One result seemed practically inevitable. The other was a little more difficult to see coming.
As expected, Cristiane Justino retained her women’s featherweight title in typically dominant fashion in the UFC 2222 headliner, scoring a first-round technical knockout victory over former Invicta Fighting Championships bantamweight queen Yana Kunitskaya. “Cyborg” has now successfully defended her crown twice, this time on approximately three week’s notice.
Meanwhile, Brian Ortega announced himself as the featherweight division’s new No. 1 contender in resounding fashion in the evening’s co-main event, knocking out Frankie Edgar with an uppercut 4:44 into the opening frame.