The MW division just got put on NOTICE
[
#UFC268 | Prelims are LIVE on ESPNews & ESPN+ ] pic.twitter.com/wZbuaYuLal— UFC (@ufc)
November 7, 2021
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 268
live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device
via the ESPN app. Alex
Pereira announced his arrival from the air.
The former two-division Glory kickboxing champion dazzled in his
hotly anticipated
Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, as he brought down
Andreas
Michailidis with a spectacular flying knee in the second round
of their featured
UFC 268 prelim on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New
York. Pereira (4-1, 1-0 UFC) lit the crowd on fire 18 seconds into
Round 2.
Michailidis (13-5, 1-2 UFC) closed the distance to great effect for
much of the first round—he even managed to ground the Teixeira MMA
middleweight twice—but bled his gas tank dry in the process.
Pereira took flight in the opening moments of Round 2, unleashed a
devastating knee strike with shocking power and precision and
delivered a few follow-up blows before referee Dan Miragliotta
could arrive on the scene.
Green Ambushes Returning Iaquinta
Bobby
Green authored his first finish in exactly eight years and
wasted little time in doing so, as he took care of “The Ultimate
Fighter” Season 15 finalist Al Iaquinta
with punches in the first round of their lightweight affair. In his
first appearance since October 2019, Iaquinta (14-7-1, 9-6 UFC) met
his end 2:25 into Round 1.
Green (28-12-1, 9-7-1 UFC) lured the Serra-Longo Fight Team
standout forward and sprang his trap. He
decked Iaquinta with a jab-cross combination, sprawled out of a
desperation takedown attempt, moved to a dominant position and
closed out the former Ring of Combat champion with punches and
hammerfists.
Iaquinta, 34, has suffered three straight defeats.
Curtis Stuns Favored Hawes
Former CES MMA champion Chris
Curtis dispatched Sanford MMA’s Phil Hawes
with punches in the first round of their middleweight
confrontation. Curtis (27-8, 1-0 UFC) sealed the deal 4:27 into
Round 1, as he recorded his sixth straight win in his long-awaited
Octagon debut.
Hawes (11-3, 3-1 UFC) controlled virtually every second of the bout
with a diverse standup attack—until he ran into a counter left
hook. He stumbled backward in a compromised state, absorbed another
shot to the head and collapsed to the canvas. Curtis gave chase,
uncorked a hammerfist and forced the stoppage.
The defeat was Hawes’ first since Aug. 1, 2017 and slammed the door
on his seven-fight winning streak.
Imavov Slashes Reeling Shahbazyan
MMA Factory’s Nassourdine
Imavov put away Edmen
Shahbazyan with repeated elbow strikes in the second round of
their middleweight clash. Winless since Nov. 2, 2019, a battered
and bloodied Shahbazyan (11-3, 4-3 UFC) succumbed to blows 4:42
into Round 2.
A closely contested first round in which both men enjoyed their
share of success gave way to the second. There, Imavov (11-3, 3-1
UFC) threatened the Glendale Fight Club rep with a pair of standing
guillotine chokes, powered into top position and shredded him with
elbows. The 26-year-old then
advanced to the crucifix and continued slamming elbows into
Shahbazyan’s exposed face until referee Keith
Peterson had seen enough.
Imavov will enter his next assignment on the strength of
back-to-back victories.
Undefeated Gary Flattens Williams
Blue-chip Sanford MMA prospect Ian Garry
kept his perfect professional record intact and did so with
pizzazz, as he punched out three-time Dana White’s Contender Series
veteran Jordan
Williams in the first round of their welterweight tilt.
Williams (9-6, 0-3 UFC) bowed out 4:59 into Round 1.
Garry (8-0, 1-0 UFC) overcame a sluggish start and let his talent
work for him. Williams bloodied his nose with basic one-twos but
failed to give the onetime Cage Warriors Fighting Championship
titleholder true pause. The Factory X representative overextended
on a left hook late in the first round,
left himself exposed and ate a brutal counter right hand from
Garry. The Irishman then followed up with two more surgical
punches, floored Williams and prompted the stoppage.
Williams has lost all three of his fights inside the Octagon.
Barnett Kick Waylays Villante
Chris
Barnett wiped out retiring former two-division Ring of Combat
champion Gian
Villante with an exquisitely timed wheel kick and follow-up
punches in the second round of their heavyweight scrap. Barnett
(22-7, 1-1 UFC) drew the curtain 2:23 into Round 2, as he posted
his seventh win in eight outings.
Villante (17-14, 7-11 UFC) maintained a safe distance through much
of the first round, using his height and reach advantages while
peppering his Pablo Sandoval-shaped adversary with kicks to the
body and legs. None of it mattered. Midway through the middle
stanza, Barnett
detonated the wheel kick behind the Bellmore Kickboxing Academy
mainstay’s right ear, followed him to the canvas and let fly
with unanswered punches until the job was done.
The 36-year-old Villante ends his career on a four-fight losing
streak.
Surging Jacoby Sinks Allan
Former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder Dustin
Jacoby stepped in as a short-notice substitution for Aleksa
Camur and outstruck John Allan
to a unanimous decision in a three-round light heavyweight battle.
Scores were 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27, all for Jacoby (16-5-1, 4-2-1
UFC).
Allan (13-7, 0-2 UFC) seemed content to stand and trade with a
world-class kickboxer—a tactic that did him no favors. Jacoby
buried kicks into both of his legs, operated behind a stiff jab and
cracked the Chute Boxe rep with rear-leg front kicks to the body,
clean one-twos and even a standing elbow. Allan returned fire but
often did so with single shots, as he failed to keep the Factory X
product at bay.
Having compiled a 6-0-1 record across his past seven assignments,
Jacoby has not tasted defeat in nearly seven years.
Baghdasaryan Outduels Replacement Souza
Punishing leg kicks, occasional jabs and well-timed punching bursts
carried Glendale Fighting Club export Melsik
Baghdasaryan to a unanimous decision over former Legacy
Fighting Alliance champion Bruno Souza
in a three-round featherweight encounter. Baghdasaryan (7-1, 2-0
UFC) swept the scorecards with 29-28 marks from all three
judges.
A short-notice replacement for T.J.
Laramie, Souza (10-2, 0-1 UFC) struggled to establish his
foothold. Baghdasaryan forced him to circle on the perimeter and
pick his spots, though his efforts to alter the narrative that was
unfolding were often met with momentum-busting counters. The
Lyoto
Machida did his best work in Round 3, where he capitalized on
Baghdasaryan shifting into cruise control.
Baghdasaryan has rattled off seven consecutive victories.
Osbourne Spoils Vergara Debut
Syndicate MMA’s Ode Osborne rebounded from an Aug. 7 knockout loss
to Manel
Kape, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision over promotional
newcomer C.J. Vergara
in a three-round flyweight pairing. All three cageside judges
scored it the same: 29-28 for Osbourne (10-4, 2-2 UFC), who won for
the sixth time in eight appearances.
Osbourne banked two rounds with efficient output and an offensive
mashup that included multi-punch volleys, effective counters, front
kicks to the body and stomping side kicks to the legs. Vergara
(9-3-1, 0-1 UFC) steadied himself in Round 3, where he closed the
distance, unleashed knees to the body from the clinch and scrambled
into top position, at which point he flexed his muscles with
elbow-laced ground-and-pound. Even so, the finish he needed was
never in play.
The loss was Vergara’s first since May 25, 2018 and snapped the
Pete
Spratt protégé’s career-best five-fight winning streak.
