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Tatsuro Taira could not have been more dominant.
The former Shooto titleholder reasserted himself in the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight division, as he dismissed the previously unbeaten Hyun Sung Park in the second round of their UFC on ESPN 71 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. A late replacement for Amir Albazi, Park (10-1, 3-1 UFC) bowed out 1:06 into Round 2.
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Taira (17-1, 7-1 UFC) decked the “Road to UFC” Season 1 winner with a right hand in the first round, then proceeded to run circles around the South Korean in the grappling exchanges that ensued. It shed some light on what was to come. Taira executed a takedown at the start of Round 2, advanced to the back, secured his position with a body triangle and cinched the face crank for the finish.
Meanwhile, onetime Ultimate Fight League champion Chris Duncan stood toe-to-toe with American Top Team stablemate Mateusz Rebecki and captured a hard-earned unanimous decision in their attritive three-round lightweight co-main event. Scores were 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27—all for Duncan (14-2, 5-1 UFC).
The cutmen were busy in both corners, as the scene became grisly in a hurry. Duncan raised a grotesque hematoma on his adversary’s forehead and opened a crescent-shaped gash between his eyes with standing elbow strikes in the first round. Rebecki (20-3, 4-2 UFC) was undeterred and answered clubbing punching combinations, low kicks and powerful overhand lefts. His handiwork resulted in visible damage to Duncan’s face, including a deep cut under his left eye. However, those efforts went unrewarded. With the outcome still in doubt late in the third round and the two participants running on fumes, Duncan connected with a short-range knee from the clinch and provided the judges with a parting gift through which to remember him. An exhausted Rebecki, his right eye nearly swollen shut, retreated to his corner when it was over and dropped to all fours, his blood pouring onto the canvas.
Duncan, 32, has quietly pieced together a three-fight winning streak at 155 pounds.
Meanwhile, Kill Cliff Fight Club product Esteban Ribovics outlasted ex-Amazon Talent titleholder Elves Brener to a three-round unanimous decision in a wildly competitive and entertaining lightweight showcase. All three judges sided with Ribovics (15-2, 4-2 UFC): 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27.
The 27-year-old Brener (16-6, 3-3 UFC) fought fire with fire and made the Argentinian earn every inch of ground he gained. Ribovics teed off with clean punching combinations, mixed in occasional kicks and relied heavily on his jab, sometimes unleashing three, four or five at a time. Brener proved to be a willing-and-able dance partner, as he answered with thudding counterpunches and chopping one-twos. He simply could not keep pace. Ribovics threw more and landed more, controlled the center of the cage and applied relentless pressure that was often paired with body-head punishment.
Brener has suffered three straight defeats.
Elsewhere, former Favela Kombat champion Karol Rosa leaned into her superior grappling skills and cruised to a unanimous decision over French muay thai stylist Nora Cornolle in a three-round women’s bantamweight feature. Rosa (19-7, 8-4 UFC) swept the scorecards with 30-27, 29-27 and 29-27 marks from the judges.
Cornolle (9-3, 3-2 UFC) performed well when upright and left the Brazilian with damage under her left eye in the first round. Even so, Rosa found another gear across the final 10 minutes. She completed two takedowns, climbed to full mount twice and married suffocating top control with ground-and-pound and a few submission attempts. Rosa punctuated the performance late in Round 3, where she flattened out her opponent and fired away with punches in the closing seconds.
The 30-year-old Rosa has alternated wins and losses in each of her last eight appearances.
Further down the main draw, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 16 semifinalist Neil Magny rebounded from back-to-back defeats to Michael Morales and Carlos Prates, as he put away Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos with punches in the second round of their welterweight attraction. Zaleski dos Santos (25-10-1, 11-6-1 UFC) succumbed to blows 4:39 into Round 2.
Neither man did much to separate himself in a closely contested first round. Zaleski dos Santos executed a takedown early in the middle stanza, maintained top control and applied his ground-and-pound. However, Magny (30-13, 23-12 UFC) eventually returned to his feet, tripped the ex-Jungle Fight titleholder to the floor and scrambled into top position. From there, he progressed to the back, flattened out Zaleski dos Santos and let fly with unanswered punches until the job was done.
Zaleski dos Santos, 38, has lost three of his past four bouts.
Finally, former two-division Samurai Fight House champion Kevin Vallejos further cemented himself as one of the sport’s top prospects at 145 pounds with a unanimous decision over Danny Silva in their three-round featherweight appetizer. All three cageside judges scored it for Vallejos (16-1, 2-0 UFC): 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27.
Vallejos ignored persistent verbal taunts from his counterpart and stayed true to his game plan. He blasted Silva with overhand rights, often pairing them with left hooks, and attacked the body with equal aplomb. He also answered a takedown from the Cub Swanson protégé with two of his own, incorporated standing elbows at opportune times and landed the vast majority of consequential strikes. Silva never went way—he upped his aggression and output considerably in the third round—but always seemed to be one step behind the Argentinian.
The 23-year-old Vallejos has rattled off five straight victories.
Continue Reading » UFC Vegas 108 Prelims: Rodolfo Vieira Outstrikes Tresean Gore to Unanimous Decision
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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