On Saturday, March 30, the UFC hosted UFC on ESPN 2: Barboza vs. Gaethje from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
In the night’s main event, top-10 lightweights Edson Barboza and Justin Gaethje locked horns. The Brazilian Barboza snapped a two-fight skid in December with a one-sided beatdown of New Zealand’s Dan Hooker. Prior to that, the skilled striker came up short against Kevin Lee and current champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Gaethje, meanwhile, snapped a two-fight losing streak of his own in his most recent Octagon appearance, demolishing James Vick in just 87 seconds. The former World Series of Fighting titleholder had gone 2-2 in his four UFC outings.
The 13-fight event kicked off with three preliminary-card bouts streaming live on ESPN+ at 3:30 p.m. ET. Four additional prelims followed at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN, with the six-fight main card starting at 7 p.m. ET, also on ESPN.
Jack Hermansson def. David Branch by submission (guillotine choke). Round 1, 0:49
Josh Emmett def. Michael Johnson by knockout (punch). Round 3, 4:14
Michelle Waterson def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Paul Craig def. Kennedy Nzechukwu by submission (triangle choke). Round 3, 4:20
Sodiq Yusuff def. Sheymon Moraes by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Marina Rodriguez def. Jessica Aguilar by unanimous decision (29-26, 29-27, 29-27)
Desmond Green def. Ross Pearson by TKO (punches). Round 1, 2:52
Kevin Aguilar def. Enrique Barzola by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Kevin Holland def. Gerald Meerschaert by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Casey Kenney def. Ray Borg by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Maryna Moroz def. Sabina Mazo by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Alex Perez def. Mark De La Rosa by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)