Islam
Makhachev exploits the slightest of openings.
The American Kickboxing Academy star kept his stranglehold on the
undisputed
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title, as he
dismissed Renato
“Money” Moicano with a brabo choke in the first round of their
UFC 311 headliner on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood,
California. A short-notice fill-in for Arman
Tsarukyan, Moicano (20-6-1, 12-6 UFC) checked out 4:05 into
Round 1.
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Makhachev (27-1, 16-1 UFC) completed a takedown midway through the
first round, settled in half guard and went to work. Moicano
initiated a scramble, only to wander into the champion’s clutches.
Makhachev rolled into position for the choke, tightened his squeeze
and elicited the tapout. With that, he put his 15th straight
victory in the books, leaving him one shy of Anderson
Silva’s all-time UFC record.
Meanwhile, Merab
Dvalishvili wore down the previously unbeaten Umar
Nurmagomedov with his breakneck pace and retained his
undisputed bantamweight championship with a unanimous decision in
their five-round co-main event. Dvalishvili (19-4, 12-2 UFC) swept
the scorecards with 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 marks from the cageside
judges.
Nurmagomedov (18-1, 6-1 UFC) established his superiority in the
standup exchanges early on with sharp one-twos, clean counters and
heavy body kicks; and through two rounds, everything appeared to be
trending in his direction. However, Dvalishvili kept his foot on
the gas, bullied his challenger onto the back foot, threatened with
takedowns and fired away with winging power punches from both
hands. Nurmagomedov showed signs of fatigue at the end of Round 3
and deteriorated further as time went on. Dvalishvili wobbled him
with a one-two in the fourth round and dumped him to the canvas on
multiple occasions in the fifth. Nurmagomedov seemed resigned to
his fate as he returned to his corner once their 25 minutes were
up.
Dvalishvili, 34, has recorded 12 consecutive wins.
Further down the card, Jetsaam Gym cornerstone Jiri
Prochazka took out Jamahal
Hill with punches in the third round of their thrilling light
heavyweight showcase. Prochazka (31-5-1, 5-2 UFC) drew the curtain
3:01 into Round 3, winning for the 15th time in 17 assignments.
Hill (12-3, 6-3 UFC) fought fire with fire against the Czech
berserker. Prochazka felled him with a straight left in the first
round, withstood significant punishment in the middle stanza—“Sweet
Dreams” hurt him to the body on more than one occasion—and turned
up the heat in the third. He floored Hill with a clubbing right
hook, swarmed with follow-up shots and then briefly reset. A right
uppercut from Prochazka resulted in another knockdown and set the
stage for the stoppage. Hill shelled up on all fours, perhaps
signaling he had endured enough. Prochazka let the punches flow
from there, prompting the stoppage.
The 32-year-old Prochazka has delivered 29 of his 31 professional
victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission.
Elsewhere, Galpao da Luta product Jailton
Almeida disposed of onetime World Warriors Fighting
Championship titleholder Serghei
Spivac with punches in the first round of their back-and-forth
heavyweight attraction. Almeida (22-3, 8-1 UFC) drew the curtain
4:53 into Round 1.
Spivac (17-5, 8-5 UFC) executed a takedown at the start, setting
off a series of reversals and sweeps between the two men. Once they
returned to a standing position, Almeida had the Moldovan reeling
with a ringing right uppercut. Spivac backpedaled to the fence but
found no refuge there. Almeida cut loose with punches, dumped him
to the canvas and climbed immediately to full mount. Spivac turned
away from contact, only to be flattened out by the Brazilian. From
there, Almeida hammered away with punches to the side of the head
until referee Jason Herzog had seen enough.
Almeida, 33, has rattled off 17 wins across his past 18
outings.
Finally, former two-division ONE Championship titleholder Reinier
de Ridder put away Kevin
Holland with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their
middleweight appetizer. Holland (16-13, 13-10 UFC) raised the white
flag 3:31 into Round 1, losing for the fourth time in five
appearances.
De Ridder (19-2, 2-0 UFC) delivered a takedown inside the first 10
seconds, shed a triangle choke from his counterpart and unloaded
with ground-and-pound. A slashing elbow strike snuck through
Holland’s defenses and opened a cut above his left eye. De Ridder
eventually advanced to the back, secured his position with a body
triangle and cinched the fight-ending choke.
It was the 11th first-round finish of de Ridder’s career.
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