Magomed
Ankalaev sent a statement to the
Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division after
defeating former title challenger Thiago
Santos in the main event of
UFC Fight Night 203.
The fight began with Santos (22-10) looking to throw bombs, but
Ankalaev (16-1) was able to dodge the strikes and counter with his
own. “Marreta” struggled to find his range as the Russian walked
him down and never stopped advancing. However, Santos finally
landed a punch that wobbled Ankalaev late in Round 2, which tilted
the frame decisively in his favor.
The power of Thiago Santos 😳
[ @TMarretaMMA
|
#UFCVegas50 ] pic.twitter.com/JrKaKM61vj— UFC (@ufc)
March 13, 2022
After a tepid third round that could’ve gone either way, Santos
started off hot in Round 4 by winging punches and going for a
flying knee. However, Ankalaev would battle back and land a
takedown to finish the round in top position. The fifth and final
frame was spent on the feet with Ankalaev landing damaging knees
from the clinch and straight punches at distance. After 25 minutes,
the judges awarded Ankalaev a unanimous decision victory with
scores of 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47.
Ankalaev has now won eight straight fights in the UFC since
dropping his debut to Paul
Craig.
Song Obliterates Moraes
In the co-main event, Yadong Song
cemented himself as a flyweight contender with an emphatic win over
Marlon
Moraes.
Song (19-6-1, 1 NC) wasted no time against the veteran flyweight as
he came out swinging. While Moraes (23-10-1) showed some solid
striking early, it was Song that
landed a gorgeous uppercut that knocked out “Magic.” The end
came at the 2:06 mark of Round 1.
“Kung Fu Monkey” has now won three straight UFC bouts.
Yusuff Outworks Caceres
The night’s featured featherweight bout saw Sodiq
Yusuff look to rebound against UFC mainstay Alex
Caceres.
The opening frame saw “Bruce Leeroy” use his veteran savvy as he
effectively dodged the offense of Yusuff (12-2) and managed to take
the fight to the ground. Round 2 would see “Super” Sodiq score with
some damaging leg kicks that Caceres (19-13, 1 NC) failed to check
and start finding his rhythm on the feet. Yusuff would continue to
find success in the final frame, although neither man came close to
finishing the other, and won a unanimous decision with scores of
30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 in his favor.
With the triumph, Yusuff is now 5-1 inside the Octagon.
Rountree Destroys Roberson
The first of two light heavyweight bouts on the main card saw
Khalil
Rountree face off against Karl
Roberson.
Both fighters would have their moments in a back-and-forth first
frame, but it wasn’t until Round 2 that much damage was done. Like
a man possessed, Rountree (10-5) came out swinging in the second
frame and knocked down Roberson (9-5).
Several punches and a vicious body kick later and the fight was
rightly called off just 25 seconds into the second frame.
Rountree has now won two straight fights.
Dober Survives Scare From McKinney
Drew
Dober had to survive a scare from Terrance
McKinney but the veteran lightweight came out victorious.
McKinney (12-4) wasted no time as a flurry of punches knocked down
Dober early in the first round. However, Dober would weather the
storm and then hurt “T.Wrecks” with a well-placed knee.
Some brutal ground and pound would finish off McKinney as the
referee stepped in and waved the bout off at the 3:17 mark.
Dober advances to 23-11, 1 NC in his mixed martial arts career.
Pereira Outlands Silva
The UFC Fight Night 203 main card kicked off with middleweight
action courtesy of Alex
Pereira and Bruno
Silva.
Silva (22-7) showed off his striking skills early and was able to
tag “Poatan” several times, but it was Pereira (5-1) that ended the
round with a significant combination that changed the momentum for
the rest of the fight. The two Brazilian fighters would go
back-and-forth in Round 2, but Pereira landed the more telling
shots. The final frame would see “Poatan” clearly hurt Silva
multiple times, who would survive but clearly lost the round.
After 15 minutes, all three judges scored the bout 30-27 in favor
of Pereira.
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