UFC Fight Night 31 results, photos: Yoel Romero flattens Ronny Markes

FORT CAMPBELL – Olympic wrestling silver medalist Yoel Romero continued his knockout streak, earning a devastating third-round finish of Ronny Markes.

The middleweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC Fight Night 31 event at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and MMAjunkie.com.

The two traded low kicks to open the fight. Markes eventually caught a leg and tripped Romero to the floor, but he refused to stay there and scrambled immediately back to his feet. Shortly after, he landed a stiff left that staggered Markes. Romero looked comfortable standing and trading, but Markes moved inside and scored a trip takedown to earn top position. However, Romero again worked back to his feet.

The striking exchanges continued in the second, and southpaw Romero started to find a home for a left straight. Romero eventually muscled him to the floor but elected to back away and continue to work on the feet. A big Romero kick to the body saw Markes again fall to the floor. Markes came alive in the final minute, and he landed a few solid blows during a wild flurry, as well as a stiff straight right in the closing seconds.

Markes continued the aggression in the third, albeit with mixed results in the early going. The bout was briefly halted when Romero poked the left eye, but Markes quickly returned to action. Romero grabbed momentum on the restart, and shortly after landed a crushing left hand that sent Markes to the floor. Romero followed with two more thunderous blows before referee Mario Yamasaki stepped in to wave off the fight.

Romero (6-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned all six of his career wins by knockout. Markes (14-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) sees a seven-fight win streak snapped.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 31 results include:

• Yoel Romero def. Ronny Markes via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 1:39
• Rustam Khabilov def. Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
• Michael Chiesa def. Colton Smith via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:41
• Bobby Green def. James Krause via TKO (kick) – Round 1, 3:50
• Francisco Rivera def. George Roop via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:20
• Dennis Bermudez def. Steven Siler via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Amanda Nunes def. Germaine De Randamie via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:56
• Lorenz Larkin def. Chris Camozzi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Yancy Medeiros def. Yves Edwards via KO (punches) – Round 1, 2:47
• Seth Baczynski def. Neil Magny via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Derek Brunson def. Brian Houston via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 0:48

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 31, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

Dann Stupp contributed to this report on-site at Fort Campbell.