Belal
Muhammad is a much-improved fighter since the first time he and
Vicente
Luque crossed paths, and it showed on Saturday night.
Muhammad (21-3, 12-3, 1 NC UFC) executed his game plan to near
perfection, capturing a unanimous decision against Luque (21-8-1,
14-4) in the
UFC on ESPN 34 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on
Saturday night. “Remember the Name” received scorecards of 49-46
(twice) and 48-47 from the cageside judges to extend his unbeaten
streak to eight — the third-longest in the UFC’s welterweight
division.
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“This is my hump I had to get over,” Muhammad said. “He knocked me
out. He beat me. I had to think about that my whole camp.”
While Luque needed just 79 seconds to finish Muhammad at UFC 205 in
November 2016, the rematch was more of a chess match — and the
Roufusport product was always one step ahead of his rival. Muhammad
utilized back-and-forth movement to confound Luque for the duration
of the bout, and he grounded his opponent once in every frame while
mixing in timely straight punches and kicks to the body.
Luque did his best work in Round 3, when he made Muhammad stumble
with a left hook and rocked his adversary with several more solid
lefts throughout the frame. Muhammad maintained his wits, however,
and Luque spent most of the fight fruitlessly stalking the Chicago
native. Luque sees a four-bout winning streak snapped in defeat,
his title hopes dashed in the process.
Evening the score! 😎@BullyB170
makes it 8️⃣ wins in a row.
#UFCVegas51 pic.twitter.com/fZGzFIQJiX— UFC (@ufc)
April 17, 2022
Borralho Hands Omargadzhiev First Defeat
Though it didn’t conclude the way he might have liked, Caio
Borralho nonetheless ended Gadzhi
Omargadzhiev’s unbeaten run in MMA with a technical unanimous
decision triumph in the evening’s middleweight co-main event. The
Brazilian secured a trio of 29-27 scorecards from the cageside
judges after landing an illegal knee in Round 3 that rendered his
opponent unable to continue at the 3:56 mark. Borralho had a point
deducted by referee Dan Miragliotta, but it didn’t affect the final
outcome.
Prior to the accidental foul, Borralho (11-1, 1 NC, 1-0 UFC)
controlled the majority of the contest with his grappling. In Round
1, the Combat Club export swept into top position and spent the
majority of the frame on his opponent’s back with a body triangle
secured. It was more of the same in Round 2, as Omargahzhiev (13-1,
0-1 UFC) surrendered his back after overswinging on a punch,
allowing another back take and several minutes of control time.
Borralho was potentially on his way to sweeping the scorecards when
he landed a knee to the face of his Russian foe while Omargadzhiev
still had a hand on the canvas. After a several minute respite, it
became clear that the Omargadzhiev would not regain his bearings
and the bout was waved off.
Fialho Wallops Baeza
Andre
Fialho earned his first UFC triumph in style, defeating ex-Dana
White’s Contender Series competitor Miguel
Baeza via technical knockout in a welterweight feature. The
Portugal native ended the contest at the 4:39 mark of Round 1,
sending Baeza to his third consecutive defeat.
While both men landing some solid punches on the feet in the
opening round, Fialho (15-4, 1-1 UFC) set the stage for the
stoppage when he rocked Baeza (10-3, 3-3 UFC) with four consecutive
uppercuts in the clinch. The Bellator and PFL veteran then floored an already-wobbly Baeza with a left hook
before sealing his triumph with one big hammerfist on the
canvas.
Fialho has finished 12 of his professional triumphs by knockout or
technical knockout — including 11 inside of a round.
Bueno Silva Has Successful Bantamweight Debut
Mayra
Bueno Silva held off a hard-charging Yanan Wu to
garner a unanimous decision triumph in her bantamweight debut. All
three judges submitted tallies in favor of the Chute Boxe Team
Cyborg Representative: 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27. Wu (12-5, 1-4 UFC)
has lost her last three Octagon appearances.
While Wu maintained a high pace and threw punches in greater
volume, Silva (8-3-1, 3-2-1 UFC) authored the majority of the
bout’s most significant moments. She mixed heavy punches to the
head with calf kicks and knees early, and when Wu assumed top
position in Round 2, the Brazilian threatened with a triangle and
kimura from her back. Wu continued to press the action in the final
frame, but she wasn’t able to seriously threaten Silva to secure
the finish she needed.
Sabatini Dominates Laramie, Wins Sixth Straight
Former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder Pat
Sabatini gradually imposed his will against T.J. Laramie
en route to a clear-cut unanimous decision in a featherweight tilt.
All three judges saw the fight 30-26 in favor of Sabatini (17-3,
4-0 UFC), who is tied for the fourth-longest active winning streak
in the UFC at 145 pounds.
Laramie held his own in grappling exchanges early, but Sabatini
turned the tide with a liver kick and guillotine attempt late in
Round 1. From there, the Renzo Gracie
Philly product controlled the majority of the contest with his
grappling, including a dominant Round 2 that saw Sabatini attach
himself to Laramie’s back and pound away with punches to the head
while hunting for openings to apply a rear-naked choke. Sabatini
has won his last six professional outings overall.
Lazzez Outduels Loosa
Mounir
Lazzez utilized a versatile striking arsenal to take a
unanimous verdict over short-notice foe Ange Loosa in
a welterweight showcase. The Tunisian fighter received a trio of
30-27 scorecards from the cageside judges to win for the fourth
time in his last five professional outings.
Lazzez (11-2, 2-1 UFC) kept Loosa (8-3, 0-1 UFC) off-balance with a
variety of strikes including jabs, standing elbows, body shots and
a toolbox of kicks in the early going. Loosa, who was a replacement
for Elizeu
Zaleski dos Santos, had some success landing his right hand
when he was able to initiate on the feet, but most of the standup
exchanges belonged to Lazzez. “The Sniper” put a lasting stamp on
the victory with a rapid-fire combination late in the final
round.
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