Jan
Blachowicz may have just re-entered the championship
conversation in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s light heavyweight division,
though it probably wasn’t the method he would have chosen.
In his first bout since losing the 205-pound belt, Blachowicz
(29-9, 12-6 UFC) returned to the win column when Aleksandar
Rakic (14-3, 6-2 UFC) suffered an apparent knee injury in the
UFC on ESPN 36 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on
Saturday night. Rakic crumbled to the canvas after sliding backward
and putting weight on his right leg, prompting referee Mark Smith
to wave off the bout 1:11 into the third round.
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Prior to the unlikely ending, it was shaping up to be a competitive
bout. Rakic opened a cut on the inside of his opponent’s left eye
with a jab during an initial exchange, which had Blachowicz pawing
at the wound for the rest of the first round. That didn’t slow the
Pole’s offense, as he chopped away at Rakic’s leg with kicks and
clipped the Austrian light heavyweight on a couple of occasions.
Rakic shifted gears in Round 2, grounding Blachowicz after catching
a kick and maintaining top position for the majority of the
period.
With the fight potentially tied at one round apiece, there was
plenty left to be decided, but instead, Rakic’s injury brought the
bout to a premature close. Blachowicz has won six of his last seven
UFC appearances dating back to July 2019.
Spann Taps Out Cutelaba
Fortis MMA export Ryan Spann
turned Ion
Cutelaba’s reckless aggression into a quick victory in the
evening’s light heavyweight co-main event. “Superman” elicited a
tapout from his opponent with a guillotine choke at the 2:22 mark
of Round 1 for his 12th career submission triumph.
Spann (20-7, 6-2 UFC) clipped Cutelaba (16-7-1, 1 NC, 5-6-1 UFC)
early with a double jab-right hand combination, but the Moldovan
responded by taking his adversary to the mat. Cutelaba executed
multiple takedowns during the abbreviated bout, but Spann was
consistently able to power his way out of danger. In the finishing
sequence, Spann kicked Cutelaba off him, returned to his feet and
cinched the choke once his opponent dove forward in hopes of
another takedown. From there,
Spann tightened his squeeze and powered Cutelaba to his back to
force the tap in a matter of seconds.
Grant Immobilizes, Pounds Out Grant
“The Ultimate Fighter 18” finalist Davey Grant
brought the violence against Louis
Smolka, wading through some heavy fire to score a knockout
victory in a featured bantamweight encounter. The Englishman
survived a harrowing Round 2 to put Smolka away 49 seconds into the
final stanza.
Grant (14-6, 5-5 UFC) seemed determined to have a short night at
the office, as he rocked Smolka with heavy hooks and thudding leg
kicks in the opening stanza before sitting the Hawaiian down with a
jab late in the period. Smolka’s best asset was his durability,
though, and he turned the tide in the second round. The Team Oyama
representative touched Grant with punching combinations, landed
knees and elbows in the clinch and ended the period by threatening
with an armbar.
That momentum faded early in Round 3 when a Grant low kick forced
Smolka (17-9, 7-9 UFC) to stumble into a desperation takedown.
Grant defended with relative ease and proceeded to render his foe
unconscious with hammerfists on the mat, snapping a two-bout
skid in the process.
Chookagian Edges Ribas
Perennial contender Katlyn
Chookagian spoiled Amanda
Ribas’ move to the flyweight division, taking a narrow split
decision over the Marcelo Ribas Team representative. Sal D’Amato
and Junichiro Kamijo saw it 29-28 for Chookagian, while Derek
Cleary submitted a 29-28 tally for Ribas. “Blonde Fighter” has won
four straight fights since being stopped by Jessica
Andrade in October 2020.
Ribas (11-3, 5-2 UFC), who is expected to return to 115 pounds,
stayed in Chookagian’s face for the duration of the fight. The
28-year-old Brazilian landed takedowns in each frame — including a
pair of head and arm throws — but she was usually outgunned when
the flyweights were standing. The taller Chookagian (18-4, 11-4
UFC) relied on her rangy kickboxing while landing with more power
and accuracy. Ribas remained determined until the final bell, and
both she and Chookagian closed the show with dueling punches and
screams in the waning seconds of the contest.
Torres Batters Camacho
Dana White’s Contender Series alum Manuel
Roberto Torres secured his first promotional triumph in
emphatic fashion with a technical knockout of former Pacific Xtreme
Combat champion Frank
Camacho in an entertaining lightweight affair. Torres (13-2,
1-0 UFC) put Camacho away at the 3:27 mark of Round 1 for his
fourth straight professional triumph. “El Loco” has finished 12 of
his 13 career wins inside the distance.
Both combatants traded willingly in the pocket, but it was Torres
whose shots took the greater toll. The Entram Gym representative
battered Camacho (22-10, 2-6 UFC) with power punches, including
hooks with both hands and uppercuts while also mixing in knees in
the clinch when his opponent attempted to close the distance.
Torres got the finish when he slipped a Camacho punch and floored
his foe with a massive left-hook, right-hook combination. At
that point, referee Herb Dean
decided Camacho had endured enough punishment and waved off the
fight.
Nascimento Outgrapples Hadley
In a matchup of strength vs. strength, Allan
Nascimento’s grappling proved to be superior to Jake
Hadley’s in a unanimous decision triumph at flyweight. The
30-year-old Sao Paulo native swept the scorecards, earning a trio
of 30-27 tallies from the cageside judges.
With ex-lightweight king Charles
Oliveira in his corner, Nascimento (19-6, 1-1 UFC) used a
variety of kicks to limit the forward pressure of Hadley (8-1, 1-1
UFC) before getting the fight to the canvas. “Puro Osso” assumed
top position in each round, relying on heavy pressure from above
along with occasional positional advancements and periodic
ground-and-pound to maintain control of the fight. Hadley fought
with the appropriate sense of urgency in Round 3, as he twice
attempted to ensnare Nascimento in guillotine chokes, but the
Brazilian was simply too crafty to fall for his adversary’s
traps.
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