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. Jose Aldo
still has plenty of story left to tell. The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship and
World Extreme Cagefighting titleholder withstood significant
damage to his right eye to beat the favored Rob Font by
unanimous decision in the UFC
on ESPN 31 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Aldo (31-7, 13-6 UFC) swept the scorecards with 50-45, 50-45 and
49-46 marks from the cageside judges.
Font (19-5, 9-4 UFC) pushed a breakneck pace behind a stinging jab,
and while he enjoyed his share of success, the New England Cartel
representative had no answer for the Brazilian’s punching power.
Aldo staggered him on more than one occasion with right hands,
often stymying momentum and alternating the complexion of entire
rounds in an instant. He also introduced some of his patented leg
kicks and relied heavily on his underutilized ground game. Aldo
took top position in the third, fourth and fifth rounds, doing some
of his best work while the two bantamweight contenders were engaged
in the mat. The Andre
Pederneiras-trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt achieved
full mount in Round 5 and secured position by grapevining Font’s
body with his legs, threatening with a palm-to-palm rear-naked
choke in the waning moments. Though Aldo’s efforts failed to secure
the finish, they put an exclamation point on his latest masterful
performance.
Fiziev Kick Short-Circuits Riddell
Sanford MMA’s Rafael
Fiziev stopped Brad
Riddell with a sensational wheel kick in the third round of
their action-packed lightweight co-main event. The end came 2:20
into Round 3, as Fiziev (11-1, 5-1 UFC) extended his run of
consecutive victories to five.
Riddell (10-2, 4-1 UFC) leaned on his jab, intermittent kicks and
power punching bursts but allowed his adversary to lead the dance
and too often found himself with his back to the fence. Fiziev tore
open a horizontal gash on the City Kickboxing standout’s left
eyebrow with a standing elbow strike in the second round, utilized
sublime footwork to control the cage and slowly reeled in his
latest catch. He froze Riddell with a perfectly timed wheel kick in
the third;
the impact of the blow appeared to have the Kiwi out on his
feet and prompted referee Herb Dean to
act before further damage could be inflicted.
The setback was Riddell’s first since July 21, 2018 and halted his
seven-fight winning streak.
Once-Beaten Hill Wrecks Crute
Jamahal
Hill rebounded from a June 12 defeat to Paul Craig
in resounding fashion, as he took out onetime Hex Fight Series
titleholder Jimmy Crute
with punches in the first round of their light heavyweight
showcase. Crute (12-3, 4-3 UFC) bowed out 48 seconds into Round
1.
Hill (9-1, 3-1 UFC) dropped the mulleted Aussie with a clubbing
right hand, denied an attempted takedown and reset before getting
back to work with his heavy hands. The Chicago native stepped into
a crushing right hook, decked Crute a second time and
drove the final nail in the proverbial coffin with a
standing-to-ground right hand on his dazed counterpart’s exposed
face.
It goes in the books as the fastest finish of Hill’s brief but
eventful 11-fight career.
Guida Choke Submits Santos
Former Strikeforce champion Clay Guida
submitted “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil” Season 2 winner Leonardo
Santos with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their
lightweight feature. Guida (37-21, 17-15 UFC) closed out the
decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt 1:21 into Round 2.
Santos (18-5-1, 7-2-1 UFC) had his chance and blew it. He doubled
over Guida with a brutal front kick to the body, then rushed in to
finish what he had started. Knees, punches and rapid-fire
hammerfists all found the mark, as Santos administered a hellacious
beating to the Team Alpha Male standout. Referee Keith
Peterson could have stepped in on more than one occasion but
elected not do so, affording Guida the time he needed to withstand
the assault. By the end of the first round, Santos was a spent
force. Guida dragged him to the floor at the start of the middle
stanza, softened him further with knees to the body,
transitioned to the back and cinched the choke. Exhausted and
out of answers, Santos tapped soon after.
The submission was Guida’s first since he dismissed Takanori
Gomi with a guillotine choke at UFC 125 on Jan. 1, 2011—3,990
days ago.
Replacement Curtis Upsets Allen
Xtreme Couture’s Chris
Curtis brought down onetime Legacy Fighting Alliance champion
Brendan
Allen with punches and knees in the second round of their
middleweight showcase. A short-notice replacement for Roman
Dolidze, Curtis (28-8, 2-0 UFC) drew the curtain 1:58 into
Round 2.
Allen (17-5, 5-2 UFC) secured an early takedown and jumped on the
former CES MMA titleholder’s back, then returned to a standup
battle when there were no finishing opportunities to be found. He
kept Curtis at bay with stepping knees to the body, rangy
combinations and a partially blocked head kick but failed to give
him true pause. A leg lock attempt at the end of the first round
went nowhere. Early in the second, Curtis followed a left hook to
the body with a clubbing right upstairs that set the Sanford MMA
export on unsteady legs. He then drove Allen to the fence and
cut loose with a variety of shots before two final knee strikes
slammed the door.
Curtis, 34, has rattled off seven straight victories, six of them
finishes.
Morono Nets 10th UFC Win
Former Legacy Fighting Championship titleholder Alex Morono
outstruck Mickey Gall
to a unanimous decision in their three-round welterweight feature.
All three cageside judges scored it 30-27 for Morono (21-7, 10-4
UFC), who now finds himself on a three-fight winning streak.
Gall (7-4, 6-4 UFC) kept it competitive, but his inability to draw
the Fortis MMA rep to the canvas resulted in his undoing. Morono
paired a consistent jab with thudding right hands and occasional
front kicks to the body. He walked Gall into a jab and sat him down
in the first round, swooped in for a potential finish and retreated
into open space once it became clear a stoppage was not in the
cards. Morono continued to build his lead across the final 10
minutes and incorporated an effective sprawl to discourage takedown
attempts from the Rutgers University graduate.
The 29-year-old Gall has alternated wins and losses in each of his
last seven appearances.
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