Ramazonbek
Temirov throws the kind of heat that keeps others awake at
night.
The Uzbekistani prospect announced his arrival in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight division with some
serious pizzazz, as he cut down C.J. Vergara
with punches in the featured
UFC Fight Night 244 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las
Vegas.
Vergara (12-6-1, 3-4 UFC) met his end 2:50 into Round
1.
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Temirov (16-2-1, 1-0 UFC) tested the waters with a couple spinning
back kicks to the body while darting in and out with power punches.
He floored Vergara with a left hook, gave chase with follow-up
punches and dropped the Pete Spratt
protégé a second time with a clubbing right over the top. Temirov
kept his foot on the accelerator, allowed his opponent to stand and
brought it to a close with a wicked left hook to the body.
The 27-year-old Temirov now finds himself on a 10-fight winning
streak.
Meanwhile, former Cage Fury Fighting Championship titleholder
Pat
Sabatini disposed of Jonathan
Pearce with a standing rear-naked choke in the first round of
their featherweight tiff.
Pearce (14-7, 5-3 UFC) capitulated 4:06 into Round 1, losing for
the third time in as many outings.
Sabatini (19-5, 6-2 UFC) closed the distance with a body kick,
scrambled behind the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate and
afforded him no room to breathe, much less operate. They separated
at one point, only for Pearce to wander into a double-leg takedown.
Sabatini again moved to the back, connected with short punches
while his opponent stood and snaked his arms in place for the
choke. Pearce briefly struggled to free himself, then bowed
out.
It was the eighth first-round finish of Sabatini’s career.
Elsewhere, Xtreme Couture’s Themba
Gorimbo rode repeated takedowns, consistent ground-and-pound
and stifling top control to a unanimous decision over Niko Price in
a three-round welterweight affair. All three cageside judges scored
it the same: 30-27 for Gorimbo (14-4, 4-1 UFC).
The offensively potent Price (16-8, 8-8 UFC) never got in gear.
Gorimbo kept him off-balance with a steady diet of kicks to the
lower lead leg, clean one-twos and some occasional dirty boxing
combinations. He overwhelmed Price with takedowns and positional
advances across the final two rounds, piling up points with punches
while shaving valuable time off the clock.
Gorimbo, 33, has rattled off four straight victories.
Further down the undercard, Soma Fight Club product Junior Tafa
put away promotional newcomer Sean Sharaf
with punches in the second round of their heavyweight tilt. A
late-notice replacement for Chris
Barnett, Sharaf (4-1, 0-1 UFC) succumbed to blows 2:15 into
Round 2.
Tafa (6-3, 2-3 UFC) managed to navigate some rough seas. Sharaf
capped a back-and-forth first round with a near-finish, as he
secured a takedown, climbed to full mount and cut loose with
punches and elbows in the closing seconds. Tafa survived and let
fatigue do the rest. Sharaf had nothing left in the tank for the
middle stanza. Tafa walked him down with punches, tripled up on
right uppercuts, pinned the exhausted Xtreme Couture rep to the
fence and teed off.
A volley of unanswered punches gave way to one final uppercut
before the stoppage was called.
The win snapped a two-fight losing streak for Tafa.
Finally, undefeated MMA Lab prospect Clayton
Carpenter put Lucas Rocha
to sleep with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their
flyweight pairing.
Rocha (17-2, 0-1 UFC) blacked out 2:12 into Round 2, suffering his
first setback in nearly five years.
Carpenter (8-0, 2-0 UFC) struck for a takedown inside the first 90
seconds, progressed from one advantageous to the next and hacked
open multiple cuts—one of them above the Brazilian’s left eye—with
slashing elbow strikes. Rocha acquitted himself well on the feet
but could not stay upright. Carpenter executed a blast double-leg
early in the second round, advanced to the back, secured his
position with a body triangle and cinched the fight-ending
choke.
The 28-year-old Carpenter has finished six of his first eight
opponents, four of them by submission.
In other action, former Hex Fight Series champion Cody Haddon
(8-1, 1-0 UFC) outstruck an overweight Dan Argueta
(9-3, 1-3 UFC) to a unanimous decision in their three-round
bantamweight clash, earning 30-27 marks on all three scorecards;
and Julia
Polastri (13-4, 1-1 UFC) filled in for Polyana
Viana on short notice and took a split decision—29-28, 28-29,
30-27—from Team Alpha Male’s Cory
McKenna (8-4, 3-3 UFC) in their three-round women’s strawweight
affair.