Outside Source
Mario Bautista slammed the door on Vinicius Oliveira’s ascent in the bantamweight division.
The MMA Lab product rebounded from a loss to Umar Nurmagomedov this past October, as he submitted Oliveira (23-4, 4-1 UFC) with a rear-naked choke in the UFC Vegas 113 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Bautista (17-3, 11-3 UFC) elicited a tap from his Brazilian foe at the 4:46 mark of Round 2, ending Oliverira’s six-fight professional winning streak in the process. Bautista has been victorious in nine of his last 10 promotional appeances.
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The finishing sequence was a thing of beauty. Bautista swept into top position following an Oliveira takedown attempt and quickly trapped his foe in a crucifix, where he dropped a series of elbows on his flailing adversary. From there, Bautista briefly threatened with a kimura before transitioning to a rear-naked choke. The fight-ending maneuver was secured so quickly that it was only a matter of seconds before “Lok Dog” called it quits.
The bout started slowly, but it was clear that Bautista was a level above his less experienced foe. The Arizona-based fighter grounded Oliveira in the opening stanza, and from that point, the Brazilian appeared content to remain on the canvas. When the second round began, Oliveira already looked winded, and it wasn’t long before Bautista was able to put the rising talent away.
Horiguchi Confounds Albazi
More than 10 years after he first challenged for UFC flyweight gold, Kyoji Horiguchi appears to be creeping closer to another title shot.
Horiguchi (36-5, 1 NC, 9-1 UFC) outmaneuvered and outstruck Amir Albazi for the better part of 15 minutes in the UFC Vegas 113 co-main event, capturing an impressive unanimous decision triumph against a Top 10 opponent. The 35-year-old “Karate Kid” received scorecards of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 from the cageside judges, improving to 2-0 in the UFC since returning to the Las Vegas-based promotion last November. Horiguchi went 7-1 during an initial Octagon stint from 2013 to 2016.
Albazi had a brief glimmer of hope in the opening frame, when he made his Japanese opponent stumble to the canvas from a punch late in the round. However, that blow wasn’t scored a knockdown by UFCStats.com, and Albazi would author few moments of note from that point forward.
For the most part, the contest was defined by Horiguchi’s superior speed, in-and-out movement and accurate punching combinations. The former Rizin champion landed nearly at will, wobbling his foe with punches in both the second and third rounds. Though a finish didn’t arrive, Albazi’s face wore the damage after 15 minutes. The larger Iraqi fighter tried to initiate grappling on multiple occasions, but he was denied on all seven takedown attempts.
Kuniev Outpoints Almeida
Clinch work and control time propelled Rizvan Kuniev to a relatively uneventful unanimous decision triumph over Jailton Almeida in a heavyweight clash. All three judges saw the fight for the Dagestani: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28. Almeida has dropped back-to-back outings after winning eight of his first nine UFC appearances.
Kuniev (13-3-1, 1 NC, 1-1 UFC) did his best work when he was able to initiate the clinch and attack with body punches, knees and elbows in close quarters. All too often, Almeida (22-5, 8-3 UFC) was willling to concede the position, though referee Dan Miragliotta separated the combatants for inactivity on more than one occasion. Almeida let his hands go a little bit more in Round 3, but it wasn’t nearly enough to make up for the early deficit on the scorecards.
Oleksiejczuk Wins Slugfest
Michal Oleksiejczuk and Marc-Andre Barriault traded blows for 15 minutes, but one final push ultimately made the difference for the Pole in a featured middleweight slugfest. All three judges submitted 29-28 tallies in favor of Oleksiejczuk (22-9, 10-7, 1 NC UFC), who has won three straight contests.
Early on, it appeared as though Oleksiejczuk would cruise to victory, as he stalked Barriault (17-11, 6-10, 1 NC UFC) and consistently found a home for left hands to the head and body. To his credit, Barriault turned it into a dogfight down the stretch, pressuring his foe with right hands at range while also enjoying success with his dirty boxing and knees in close quarters. Oleksiejczuk was able to find his footing in Round 3, however, and a surge in the waning moments of the frame proved to be the difference in a back-and-forth affair.
Basharat Stays Perfect
Farid Basharat held off a hard-charging Jean Matsumoto, earning a split-decision triumph to maintain his undefeated professional record. Two judges scored the bout 29-28 for Basharat (15-0, 6-0 UFC), while another saw it 29-28 in favor of Matsumoto (17-2, 3-2 UFC). Both of Matsumoto’s defeats in the Octagon have come via split decision.
Basharat did some of his best work at range, landing straight punches, step-in elbows and spinning attacks. Matsumoto, meanwhile, enjoyed his most success when making things ugly by initiating the clinch and attacking with power punches and knees at close range. Ultimately, Basharat was able to blend defensive enough wrestling with his striking to edge his Brazilian adversary on the scorecards.
Jacoby Thumps Walker
Dustin Jacoby shook off a slow start to earn an emphatic victory over onetime training partner Julius Walker in a featured light heavyweight encounter. The former Glory Kickboxing talent brought the show to a close via technical knockout 1:42 into Round 2, eaning his third consecutive UFC finish in the process. Jacoby’s seven KO/TKO victories are tied for third all-time in UFC light heavyweight history.
Walker started well, executing multiple high-amplitude slams on his striking-minded opponent in the opening stanza. Jacoby turned it up a notch in Round 2, as he put Walker on wobbly legs with a 1-2 before dropping him with another straight right. “The Hanyak” initially thought the fight was over, but when referee Dan Miragliotta didn’t intervene, Jacoby continued to pour on the punishment. The 37-year-old Factory X product rocked his foe with elbows to the side of the head while defending a desperation shot, and then attacked with more punches along the fence. When Walker stumbled to the floor, Miragliotta stepped in to save the reeling fighter from further damage.
Continue Reading » UFC Vegas 113 Prelims: Daniil Donchenko Batters Alex Morono, Earns Decision Win
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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