Straight out of the gate! Don’t sleep on
@Guram_Dze‘s
power!
#UFCFightIsland6 pic.twitter.com/vTJ3AEXSKy— UFC (@ufc)
October 17, 2020
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Guram
Kutateladze paid no mind to the pundits.
The
Allstars Training Center export leaned on sensational grappling
defense and a hyperactive kicking game in a stellar
Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, as he walked away with a
split decision over former two-division
KSW titleholder Mateusz
Gamrot in the featured
UFC Fight Night 180 lightweight prelim on Saturday at the Flash
Forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. All three cageside judges
scored it 29-28: Darryl Ransom and Victor Wolf
for Kutateladze, David Lethaby for the favored Gamrot.
A short-notice substitution for Magomed
Mustafaev, Kutateladze (12-2, 1-0 UFC) chipped away with kicks
to the body, legs and head, sat down his Polish adversary with an
overhand left in the second round and withstood a late surge from
the American Top Team representative in the third. Gamrot (17-1,
0-1 UFC) struggled to find a foothold throughout, but he landed a
front kick to the face in the waning moments before executing a
duck-under takedown. Kutateladze, however, was wise to his efforts,
chewed up the remaining time and exited the cage with his hand
raised.
Kutateladze, 28, will carry a nine-fight winning streak into his
next assignment.
Dominant Robertson Stifles Botelho
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 26 alum Gillian
Robertson overcame a slow start to earn a clear-cut unanimous
decision over Poliana
Botelho in a three-round women’s flyweight confrontation. All
three judges sided with Robertson (9-4, 6-2 UFC): 29-28, 29-27 and
29-27.
Botelho (8-3, 3-2 UFC) kept the Canadian at bay with jabs and leg
kicks, but most importantly, she managed to stay upright for much
of the first round. That narrative soon changed. Robertson refused
to be denied and delivered takedowns in the second and third
rounds, where she operated from three-quarter mount and full mount
while piling up points with hammerfists, short punches and elbows
from the top. Botelho’s situation grew more and more desperate as
time ticked away and fatigue took hold. Robertson rendered her
attempts to bridge and scramble from the bottom futile, clearing
her latest hurdle with room to spare.
The 25-year-old Robertson has recorded four victories in her last
five appearances.
Park Drowns Overmatched Phillips
Repeated takedowns, suffocating top control and steady
ground-and-pound carried
Korean Top Team’s Jun Yong
Park to a lopsided unanimous decision over former British
Association of Mixed Martial Arts champion John
Phillips in a three-round middleweight encounter. Park (12-4,
2-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with matching 30-25 marks from all
three judges.
Phillips (22-11, 1-5 UFC) offered nothing in terms of substantive
resistance. Park executed takedowns with ease, floated to
advantageous positions, fished for chokes and battered the impotent
SBG Ireland rep with volleys of punches and elbows. Phillips
managed to open a cut near the South Korean’s left eye with an
elbow strike from the bottom in the second round but was otherwise
a complete non-factor across 15 forgettable minutes.
Park, 29, has won nine of his past 10 bouts.
Determined Ziam Outlasts Mullarkey
Bulgarian Top Team product Fares Ziam
won for the sixth time in seven outings, as he laid claim to a
unanimous decision over Jamie
Mullarkey in a three-round battle at 155 pounds. All three
cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards for Ziam (11-3, 1-1
UFC).
Mullarkey (12-4, 0-2 UFC) executed takedowns in all three rounds
but failed to consolidate his advantages with positional control or
meaningful ground-and-pound. Ziam used his superior craft, length
and skill during their standup exchanges, offsetting his
counterpart’s efforts in the clinch and on the floor. Mullarkey had
his chances in Round 3, but exhaustion and his defiant opponent’s
refusal to break under pressure left him at a deficit in the eyes
of the judges.
The victory was Ziam’s first since February 2019.
Grishin Stops Reeling Atigulov
Maxim
Grishin rebounded from a July 11 loss to Marcin
Tybura, as he took care of onetime
Absolute Championship Berkut titlist Gadzhimurad
Antigulov with punches in the second round of their light
heavyweight tilt. Grishin (31-8-2, 1-1 UFC) brought it to a close
4:58 into Round 2.
Antigulov (20-8, 2-4 UFC) corralled his former
American Top Team stablemate in the clinch for much of the
first round—he scored with shoulder strikes, knees and foot
stomps—and executed a takedown early in the second. However,
Grishin rode the momentum into a reversal, returned to his feet and
countered an ill-advised attempt at a guillotine by shedding the
choke and moving to full mount. From there, he punished Antigulov
with elbows and punches. The two men ultimately shifted to a
standing position, at which point Grishin pinned his fellow Russian
to the fence, uncorked a powerful right hook to the head and
flurried with follow-up punches to force a standing
stoppage.
Once a promising addition to the 205-pound weight class, Antigulov
now finds himself on a four-fight losing streak.
Nurmagomedov Annihilates Newcomer Striegl
Akhmat Fight Team’s Said
Nurmagomedov put away former
Universal Reality Combat Championship titleholder Mark
Striegl with punches in the first round of their bantamweight
pairing. Striegl (18-3, 0-1 UFC) succumbed to blows 51 seconds into
Round 1, suffering his first setback in nearly five years.
Nurmagomedov (14-2, 3-1 UFC) caught the One
Championship veteran moving forward, clipped him behind the ear
with a counter left hook and answered a desperate single-leg
takedown attempt with punches to the side of the head. A dazed and
confused Striegl collapsed backward, failed to defend himself and
paid a steep price. Nurmagomedov continued to fire punches, moved to a
dominant position and let his fists do the rest.
The 28-year-old Nurmagomedov has rattled off eight wins across his
last nine appearances. 
