Macy Chiasson (5-0) def. Sarah Moras (5-5) via TKO at 2:22 of Rd. 2
Short notice, no problem!
@Macy_Chiasson gets the TKO finish at #UFCOttawa! pic.twitter.com/UtOBlgcwPF
— UFC (@ufc) May 4, 2019
OTTAWA, Ont. – Chiasson overcame a tough first round to defeat the Canadian, Moras, by TKO in the second round of their bout on Saturday.
Chiasson, who was fighting for the second time in eight weeks, was taken down by Moras early but came back to dominate the remainder of the fight, handing the Kelowna, B.C., native her third consecutive loss.
Entering the fight, there were concerns that Chiasson’s difficult weight cut would hurt her performance, however, the 27-year old said any issues she had making 135 lbs was a result of timing.
“It was short notice and I just recently dropped down to 135, so it wasn’t tough but just a lot of work and having to do it two times in a row in a short time really added to that,” said Chiasson in her post-fight interview. “There were some water retention issues, I was fine – I just couldn’t sweat for whatever reason.”
“We kept trying and we knew we would make the weight, so I’m just happy that I’m here.”
Chiasson is now 3-0, all finishes, in the UFC and has four professional wins in the last year. She has gained a reputation as one of the more exciting members of her division and admits that the status comes with high expectations.
“With that comes a lot of pressure. If you get finishes in all your fights people start to expect you to do that,” said Chiasson. “But you train accordingly and do the best you can.”
While the New Orleans native doesn’t expect to fight again on four weeks notice, she and her camp plan on staying active in order to move up the ladder in a wide-open division.
“We want to stay active, keep fighting. We want to get as many fights as we can get,” said the Fortis MMA fighter. “We have a few people in mind [for her next opponent], but it’s obviously going to be top 10.”
Matt Sayles (8-2) def. Kyle Nelson (12-3) via arm triangle at 3:16 of Rd. 3
In a back and forth fight, Sayles notched his first UFC victory by submitting Nelson in the final minutes of the fight.
Sayles earned his UFC contract after a win on Dana White’s Tuesday night contender series where fighters compete at the UFC gym in Las Vegas to impress the company’s president and earn a spot in the promotion.
The San Diego native nearly had Nelson beat in the first round, punishing the Canadian with shot after shot. Nelson survived the onslaught, but Sayles kept pushing and was able to finish the fight.
“I was able to stay heavy on top of him and I thought for sure I’d be able to put him away. I punched my heart out,” said Sayles. “Not putting him away, I was a little upset with but I’m glad I was able to get the job done in the third.”
Sayles had extra motivation on Saturday, fighting for his brother, Steven, who was nearly killed in a recent shooting.
“My brother is homeless, struggles with addiction. He was actually shot and almost lost his life on the streets,” said Sayles. “Dealing with that, coming off that loss in my last fight, it was tough to see him through that.”
Saturday’s winner wants to use fighting as a platform to help others in need and gave words of hope to others in the same situation.
“It’s been my goal to make fighting a platform, share my feelings with the world and be raw with it,” said Sayles. “Hopefully, inspire others to follow the same footsteps.”
“Stay tough. If they’re not ready for the help you can’t help them, but show them the love anyways because you don’t know if they’ll be there tomorrow.”
Vince Morales def. Aiemann Zahabi via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Agree? #UFCOttawa pic.twitter.com/TXH6mZbmVw
— UFC (@ufc) May 4, 2019
Morales handed Zahabi his second straight loss via unanimous decision and earned his first UFC victory despite coming into the fight as an underdog.
“Vandetta” wasn’t shy in stating the nerves he felt having not won a UFC bout and couldn’t categorize himself as a fighter under the promotion’s banner unless he did so.
“I’m very satisfied. It was a big deal for me to get my first UFC win,” said the Idaho native. “I couldn’t legitimately call myself a UFC fighter if I didn’t get a win.”