Kyler
Phillips still looks like a man who intends to make some
significant noise in the Ultimate Fighting Championship
bantamweight division.
In his first appearance in more than 500 days, the MMA Lab standout
outstruck and outmaneuvered Raoni
Barcelos to a unanimous decision in the featured UFC on ESPN 50
prelim on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Scores were 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28—all for Phillips (11-2, 5-1
UFC).
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A short-notice substitution for Said
Nurmagomedov, Barcelos, 36, looked his age at times and
struggled to track down “The Matrix” in open space. Phillips sat
him down with a clean one-two in the first round, troubled the
Brazilian with a takedown in the second and managed to keep his
head above water in the third. Barcelos surged late with takedowns
and a right hook to the body, but by then, the die had been
cast.
Harris Choke Stuns Wells
Onetime Brave Combat Federation titleholder Carlston
Harris put Jeremiah
Wells to sleep with a brabo choke in the third round of their
welterweight confrontation. Harris (19-5, 4-1 UFC) drew the curtain
1:50 into Round 3, authoring his seventh victory in eight outings
with one of the more remarkable comebacks of 2023. Wells (12-3-1, 4-1 UFC) breezed through the first two rounds, as he
took down the Guyanese veteran with surprising ease, fished for
chokes and controlled the ground exchanges with a suffocating top
game. Elbows entered the equation late in the middle stanza, and it
appeared as though Harris was destined to go down to defeat on
points. He had other ideas.
Harris caught the neck on an attempted takedown, rolled into the
choke and tightened his squeeze until his opponent lay motionless
in his grasp.
The setback was Wells’ first since March 29, 2019.
Relentless Quarantillo Bests Jackson
Former King of the Cage champion and “The Ultimate Fighter 22” alum
Billy
Quarantillo overcame a difficult start to capture a unanimous
verdict over Damon
Jackson in a three-round featherweight firefight. All three
cageside judges scored it 29-28 for Quarantillo (18-5, 6-3 UFC),
who bounced back from his Jan. 14 knockout defeat to Dan Ige.
Jackson (22-6-1, 5-4-1 UFC) did not make it easy on him. He turned
the first round into a rout—in the standup and on the ground. The
Fortis MMA mainstay unleashed a variety of attacks, including a
front kick to the face. He secured a takedown in the second half of
the period, advanced to the back and delivered some
ground-and-pound. Quarantillo was undeterred. His heavy investment
in shots to the body started to pay off in the second round, and he
continued to attack Jackson’s midsection with savage punches and
knees. Round 3 was a study in fortitude for both men. Jackson
remained competitive but looked a step slower. Quarantillo
connected with stout punching combinations and even staggered the
Texan with a right hook at one point. Jackson completed a takedown
with roughly a minute to go but lacked the necessary gas to make it
matter.
Quarantillo has won 11 of his last 14 fights.
Surging Durden Outduels Hadley
American Top Team’s Cody Durden
stepped in as a short-notice fill-in for Tagir
Ulanbekov and took a unanimous decision from former Cage
Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Jake Hadley
in a highly competitive and entertaining flyweight encounter.
Durden (16-4-1, 5-2-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with matching 30-27
marks from the cageside judiciary.
Durden handled his business in the first round, where he outstruck,
outwrestled and outgrappled the favored Fearless MMA export,
opening a significant cut above his left eye with a crisp right
hand. It was an effective weapon throughout the battle for the
Covington, Georgia, native, along with a few sneaky standing
elbows. However, Hadley (10-2, 2-2 UFC) answered the challenge in
Round 2, as he trapped the underdog in a triangle armbar and
appeared to have the elbow joint hyperextended for several tense
moments. Durden bent but did not break. He fought through fatigue
across the final five minutes, utilized an airtight sprawl and
neutralized Hadley with ground-and-pound.
The 32-year-old Durden has rattled off four consecutive wins.
Woodson Spoils Buzukja Debut
Sean
Woodson rebounded from a Aug. 20 draw with Luis
Saldana, as he laid claim to a one-sided unanimous decision
over former Ring of Combat champion Dennis
Buzukja in a three-round featherweight affair. All three
cageside judges scored it 30-27 for Woodson (10-1-1, 4-1-1
UFC).
A short-notice replacement for Mairon Santos, Buzukja (11-3, 0-1
UFC) was game but outmatched. Woodson maximized his height and
reach advantages in their standup exchanges, where he battered the
Longo-Weidman MMA rep with kicks to the lower legs, a punishing jab
and clean combinations. He mixed in takedowns at opportune times
and arguably did his best work in Round 2, where he threatened
Buzukja with a variety of chokes and a kimura. Woodson incorporated
wicked hooks to the body from both hands and standing knee strikes
at close range later in the match, flexing all his figurative
muscle in a complete performance.
The loss snapped Buzukja’s seven-fight winning streak.
Newcomer Almabaev Dominates Osborne
Promising Kazakh prospect Abu Almabaev put away 2019 DWCS graduate
Ode
Osbourne with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their
flyweight pairing. Almabaev (18-2, 1-0 UFC) brought it to a close
3:11 into Round 2, where he put his 14th consecutive victory in the
books.
Osbourne (12-6, 4-4 UFC) mustered little meaningful resistance
outside of a forearm strike from the bottom that resulted in a cut
inside the first five minutes. Almabaev completed takedowns in both
rounds, then went about dismantling the Jamaican. The 29-year-old
M-1 Global veteran executed a beautiful inside trip in the second
round, moved to the back and secured his position with a body
triangle.
Almabaev pestered his counterpart with ground-and-pound and made
two passes at a rear-naked choke before cracking the
code.
The 31-year-old Osbourne has lost two of his past three bouts.