Myktybek
Orolbai looked like a dog playing with a chew toy.
The surging Kyrgyzstani welterweight took another step forward in
the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s loaded 170-pound weight class
with a three-round unanimous decision over Chris
Curtis in their featured
UFC Fight Night 269 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las
Vegas. Orolbai (16-2-1, 5-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with matching
30-27 marks from the cageside judges.
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Curtis (32-13, 6-5 UFC) was a man with no answers. Orolbai closed
the distance and completed one takedown after another, effectively
smothering the former CES MMA champion across 15 non-competitive
minutes. Every time Curtis managed to stand, his opponent was there
to return him to the mat. Orolbai progressed to the back on
multiple occasions and threatened the neck with rear-naked chokes
but mostly chose to play it safe and dominate the battle with
superior grappling.
Meanwhile, CM System mainstay Vitor
Petrino called upon a sharp jab, destructive leg kicks and
punishing counters to post a unanimous decision over fellow Dana
White’s Contender Series graduate Steven
Asplund in their three-round heavyweight encounter. All three
judges turned in 29-28 scorecards for Petrino (14-2, 7-2 UFC).
A late-notice replacement for Kennedy
Nzechukwu, Asplund (7-2, 1-1 UFC) had the Brazilian reeling
late in the first round. He dazed and dropped Petrino with a
thudding left, then swarmed with punches in a bid to finish.
Petrino survived and dragged the McCune’s Martial Arts export
further and further out of his comfort zone. He opened multiple
cuts under Asplund’s right eye, bloodied his nose and even sent his
mouthpiece flying at one point. Petrino kept his foot on the
accelerator down the stretch, connected with hooks to the body and
head, chewed up his opponent’s base with kicks and largely dictated
the terms of their engagement.
The loss snapped Asplund’s four-fight winning streak.
Further down the undercard, Team Victory prospect Elijah
Smith put away “Road to UFC” Season 3 winner Su Young
You with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their
bantamweight confrontation.
Smith (10-1, 3-0 UFC) drew the curtain 64 seconds into Round
2.
You (16-4, 3-1 UFC) neutralized the American with repeated
takedowns in the first round but could not sustain his success over
the long haul. Smith stonewalled an attempted takedown from the
ex-Deep champion inside the first minute of the middle stanza,
dropped him with a clubbing right hand and maneuvered onto his
back. Before You could recover, the choke was in place. Smith
readjusted his grip, constricted around the neck and prompted the
tapout.
Smith now finds himself on an eight-fight winning streak.
Elsewhere, promotional newcomer Manoel
Sousa punched out former Atomic Fighting Championship
titleholder Bolaji Oki
in the third round of their lightweight affair.
Oki (10-4, 2-3 UFC) clocked out 4:12 into Round 3, losing for the
third time in four outings.
Sousa (14-1, 1-0 UFC) flirted with a finish in the first round,
where he decked the Valon Team product with a right hand over the
top and pounced with follow-up punches. Oki regained his faculties
on the ground, escaped to his feet, secured a takedown and managed
to have point himself in the right direction ahead of the middle
stanza. There, he called upon knees to the body, straight left
hands and strong clinch work to effectively turn the tide. However,
Sousa found his second wind in the third, battered his adversary
with body-head combinations and set the stage for the stoppage with
a clean one-two. He stalked a backpedaling Oki in the final minute
of the fight and leveled him with a crushing straight right hand.
No other shots were required.
The 28-year-old Sousa has rattled off three consecutive
victories.
Finally, 10-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Beatriz
Mesquita kept her perfect professional record intact, as she
dispatched Montserrat
Rendon with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their
women’s bantamweight affair.
Mesquita (7-0, 2-0 UFC) brought it to a close 2:07 into Round
1.
Rendon (7-2, 2-2 UFC) never stood a chance. Mesquita staggered the
ECR Fight Center rep with a counter right hand, swarmed with
punches and elbows, powered into top position and executed a
takedown after her opponent briefly returned to her feet. She
settled in side control, climbed to full mount and assaulted Rendon
with punches, hammerfists and elbows. Mesquita then progressed to
the back, weaved her arms around the Invicta Fight Championships
alum’s neck and let her world-class squeeze do the rest.
Mesquita, 36, has finished six of her first seven opponents, three
of them inside one round.
In other action, Eryk Anders
(18-9, 10-9 UFC) laid claim to a unanimous decision—30-27, 29-28,
29-28—over Brad
Tavares (21-12, 16-12 UFC) in their three-round middleweight
clash and subsequently announced his retirement from MMA; Hecher Sosa
(14-1, 1-0 UFC) filled in for Rinya
Nakamura and took a unanimous decision from Luan
Lacerda (13-4, 1-3 UFC) in their three-round bantamweight tilt,
as he earned 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 marks from the judges; and
Piera
Rodriguez (12-2, 5-2 UFC) improved to 2-0 in her head-to-head
series against Sam Hughes
(11-7, 6-6 UFC) with a three-round unanimous decision—30-27, 30-27,
30-27—in their women’s strawweight rematch.