Mateusz
Gamrot stayed the course, and it paid off in the deep waters of
championship rounds.
The former
KSW two-division champion relied on superior pace and grappling
to capture a narrow unanimous decision triumph against Arman
Tsarukyan in the
UFC on ESPN 38 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on
Saturday night. All three judges submitted 48-47 scorecards for
Gamrot in a bout that was extremely difficult to score. The
31-year-old Pole has won four straight in
Ultimate Fighting Championship competition.
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Tsarukyan (18-3, 5-2 UFC) held up well in the first 25-minute fight
of his career. He landed kicks to all levels, including multiple
thudding kicks to the body and defended numerous Gamrot (21-1, 4-1
UFC) takedown attempts in the early going. Scrambles and grappling
exchanges were fast and furious throughout the contest, but Gamrot
began to wear on Tsarukyan down the stretch. Gamrot was credited
with six successful takedowns, according to UFCStats.com, and
though he couldn’t keep his opponent down for long, he made
Tsarukyan work defending body locks and back takes near the fence.
By Round 4, Tsarukyan was caught taking a few long looks at the
clock.
While Tsarukyan had a more well-round striking arsenal,
particularly with attacks to the body and legs, Gamrot held a
68-to-43 advantage in significant head strikes — a testament to his
advantage in the boxing aspect of the bout. In the aftermath of his
biggest victory to date, Gamrot called out two-time title
challenger Justin
Gaethje.
Rakhmonov Keeps Finishing Streak Alive Against Magny
Shavkat
Rakhmonov took a major step toward contention in the
welterweight division, as he submitted Neil Magny in
the second round of their co-main event matchup. The
Kazakhstan Top Team representative forced Magny to tap to a
guillotine choke at the 4:58 mark of Round 2. The 27-year-old has
finished all 15 of his opponents, including four within the Las
Vegas-based promotion.
Rakhmonov (16-0, 4-0 UFC) asserted his dominance from the outset,
landing a takedown early in the opening stanza and staying heavy on
top while landing ground-and-pound from above. Magny (26-9, 19-8
UFC) did his best to stay active with his guard and threaten with
leg locks and upkicks, but Rakhmonov remained in control. It was
more of the same in Round 2 for Rakhmonov, who appeared set to
enter the third period for the first time in his UFC career before
falling back for a guillotine in the waning seconds. Though Magny
knew he only needed to survive for a few more seconds,
the squeeze was too tight to resist.
It was Magny’s first submission defeat since he succumbed to an
arm-triangle choke from Rafael dos
Anjos on Sept. 9, 2017.
Parisian Pounds Out Baudot
“The Ultimate Fighter 28” cast member Josh
Parisian weathered some early adversity for a technical
knockout victory against Frenchman Alan Baudot
in a back-and-forth heavyweight encounter. A barrage of punches
from back mount ended the bout at the 3:04 mark of Round 2, giving
Parisian his 11th career KO/TKO victory.
Baudot appeared to be on the verge of a finish in the opening
stanza, when he dropped Parisian with a hammerfist in close
quarters and followed up with devastating ground-and-pound that
nearly closed his opponent’s left eye. Parisian maintained his wits
and shifted momentum with a late first-round takedown and punches
from above before the horn. That carried over into the second
frame, as Parisian grounded Baudot (8-4, 0-3, 1 NC UFC) twice and
teed off with more ground-and-pound. While Baudot survived the
initial salvo, he had nothing left in the tank once Parisian (15-5,
2-2 UFC)
took his back and took aim with his finishing flurry.
Moises Taps Giagos
Thiago
Moises ended a two-bout skid in emphatic fashion, submitting
Christos
Giagos with a rear-naked choke in a lightweight showdown. The
American Top Team product elicited a tapout from his opponent
at the 3:05 mark of Round 1.
Moises (16-6, 5-4 UFC) wasted little time closing the distance on
Giagos (19-10, 5-6 UFC), though he did absorb a heavy shot on his
takedown entry. From there, the former
Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion spun around, jumped on
Giagos’ back and locked in a body triangle. With Giagos still
standing, Moises landed short punches to the head and threatened
chokes with both arms before
sliding his right arm under the neck and earning the submission
with a single-arm squeeze.
Nurmagomedov Dominates Maness
Umar
Nurmagomedov looked every bit the part of a rising bantamweight
prospect in a lopsided unanimous decision triumph over Nathan
Maness. The Eagles MMA member received scorecards of 30-27,
30-26 and 30-25 to extended his unbeaten streak to 15. Maness had a
four-bout winning streak snapped in defeat.
Maness (14-2, 3-1 UFC) was never a factor. Nurmagomedov (15-0, 3-0
UFC) landed takedowns in each frame, advanced from one dominant
position to another and dropped punishing elbows from above —
including one that caused severe swelling on his opponent’s
forehead. While much of the contest took place on the canvas,
Nurmagomedov flashed his kickboxing prowess in Round 3, landing a
variety of kicks, most notably a spectacular push kick to Maness’
face. About the only thing that Nurmagomedov didn’t do was secure a
finish, as he went the distance for the first time since November
2019.
Curtis Keeps Fight Upright, Batters Vieira
Impenetrable takedown defense and varied punching combinations
carried Chris
Curtis to a unanimous decision triumph over decorated Brazilian
jiu-jitsu champion Rodolfo
Vieira in a middleweight feature. “Action Man” received a trio
of 29-28 tallies for his eighth consecutive professional
triumph.
Vieira (8-2, 3-2 UFC) displayed improved conditioning and striking,
but without his grappling as a factor, it wasn’t enough to overcome
a more well-rounded opponent. Curtis (29-8, 3-0 UFC) got stronger
as the time went on, defending all 20 of Vieira’s takedown attempts
while repeatedly tagging his foe with punches to the head and body.
Vieira enjoyed some success landing straight punches and leg kicks,
but his effectiveness faded in the later portions of the fight,
which led to him shooting repeatedly for poorly-disguised
takedowns.
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