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Diego Lopes appears to have plenty of staying power in the dog-eat-dog Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division.
The Lobo Gym product wiped out Jean Silva with a spinning back elbow and follow-up punches in the second round of their chaotic back-and-forth UFC Fight Night 259 headliner on Saturday at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. Silva (16-3, 5-1 UFC) checked out 4:48 into Round 2, his 13-fight winning streak having run its course.
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Lopes (27-7, 6-2 UFC) nearly finished it in the first round, where he took down the Fighting Nerds standout, flowed from full mount to the back and drew blood with 12-to-6 elbows. Silva survived, then shifted momentum dramatically in Round 2. He cracked Lopes with power punches from both hands, integrated standing elbows at close range and mixed in a few body kicks for good measure. Lopes retreated, spun and clipped his compatriot with an elbow. The blindsided Silva collapsed forward, blood streaming from a new wound. Lopes offered him no refuge. He unleashed hammerfists and punches, leading referee Dan Miragliotta to intervene.
Meanwhile, Dana White’s Contender Series graduate David Martinez stepped in as a short-notice substitution for Raul Rosas Jr. and outstruck Rob Font to a unanimous decision in their three-round bantamweight co-main event. All three judges turned in 29-28 scorecards for Martinez (13-1, 2-0 UFC), who carries the look of a rising star at 135 pounds.
Font (22-9, 12-8 UFC) conducted his business behind a persistent jab and crowding pressure. However, Martinez was quicker on the draw, generated more output, punched well in combination and mixed in kicks to all levels. He put an exclamation point on the performance late in the third round, where he wobbled Font with an overhand right and sat down the ex-CES MMA champion with the left that followed in the waning seconds.
The 27-year-old Martinez now finds himself on a nine-fight winning streak.
Further down the main card, onetime Combate Global champion Rafa Garcia took care of Jared Gordon with a volley of elbows in the third round of their hypercompetitive lightweight battle. Garcia (18-4, 6-4 UFC) slammed the door 2:27 into Round 3, delivering his first stoppage via strikes in almost seven years.
It was a grueling affair between two men who were unwilling to give ground. Gordon (21-8, 9-7 UFC) countered effectively, fired off sharp one-one-twos and staggered the Cub Swanson disciple more than once with right hands over the top. Garcia seemed to seize the reins in the second round, where he threatened with Kill Cliff Fight Club rep with a mounted guillotine and later tore open a cut on his forehead with a well-timed elbow. Gordon wandered into a right hand early in the third round, then hit the deck in a dazed and exhausted state. Garcia flirted with a rear-naked choke, then settled in side control and let fly with a series of elbows for the finish.
Garcia, 31, has won four of his past five bouts.
Elsewhere, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 17 winner Kelvin Gastelum overcame an embarrassing failed weight cut—he checked in five over the limit—and outpointed Dustin Stoltzfus to a unanimous decision in a three-round middleweight feature. All three cageside judges scored it for Gastelum (20-10, 14-10): 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.
Stoltzfus (16-8, 3-7 UFC) enjoyed his share of success, particularly with kicks, but the difference in firepower between the two men was noticeable. Gastelum staggered on more than one occasion with jarring one-twos, tightened up his takedown defense as time went on and even mixed in a few spinning backfists. By the time it was over, he had landed the vast majority of the consequential blows and had Stoltzfus bleeding heavily from the nose.
The 33-year-old Stoltzfus has suffered back-to-back losses since his Nov. 2 knockout of Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC Fight Night 246.
Deeper into the draw, Factory X standout Alexander Hernandez put away former Legacy Fighting Championship titleholder Diego Ferreira with punches in the second round of their lightweight attraction. Hernandez (18-8, 10-7 UFC) drew the curtain 3:46 into Round 2.
Ferreira (19-7, 10-7 UFC) forced the St. Louis native to circle on the perimeter for much of the first round, where he countered in bursts and attacked the body with front kicks. The action seemed to follow a similar narrative in the middle stanza, until Hernandez walked the Brazilian into a right hand. Ferreira hit the deck and could not weather the storm that followed. Hernandez cut loose with a series of unanswered punches to prompt the stoppage.
Hernandez, 32, has rattled off four consecutive victories.
Finally, Entram Gym prospect Santiago Luna kept his perfect professional record intact and shined in his Octagon debut, as he dismissed Quang Le with punches in the first round of their bantamweight appetizer. Luna (7-0, 1-0 UFC) brought it to a close 2:48 into Round 1.
Le (9-3, 1-3 UFC) sat down the organizational newcomer with a clean left hand during one of their initial exchanges but spun his wheels from there. Luna backed the Greg Nelson protégé to the fence, dropped him with a left hook, allowed him to stand, flurried with punches for a second knockdown and prompted the stoppage with one last hammerfist.
The 21-year-old Luna has finished all seven of his opponents, four of them inside one round.
Continue Reading » UFC Noche Prelims: Joaquim Silva Downs Claudio Puelles, Alden Coria Stuns Alessandro Costa in San Antonio
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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