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Power was once again the great equalizer for
Josh
Emmett.
The Team Alpha Male mainstay kept his name relevant in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s featherweight division, as he
took a three-round unanimous decision from Dan Ige in the
featured UFC
269 prelim on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Scores
were 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27, all for Emmett (17-2, 8-2 UFC).
Ige (15-5, 7-4 UFC) faced an uphill climb after a difficult first
round. Emmett decked him with a thudding right hand, jumped into
top position with his ground-and-pound and established an early
advantage. Ige answered in Round 2, where he dazed the Phoenix
native with a left hook and followed it with a burst of punches in
a bid to finish. Those efforts failed to net the desired result,
and Emmett slowly but surely regained his faculties. Ige appeared
to connect more often down the stretch, but his unyielding
adversary landed with more authority and greater effect.
Emmett, 36, has pieced together four straight wins.
Cruz Outpoints Munhoz in Barnburner
Former UFC and World Extreme Cagefighting champion Dominick
Cruz leaned on surgical punching combinations, sublime footwork
and a hearty chin, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision over
Pedro
Munhoz in a three-round bantamweight match. All three cageside
judges arrived at the same verdict: 29-28 for Cruz (24-3, 7-2
UFC).
Munhoz (19-7, 9-7 UFC) nearly finished it in the first round, where
he clipped the oncoming Alliance MMA cornerstone with a left jab.
Cruz was immediately dazed by the impact of the blow and tried to
right himself, only to be dropped by a left hook soon after. Munhoz
flurried for a possible finish but failed to string together enough
offense to slam the door. Cruz rebounded in the second and third
rounds, where he let his hands fly with precision and purpose,
remained resolute in the face of serious return fire and kept the
American Top Team standout at bay.
Cruz has recorded back-to-back wins for the first time since
2016.
Resurgent Tuivasa Annihilates Sakai
Former Australian Fighting Championship titleholder Tai Tuivasa
wrecked Augusto
Sakai with punches in the second round of their heavyweight
scrap. Tuivasa (13-3, 7-3 UFC) brought it to an emphatic close 26
seconds into Round 2, as the affable 28-year-old put his fourth
consecutive victory in the books.
Sakai (15-4-1, 4-3 UFC) never seemed comfortable. Tuivasa backed
him to the fence with power punches in the first round and
outmaneuvered him in the clinch, his efforts setting the table for
a violent conclusion. He clipped Sakai with a left hook early in
the middle stanza,
pressed him into the cage and unleashed his hands until the
Gile Ribeiro protégé came to rest at his feet, motionless and
unconscious.
The 30-year-old Sakai has lost three fights in a row.
Silva Weathers, Waylays Wright
Former M-1 Global champion Bruno Silva
struck down Dynamix MMA rep Jordan
Wright with punches in the first round of their middleweight
confrontation. Wright (12-2, 2-2 UFC) succumbed to blows 88 seconds
into Round 3.
Sailing was far from smooth for Silva (22-6, 3-0 UFC). Wright
greeted him with kicks to the body and head, then turned his
attention to the Thai clinch—a position from which he launched a
series of knee strikes to the body. Silva managed to break free,
staggered the Antoni
Hardonk protégé with
a right hook-left hook combination and drove him to the canvas with
subsequent shots. The Brazilian hovered above his fallen prey,
cut loose with standing-to-ground punches and forced referee
Herb
Dean to intervene.
Silva will ride a seven-fight winning streak into his next
assignment.
Muniz Armbar Dismisses Anders
Tata Fight Team standout Andre Muniz
submitted former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Eryk Anders
with an armbar in the first round of their middleweight clash. A
short-notice substitution for Dricus Du
Plessis, Anders (14-6, 6-6 UFC) raised the white flag 3:13 into
Round 1.
Muniz (22-4, 4-0 UFC) struck for a takedown inside the first
minute, maintained control as Anders stood and ultimately dragged
him back to the mat. He progressed to the back and
transitioned to the armbar during a subsequent scramble. Once
Anders’ arm was isolated, surrender was the only option. The
ex-University of Alabama linebacker had never before been
submitted.
The 31-year-old Muniz has rattled off eight straight wins, six of
them finishes.
Blanchfield Dominates Replacement Maverick
Repeated takedowns, stifling control and intermittent
ground-and-pound spurred onetime Eddie Bravo Invitational winner
Erin
Blanchfield to a unanimous decision over Miranda
Maverick in a three-round women’s flyweight tilt. Blanchfield
(8-1, 2-0 UFC) swept the scorecards with 30-27 marks from all three
judges.
A short-notice replacement for Maycee
Barber, Maverick (9-4, 2-2 UFC) had no answers for the game
plan her opponent employed.
Hall Rebounds, Decisions Minner
Hyperactive offensive grappling carried “The Ultimate Fighter”
Season 22 winner Ryan Hall to a
unanimous decision over Darrick
Minner in a three-round featherweight battle. All three
cageside judges scored it for Hall (9-2, 5-1 UFC): 30-27, 30-27 and
29-27.
Minner (26-13, 2-3 UFC) spent a majority of the 15-minute encounter
defending his neck and limbs from the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black
belt’s relentless onslaught.
The victory was Hall’s ninth in 10 appearances, as he bounced back
from his July 10 knockout loss to Ilia
Topuria.
Kelley Elbows Bury Costa
Soul Fighters export Tony Kelley
put away Randy Costa
with elbows in the second round of their bantamweight affair. Costa
(6-3, 2-3 UFC) bowed out 4:15 into Round 2, losing for the second
time in as many outings.
Kelley (8-2, 2-1 UFC) outstruck the Sanford MMA representative by
better than a 2-to-1 margin in the first round, then turned up the
heat in the second. There, he folded Costa with a series of knee
strikes to the body, pounced on his fallen counterpart with punches
and
sealed the deal with a volley of unanswered elbows.
The 34-year-old Kelley has won three of his last four bouts.
Robertson Choke Submits Cachoeira
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 26 graduate Gillian
Robertson submitted Priscila
Cachoeira
with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their women’s
flyweight pairing. Cachoeira (10-4, 2-4 UFC), who missed weight for
the match by three pounds, conceded defeat 4:59 into Round 1.
The victory snapped a two-fight losing streak for Robertson (10-6,
7-4 UFC).
