Outside Source
Petr Yan at his very best was better than the man some believe to be the greatest 135-pound mixed martial artist of all-time.
Thumping jabs, brutal body shots and sublime takedown defense carried the Russian to a five-round unanimous decision over Merab Dvalishvili, as he reclaimed the undisputed bantamweight crown in the UFC 323 headliner on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Yan (20-5, 12-4 UFC) swept the scorecards with 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47 marks from the cageside judges in what was by all accounts a comprehensive performance.
Advertisement
Dvalishvili (21-5, 14-3 UFC) could not get the challenger on the ground with any regularity, and while he connected with a few overhand rights, he was simply outclassed in the standup exchanges. Yan even mixed in a few takedowns of his own—a third-round slam was particularly memorable—but did real damage with crisp, clean standup. He doubled over Dvalishvili more than once with kicks to the midsection, all while opening cuts across the bridge of the Georgian’s nose and above his right eye. In the end, Yan land virtually all the strikes of consequence on the way to evening his head-to-head series with “The Machine” at 1-1.
The setback was Dvalishvili’s first since April 21, 2018 and closed the book on his remarkable 14-fight winning streak.
Meanwhile, Joshua Van captured the undisputed flyweight championship through most unconventional means, as Alexandre Pantoja sustained a fight-ending arm injury in the first round of their co-main event. Pantoja (30-6, 14-4 UFC) had to bow out 26 seconds into Round 1, losing for the first time since July 2020.
Van (16-2, 9-1 UFC) weathered the opening salvo from the hyperaggressive champion and stayed composed under heavy fire. Pantoja threw a head kick, fell backward and tried to brace himself with his left arm. All his weight came down on the appendage and resulted in a gruesome injury that necessitated an immediate stoppage, bringing a close to his long reign atop the 125-pound weight class.
The 24-year-old Van has recorded five straight wins.
Further down the main draw, former Shooto champion Tatsuro Taira put away Fortis MMA star Brandon Moreno with punches in the second round of their flyweight showcase. Perhaps the No. 1 contender in waiting at 125 pounds, Taira (18-1, 8-1 UFC) closed it out 2:24 into Round 2.
Moreno (23-9-2, 11-6-2 UFC) countered an attempted takedown with a triangle choke and spent several minutes readjusting his legs and neutralizing the Japanese grappler from his back. Taira was undeterred. He completed a takedown roughly 90 seconds into the middle stanza, progressed to the back and consolidated his position with a body triangle. Taira then flattened out his opponent and blasted away with punches from both hands to force the finish.
It was the first stoppage loss of Moreno’s 34-fight career.
Elsewhere, Reno Academy of Combat prospect Payton Talbott took a unanimous decision from Henry Cejudo in their three-round bantamweight attraction and sent the former two-division UFC champion into retirement. All three members of the assigned judiciary turned in 30-27 scorecards for Talbott (11-1, 5-1 UFC).
Cejudo (16-6, 10-6 UFC) fought fire with fire but could not keep pace with a younger counterpart who had a six-inch height and six and a half-inch reach advantages against him. Talbott surprised the onetime Olympic gold medalist with a pair of takedowns in the first round, floored him with a right hook in the second and assaulted him with savage body-head combinations in the third. By the time it was over, Cejudo was bleeding from a cut near his right eye and seemed more than ready to pass the torch to the next generation.
Talbott, 27, has posted back-to-back victories since his Jan. 18 decision defeat to Raoni Barcelos.
Finally, WCA Fight Team product Jan Blachowicz and Bogdan Guskov fought to a majority draw in their three-round light heavyweight appetizer. Judge Chris Lee saw it 29-28 for Blachowicz, while Junichiro Kamijo and Ron McCarthy ruled it a 28-28 draw.
Guskov (18-3-1, 4-1-1 UFC) nearly finished it in the second round, where he dropped the Polish powerhouse with a straight right and proceeded to administer some ferocious elbow-laced ground-and-pound. The burst of offense failed to produce a stoppage, but it resulted in multiple cuts and exacted enough of a toll to warrant 10-8 marks on two scorecards. Blachowicz (29-11-2, 12-8-2 UFC) controlled much of the rest of the battle with punishing low kicks, a stabbing jab and occasional power punches, leading to the stalemate.
The draw snapped Guskov’s four-fight winning streak.
Continue Reading » UFC 323 Prelims: Chris Duncan, Fares Ziam, Jalin Turner Shine on Finish-Heavy Undercard
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
Help support MMACrazies.com when you shop Amazon by starting your online Amazon shopping at MMACrazies.com/recommends/amazon. You are not charged extra, but we receive a small and very helpful commission on everything you purchase. Thanks for thinking of us every time you shop at Amazon.
