John
Brannigan/Sherdog.com illustration
Steve
Erceg passed his first serious test in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.
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The 28-year-old Australian operated behind efficient standup and a
tactical clinch game, as he was awarded a unanimous verdict over
Alessandro
Costa in their featured
UFC 295 flyweight prelim on Saturday at Madison Square Garden
in New York. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28
for Erceg (11-1, 2-0 UFC), who has now strung together 10 straight
victories.
Costa (13-4, 1-2 UFC) made his presence known in the middle stanza,
where he mucked up the proceedings, turned it into a brawl and
rocked the onetime Eternal
MMA champion with a series of sweeping right hooks. Erceg
withstood those efforts, lured him into the clinch in the third
round, chewed up valuable time and piled up points while staying
out of danger in tight spaces.
Meanwhile, former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Lupita
Godinez became the first female fighter to post four wins in a
calendar year, as she outworked Tabatha
Ricci to a split decision in a three-round women’s strawweight
battle. Judge Bryan Miner saw it 30-27 for Ricci, while Sal D’Amato
and Derek Cleary scored it 29-28 for Godinez.
Ricci (9-2, 4-2 UFC) picked her spots from the outside and dropped
the Lobo Gym product with a left hook in the first round. However,
she spent too much time and effort throwing in single strikes.
Godinez (12-3, 7-3 UFC) punched effectively in combination,
remained the busier of the two competitors throughout the 15-minute
bout, called upon bulletproof takedown defense and held off a late
surge from the Brazilian.
The setback snapped a four-fight winning streak for Ricci.
Elsewhere, Berserker’s Team standout Mateusz
Rebecki disposed of fellow Dana White’s Contender Series alum
Roosevelt
Roberts with an armbar in the first round of their lightweight
altercation. A short-notice replacement for Nurullo
Aliev, Roberts (12-4, 4-4 UFC) conceded defeat 3:08 into Round
1.
The 31-year-old Rebecki (19-1, 3-0 UFC) marched forward behind leg
kicks and winging power punches, executed a takedown inside the
first minute and eventually scrambled to the back. From there, he
shifted his hips and caught the armbar from the bottom. Roberts,
who missed weight for the assignment by two pounds,
tried and failed to extricate himself from the situation, then
verbally submitted.
Rebecki has rattled off 16 consecutive victories.
Further down the undercard, Kill Cliff Fight Club export Jared
Gordon took care of 2016 Olympic silver medalist Mark O.
Madsen with punches in the first round of their lightweight
confrontation.
Gordon (20-6, 8-5 UFC) brought it to a close 4:42 into Round
1.
Madsen (12-2, 4-2 UFC) lost his way after controlling much of the
match with a punishing clinch. A short-range uppercut appeared to
buckle his knees and forced him to backpedal into the cage. Gordon
connected with a standing elbow, then decked the Dan with a right
hand over the top. A volley of punches followed, necessitating the
stoppage.
The 39-year-old Madsen has suffered back-to-back losses after
starting his career 12-0.
Finally, Jamall
Emmers put down former Ring of Combat champion Dennis
Buzukja with punches in the first round of their featherweight
pairing.
The 26-year-old Buzukja (11-4, 0-2 UFC) succumbed to blows 49
seconds into Round 1.
Emmers (20-7, 3-3 UFC)—who missed weight for the match by one
pound—slammed a pair of kicks into the Longo-Weidman MMA rep’s lead
leg before firing straight punches to the body and head. Buzukja
retreated to the fence, unwittingly cutting himself off from
escape. Emmers then floored him with a right hand, pursued him to
the canvas and drew the curtain with a series of unanswered
hammerfists.
It was the third sub-minute finish of Emmers’ career.
In other action, Viacheslav
Borshchev (7-3-1, 2-2-1 UFC) fought to a majority draw—29-28,
28-28, 28-28—with Nazim
Sadykhov (9-1-1, 2-0-1 UFC) in a three-round lightweight scrap;
John
Castaneda (21-6, 4-2 UFC) leaned on a multi-pronged attack that
included multiple takedowns and laid claim to a unanimous verdict
against former Road Fighting Championship titlist Kyung Ho
Kang (19-10, 8-4) in a three-round bantamweight affair,
sweeping the cards with 30-27 scores across the board; and former
Fury Fighting Championship titleholder Joshua Van
(9-1, 2-0 UFC) rode body-snatching power punches from both hands to
a unanimous decision over Kevin
Borjas (9-2, 0-1 UFC) in a three-round flyweight tilt, drawing
29-28 marks from all three cageside judges.