With the Von Flue!! @AlonzoMenifield
locks in the early sub to close the
#UFC260 prelims! pic.twitter.com/FpFP8NzHVQ— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA)
March 28, 2021
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ESPN app.
Alonzo
Menifield exploited the narrowest of openings.
The
Dana White’s Contender Series graduate submitted
Ultimate Fighting Championship newcomer Fabio
Cherant with a Von Flue shoulder choke in the first round of
their featured UFC
260 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Cherant
(7-2, 0-1 UFC) capitulated 71 seconds into Round 1.
Menifield (10-2, 3-2 UFC) swooped into range and countered an
attempted guillotine from the
Legacy Fighting Alliance champion with a high-amplitude
takedown. Cherant failed to release his grip on the way down and
wandered into the fight-ending choke. Once Menifield connected his
hands, the conclusion became a formality.
Nurmagomedov Handles Overmatched Gooden
American Kickboxing Academy export Abubakar
Nurmagomedov registered his first win inside the Octagon with a
one-sided unanimous decision over Jared
Gooden in a three-round welterweight encounter. Nurmagomedov
(16-3-1, 1-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with matching 30-27 nods
from the judges.
Gooden (17-6, 0-2 UFC) was met with a multi-pronged standup attack
from the developing sambo stylist. Nurmagomedov unleashed thudding
combinations with his hands and integrated kicks to the body and
head at opportune times, keeping his Atlanta-based adversary
honest. Gooden nullified the Russian’s grappling game until the
third round. There, Nurmagomedov executed a takedown with a little
less than four minutes to go and bled the remaining time off the
clock in top position.
The 27-year-old Gooden will carry a two-fight losing streak into
his next assignment.
Aggressive Oleksiejczuk Edges Bukauskas
Michal
Oleksiejczuk threw the brakes on a two-fight losing streak with
a split decision over former
Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Modestas
Bukauskas in a competitive three-round battle at 205 pounds.
All three judges scored it 29-28: Ron McCarthy and Tony Weeks for
Oleksiejczuk, Eric Colon
for Bukauskas.
Pressure provided the difference. Oleksiejczuk (15-4, 3-2 UFC)
moved forward with an almost maniacal purpose, firing power punches
to the body and head with no apparent regard for his own
well-being. Bukauskas (11-4, 1-2 UFC) countered effectively off the
back foot and scored with various kicks but spent almost the entire
fight in a backpedal. Oleksiejczuk connected with perhaps the most
consequential blow in the third round, where he delivered a
crushing left hook to the liver that forced the Lithuanian to
retreat to the fence.
Bukauskas, 27, has lost two fights in a row.
Morales Tops Reeling Young
Sanford MMA’s Omar
Morales rebounded from a Oct. 10 defeat to Giga
Chikadze with a unanimous decision over Shane Young
in a largely uneventful three-round featherweight confrontation.
All three judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Morales (11-1, 3-1
UFC).
Young (13-6, 2-3 UFC) struggled to navigate a noticeable disparity
in physical strength. Morales pushed him backward with jabs and leg
kicks, incorporated occasional combinations and even mixed in a
takedown roughly 90 seconds into the third round. Young advanced in
spurts but exacted little damage with his efforts.
Operating out of the
City Kickboxing camp in New Zealand, Young has suffered
back-to-back losses for the first time in his 19-fight career.
Barriault Batters Exhausted Azaitar
Former TKO
Major League MMA champion Marc-Andre
Barriault put away Abu Azaitar
with punches in the third round of their middleweight pairing.
Barriault (12-4, 1-3 UFC) brought it to a close 4:56 into Round 3,
securing his first victory since Sept. 21, 2018.
Azaitar (14-3-1, 1-1 UFC) enjoyed a strong start with repeated leg
kicks, looping power punches and close-range knee strikes. However,
his body broke under the merciless pace being pushed by his
counterpart. Barriault withstood a sweeping left hook from the
Moroccan in the second round, piled up points with volume punching
and incorporated sharp elbows in the clinch. Round 3 was a
massacre. Once the visibly depleted Azaiatar surrendered top
position while reaching for his mouthpiece, the scene grew
increasingly gruesome. Barriault achieved full mount on four
separate occasions, assaulting the
World Series of Fighting veteran with sustained ground-and-pound until referee
Jerin
Valel had seen enough.
The loss was Azaitar’s first in more than eight years and closed
the book on his 10-fight unbeaten streak. 
