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Arman
Tsarukyan appears to be well on his way to relevance in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division.
The Khabarovsk MMA rep executed repeated takedowns and paired them
with positional advances and ground-and-pound, as he cruised to a
unanimous decision over Matt
Frevola in the featured
UFC 257 prelim on Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United
Arab Emirates. Tsarukyan (16-2, 3-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with
30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 nods from the judges.
Despite his best efforts, Frevola (8-2-1, 2-2-1 UFC) was out of his
depth. Tsarukyan was a step ahead on the feet, on the ground and in
the clinch. Clearly ahead on the scorecards, the 24-year-old
continued to apply maximum pressure and pursued the finish until
the final horn.
Rejuvenated Tavares Handles Carlos Jr.
Searing leg kicks, stout combination punching and airtight takedown
defense spurred Xtreme Couture’s Brad
Tavares to a unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter
Brazil” Season 3 winner Antonio
Carlos Jr. in a three-round middleweight scrap. All three
cageside judges scored it for Tavares (18-6, 13-6 UFC): 30-27,
30-27 and 29-28.
Carlos Jr. (10-5, 7-5 UFC) whiffed on one takedown attempt after
another, his situation growing increasingly dire by the minute.
Tavares hammered away at the inside and outside of his lead leg
with kicks, mixed in a punishing jab and cut loose with power
punches on occasion. He landed the most consequential blow of the
fight in the second round, where he stepped into a clubbing right
hand that briefly dazed “Shoeface.”
The victory was Tavares’ first since April 14, 2018.
Pena Choke Submits McMann
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 18 winner Julianna
Pena submitted 2004 Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann
with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their bantamweight
battle. McMann (12-6, 6-6 UFC) conceded defeat 3:39 into Round 3,
losing for the third time in four outings.
Pena (10-4, 6-2 UFC) navigated some early adversity. McMann struck
for a takedown in the first round, passed guard and cut loose with
some elbow-laced ground-and-pound. She undoubtedly planned to do
the same in the second, but Pena countered her efforts with
attempted guillotine and triangle chokes from the bottom before
returning to her feet. Once there, she blasted McMann with knees to
the body and sharp punches. Pena made her move at the start of
Round 3, as she executed a trip takedown, moved to the back and
secured her position with a body triangle. Shen then went to work
on the choke,
tightened her squeeze and prompted the tapout.
The 31-year-old Pena has won six of her past eight bouts.
Underdog Prachnio Upsets Rountree
Tatsujin Dojo export Marcin
Prachnio leaned on force and activity, as he took a unanimous
decision from the favored Khalil
Rountree in a three-round light heavyweight encounter. Prachnio
(14-5, 1-3 UFC) swept the scorecards with 29-28 marks from all
three judges, recording his first victory since Aug. 5, 2017.
The 30-year-old Rountree (8-5, 4-5 UFC) never seemed comfortable.
Prachnio threw more often, landed with more regularity and attacked
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 23 finalist at all levels. However,
he did not escape unscathed. Rountree staggered him with a counter
right hook in the second round and a sneaky left uppercut in the
third, only to fail to exploit those openings fully. Prachnio
regained his faculties without much issue and continued to unleash
punches with both hands.
It was Rountree’s third setback in four appearances.
Undefeated Evloev Bashes Lentz
Former M-1 Global champion Movsar
Evloev kept his perfect professional record intact, as he laid
claim to a split decision over Nik Lentz in a
three-round catchweight affair at 150 pounds. All three judges
scored it 29-28: Ben Cartlidge and Paul
Sutherland for Evloev, Eric Colon
for Lentz.
Lentz’s success revolved entirely around attempted guillotine
chokes in the first and second rounds. Evloev (14-0, 4-0 UFC)
remained calm under duress, freed himself from danger and applied
his ground-and-pound. On the feet, the gulf between the two men was
considerable. Evloev chewed up the Sanford MMA rep with jabs and
damaging multi-punch bursts, from a distance and at close range. He
turned on the jets in Round 3, where he drowned Lentz (30-12-2,
14-9-1 UFC) in volume, connected with a number of thudding right
hands and even scored with a glancing front kick to the face.
The 36-year-old Lentz has lost three fights in a row.
Once-Beaten Albazi Bests Zhumagulov
Low leg kicks, crisp punching combinations and a clear superiority
in the grappling exchanges carried Amir Albazi
to a unanimous decision over former Fight Nights Global champion
Zhalgas
Zhumagulov in a three-round flyweight clash. All three cageside
judges scored it 29-28 for Albazi (14-1, 2-0 UFC).
Zhumagulov (13-5, 0-2 UFC) enjoyed some early success with
body-head combinations and even mixed in a first-round takedown.
However, his well-rounded counterpart answered the challenge.
Albazi continued to attack the lower lead leg, piled up points with
accurate punches and found another gear. In the third round, he
executed a takedown, progressed to side control and ultimately
advanced to the back before threatening with a rear-naked choke.
Zhumagulov managed to return to his feet with roughly a minute
remaining in the match but failed to find the finish he needed.
Albazi, 27, has rattled off three straight victories.
