What a battle! ⚔️
The judges have called this fight a majority draw.#UFCSP
pic.twitter.com/UpfbiGfQhW— UFC (@ufc)
November 5, 2023
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Elizeu
Zaleski dos Santos was a follow-up punch or two away from
pulling off one of the biggest comebacks of the year.
Dropped in the opening minute by the heavy-handed welterweight
Rinat
Fakhretdinov, dos Santos ate overhand rights from the Russian
like they were free samples at
UFC Fight Night 231.
Fakhretdinov, who entered the fight on a 20-bout win streak, fell
in love with his fist and went away from his wrestling background
in Round 2. This allowed dos Santos enough time to find and home
for his snapping lead body kick.
Tired and tender heading into Round 3, Fakhretdinov succumbed under
the assault of dos Santos’ body attack and was nearly finished
before being saved by the bell. Two judges scored the third round
10-8 for dos Santos and the war was ultimately scored a majority
draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28).
Undefeated light heavyweight Vitor
Petrino turned everyone’s head — but most notably Modestas
Bukauskas’ — with a show-stopping left hook in the second
round (1:03).
Petrino (10-0, 3-0 UFC) finished his last fight via submission but
showed off his wrestling with a thunderous powerbomb in Round 1.
Bukauskas (15-5), looking to preserve his four-fight win streak,
tried to open up in the second stanza and catch Petrino off guard
with a long lead left hook but Petrino was too quick. “Cabuloso”
caught Bakauskas with a short left hook that swiftly ended the
Baltic Gladiator’s night.
With the win, Petrino notched his seventh career knockout.
Angela
Hill (16-13) has been a thorn in the foot of aspiring UFC
prospects for years and Denise
Gomes was the latest to find out the hard way.
Hill, outworked, outwrestled and outstruck Gomes en route to a
unanimous decision win (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in their strawweight
matchup.
Gomes (8-2) nearly closed the show late in Round 1 after catching
Hill in a deep armbar attempt. Hill escaped and stayed out of
trouble the rest of the right while still recording five takedowns
and over four minutes of ground control time.
On the feet, Hill pieced up Gomes with quick flurries and hard
knees. Always a tough out, the No. 12 ranked Hill looked better
than ever and could look to make her way back up the rankings in
her next outing.
Eduarda
Moura (10-0, 1-0 UFC) was overweight by nearly five pounds
(119.5) for her UFC debut against Montserrat
Ruiz but was impressive throughout her first promotional
win.
Moura rag-dolled Ruiz for the first five minutes before eventually
pummeling her overmatched foe into a second-round finish (2:14).
Moura was a step ahead on the ground all fight and effortlessly
bashed Ruiz with elbows and lunch before referee Joao Claudio
Soares was forced to intervene.
Kaue
Fernandes hoped to electrify his countrymen in his UFC debut
but was neutralized by savvy vet Marc
Diakiese.
Diakiese (17-7) rebounded from a two-fight losing streak by
controlling the debutant on the ground en route to a split decision
win (29-28, 28-29, 30-27).
Fernandes (8-2) came into their lightweight clash with back-to-back
first-round knockouts, but “Bonecrusher” took him down each round
and landed enough ground and pound to carry the fight. The
Brazilian fan base grew restless with Diakiese’s style but
Fernandes had no answer. It was a frustrating debut for the
28-year-old, but a fighter the caliber of Diakiese was bound to
test the holes in his game.