Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC,
PFL, Dana White’s Contender Series and “The Ultimate Fighter” live
on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via
the ESPN app. It equated to little more than a walk in the park
for Sean
Strickland. A soul-stealing jab, airtight takedown defense and sublime footwork
spurred the ascending
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight contender to a
split decision over Jack
Hermansson in the
UFC Fight Night 200 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in
Las Vegas. Two judges saw it 49-46 for Strickland, while Sal
D’Amato struck a head-scratching 48-47 scorecard for Hermansson
(22-7, 9-5 UFC).
The 30-year-old Strickland (25-3, 12-3 UFC) ate a number of leg
kicks from the former
Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder but otherwise
dominated the vast majority of their exchanges. He slipped out of
range with surprising ease, cut off Hermansson’s bids for takedowns
and piled up points with one of the best jabs in the sport.
Moving ever closer to title contention at 185 pounds, Strickland
has pieced together a six-fight winning streak.
SWINGING IN THE MIDDLE TO END IT ON
ESPN+!!!!
#UFCVegas47 pic.twitter.com/No6FtPYFDQ— UFC (@ufc)
February 6, 2022
Maximov Swamps Soriano, Moves to 8-0
Nick
Maximov rode repeated takedowns, suffocating control and
effective ground-and-pound to a split decision over Xtreme
Couture’s Punahele
Soriano in the three-round middleweight co-main event. Judges
Douglas Crosby and Ron McCarthy scored it 30-27 and 29-28 for
Maximov, while Michael Bell saw it 29-28 for Soriano.
Soriano (8-2, 2-2 UFC) opened a cut near the bridge of the
Californian’s nose in the first round but had little luck keeping
the Nick
Diaz-trained grappler at arm’s reach. Maximov (8-0, 2-0 UFC)
was merciless with his approach. He grounded Soriano over and over
again in the second and third rounds, mixing in punches when
opportunities presented themselves. Those efforts took a noticeable
toll on the frustrated Hawaiian and allowed Maximov to leave the
cage with his hand raised yet again.
The 29-year-old Soriano has lost back-to-back bouts.
Undefeated Rakhmonov Melts Harris
Onetime M-1 Global
champion Shavkat
Rakhmonov kept his perfect professional record intact and did
so in spectacular fashion, as he wiped out Carlston
Harris with a spinning hook kick and follow-up punches in the
first round of their welterweight feature. Harris (17-5, 2-1 UFC)
checked out 4:10 into Round 1.
Rakhmonov (15-0, 3-0 UFC) scored early with a spinning back kick to
the body, a searing right cross and a magnificent judo throw, but
those were only the appetizers. After the two men jockeyed for
position in the clinch, they separated—to Harris’ detriment.
Rakhmonov wrapped his heel around his counterpart’s defenses, the
impact of the blow sending the Renovacao Fight Team representative
tumbling to the canvas. The “Nomad” followed with punches, a pair
of standing-to-ground right hands separating Harris from his
senses.
The defeat closed the book on Harris’ five-fight winning
streak.
Allen Choke Submits Alvey
Former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Brendan
Allen submitted Sam Alvey with
a no-hooks rear-naked choke in the second round of their light
heavyweight attraction. A short-notice substitution for Phil Hawes,
Allen (18-5, 6-2 UFC) drew the curtain 2:10 into Round 2.
Alvey (33-17-1, 10-12-1 UFC) walked the Sanford MMA standout into
his punches for much of the first round and even mixed in a
standing elbow during a close-range exchange. However, Allen decked
him with a clubbing right hand near the end of the period and
seized the reins from there. He forced Alvey to the fence in the
middle stanza, dropped him with a left hook and maneuvered onto his
back. Almost instantly, the choke was in place and Allen’s squeeze was too
much for the Team Quest product to bear.
The 35-year-old Alvey remains winless in eight appearances since
June 1, 2018.
Battle Quiets Unbeaten Gore
High output, a stout chin and unwavering determination carried “The
Ultimate Fighter 29” winner Bryan
Battle to a unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten
Tresean
Gore in a three-round middleweight showcase. Battle (7-1, 2-0
UFC) swept the scorecards with 29-28 marks across the board.
In his first assignment since Oct. 3, 2020, Gore (3-1, 0-1 UFC)
spun his wheels at the start and never made it to full stride.
Battle kept him off-balance with a persistent jab, accurate
punching combinations and a steady diet of kicks to the body. Gore
buckled him twice with left hooks in the second round and spent the
waning seconds in top position after pursuing a guillotine choke,
but he failed to capitalize on his newfound momentum. Battle fought
through the adversity—and significant damage to his right eye—in
Round 3, where he shifted his attacks between punch-kick
combinations, attempted takedowns and strategic clinches.
Battle, 27, has won six fights in a row.
Erosa Outlasts Peterson in Firefight
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 22 semifinalist Julian
Erosa won for the fifth time in six appearances, as he eked out
a split decision over former Legacy Fighting Championship
titleholder Steven
Peterson in a three-round featherweight firefight. All three
cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards: Derek Cleary for Peterson,
Douglas Crosby and Junichiro Kamijo for Erosa.
Neither man showed much concern for his physical well-being. Erosa
(27-9, 5-5 UFC) set the tone in the first round, where he forced
the Fortis MMA rep onto his back foot and paired pressure with
power punches. Peterson rebounded in a wild middle stanza, as he
dazed the Xtreme Couture export with repeated overhand rights and
withstood a knockdown after being blindsided by a spinning
backfist. The blood—virtually all of it from Peterson’s nose and
mouth—and competitive juices flowed in Round 3. There, they traded
heavy punches upstairs in a bid to do bodily harm to one another.
Erosa provided the change of pace with two takedowns and managed to
free himself from a pair of guillotine chokes.
The loss snapped a two-fight winning streak for Peterson (19-10,
3-4 UFC), who missed weight for the match by three pounds.
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UFC Fight Night 200 Prelims: Castaneda Chokes Favored Johns
Unconscious 
