JONNY PARSONS WITH SECONDS LEFT IN THE ROUND
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#UFCLondon pic.twitter.com/DUn027uR21— ESPN MMA (@espnmma)
July 22, 2023
Syndicate MMA product Jonny
Parsons outdueled English veteran Danny
Roberts during a wild second-round brawl for a technical
knockout victory in the featured welterweight prelim at
UFC Fight Night 224 in London on Saturday. Parsons brought the
show to a close at the 4:57 mark of Round 2 for his sixth straight
win. Roberts has lost three straight fights dating back to May
2022.
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Roberts (18-8, 7-7 UFC started well, using his reach and superior
boxing to get the better of Parsons (9-3, 1-0 UFC) in the opening
stanza. That changed in the second period when Parsons clipped his
foe with a clean right to the jaw. From there, Roberts threw
caution to the wind — to his detriment. Parsons had Roberts reeling
with a series of knees and uppercuts against the fence, forcing
“Hot Chocolate” to shoot for a takedown out of desperation. When
the combatants returned to their feet, Roberts continued to swing
wildly, with his hands hanging low. From there, Parsons sent his
opponent somersaulting backward with a multi-punch combination.
tTwo follow-up strikes on the ground sealed the victory for the
Contender Series alum.
Alvarez Chokes Out Diakiese
Spain’s Joel
Alvarez took advantage of an accidental clash of heads and
scored a second-round submission victory against ex-British
Association of Mixed Martial Arts champion Marc
Diakiese in a lightweight encounter. “El Fenomeno” brought the
show to a close with a brabo choke at the 4:26 mark of Round 2.
The tide shifted for good when Alvarez and Diakiese appeared to
clash heads during a striking exchange in the second stanza. While
Diakese emerged clutching the back of his head in pain, referee
Daniel Movahedi did not see the foul. Alvarez capitalized,
attacking his reeling foe with strikes before powering the Brit
down to the mat and locking in the fight-ending maneuver. Diakiese
resisted as long as he could before Alvarez rolled him over and
induced the tap.
Parkin Bests Pogues
London native Michael
Parkin kept his undefeated record intact, as he used a
technical approach to capture a unanimous verdict over fellow
Contender Series alum Jamal
Pogues in a forgettable heavyweight affair. All three judges
saw the fight 30-27 in favor of the 27-year-old Englishman.
Parkin (7-0, 1-0 UFC) was able to keep the majority of the fight at
his preferred range and pace. He landed his right hand consistently
while utilizing intelligent head movement to avoid Pogues’ return
offerings. As the bout progressed, a steady diet of calf kicks from
Parkin prompted a stance switch from Pogues (10-4, 1-1 UFC), who
was unable to provide enough output to truly threaten his
opponent.
Muradov Outclasses Barberena
Makhmud
Muradov gave Bryan
Barberena a rude welcome to the middleweight division, winning
a dominant unanimous decision in a 185-pound scrap. The Uzbekistan
native swept the scorecards by identical 30-27 counts to snap a
two-bout Octagon skid. Barberena, meanwhile, has lost three
straight fights for the first time in his career.
Muradov (26-8, 4-2 UFC) blended crisp striking with dominant
wrestling to keep his opponent on his heels. “Mach” tagged
Barberena (18-11, 9-9 UFC) with laser right hands — dropping him on
two occasions — and landed a UFC career-high 13 takedowns. Only
Barberena’s trademark toughness kept him in the bout until the
final horn.
Vieira Overpowers Kianzad
Nova Uniao representative Ketlen
Vieira relied on takedowns and suffocating top pressure to
cruise to a unanimous decision triumph against former Cage Warriors
champion Pannie
Kianzad in a matchup of ranked bantamweights. Vieira (14-3, 8-3
UFC) received a trio of 29-28 tallies to secure her third win in
her last four outings.
Kianzad (16-7, 5-4 UFC), who was returning from a torn ACL,
struggled to remain upright. Vieira landed takedowns early in each
frame and kept her foe grounded while advancing to dominant
positions and hunting for submissions. Kianzad’s lone moment of
note occurred in Round 3, when she escaped back control to reverse
into top position, where she ended the round attacking with
ground-and-pound from above. By then, it was case of too little,
too late for the Swede.
Duncan Tops Ashmoz
A multi-faceted offensive arsenal propelled American Top Team
product Chris
Duncan to a clear-cut three-round verdict against Yanal
Ashmoz in a lightweight clash. The Scot received tallies of
30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 from the cageside judges to earn his fourth
consecutive triumph. After a first-round knockout victory in his
debut, Ashmoz (7-1, 1-1) tastes defeat for the first time in his
professional tenure.
Duncan (11-1, 2-0 UFC) kept his adversary off balance by attacking
with punching combinations from various angles, kicks to the legs
and body and step-in knees down the middle while utilizing
intelligent movement and feints. Meanwhile, Ashmoz spent the
majority of the contest fighting with a compromised left arm —
potentially from blocking an early head kick — which left him with
limited options with which to work. Duncan gradually turned up the
heat as the bout progressed to strengthen his case on the
scorecards.
Brasil Outpoints Bannon
Dana White’s Contender Series alum Bruna
Brasil earned a unanimous decision triumph over former Invicta
FC competitor Shauna
Bannon in a strawweight tilt. All three cageside judges scored
the fight in favor of the Brazilian: 29-28, 29-28, 30-27.
Brasil (9-3-1, 1-1 UFC) landed nearly all the strikes of
consequence, including right hands, left hooks, head kicks — and
even a spinning back fist in Round 2. Bannon (5-1, 0-1 UFC) upped
her output in the final stanza and appeared to wobble her opponent
with a right hand, but Brasil was able to force a tie-up before
landing a takedown to ride out the fight.
Filho Rallies, Taps Barez
Nova Uniao product Jafel Filho
survived some early adversity to rally for a submission victory
over Spain’s Daniel
Barez at flyweight.
An arm-triangle choke brought an end to the contest at
the 3:26 mark of Round 1. Barez sees a four-bout winning streak
snapped in defeat.
Barez (16-6, 0-1 UFC) came out with bad intentions, as he backed
his man into the fence and punished Filho (15-3, 1-1 UFC) with
powerful punches and kicks to the body. While Filho appeared to be
hurt on a couple occasions, he maintained his composure and worked
his way back into the fight, brawling with his opponent until he
found the right opening. He took control for good when he landed a
takedown against the fence, framed the fight-ending maneuver and
passed to the proper side to elicit the tap.