Alexa
Grasso just took another significant step toward contention in
the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s flyweight division.
The Lobo Gym MMA took a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over
Viviane
Araujo in the UFC Fight Night 212 main event at the UFC Apex in
Las Vegas on Saturday night. All three judges saw the fight in
favor of Grasso: 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46. Grasso has won four
straight bouts since moving up from 115 pounds.
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In most instances, Grasso (15-3, 7-3 UFC) was quicker to the punch
than her Brazilian opponent, as she countered effectively and
connected with crisp punching combinations to the head while mixing
in kicks and the occasional body attack. Araujo (11-4, 5-3 UFC)
kept the pressure on and enjoyed some success of her own on the
feet, but she couldn’t match Grasso’s overall volume and accuracy.
The 35-year-old Brazilian was also unable to ground her opponent
for any significant period of time, and when she did land a
takedown, Grasso usually returned to her feet in short order.
Martinez Leg Kicks Stop Swanson
Cub
Swanson won’t soon forget the powerful left kicks of Jonathan
Martinez. The Factory X product battered his opponent’s leg with several
heavy low kicks en route to a stoppage victory 4:19 into Round 2,
spoiling Swanson’s bantamweight debut. Martinez (17-4, 8-3 UFC) has
won four straight fights within the Las Vegas-based promotion.
The 28-year-old known as “Dragon” punished Swanson (28-13, 13-9
UFC) with a vicious arsenal of left kicks to the legs and body,
short elbows and knees in a statement-making performance. Martinez
sat his opponent down with a knee to the head late in the opening
period, and he nearly earned a finish with a follow-up shot to the
body and a barrage of punches on a turtled Swanson prior to the
horn.
The second frame saw Martinez hurt Swanson with a series of short
elbow strikes against the fence before spending some time in top
position on the canvas. When the combatants returned to their feet,
Swanson displayed an increased sense of urgency in his attacks, but
he simply couldn’t hold up to the onslaught of Martinez leg kicks
that followed. The last of those forced the WEC veteran to roll to
the canvas in agony, and Martinez dove in with follow-up ground
strikes to punctuate his victory
Todorovic Batters Wright
Dusko
Todorovic survived some early adversity and rallied for a
second-round technical knockout victory against Jordan
Wright in a matchup of former Dana White’s Contender Series
competitors. The 28-year-old Serbian ended the middleweight contest
with ground-and-pound from top position 3:12 into the second round.
Todorovic (13-3, 3-3 UFC) has finished all but one of his
professional victories inside the distance.
The opening period belonged to Wright, as “The Beverly Hills Ninja”
landed a trio of takedowns, defended multiple submissions and
punished Todorovic with ground-and-pound. Wright (13-4, 1 NC, 2-4
UFC) was gassed when the second round began, however, and an
aggressive Todorovic took advantage. He rocked his opponent on the
feet before powering his way into full mount,
where he unleashed an unanswered barrage of elbows and punches
that forced referee Chris Tognoni to intervene on Wright’s
behalf.
Assuncao Snaps Four-Fight Skid
Raphael
Assuncao showed he still has something left in the tank, as he
captured a unanimous decision triumph against well-traveled veteran
Victor
Henry at bantamweight. All three judges scored the bout for the
40-year-old Brazilian: 30-27, 30-27, 30-27. Assuncao (28-9, 12-6
UFC) snaps a four-fight skid in victory.
Though he entered the contest as an underdog, Assuncao controlled
the tempo with solid counterpunching while blending takedowns and
top control when necessary. Henry (22-6, 1-1 UFC) kept the pressure
on with a varied striking arsenal, but his aggression was limited
due to the threat of his opponent’s countering — including a couple
of occasions where Assuncao caught a kick and teed off with a
series of heavy punches in return.
Menifield Wallops Cirkunov
Alonzo
Menifield scored an emphatic victory against Misha
Cirkunov, finishing his opponent in the opening round of their
light heavyweight scrap. A salvo of power punches ended the fight
1:28 into the period, sending Cirkunov (15-9, 6-7 UFC) to his
fourth consecutive defeat. Menifield (13-3, 6-3 UFC), meanwhile,
has won four of his last five UFC appearances.
Cirkunov, who was returning to 205 pounds following an 0-2 stint at
middleweight, was unable to get his opponent to the canvas and
ultimately paid the price. Menifield moved forward, hurt his
adversary with a massive left hook and then dropped the Latvian
with a right uppercut.
A couple follow-up hammerfists on the canvas finished the job from
there. Menifield has stopped 10 of his opponents inside of a
round.
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