TUF 18 Finale results: Illegal knee gives Akira Corassani DQ win over Maximo Blanco
By Ben Fowlkes November 30, 2013 9:48 pm
By Ben Fowlkes | November 30, 2013 9:48 pm
LAS VEGAS – Things started off so well for Maximo Blanco. So well, in fact, that he might have gotten a little carried away when throwing a brutal knee at a downed Akira Corassani, leading to Blanco's disqualification and a victory for Corassani at 0:25 of the first round.
The featherweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today's TUF 18 Finale event at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following additional prelims on MMAjunkie and ahead of the main card on FOX Sports 1.
Blanco wasted little time attacking Corassani, putting him on his back and pouring on the strikes as Corassani attempted to rise to his feet. But with Corassani still on one knee and with his hand posted on the mat, Blanco nailed him with a hard knee before he could rise to a standing position.
Referee Mario Yamasaki saw the illegal blow and quickly stopped the action. Shortly thereafter, Corassani informed the ref that he couldn't see, and the Yamasaki's decision came soon after. Blanco, however, didn't seem to immediately grasp the situation, as he performed a backflip to celebrate.
"It feels like someone flushed blood through my nose," Corassani said. "It's definitely broken. He likes to knee guys on their way up, so I was protecting my body, my ribs and wasn't expecting it to my head. No disrespect to Maximo, but he has a history of doing illegal moves. Look at his fight against (Pat) Healy. He trains in Japan, where a lot of this stuff is legal, so maybe there is a disconnect and he doesn't understand. I don't know how else to explain it."
"I apologize to Akira – I felt the knee was OK," Blanco said.
Corassani (12-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) maintains his perfect UFC record, though probably not how he'd hoped. Blanco (9-5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has now lost three of his past four.
Up-to-the-minute TUF 18 Finale results include:
Akira Corassani def. Maximo Blanco via disqualification (illegal knee) – Round 1, 0:25
Tom Niinimaki def. Rani Yahya via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Jared Rosholt def. Walter Harris via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Sean Spencer def. Drew Dober via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Joshua Sampo def. Ryan Benoit via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:31
For complete coverage of the TUF 18 Finale, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.
John Morgan contributed to this report on-site in Las Vegas.
Akira Corassani, Maximo Blanco, TUF 18 Finale, UFC, News, UFC