UFC on ABC 5 takes place Saturday and you can join us for live play-by-play and official results beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET (8:30 a.m. PT).
UFC on ABC 5 takes place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The main card airs on ABC following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
In the main event, Josh Emmett (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) will look to get back on track following his submission loss to Yair Rodriguez in February for the interim featherweight title when he takes on
Ilia Topuria (13-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who will put his unbeaten record on the line.
David Onama vs. Gabriel Santos
Round 1 – They meet in the middle and Santos starts off the fight with a nice leg kick. David Onama lands a left as Santos goes for another leg kick. Santo lands a hard right that pushes Onama back. Another intense exchange follows, this time with Onama landing a clean right. Santos fires back and then goes for a takedown, but it gets reversed and Onama ends up on top in guard. Santos pushes Onama off and the fight gets back to standing. They’re back to trading crisp punches in the center of the cage. Onama circles on the outside and Santos fires off a few kicks. He adds a left hand that causes Onama to reset. Another punch from Santos lands cleanly and Onama is hurt. Onama shoots for a takedown but Santos reverses and jumps on an armbar attempt. Onama scrambles free and they get back to the feet. A nice knee to the body lands for Onama. A moment later, another knee and punch land on Santos, who then gets a takedown. Onama gets back to his feet and lands another combination before the horn. MMA Junkie scores the round 10-9 for Santos.
Round 2 – Santos goes for a head kick to start, followed by a kick to the body. A second later, he lands a spinning backfist that prompts a wild flurry of strikes from both fighters. Santos then gets a takedown and takes Onama’s back. He gets the body triangle locked in, but Onama exploded out of it to get back to full guard. David Onama lands a pair of hard elbows from top. Santos tries to push Onama away, but only gets separation for a moment as Onama drives back in to keep the fight on the ground. Regardless, the fight returns to the feet a couple of seconds later. David Onama lands a nice left as Santos closes in. A spinning kick to the body partially lands for Santos. Onama responds with an uppercut. A pair of step-in elbows followed by a right hook lands for Onama. Santos tries to close the distance but Onama meets him with a vicious uppercut followed by a left hook that puts him out! Santos crashes to the canvas and Onama hits the same celebration Israel Adesanya did when he knocked out Alex Pereira. Wow!
After the win, a thrilled Onama said this is just the beginning of his run at 145 pounds.
“Just let it happen,” Onama said of his more tactical approach during his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “Don’t rush things. Just let it happen. And tonight it showed.”
Result: David Onama def. Gabriel Santos via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 4:13
Records: David Onama (11-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC), Gabriel Santos (10-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC)
Division: Featherweight