Raul
Rosas Jr. did not shrink in the spotlight. In fact, he basked
in it.
The 2022
Dana White’s Contender Series graduate dazzled in his
Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, as he submitted former
CES MMA titleholder Jay Perrin
with a face crank in their featured
UFC 282 bantamweight prelim on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in
Las Vegas. Rosas Jr. (7-0, 1-0 UFC), the youngest fighter to ever
compete inside the Octagon, finished it 2:44 into Round 1.
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Perrin (10-7, 0-3 UFC) was out of his depth. Rosas Jr. delivered a
takedown inside the first minute, climbed to the back and applied
his ground-and-pound. After securing his position with a body
triangle,
the 18-year-old phenom slid his arms into place, tightened his
vice-like squeeze and drew out the white flag from
Perrin.
Frightening Rozenstruik Mauls Daukaus
American Top Team export Jairzinho
Rozenstruik obliterated Chris
Daukaus with punches less than a minute into the first round of
their heavyweight pairing. Daukaus (12-6, 4-3 UFC) met his end a
mere 23 seconds into Round 1 and now finds himself on a three-fight
skid. They exchanged punches at the outset, and it favored Rozenstruik
(13-4, 7-4 UFC). The Surinamese kickboxer dazed Daukaus with a left
jab, followed with a flying knee and pursued him with power
punches.
Rozenstruik never afforded the Martinez BJJ rep the chance to
recover, as he stepped into a crushing left hook that resulted in a
knockdown and led to the stoppage.
It was the fourth sub-minute finish of Rozenstruik’s career.
Shahbazyan Wrecks Reeling Lungiambula
Edmen
Shahbazyan tasted the sweet fruits of victory for the first
time in 1,134 days, as he dispatched former two-division Extreme
Fighting Championship titleholder Dalcha
Lungiambula in the second round of their middleweight scrap.
Lungiambula (11-6, 2-5 UFC) packed his bags 4:41 into Round 2.
Shahbazyan (12-3, 5-3 UFC) was patient and precise. He focused his
attention initially on the legs and body of the African powerhouse.
Late in the second round, Shahbazyan connected with a flying knee
and gave chase with punches. Lungiambula collapsed face first to
the floor, absorbed more punishment and eventually succumbed to
blows.
Lungiambula has lost four fights in a row.
Surging Curtis Ambushes Buckley
Xtreme Couture’s Chris
Curtis bounced back from his July 23 loss to Jack
Hermansson, as he wiped out Joaquin
Buckley with punches in the second round of their middleweight
confrontation. Curtis (30-9, 4-1 UFC)
closed it out 2:49 into Round 2, winning for the ninth time in 10
outings.
The 28-year-old Buckley (15-6, 5-4 UFC) fought behind fast-twitch
punching bursts and superior output, forcing his adversary into a
defensive shell for much of the first round. He appeared to be
following much of the same track in the second, then struck the
proverbial iceberg. Curtis countered a head kick with a devastating
left cross that sent “New Mansa” crashing to the canvas. The
onetime CES MMA champion followed with a barrage of punches and
hammerfists until referee Jason Herzog arrived on the scene to dust
for prints.
Buckley has suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time as a
pro.
Quarantillo Rallies, Swarms Hernandez
Former King of the Cage champion Billy
Quarantillo took care of Alexander
Hernandez with knees and punches in the second round of their
featherweight duel. In his first appearance in more than a year,
Quarantillo (17-4, 5-2 UFC) brought it to a close 4:30 into Round
2.
Hernandez (13-6, 5-5 UFC) enjoyed a near-flawless first round,
where he stayed busy with punches, recorded multiple takedowns,
made a pass at an arm-triangle and hacked open a cut on his
opponent’s forehead with a downward elbow strike. However, he ran
out of steam in the middle stanza. There, Quarantillo unleashed
multi-punch volleys from a variety of angles and overwhelmed the
Factory X product with brutal output.
A few knees to the body pinned Hernandez to the fence, and a final
flurry of punches sealed the deal.
The 30-year-old Hernandez has dropped five of his past eight
bouts.
Brown Choke Vanquishes Silva
T.J.
Brown rebounded from his June 25 decision defeat to Nuerdanbieke
Shayilan, as he disposed of former Lux Fight League champion
Erik
Silva with an arm-triangle choke in the third round of their
featherweight affair. Brown (17-9, 3-3 UFC) slammed the door 3:41
into Round 3.
Silva (9-2, 0-1 UFC) struck for takedowns in the first and second
rounds but failed to consolidate them with damage or control, often
failing to hold dominant positions. Brown secured a takedown of his
own in Round 3, operated effectively inside guard and opened a cut
near his counterpart’s left eye with slashing ground-and-pound. The
Roli
Delgado protégé
eventually locked down the arm-triangle, cleared the legs and
forced the tap.
The loss was Silva’s first since July 2, 2016.
Saaiman Stops Replacement Koslow
Former Extreme Fighting Championship titleholder Cameron
Saaiman put away Steven
Koslow with knees and punches in the third round of their
back-and-forth bantamweight tilt. A short-notice substitution for
Ronnie
Lawrence, Koslow (6-1, 0-1 UFC)
checked out 4:13 into Round 3.
Saaiman (7-0, 1-0 UFC) rode out adversity—some of it
self-inflicted—and rose to the occasion. The 2022 Dana White’s
Contender Series graduate surrendered full mount twice in the first
round, then lost a point due to an illegal knee strike to the head
in the second. Koslow elected to go forward despite the fact that
he appeared visibly compromised by the impact of the foul. Saaiman
reversed into top position midway through Round 3, applied his
ground-and-pound and then disengaged in favor of the standup. Knees
and punches flowed freely, until Koslow turned away from contact
and prompted referee Chris Tognoni to act.