopped Saetang right in her tracks, a spinning back fist landed right on Saetang’s mouth and she staggered backward! An uppercut from Lyons and a cross from Saetang both landed; the crowd was just on their feet! Lyons launched a stiff jab that barely landed, but Lyons’ thumb got into Saetang’s eye; Referee Lars Levy saw that and deemed it necessary to deduct a point from Lyons. After Saetang had recovered, the wild exchange of blows continued only to be stopped by Lena shooting for a takedown that drew the boo birds from the crowd. As the fight hit the ground, both fighters began to scramble as the round came to a close.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 9-9 Push
ROUND TWO: Not wanting to leave the fight to the judges, Lena Lyons came out guns blazing, landing an uppercut off of a lazy kick by Saetang and following it with a straight punch to Saetang’s face. As Syn Saetang recovered, Lena Lyons launched a beautiful head kick that delivered an exclamation point to the fight as Saetang started to wobble out of control and hit the fence and Lars Levy stood between Saetang and Lyons ending the fight!
Winner: Lena Lyons by TKO (High Kick) at 0:45 Round 2
Statistics: Lena Lyons
Punches 29/37 (78%)
Kicks 2/2 (100%)
Clinch strikes 1/1 (100%)
Takedowns 1/1 (100%)
GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)
Submissions 0/0 (0%)
Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)
Time on the ground 19 s
Statistics: Syn Saetang
Punches 8/13 (62%)
Kicks 0/0 (0%)
Clinch strikes 0/0 (0%)
Takedowns 0/0 (0%)
GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)
Submissions 0/0 (0%)
Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)
Time on the ground 19 s
Isaac Cohen’s Opinion: This is the type of fight fans love to see. Action-packed from start to finish, and very little static between exchanges. Lena Lyons shows us once again that she is one of the most exciting fighters to watch and quickly rebounds into the win column. Unfortunately for Saetang, this loss makes two in a row now and may drop her out of the top ten rankings, but she did show some flashes in there against a tough veteran. Hopefully for Syn she can take this lesson and build off of it to start stacking wins and get back in the upper tiers of the Bantamweight Division.
ROUND ONE: Heading into the Co-Main Event of the evening, Dallas Meechan takes on Gibrelle Arroyo in a Bantamweight contest that is sure to deliver. Both fighters bring heavy striking schemes to the table, which will surely keep referee Colin Davenport on his toes. Arroyo doesn’t play around and quickly goes for a clinch, but Meechan uses his strength to shuck his way out and gain some distance. The two close the distance and Meechan flicks a few jabs out, and on one of them, Arroyo gets poked in the eye. Colin Davenport stops the fight and gives Arroyo time to recover, and gives a verbal warning to the former Bantamweight Champ to keep his fists closed. Once the fight resumes, both fighters circle back toward the center of the octagon. Meechan rushes in with a flurry and lands some big shots before circling back out. As the two draw closer once again, Meechan changes levels for a takedown while Arroyo launches a knee. Meechan narrowly escapes as he aborts the shot but wraps Arroyo in a clinch and presses her against the fence. This is mostly to reset his plan of attack as Meechan breaks off from the clinch and circles out. Arroyo tags Meechan with a stinging calf kick and Meechan tries to retaliate with a flurry of punches, but Arroyo dodges the traffic and catches Dally with a slick flurry of her own. The two get into a heated back and forth exchange that gets the crowd riled up, believing a finish could be coming soon. But alas, Arroyo opts to go for the clinch, possibly to slow things down, but Meechan denies her. After a brief pause in the action to catch their breath, Dallas fires off a nice low kick, one-two combo. Arroyo lands some nice crosses while seemingly in a bit of a daze. The pace slows a bit as the end of the round draws near, but the fight is nowhere near over at this point. Dally launches himself and connects with a brutal Superman punch that puts Arroyo on Bambi legs. Arroyo tries to secure a clinch, but Meechan easily pushes her off and lands a few solid shots to the body before the horn sounds, signaling the end of the round.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 Meechan
