Cody Gibson started strong at UFC Fight Night 254, but his pace couldn’t sustain and he eventually succumbed to Da'Mon Blackshear.
Blackshear (16-7-1 MMA, 4-3-1 UFC) put on another solid octagon performance Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas when he survived an early striking storm from Gibson (21-11 MMA, 3-6 UFC) in the bantamweight bout before getting the fight to the mat and getting the tap with a kimura submission at the 4:09 mark of Round 2.
Check out the replay of Blackshear’s finish below (via X):
Da’Mon Blackshear locks in the kimura in round two 🔒 #UFCVegas104 pic.twitter.com/NuKchJgxde
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 16, 2025
With the victory, Blackshear now has back-to-back victories and some momentum in his career. He has proven to have a dangerous ground game, and he said he was confident it would lead him to the victory against Gibson.
“He survived the guillotine, but he wasn’t going to survive the kimura,” Blackshear said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping.
With Blackshear’s finish following Brendson Ribeiro’s kimura one just one fight prior, UFC commentator Brendan Fitzgerald noted it was the first event since UFC 123 in November 2010 to have two kimura finishes.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 254 results include:
- Da’Mon Blackshear def. Cody Gibson via submission (kimura) – Round 2, 4:09
- Brendson Ribeiro def. Diyar Nurgozhay via submission (kimura) – Round 2, 1:28
- Kevin Vallejos def. SeungWoo Choi via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:09
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Ryan Spann via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:48
- SuYoung You def. AJ Cunningham via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Carlos Vera def. Josias Musasa via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:16
- Sam Hughes def. Stephanie Luciano via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-27)
- Andre Lima def. Daniel Barez via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 3:05
- Priscila Cachoeira def. Josiane Nunes via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:46
- Carli Judice def. Yuneisy Duben via TKO (head kick, punches) – Round 1, 1:40
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 254.
