Outside Source
Manel Kape added a few more frames to his highlight reel.
The Xtreme Couture standout moved ever closer to a shot at the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight crown, as he dispatched Brandon Royval with punches in the first round of their UFC on ESPN 73 main event on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Kape (22-7, 7-3 UFC) tied a bow on the performance 3:18 into Round 1.
Royval (17-9, 7-5 UFC) landed several stout body kicks, but success proved fleeting. Kape crashed forward with a clubbing right hand and folded the onetime Legacy Fighting Allianc titleholder where he stood. More punches followed—Royval appeared to briefly lose consciousness during the assault—and resulted in the stoppage.
Meanwhile, former two-division Samurai Fight House champion Kevin Vallejos wiped out Giga Chikadze with a spinning backfist and follow-up elbow strikes in the second round of their featherweight co-headliner. Stopped via strikes for the first time as a pro, Chikadze (15-6, 8-4 UFC) bowed out 1:29 into Round 2.
Vallejos (17-1, 3-0 UFC) spun his wheels initially. Chikadze attacked his midsection and lower extremities with kicks despite a significant gash on his left leg. However, Vallejos cracked the Georgian with an overhand right early in the middle stanza, backed him to the fence and decked him with a spinning backfist. He then pounced on the fallen Chikadze and unleashed a brutal burst of rapid-fire elbows that sealed the deal.
The 24-year-old Vallejos has won six fights in a row, five of them finishes.
Further down the main card, Fighting Nerds rep Cezary Oleksiejczuk leaned on repeated takedowns and suffocating positional dominance in a unanimous decision over fellow Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Cesar Almeida in their three-round middleweight attraction. All three members of the assigned judiciary scored it the same: 30-27 for Oleksiejczuk (17-3, 1-0 UFC).
Almeida (7-2, 3-2 UFC) could not stay upright, and while he managed to sweep Polish newcomer after being taken down in the second round, he was woefully ineffective in the ground exchanges. Oleksiejczuk closed the distance without issue and either engaged his counterpart in the clinch or deposited him on the canvas. Once there, he kept Almeida bottled up and took the air out of the room with a risk-averse approach.
Oleksiejczuk, 25, now finds himself on a five-fight winning streak.
Elsewhere, Chute Boxe standout Melquizael Costa cut down former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Morgan Charriere with a devastating head kick in the first round of their featherweight attraction. Knocked out for the first time in his 34-fight career, Charriere (21-12-1, 4-2 UFC) met his end 1:14 into Round 1.
Costa (25-7, 6-2 UFC) tested the water by targeting the lead leg and body, then reset and went back to work. Soon after, the surging Brazilian stepped into a perfectly timed rear-leg head kick and connected. Charriere froze where he stood and collapsed to the canvas in a dazed-and-confused state. No follow-up shots were required.
The 29-year-old Costa has rattled off five consecutive victories.
Finally, former two-division King of the Cage champion Bobby Green rebounded from back-to-back losses to Paddy Pimblett and Mauricio Ruffy with a split decision over Lance Gibson Jr. in their three-round catchweight appetizer at 160 pounds. All three judges turned in 29-28 scorecards: Junichiro Kamijo for Gibson, Eric Colon and David Sutherland for Green.
Gibson (9-2, 0-1 UFC) struggled to control distance and ultimately failed to establish an offensive rhythm as a result. Green (33-17-1, 14-12-1 UFC) taunted the Bellator MMA veteran in between sporadic bursts of punches upstairs and kicks to the body. He closed with a strong third round, where he cracked Gibson with more than one left hook and made himself a moving target. Green executed a takedown in the waning moments, settled in north-south position and cut loose with effective ground-and-pound.
The setback snapped Gibson’s modest two-fight winning streak.
In other action, Fortis MMA’s Kennedy Nzechukwu (14-6-1, 8-6-1 UFC) settled for a draw—28-28, 28-28, 28-28—with two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Fighting World Championships gold medalist Marcus Almeida in their three-round heavyweight confrontation. Nzechukwu was docked a point for an eye poke in the second round.
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This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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