This fight is UNREAL
#UFC265 pic.twitter.com/L1b0maDhxx— UFC (@ufc)
August 8, 2021
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Rafael
Fiziev cleared another significant hurdle in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division.
The once-beaten
Tiger Muay Thai star leaned on a sustained body attack and
clean power punches, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision over
former King of
the Cage champion Bobby Green
in the featured UFC
265 prelim on Saturday at the Toyota Center in Houston. All
three cageside judges sided with Fiziev (10-1, 4-1 UFC): 30-27,
29-28 and 29-28.
Green (27-12-1, 8-7-1 UFC) held his own with the highly touted
prospect but lacked the horsepower necessary to fight fire with
fire. Fiziev staggered him twice with clubbing right hands in the
second round and opened a cut across the bridge of his nose with a
standing elbow strike. Green responded with a stellar effort in
Round 3, where high-volume punching and sheer force of will nearly
turned the tide in his favor.
Fiziev, 28, has won four fights in a row.
Morales Rebounds, Outpoints Rodriguez
Syndicate MMA’s Vince
Morales bounced back from consecutive defeats to Benito
Lopez and Chris
Gutierrez with a unanimous decision over Drako
Rodriguez in their three-round bantamweight battle. Morales
(10-5, 2-3 UFC) swept the scorecards with 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28
marks from the judges.
Rodriguez (7-3, 0-2 UFC) implemented a stout jab and effective
counters but lacked the aggression needed to bring it all together.
Morales seized control in the second round and turned up the heat
in the third. There, he connected with a number of overhand rights,
maintained a healthy pace and pressed forward with punches.
The 25-year-old Rodriguez has suffered two straight defeats.
Menifield Dominates Grizzled Herman
Devastating leg kicks and heavy power punches carried
Saekson Muay Thai product Alonzo
Menifield to a unanimous decision over
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 finalist Ed Herman in a
three-round light heavyweight tilt. All three cageside judges
scored it the same: 30-27 for Menifield (11-2, 4-2 UFC).
Herman (26-15, 13-11 UFC) absorbed a copious amount of punishment.
Menifield sent one kick after another crashing into his lead leg,
resulting in a grotesque hematoma and compromised movement. He
pinned Herman to the fence early in the second round and cut loose
for a potential finish, a series of clubbing standing hammerfists
tipping his spear. Herman withstood the assault and challenged the
Dana White’s Contender Series graduate to dig deeper into his gas
tank in Round 3. Menifield obliged, continued to attack the leg
with kicks and kept himself out of harm’s way.
The loss snapped Herman’s three-fight winning streak.
Penne Armbar Taps Kowalkiewicz
Former
Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder Jessica
Penne authored her first finish in more than eight years, as
she submitted Karolina
Kowalkiewicz with an armbar in the first round of their
undercard scrap at 115 pounds. Penne (14-5, 3-3 UFC) brought it to
a close 4:32 into Round 1.
Kowalkiewicz (12-7, 5-7 UFC) tripped the
Alliance MMA export to the mat, kicked at her legs while
standing over her and made an unwise decision to engage her on the
ground. Penne swept almost immediately, waded through a few upkicks
and climbed to full mount before transitioning to the
armbar. Kowalkiewicz tried in vain to free herself but only
sank deeper into the maneuver. After Penne readjusted her grip
during a scramble, the onetime
KSW champion had no choice but to surrender.
Winless since April 2018, Kowalkiewicz has lost five fights in a
row.
Kape Knee Fells Osbourne
Former
Rizin Fighting Federation champion Manel Kape
cut down Ode
Osbourne with a flying knee and follow-up punches in the first
round of their flyweight confrontation. Osbourne (9-4, 1-2 UFC) met
his end 4:44 into Round 1, suffering his second setback in three
starts.
Kape (16-6, 1-2 UFC)—who missed weight for the match by three
pounds—darted in and out of the pocket and landed with both hands
before his adversary slowed him down with a few perfectly timed
lefts of his own. He backed away from Osbourne in the center of the
cage, switched stances, took flight and connected with the knee. Kape
gave chase as the
Dana White’s Contender Series alum collapsed backward and
flurried with punches until referee Jeff
Rexroad had seen enough.
It was the eighth first-round stoppage victory of Kape’s
career.
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 265
live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device
via the ESPN app.
Surging Johns KOs Dos Santos
Fortis
MMA rep Miles Johns
knocked out former
Titan Fighting Championships titleholder Anderson
dos Santos in the third round of their bantamweight clash. Dos
Santos (21-9, 1-3 UFC) bowed out 1:16 into Round 3, losing for the
third time in four outings.
Johns (12-2, 3-1 UFC) was dominant from the outset. He turned dos
Santos into a one-legged fighter with low kicks in the first round
and let his hands do the rest. Johns built a commanding lead
through two rounds, as he unleashed crackling combos and forced the
Brazilian to switch stances in a bid to shield his damaged leg.
Early in Round 3, the onetime
Legacy Fighting Alliance champion ducked a jab from dos Santos,
buried a left hook into his body and floored him
with a right hook to the head. No follow-up shots were
necessary.
The 27-year-old Johns has recorded back-to-back knockouts since his
UFC 274 loss to Mario
Bautista in February 2020.
Unbeaten Gatto Sinks Leonardo
Melissa
Gatto shined in her promotional debut and forced a doctor
stoppage against
Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Victoria
Leonardo in between the second and third rounds of their
women’s flyweight encounter. Leonardo (8-4, 0-2 UFC) was not
allowed to continue after being examined by the cageside
physician.
In her first appearance since Sept. 29, 2018, Gatto (7-0-2, 1-0
UFC) dictated the terms of their engagement with a steady jab,
clean two-punch combinations, timely takedowns and a hyperactive
submission game. She had Leonardo in legitimate danger on multiple
occasions in the first round and forced her backward for much of
the second. Leonardo informed her corner that her arm was
injured during the 60-second interval between rounds, and
referee Jacob Montalvo called for the stoppage soon after.
Gatto will carry a two-fight winning streak into her next
assignment.
Munoz Choke Vanquishes Simmons
Former King of
the Cage champion Johnny
Munoz Jr. submitted Jamey
Simmons with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their
bantamweight pairing. Munoz (11-1, 1-1 UFC) drew the curtain 2:35
into Round 2, as he rebounded from a decision defeat to Joseph
Nathan Maness a little more than a year ago.
Simmons (7-4, 0-2 UFC) struggled to find his target. Munoz set the
tone with a steady jab in the first round, then made his move in
the second. There, he struck for a takedown, advanced to the back
and flattened out Simmons before fishing for the finish. Munoz cut
off avenues for escape, readjusted his grip and cinched the fight-ending
choke.
The win was Munoz’s first since Sept. 7, 2019. 
