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Sandhagen appears to have shed the dark horse label once and
for all. The fast-rising
Elevation Fight Team star moved one step closer to a shot at
the
Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight crown, as he blew
away Marlon
Moraes with a spinning wheel kick and follow-up punches in the
second round of their
UFC Fight Night 179 headliner on Saturday at the Flash Forum in
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Moraes (23-7-1, 5-3 UFC) bowed out
63 seconds into Round 2.
Sandhagen (13-2, 6-1 UFC) used his height and length to his
advantage throughout the first round, where he chopped away at the
Brazilian’s legs and body with kicks. His fluid stance switches
paid dividends, as well, allowing him to connect with jabs from
both hands that led to significant damage near Moraes’ right eye.
Sandhagen moved forward roughly a minute into the second round,
planted and fired the kick off the side of the
former
World Series of Fighting champion’s head. Moraes somersaulted
backward, at which point he was met with a volley of punches that
closed the door.
Barboza Handles Replacement Amirkhani
American Top Team export Edson
Barboza won for the first time in nearly two years, as he laid
claim to a unanimous decision over Makwan
Amirkhani in the featherweight co-main event. Scores were
30-26, 30-27 and 29-28, all for Barboza (21-9, 15-9 UFC), who
rebounded from consecutive losses to Dan Ige,
Paul
Felder and Justin Gathje.
A short-notice replacement for Sodiq
Yusuff, Amirkhani (16-5, 6-3 UFC) lacked the firepower and
athleticism often required to deal with the former Ring of
Combat champion. Barboza hammered the body with punches and
kicks, knocked down the
SBG Ireland rep twice with straight right hands in the second
round and nullified his takedowns with stellar defense off his
back.
Amirkhani, 31, has lost twice in three appearances.
Tybura Batters Rothwell Bloody
Former M-1 Global
titleholder Marcin
Tybura withstood an early blitz, then exploited an exhausted
Ben
Rothwell to earn a unanimous decision in a three-round
heavyweight showdown. All three judges scored it 29-27 for Tybura
(20-6, 7-5 UFC), who has quietly rattled off three straight
wins.
Rothwell (38-13, 8-7 UFC) spent almost the entire first round
trying to drown the Polish standout with volume punching. Tybura
stayed the course in the face of enormous pressure, forced “Big
Ben” to dig deeper and capitalized once fatigue set in on the
Kenosha, Wisconsin, native. The 34-year-old Pole turned the tide in
the middle stanza and found another gear in the third. There, he
secured a takedown and bludgeoned Rothwell with enough destructive
ground-and-pound to earn a 10-8 scorecard from all three
judges.
The setback was Rothwell’s third in five outings.
Du Plessis Counter Flattens Perez
Onetime
KSW champion Dricus Du
Plessis dispatched Markus
Perez with punches in the first round of their featured
middleweight pairing. Filling in for Rodolfo
Vieira on short notice, Du Plessis (15-2, 1-0 UFC) brought it
to a decisive close 3:22 into Round 1, as he extended his winning
streak to three fights.
Perez (12-4, 2-4 UFC) was the aggressor at the outset and initially
forced the South African standout onto his back foot with sharp
left hands and powerful body kicks. Du Plessis maintained his
composure, fought through the jitters associated with his
organizational debut and waited for his opportunity to strike.
He countered a spinning attack from Perez with a
shovel left hook to the side of the head, trailed him to the
mat and sealed the deal with follow-up punches.
Perez, 27, has lost three of his last four fights.
Aspinall Mauls Newcomer Baudot
Team Kaobon prospect Tom
Aspinall put away promotional newcomer Alan Baudot
with mounted ground-and-pound in the first round of their
heavyweight showcase. A late replacement for Sergey
Spivak, Baudot (8-2, 0-1 UFC) succumbed to blows 1:35 into
Round 1.
Aspinall (9-2, 2-0 UFC) waded through spinning strikes and a few
upward elbows from the knockout-minded
MMA Factory standout. He calmed the chaos with a takedown,
moved to full mount and cut loose with a sustained burst of unanswered
elbows and punches until the job was done.
The 27-year-old Aspinall has stitched together five consecutive
victories.
Undefeated Topuria Stymies Zalal
Former
Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Ilia
Topuria kept his perfect professional record intact and made a
successful Octagon debut, as he took a unanimous decision from
Youssef
Zalal in their three-round featherweight feature. All three
cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards for the unbeaten Topuria
(9-0, 1-0 UFC), a short-notice substitution for Seung Woo
Choi.
Zalal (10-3, 3-1 UFC) played right into the Spaniard’s hands.
Topuria executed multiple takedowns, achieved full mount on two
occasions and ran through a series of submission attempts,
including guillotines, anaconda chokes, arm-triangles and
rear-naked chokes. None of them stuck, but his efforts built an
insurmountable lead and afforded him the breathing room he needed
to overcome fatigue in the latter stages of the match.
The defeat closed the book on Zalal’s four-fight winning
streak.
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UFC Fight Night 179 Prelims: Breese Blasts Newcomer Bhullar
