The Maniac stays UNDEFEATED in the UFC 👏
Marcus McGhee takes the W in his first trip to the big stage!
#UFC309 pic.twitter.com/aPet3mNlMa— UFC (@ufc)
November 17, 2024
McGhee passed another test in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division but not
without considerable difficulty.
The MMA Lab representative outstruck and outlasted Jonathan
Martinez to a unanimous decision in the featured UFC
309 prelim on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
McGhee (10-1, 4-0 UFC) swept the scorecards with matching 29-28
marks from all three members of the cageside judiciary.
Martinez (19-6, 10-5 UFC) was slow out of the gate. The muscular
McGhee cracked him with stout jabs, multi-punch bursts and the
occasional kick to the leg or midsection. The approach bought him a
two-rounds-to-none lead, and he needed every bit of it. Martinez
hobbled him with a heavy leg kick at the end of the middle stanza,
then continued to attack the appendage throughout the third round.
By the time it was over, McGhee had been reduced to a one-legged
fighter but managed to hold on and send it to the scorecards.
Meanwhile, former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder
Jim
Miller once again kept Father Time at bay and dismissed
Damon
Jackson with a guillotine choke in the first round of their
lightweight tiff.
The ageless 41-year-old Miller (38-18, 27-17) drew the curtain 2:44
into Round 1.
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Jackson (23-8-1, 6-6-1 UFC) zeroed in on the New Jersey native with
one-twos, inside leg kicks and front kicks to the body. All his
good work was erased when he ducked into range and left his neck
exposed. The opportunistic Miller bit down on the guillotine,
wrapped up the Fortis MMA mainstay in full guard and prompted the
tapout with an unshakable squeeze.
It was the 16th first-round finish of Miller’s remarkable
career.
Further down the undercard, Factory X product David Onama
rode a sharp jab and crisp combination punching to a unanimous
decision over promotional newcomer Roberto
Romero in a three-round featherweight dogfight. All three
cageside judges scored it 30-27 for Onama (13-2, 5-2 UFC).
A short-notice substitution for Lucas
Almeida, Romero (8-4-1, 0-1 UFC) acquitted himself well under
less-than-ideal circumstances. He surprised and floored Onama with
a right hand in the first round, advanced to the back and flirted
with a rear-naked choke. However, Romero’s luck soon ran out. Onama
waded through the initial adversity and let fly with exquisite two-
and three-punch volleys, targeting the head and body with power and
precision. He bullied his way into top position in the third round,
capitalized on a fatiguing Romero, briefly climbed to full mount
and piled up points with ground-and-pound.
Onama, 30, will head into his next assignment on the strength of a
three-fight winning streak.
Elsewhere, former M-1 Global champion Marcin
Tybura forced a doctor stoppage against previously unbeaten
Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Jhonata
Diniz in their heavyweight clash.
Referee Herb Dean was advised to wave it off after 10
minutes.
Tybura (26-9, 13-8 UFC) withstood an early knockdown and managed to
force the Brazilian kickboxer out of his comfort zone. He ducked
into a takedown roughly two minutes into the middle stanza and
methodically progressed from half guard to full mount. Diniz (8-1,
2-1 UFC) had no answers. Tybura unleashed a hailstorm of elbow
strikes with time winding down, opening cuts on both eyelids and
across the bridge of the Santa Fe Team
standout’s nose. Worse, a visibly concussed Diniz retreated to his
corner on unsteady legs for the one-minute respite. Upon
examination by the cageside physician, he was deemed unfit to
continue.
The 39-year-old Tybura has posted four wins across his last six
outings.
Deeper into the preliminary draw, Fortis MMA’s Ramiz
Brahimaj wiped out onetime Phil “CM Punk”
Brooks tormentor Mickey Gall
with punches in the first round of their welterweight encounter.
Brahimaj (11-5, 3-3 UFC) closed it out 2:55 into Round
1.
Gall (7-7, 6-7 UFC) put an effective jab into play, often marrying
it with a knifing cross. Brahimaj responded by crowding the Kill
Cliff Fight Club rep in the clinch, where he leaned on
uppercut-heavy dirty boxing and found his sweet spot in close
quarters. He pushed Gall backward, felled the New Jersey native
with an overhand right and pounced with follow-up punches until the
job was done.
Winless since 2021, Gall has lost four fights in a row.
Finally, surging Shore MMA prospect Oban
Elliott put away former Fury Fighting Championship titleholder
Bassil
Hafez with punches in the third round of their welterweight
pairing.
Hafez (9-5-1, 1-2 UFC) succumbed to blows 40 seconds into Round 3,
suffering the first stoppage loss of his 15-fight
career.
Elliott (12-2, 3-0 UFC) chipped way with push kicks to the leg,
jabs and body kicks, as he stayed patient and composed against a
tightly wound counterpart. Early in the third round, the Welshman
stepped into a devastating overhand right and folded Hafez where he
stood. Elliott trailed him to the canvas and cut loose with short
punches and hammerfists for the clean finish.
The 26-year-old Elliott has rattled off eight consecutive
victories.
In other action, Eduardo Moura (11-1, 2-1 UFC) called upon
punishing counter right hands, timely takedowns and stifling top
control ahead of a unanimous decision over Veronica
Hardy (9-5-1, 4-5 UFC) in a three-round women’s flyweight tilt,
drawing 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 marks from on the scorecards.