UFC 277 Results: Amanda Nunes, Brandon Moreno Wins Highlight Main Card

Amanda Nunes emphatically reclaimed her bantamweight throne with a unanimous decision victory over Julianna Peña to close out UFC 277 from American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Peña stunned the MMA world with an upset win at UFC 269 but Nunes came into this bout looking much more like a dominant champion.

From the outset, she was more measured. A switch to a southpaw stance seemed to throw off Peña's timing and distance management which allowed Nunes to pick her off with counter strikes.

The later rounds featured plenty of grappling. Peña threatened with the occasional submission, but Nunes' ground and pound carried the scoring in those rounds.

Overall, it was a dominant performance from the Lioness, who is now the champion of both the bantam and featherweight divisions.

Here's a look at the rest of the results from the night along with a closer look at the main card bouts.

Main Card

Amanda Nunes def. Julianna Peña via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-43)

Brandon Moreno def. Kai Kara-France via TKO at 4:34 of Round 3

Sergei Pavlovich def. Derrick Lewis via TKO at 0:55 of Round 1

Alexandre Pantoja def. Alex Perez via submission (neck crank) at 1:31 of Round 1

Magomed Ankalaev def. Anthony Smith via TKO at 3:09 of Round 2

Prelims

Alex Morono def. Matthew Semelsberger via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Drew Dober def. Rafael Alves via KO at 1:30 of Round 3

Hamdy Abdelwahab def. Don'Tale Mayes via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Drakkar Klose def. Rafa Garcia via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Michael Morales def. Adam Fugitt via TKO at 1:09 of Round 3

Joselyne Edwards def. Ji Yeon Kim via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)

Nicolae Negumereanu def. Ihor Potieria via TKO at 3:33 of Round 2

Orion Cosce def. Blood Diamond via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Brandon Moreno lost his UFC flyweight title in a close decision against Deiveson Figueiredo in their third fight. He took a big step toward getting a shot at redemption with a third-round TKO win over Kai Kara-France to earn the interim title.

Moreno and Kara-France had familiarity with one another going in. The Assassin Baby defeated Kara-France by unanimous decision in 2019.

This version of the fight took a while to get going, but once it did, the two exchanged heavy leather.

Kara-France actually looked like he had turned the tide before the end of the fight. He opened up a cut below Moreno's eye and landed his strikes with increasing frequency.

But an ill-advised takedown attempt left him open to a body kick that put him on the mat, and that was all Moreno needed.

Figueiredo then met Moreno in the Octagon to officially set up their fourth fight. The series between the two is all even, with each man winning one fight and the first bout ending in a draw.

Sergei Pavlovich got the big win he was looking for, although it didn't come without controversy.

Derrick Lewis is known for throwing some massive strikes early in fights, but that didn't deter Pavlovich from looking for the early knockout himself. Both titans traded big hooks, but it was the 30-year-old who found his mark first.

The Russian connected on a big hook that rocked Lewis and followed it up with a vicious uppercut that put Lewis on the floor. As the "Black Beast" shelled up, referee Dan Miragliotta intervened and called the fight.

It was not a well-received move as Lewis appeared to be getting back to his feet when the referee called the end to the bout.

As disappointed as Lewis might have been, it was still a strong performance from Pavlovich. He now has four consecutive first-round finishes after losing to Alistair Overeem in his UFC debut.

Alexandre Pantoja would like to remind everyone he's a serious threat for the flyweight title.

Pantoja, who was making his first appearance since August 2021, wasted no time in looking for the finish. He immediately began exchanging with Perez from the opening bell before turning a scramble into an opportunity to take his opponent's back.

From there, he went to work on securing a rear-naked choke. He wasn't able to get under the chin but he still applied enough toque to draw the tap from Perez and make a serious statement.

Pantoja was supposed to fight for the title against Brandon Moreno for the title in December of 2021 but a knee injury forced him to turn down the fight.

The 32-year-old will certainly have a case to get another title shot as soon as possible. He holds wins over both Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France who fought for the interim title in the co-main event.

Magomed Ankalaev continued his impressive rise up the light heavyweight rankings. He finished the always-tough Anthony Smith with a second-round TKO.

Lionheart came out and tried to set the pace with his forward movement. However, Ankalaev maintained control of the fight and showed comfort in striking with his veteran opponent.

Smith did appear to suffer a leg injury that hampered his movement in Round 2. Ankalaev took advantage and turned up the pressure, eventually flooring Smith and finishing the fight with strikes.

The win extends the 30-year-old's winning streak to nine fights. It's getting harder to deny that he deserves a shot at the title or at least a No. 1 contender-type fight.