ROUND TWO: Meechan first strong in round one and you can tell Arroyo and her corner knew it based on her urgency to start round two. Arroyo destroys Meechan’s leg with an oblique kick that causes Dally to lock in a clinch. Arroyo is perfectly fine with this and immediately fires off a flurry of punches. Dally takes a beating but does manage to block a nasty knee intended for his face. Arroyo continues hammering away at Meechan while he tries to escape, and begins mixing it up with brutal hooks to the body. Eventually Meechan pushes Arroyo up against the fence and stalls the action, forcing the referee to step in and separate the two. The tempo gets dialed back a bit, with Arroyo catching her breath and Meechan trying to recover and wipe the blood off his face due to a sizable cut on his cheek. Meechan is first to strike with a wild hook to the body. He misses his target and gets off balance, which opens him up for a head kick that rocks him. At the same time Dally backpedals to gain some distance and avoid any further damage, Arroyo taunts him and tries to bait him back in. Dally works his way back in and lands a couple of big hooks to the body. Arroyo fires back with a crushing straight right and zips a hook that causes some concern from Dallas’ corner. Arroyo presses on but eats a big shovel hook from Meechan, which forces her to clinch and slow things down for her to regain her wits. From here, the two haphazardly pummel for control until the horn signals the end of round two.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 Arroyo (19-19 Push)
ROUND THREE: Five minutes remain in this fight and each fighter has scored a clear, big round each, leaving this one up to decide who walks out the victor. Both fighters show some respect and touch gloves to start the action. Arroyo has the momentum after a dominant second round, but looks physically drained. She wills her way forward with the first attack, tagging Meechan with a quick one-two combo and then a fiery calf kick. Arroyo rushes in and tries to secure a clinch, but Meechan denies her and on the break connects with a big hook to the body that deflates Arroyo. Dally presses forward now with a looping right hand while Arroyo tries to jump back and jab. The two continue to trade punches back and forth and this solid exchange gets the crowd riled up once again. Meechan slowly turns the tide back in his favor during the exchange, landing a big right hand then circles out to catch a breather. Meechan soon works his way back in and finds his range with the jab, but it doesn’t seem to bother Arroyo too much. Arroyo slips a jab and lunges in to secure double overhooks and the two pummel back and forth for control. Arroyo sees an opening and throws a monstrous uppercut that hits Meechan right on the jaw and stuns him a bit. Meechan fires back with a knee to the midsection and both fighters are hurt. Meechan presses Arroyo up against the fence and stalls out the action, forcing the referee to break up the clinch. Arroyo looks like she’s gassing and still feeling the effects from the knee as her movements become noticeably sluggish. Meechan and Arroyo trade hands back and forth for a bit, but there’s not much power behind the shots. Arroyo lunges back in with a Thai clinch, and does nothing more than hold on, taking her mouthpiece out to breath better in the process. Colin DAvenport breaks the two up once again, trying to keep the action alive as the final moments of the round tick away. The two circle back toward the center of the octagon, and Arroyo sets up a textbook sweep single to drag the fight to the mat. Arroyo does just enough to keep the action alive and rides out the rest of the round until the horn sounds signaling the end of the fight.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 Meechan (29-28 Meechan)
JUDGES’ SCORECARDS
Dallas Meechan 10 9 10: 29
Gibrelle Arroyo 9 10 9: 28
Dallas Meechan 10 9 10: 29
Gibrelle Arroyo 9 10 9: 28
Dallas Meechan 10 9 10: 29
Gibrelle Arroyo 9 10 9: 28
Winner: Dallas Meechan by Unanimous Decision
Statistics: Dallas Meechan
Punches 26/41 (63%)
Kicks 3/3 (100%)
Clinch strikes 14/19 (74%)
Takedowns 0/0 (0%)
GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)
Submissions 0/0 (0%)
Clinch Attempts 2/2 (100%)
Time on the ground 9 s
Statistics: Gibrelle Arroyo
Punches 24/33 (73%)
Kicks 4/6 (67%)
Clinch strikes 10/26 (38%)
Takedowns 1/1 (100%)
GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)
Submissions 0/0 (0%)
Clinch Attempts 2/2 (100%)
Time on the ground 9 s
Isaac Cohen’s Opinion: What a gutsy performance by both fighters here. Action-packed from start to finish, it’s one of those fights you hate to see someone lose. As mentioned, Meechan clearly won the first round and Arroyo took the second. The third round was almost a toss up, so I don’t believe anyone would be screaming “robbery” no matter how the round, and ultimately the entire fight, was scored. Meechan bounces back after a two fight skid against Gianna Howard, which stops the slide down the rankings and keeps him firmly in the discussion of title contention. Arroyo, despite now losing both of her Union fights, has shown to be a very promising fighter who has taken on two extremely tough opponents and pushed them to their limits. That kind of attitude will help her and go a long way with the matchmakers, regardless of the outcomes.
ROUND ONE: And now this is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Robert Guilliman was originally slated to face rising prospect and Georgia native Aston Page, but an unfortunate injury forced him to pull out. Hall of Famer Byron McCall steps in on short notice to save the card while getting a chance at redemption in a rematch against his former teammate. Archie Driscoll is the third man in the cage and there is no glove touch to start things off. Right out the gate, Guilliman begins spamming McCall with a bunch of leg kicks, but Byron did his homework and checks them to perfection then launches a massive head kick that just narrowly misses. It’s enough to back Primarch up a bit, but when he closes back in he fires off more leg kicks, this time setting them up properly and connecting clean with them. McCall launches a middle kick that Primarch blocks with his forearms, but this is used more of a setup, as McCall throws a followup switch kick that plants right behind Guilliman’s ear and wobbles him a bit. McCall dodges the barrage of leg kicks from Guilliman en route to landing an uppercut that puts Guilliman on his heels. Guilliman slowly works his way back into range behind the jab and lands a big hook that gets McCall’s attention. Guilly tries pouring in more leg kicks, but McCall checks them and counters with a stinging leg kick of his own. This only entices the former two-time Middleweight Champion as he continues to work in the leg kicks, but Byron makes him miss and catches him with a counter uppercut. Guilliman looks to be in a daze and McCall goes all-in with a head kick, but Guilliman ducks under just in the nick of time, and wags his finger as he circles away. With the round winding down, the pace of the fight relaxes as the two opt to conserve their energy for another round.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-9 McCall
ROUND TWO: McCall is looking confident as he steps out of his corner and knowing he’s kept Guilliman off his game thus far. Guilliman continues to force the leg kicks that fail to land before the two decide to swap punches back and forth. McCall gets the upper hand in the exchange and caps it off with a nice head kick that rocks Guilliman, who stumbles back into the fence. McCall hurries in and secures a double underhook, but right away Guilliman starts pummeling for better position. Guilly tries to slip free, but McCall uses his momentum to take his back. Guilliman is in obvious unfamiliar territory here and McCall works his way to cinching in a rear naked choke, but Guilliman barely ducks under and slips free. Both fighters work their way back toward the center of the octagon and initiate several quick exchanges, all of which McCall gets the edge. McCall sees an open lane and launches a flying knee that smashes into Guilliman’s face, causing his mouthpiece to go flying out. Guilliman is getting himself in more trouble by desperately throwing low kicks while eating several head kicks from McCall. Guilliman hopelessly shoots in for a takedown, but doesn’t set it up which allows McCall to read it perfectly and stop him with another devastating head kick. The referee is watching intently, ready to stop it at any moment, but a fruitless exchange buys Guilliman enough time to see the end of the round.
Isaac Cohen’s Scorecard (Unofficial): 10-8 McCall (20-17 McCall)
ROUND THREE: Heading into the third round, Byron McCall is oozing with confidence while Robert Guilliman looks like a shell of himself. Both fighters miss with some leg kicks but it ignites a back and forth exchange where McCall easily gets the upper hand. By this point, Byron McCall is firing at will, landing switch kicks to the ribs and a liver kick that folds Guilliman like fresh laundry. Another big head kick lands for McCall, leaving Guilliman’s eye swollen shut at this point. Guilliman tries to fight back with what little he has left, but comes up empty handed and exerts a ton of energy. Byron is surgical with the counter game, picking apart Guilliman with seamless fluidity in his hands. The referee barks out a warning for Guilliman to start defending himself, but one last head kick is enough for referee Archie Driscoll to see that this fight is over. He steps in and waves off the fight, ending any further damage to Guilliman.
Winner: Byron McCall by TKO (High Kick) at 4:50 Round 3
Statistics: Robert Guilliman
Punches 8/38 (21%)
Kicks 6/33 (18%)
Clinch strikes 0/0 (0%)
Takedowns 0/0 (0%)
GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)
Submissions 0/0 (0%)
Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)
Time on the ground 0 s
Statistics: Byron McCall
Punches 37/53 (70%)
Kicks 21/25 (84%)
Clinch strikes 0/0 (0%)
Takedowns 0/0 (0%)
GnP strikes 0/0 (0%)
Submissions 1/1 (100%)
Clinch Attempts 0/0 (0%)
Time on the ground 0 s
Isaac Cohen’s Opinion: I would argue that this was the best version of Byron McCall we have seen in a Union GP octagon. It was obvious he wanted to redeem himself from a loss to Guilliman during his first stint in Union, and he vindicated himself with a flawless performance tonight. Robert Guilliman on the other hand, showed that he can continue to absorb a ton of punishment, but this loss makes three straight and five of his last six. There comes a time in every fighter’s career where they need to take a step back and figure out how much more they can go before, not just their legacy is affected, but their overall long term health is compromised. Robert Guilliman very well may be at this crossroad.
Venue: State Farm Arena
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 21,000
Date: June 26, 2022
Fighter Payouts: $5,215,000
Gate: $2,310,000
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT
Dallas Meechan vs Gibrelle Arroyo
PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT
Lena Lyons, Byron McCall
TOP EARNERS
Dallas Meechan ($1,600,000)
Byron McCall ($1,150,000)
Lena Lyons ($920,000)
Robert Guilliman ($850,000)
RECAP
Venus Sagapolutele def. Kaprice Gamble by KO (Knee) at 2:29 Round 1
Ardan Kelly def. Mikael Ekström by Unanimous Decision (29-26, 28-27 x2)
Lena Lyons def. Syn Saetang by TKO (High Kick) at 0:45 Round 2
Dallas Meechan def. Gibrelle Arroyo by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)
Byron McCall def. Robert Guilliman by TKO (High Kick) at 4:50 Round 3