It was a fairy tale conclusion to a legendary career.

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Robbie
Lawler ended his mixed martial arts career in vintage form, as
he knocked out Niko Price in
the opening stanza of their UFC 290
bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The
former welterweight champion rendered Price (15-7, 7-7, 2 NC UFC)
unconscious 38 seconds into Round 1 — his 22nd overall triumph via
KO or TKO.



“It was good. It was just the ending of the career,” Lawler said.
“I was landing some big shots in good places…It was too much. It
was just nice to end my career like this.” With the masses chanting his name from opening bell, Lawler wasted
little time imposing his will. The 41-year-old Kill Cliff FC
representative punched his way into the clinch, then teed off with
close quarters hooks and uppercuts, the last of which folded Price
to the canvas. As soon as his opponent hit the mat, Lawler raised
his arms in celebration, well aware that the job was done. After
the victory, a video tribute was played in the arena, which brought
the normally stoic Lawler to tears.

Taira Keeps Undefeated Record Intact

Japanese prospect Tatsuro
Taira relied on takedowns and dominant positions to capture a
unanimous decision against former Fury Fighting Championship title
holder Edgar
Chairez in a 130-pound catchweight bout. All three judges saw
the fight 29-27 in favor of the 23-year-old ex-Shooto king.

Chairez’s inability to remain upright led to his downfall. He hurt
Taira (14-0, 4-0 UFC) with a left hand in Round 1, but when his foe
shot for a takedown, Chairez elected to jump guard for a
guillotine. That allowed Taira to assume top position, where he
advanced to a mounted crucifix and dropped elbows from above.

Taira was more dominant in the second stanza, as he landed an early
takedown, moved to mount and unloaded more ground-and-pound before
ending the period by transitioning to a triangle choke from his
back. Taira grounded Chairez (10-5, 0-1 UFC) yet again in Round 3,
but the Mexican fighter ended the fight with a mounted guillotine
as the horn sounded. It wasn’t nearly enough to sway the scorecards
in his favor.

Gomes Rocks Jauregui

Parana Vale Tudo export Denise
Gomes stunned highly-regarded Mexican prospect Yazmin
Jauregui with a quick technical knockout victory in a
strawweight showdown. Gomes (8-2, 2-1 UFC) ended the bout with a
barrage of unanswered left hands just 20 seconds into Round 1 — the
fastest finish in division history.

Jauregui (10-1, 2-1 UFC) didn’t get time to make her mark. Gomes
pressed the action from the opening bell and crumbled her adversary
with three right hands. As Jauregui clinged to a leg out of
desperation near the fence, the Brazilian
continued to unload with punches until referee Jason Herzog decided
he had seen enough. Gomes has finished six of her
eight professional triumphs by knockout or technical knockout.

Menifield Wins Rematch, Taps Crute

Alonzo
Menifield got some closure against Jimmy
Crute, winning via submission in a light heavyweight rematch.
The 35-year-old Texan
locked in a guillotine choke for the finish at the
1:55 mark of the second stanza. The first meeting between Menifield
and Crute ended in a majority draw at UFC 284 this past
February.

Much of the first frame was contested in the clinch with Crute
doing solid work in close quarters, but Menifield distinguished
himself by tagging his foe with several clean right hands at range.
“Atomic” countered effectively with punching combinations at the
outset of Round 2, which prompted his Australian opponent to shoot
for a takedown. Menifield stuffed the attempt and secured the
guillotine before powering his way into top position. Crute
(12-4-1, 4-4-1 UFC) had no choice but to tap moments later.

Petrino Grounds, Submits Prachnio

CM System product Vitor
Petrino kept his undefeated record intact, as he submitted
Polish veteran Marcin
Prachnio in a light heavyweight contest. The powerfully-built
Brazilian
elicited a tapout from his opponent with an arm-triangle choke 3:42
into the third frame. It was the first submission
defeat of Prachnio’s professional career.

Petrino (9-0, 2-0 UFC) landed the more impactful offense on the
feet, but it was his wrestling that ultimately made the difference.
The Contender Series alum grounded Prachnio (16-7, 3-5 UFC) in each
stanza, advanced to dominant positions and dropped heavy elbows
from above. After threatening with a rear-naked choke in Round 2,
Petrino finished the job in the final period by moving to mount and
locking in the decisive choke. His squeeze was strong enough to
force the tapout without passing to side control.

Saaiman Overwhelms Mitchell

Former South African K-1 kickboxing champion Cameron
Saaiman made short work of ex-Alaska Combat Entertainment
titleholder Terrence
Mitchell, winning via technical knockout in a bantamweight
pairing. Saaiman (9-0, 3-0 UFC) ended the contest with a

barrage of unanswered punches from back mount at the
3:10 mark of Round 1. Mitchell (14-3, 0-1 UFC) sees an 11-bout
winning streak snapped in defeat.

Mitchell landed a takedown at the outset of the opening stanza but
quickly found himself ensnared in a guillotine choke. Saaiman used
the maneuver to return to his feet, and he gradually imposed his
will from there. Shortly thereafter, the 22-year-old Team Cit
member powered Mitchell to the canvas, moved to the back and
flattened his opponent out before unleashing the fight-ending
salvo.

Aguilar One-Punch KOs Ross

Jesus
Santos Aguilar picked the ideal time to author the first
knockout victory of his career.

The former Ultimate Warrior Challenge Mexico title holder needed
just one punch to vanquish Shannon
Ross, rendering his foe unconscious with a
perfectly placed overhand right just 17 seconds into
their flyweight fight. That checks in as the second-fastest KO in
the history of the 125-pound division.

Aguilar (9-2, 1-1 UFC) didn’t need long to find his opening. The
Victory Fight Club export feinted a takedown before launching the
decisive blow, which connected and ended with Ross’s (12-8, 0-2
UFC) head bouncing off the canvas. “The Turkish Delight” has lost
three straight fights — all via KO or TKO — dating back to his
appearance no Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2022.

Ribovics Outduels Kirk

Argentina’s Esteban
Ribovics pulled away from a fading Kamuela
Kirk to capture a unanimous decision in a lightweight clash.
All three judges submitted 29-28 tallies in favor of “El Gringo,”
who went the distance in victory for the first time in his
professional tenure. Kirk was making his promotional debut at 155
pounds after his two previous bouts occurred at featherweight.

Kirk (12-6, 1-2 UFC) started quickly, as he landed a takedown and
spent the majority of the opening stanza attached to his opponent’s
back, hunting for the rear-naked choke. Ribovics (12-1, 1-1 UFC)
took over from there, as he pressured Kirk with punching
combinations to the head and body while denying the majority of his
adversary’s takedown attempts. The Nova Uniao Argentina
representative appeared to be on the verge of a finish in Round 2,
when he stunned Kirk with a right hand to the temple, shoved his
man to the floor and teed off with ground-and-pound. Kirk
ultimately survived, but he couldn’t match Ribovics’ firepower down
the stretch.

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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