Get the shoeys ready
@BamBamTuivasa
with the buzzer beater and he’s ready to celebrate![
#UFC254 main card is NEXT: https://t.co/QRo69og6BH ] pic.twitter.com/JRnQE6ji7w
— UFC (@ufc)
October 24, 2020
Knockout power was the great equalizer for Tai
Tuivasa.
Faced with nine-inch height and nine-inch reach deficits, “Bam Bam”
re-established his foothold in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s heavyweight division and put
away Stefan
Struve with punches in the first round of their featured UFC
254 prelim on Saturday at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates. Tuivasa (10-3, 4-3 UFC) drew the curtain 4:59 into Round
1, as he snapped a three-fight losing streak with his first victory
since June 9, 2018.
Struve (29-13, 13-11 UFC) was never much of a factor. Tuivasa
chopped away at his lead leg with damaging kicks, closed the
distance without fear and pressed the 6-foot-11 Dutchman into the
fence. Late in the first round, he tossed an off-balance Struve to
the canvas from the clinch, flurried with punches and sealed the deal with a right uppercut that folded
the “Skyscraper” where he stood.
The 32-year-old Struve has lost five of his last six fights.
Kenney Outlasts Wood in Firefight
Former two-division
Legacy Fighting Alliance titleholder Casey
Kenny extended his winning streak to three fights, as he took a
unanimous decision from Nathaniel
Wood in a three-round catchweight scrap at 140 pounds. All
three cageside judges scored it for Kenney (16-2-1, 5-1 UFC):
29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.
The bantamweight hopefuls fought at a frenetic pace. After a
closely contested first round, Wood (17-5, 4-2 UFC) appeared to
inch in front with a strong middle stanza. There, he maintained his
output, clipped Kenney with left hooks and mixed in jabs and leg
kicks. Wood’s efforts, however, did little to dissuade the MMA Lab
standout. Kenney snapped back the Brad
Pickett protégé’s head with a thudding straight left and spent
a significant portion of Round 3 threatening with takedowns and
running Wood through a maze of time-stealing clinches.
Wood has lost twice in his past three outings.
Unbeaten Rakhmonov Subdues Oliveira
Former M-1 Global
champion Shavkat
Rakhmonov dazzled in his promotional debut, as he submitted
Alex
Oliveira with a guillotine choke in the first round of their
welterweight affair. A short-notice substitution for Elizeu
Zaleski dos Santos, Oliveira (22-9-1, 11-7 UFC) bowed out 4:40
into Round 1.
Rakhmonov (13-0, 1-0 UFC) softened the Brazilian with leg kicks,
closed the distance with a knee strike to the body, followed up
with punches and invited a clinch exchange. From there, he
countered an attempted double-leg takedown with the guillotine,
trapped Oliveira in full guard and squeezed for the
finish. “Cowboy” — who missed weight for the match by two
pounds — resisted initially, then raised the white flag.
The 26-year-old Rakhmonov has stopped all 13 of his opponents,
eight of them inside one round.
Jung, Alvey Battle to Split Draw
Korean Top Team prospect Da Un Jung
and former
Maximum Fighting Championship titleholder Sam Alvey
fought to a split draw in a three-round confrontation at 205
pounds. Judges David Lethaby (Alvey) and Darry Ransom (Jung) struck
dueling 29-28 scorecards, while Ben Cartlidge scored it 28-28.
Alvey (33-14-1, 10-9-1 UFC) controlled a majority of the standup
exchanges in the first two rounds, where he piled up points with
counter left hands, kicks to the lower lead leg and sneaky right
uppercuts. Jung (13-2-1, 2-0-1 UFC) rallied in the third, where he
floored the Team Quest rep with a standing elbow strike and swooped
in for a potential finish with standing-to-ground punches. Alvey
withstood those efforts but wobbled on the end of two more elbow
strikes from his opponent later in the round, his lead on the
scorecards dwindling with each passing second.
The draw halted Jung’s run of consecutive victories at 12 while
simultaneously closing the book on Alvey’s four-fight losing
streak.
Debuting Maverick Shreds Jojua
Invicta Fighting Championships veteran Miranda
Maverick prompted a cut stoppage against Liana
Jojua in between the first and second rounds of their women’s
flyweight tilt. Hacked open across the bridge of the nose by a
devastating stepping elbow, Jojua (8-4, 1-2
UFC) was declared unfit to continue by the cageside physician.
Maverick (8-2, 1-0 UFC) waded through a few counter right hands and
tore into the former Fight Nights Global champion with volume and
variety. Clean punching combinations and kicks to all levels made
life miserable for Jojua. Near the end of the first round, the
Georgian ate a full-force elbow to the face that split flesh and
sent her back to her corner in a state of desperation. Soon after,
the doctor advised referee Lukasz Bosacki to intervene.
A talent on the rise at 125 pounds, Maverick will carry a
four-fight winning streak into her next assignment.
Alvarez Armbar Dismisses Yakovlev
Former
Ansgar Fighting League champion Joel
Alvarez submitted Alexander
Yakovlev with an armbar in the first round of their
lightweight pairing. Yakovlev (25-11-1, 3-6 UFC) conceded
defeat 3:00 into Round 1, as the reeling Russian lost for the
fourth time in five outings.
Alvarez (18-2, 3-1 UFC) — who missed weight by 3.5 pounds —
attacked the legs with kicks, forced the K Dojo Warrior Tribe
export into a takedown and threatened with an immediate arm-in
guillotine. Yakovlev freed himself from the choke after 30-plus
tense seconds, traded ground-and-pound with the Spaniard and
wandered into the armbar. Alvarez then elevated his hips, cut off
escape routes and forced the tapout.
The 27-year-old Alvarez has rattled off three straight wins.