UFC heavyweight Alistair Overeem earned his 45th win of his career with a late first round stoppage of No. 9 Alexey Oleynik (57-12-1) in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 7 Saturday afternoon in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Overeem shrugged off several Oleynik submission attempts, including the beginning of what looked like the dreaded Ezekiel choke. He also overcame a left hook that appeared to stun him and fired off his trademark knees followed by strikes in the clinch which floored Oleynik late in the first round. Followup strikes forced referee Marc Goddard to stop the contest at 4:45.
With the win, Overeem now has a two fight win streak, while snapping Oleynik’s two fight win streak.
💰 FOTN BONUS 💰
🇷🇺 @MakhachevMMA vs 🇦🇲 Arman Tsarukyan
(B2YB @ToyoTires) #UFCStPetersburg pic.twitter.com/bNPivYWTAg
— UFC (@ufc) April 20, 2019
💰 POTN BONUSES 💰
Magomed Mustafaev / Sergei Pavlovich pic.twitter.com/2YuNsXKgTk
— UFC (@ufc) April 20, 2019
Islam Makhachev and Amran Tsarukyan earned Fight of the Night, while Magomed Mustafaev and Sergei Pavlovich earned performances of the night. Each fighter earned a $50,000 bonus.
Kenai Andrews checks in with his thoughts on the main card.
In case you missed the prelims:
MAGOMED MUSTAFAEV DEF. RAFAEL FIZIEV VIA TKO (SPINNING KICK AND PUNCHES) R1 1:26
MICHAL OLEKSIEJCZUK DEF. GADZHIMURAD ANTIGULOV VIA KO (PUNCHES) R1 0:44
SHAMIL ABDURAKHIMOV DEF. Marcin Tybura VIA TKO (PUNCHES) R2 3:15
ALEXANDER YAKOVLEV DEF. ALEX DA SILVA COELHO VIA SUBMISSION (MODIFIED GUILLOTINE CHOKE) R2 3:10
SULTAN ALIEV DEF. KELTA NAKAMURA VIA UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
MOVSAR EVLOEV DEF. SEUNG WOO CHOI VIA UD (29-27, 29-27, 29-26)
MAIN CARD
KRZYSZTOF JOTKO VS. ALEN AMEDOVSKI
DOMINATING round for @JotkoMMA!#UFCStPetersburg pic.twitter.com/YqRHKA5rnD
— UFC (@ufc) April 20, 2019
WINNER: KRZYSZTOF JOTKO VIA UD (30-25, 30-26, 30-26)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: ALEN AMEDOVSKI VIA TKO
Andrews: So much for the upset. Jotko went out about his business, early and often. Good win.
ROXANNE MODAFFERI VS. ANTONIA SHEVCHENKO
Sweep ➡️ mount by @RoxyFighter 👀#UFCStPetersburg pic.twitter.com/FYAo0itlDs
— UFC (@ufc) April 20, 2019
WINNER: ROXANNE MODAFFERI VIA SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: ROXANNE MODAFFERI VIA UD
Andrews: Wow. Roxanne getting the split on the road.
SERGEI PAVLOVICH VS. MARCELO GOLM
How's that for your first UFC win!!#UFCStPetersburg pic.twitter.com/JqvEtq77q7
— UFC (@ufc) April 20, 2019
WINNER: SERGEI PAVLOVICH VIA TKO R1 1:06
ANDREWS PREDICTION: SERGEI PAVLOVICH VIA TKO
Andrews: Somebody was going to finish the fight, but Sergei connected first.
ISLAM MAKHACHEV VS. ARMAN TSRUKYAN
BIG takedown by @MAKHACHEVMMA#UFCStPetersburg pic.twitter.com/0h4hXuSDtY
— UFC (@ufc) April 20, 2019
WINNER: ISLAM MAKHACHEV VIA UD (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: ISLAM MAKHACHEV VIA UD
Andrews: Good fight. Arman came up a bit short but he’ll be back.
MAIN EVENT
#7 ALISTAIR OVEREEM VS. #9 ALEXEY OLEYNIK
#TheReem with the first round finish!@AlistairOvereem #UFCStPetersburg pic.twitter.com/T6r1f3WcoP
— UFC (@ufc) April 20, 2019
WINNER: ALISTAIR OVEREEM VIA TKO (STRIKES) R1 4:45
ANDREWS PREDICTION: ALISTAIR OVEREEM VIA UD
Andrews: Good win for The Reem. He took Alexey’s best shots and came back with his own.
