Bringing the in RD 1 @MaxPainGriffin
#UFC264 pic.twitter.com/6RBEaOMHs5— UFC (@ufc)
July 11, 2021
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Max Griffin
finally has a centerpiece victory to call his own.
The former Tachi
Palace Fights champion captured a hard-fought three-round
verdict over former interim welterweight king Carlos
Condit in the featured bout of the
UFC 264 prelims at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday
night. Griffin (18-8, 6-6 UFC) secured scorecards of 29-28, 29-28
and 30-27 for his third consecutive triumph within the Octagon.
“I used to look up to him; I still do. He’s one of the best in the
world, a legend. I tried to get the finish, but much respect to
that man,” Griffin said.
Griffin set the tone for his victory with a dominant first round,
as he attacked Condit (32-14, 9-10 UFC) with stinging leg kicks
before dropping his adversary with a right hand late in the period.
“Pain” swarmed for the finish with ground-and-pound, but Condit was
able to survive until the horn.
From there, the bout was much more competitive, as Condit’s
unorthodox striking became more successful behind a rangy straight
right hand. While the New Mexican’s output certainly improved over
the final 10 minutes, Griffin fought with the appropriate sense of
urgency in Round 3, tagging Condit with multiple hard combinations
before sealing his triumph with a takedown in the waning
moments.
The 37-year-old Condit has won just two of his last eight
promotional appearances.
Pereira Survives Late Price Push
Michael
Pereira racked up an early lead on the scorecards and then held
off a furious final push from Niko Price to
earn a unanimous decision triumph at welterweight. Pereira received
a trio of 29-28 tallies from the cageside judges for his third
straight triumph within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Price has
been victorious in just two of his last seven Octagon
appearances.
Pereira (26-11, 2 NC, 4-2 UFC) controlled Round 1 behind his jab,
kicks to the body and knees in the clinch, but it wasn’t until the
second period when he truly asserted himself. After shoving his foe
to the canvas, “Demolidor” backflipped his way into mount, where he
attacked with ground-and-pound and framed an arm-triangle choke
before threatening with a rear-naked choke when Price gave up his
back. Eventually, Price used a kimura to scramble back to his feet,
which set the stage for a spirited third-round rally.
Price (14-5, 6-5, 2 NC UFC) pushed the pace in the final stanza,
unloading with heavy punches on a visibly-fatigued Pereira. Though
the round clearly belonged to “The Hybrid,” Pereira was able to
survive one final brawling sequence to make it to the final
horn.
Topuria Pounds Out Unorthodox Hall
No amount of unorthodox grappling technique could save Ryan Hall from
the thunder in Ilia
Topuria’s hands.
The 24-year-old Spaniard kept his perfect record intact, earning a
knockout victory over Hall 4:47 into the opening stanza of their
featherweight encounter. Topuria took his man down after an
ill-advised spinning kick and followed him to the ground. From
there, Topuria passed to side control and put “The Wizard” to sleep
with a barrage of punches and hammerfists from
above.
Prior to the finish, Hall (8-2, 4-1 UFC) did his best to engage
Topuria (11-0, 3-0 UFC) in a ground battle, as he attempted
multiple rolls in hopes of locking in a submission. Topuria
resisted Hall’s efforts while occasionally dropping timely
ground-and-pound before pouncing for the finishing sequence.
Du Plessis Secures Fourth Straight Finish
Former
KSW and
Extreme Fighting Championship title holder Dricus Du
Plessis continues to look like a talent to watch in the
Octagon, as he scored a second-round knockout against Trevin
Giles at middleweight. The South African standout brought the
contest to a close 1:41 into Round 2 for his fourth consecutive
finish as a professional. Giles, meanwhile, saw a three-bout
winning streak snapped in defeat.
After a competitive opening frame in which Du Plessis (16-2, 2-0
UFC) got the better of his opponent in grappling exchanges,
“Stillknocks” capitalized on Giles’ aggression in the second round.
When Giles (14-3, 5-3 UFC) connected with an elbow and attempted to
move forward with punches, Du Plessis floored his foe with a
straight right hand to the chin. From there, Du Plessis pounced, dropping ground-and-pound
until referee Chris Tognoni intervened on Giles’ behalf.
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 264
live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device
via the ESPN app.
Maia Holds Off Eye
Jennifer
Maia took a big step toward maintaining relevance at flyweight,
as she captured a unanimous decision against Jessica Eye
in a matchup of former 125-pound title challengers. All three
judges submitted tallies in favor of the
Chute Boxe representative: 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27. Eye (15-10,
5-9 1 NC UFC) has lost three straight Octagon appearances.
Eye led the dance for much of the way, pushing forward behind a
solid jab. However, Maia (19-7-1, 4-3 UFC) landed with more power
and began countering effectively with her right hand while
occasionally mixing in close-quarters knees as the bout progressed.
An accidental clash of heads opened a significant gash on Eye’s
forehead in Round 2, but the blood did little to deter the Ohioan’s
pace down the stretch. Ultimately, it was Maia who was able to
rebound from a five-round decision defeat to reigning flyweight
queen Valentina
Shevchenko at UFC 255 this past November.
Tavares Earns Split Verdict Over Akhmedov
Stinging leg kicks, crisp straight punches and sturdy takedown
defense carried
Xtreme Couture export Brad
Tavares to a split-decision triumph over Omari
Akhmedov at middleweight. Two judges submitted 29-28 scorecards
for the 33-year-old Hawaiian, while a third saw it 29-28 for
Akhmedov (21-6-1, 9-5-1 UFC).
Akhmedov connected flush with a left hand that made Tavares (19-7,
14-6 UFC) stumble in Round 1, but “The
Ultimate Fighter 11” cast member found his footing shortly
thereafter. He compromised Akhmedov’s movement with repeated
attacks to the lead leg while effectively mixing in punches to the
head. When the Russian attempted to take the fight to the canvas,
Tavares either stuffed the takedowns or returned to his feet in
short order.
Tavares punctuated his victory with a strong Round 3, when he sent
Akhmedov to the canvas with a low kick early and then wobbled his
foe with an uppercut and swarmed with offense in the waning moments
of the period.
Zhumagulov Hands Rivera Fourth Straight Defeat
Zhalgas
Zhumagulov may have just jettisoned Jerome
Rivera from the UFC with a submission victory in a clash of
flyweight fighters searching for their first promotional triumph.
The Kazakhstan native tapped Rivera with a modified guillotine
choke 2:02 into Round 1, sending “The Renegade” to his fourth
straight defeat — three of which have come inside the
distance.
The rangy Rivera (10-6, 0-4 UFC) fought with a sense of urgency
early on, as he kept the former Fight
Nights Global champion at bay with a variety of kicks to the
legs and body. Eventually Zhumagulov (14-5, 1-2 UFC) was able to
find the range on a left hand that buckled his adversary, prompting
Rivera to shoot out of desperation. Zhumagulov deftly locked in a standing guillotine and cranked the
maneuver at an awkward angle, forcing a quick tapout from
Rivera. 
