Modestas
Bukauskas returned to the
Ultimate Fighting Championship for the first time in more than
a year and laid claim to a unanimous decision over Tyson Pedro
in the featured
UFC 284 light heavyweight prelim on Saturday at the RAC Arena
in Perth, Australia. All three judges sided with Bukauskas (14-5,
2-3 UFC): 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.
Pedro (9-4, 5-4 UFC) executed a takedown in the first round and
consolidated it with positional control and modest
ground-and-pound. However, he seemed to run out of gas quickly, and
from there, a painfully plodding encounter developed between the
two men. A late replacement for Mingyang
Zhang, Bukauskas allowed the visibly fatigued Aussie to stay
competitive through relative inactivity, though he managed to pick
up his pace down the stretch. The two-time Cage Warriors Fighting
Championship titleholder connected with two- and three-punch
combinations on the flat-footed Pedro in the third round before
eventually pinning him to the fence and flurrying with shots to the
head in the waning seconds.
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Bukauskas, 29, has pieced together a three-fight winning
streak.
Opportunistic Culibao Strangles Baghdasaryan
Joshua
Culibao withstood an accidental groin strike and what appeared
to be an intentional head butt, as he disposed of Glendale Fighting
Club’s Melsik
Baghdasaryan with
a rear-naked choke in the second round of their featherweight
scrap. Culibao (11-1-1, 3-1-1 UFC) sealed the deal
2:02 into Round 2. Baghdasaryan (7-2, 2-1 UFC) spent much of the first five minutes
building a lead with body kicks and straight punches, one of which
drew considerable blood from his opponent’s nose. The
aforementioned groin strike—heel connected flush with the
cup—resulted in a brief pause but interrupted his rhythm and forced
him to start over in the second round. There, Culibao countered a
leg kick with a jab, shoved the off-balance Dana White’s Contender
Series graduate to the canvas and jumped immediately to the back.
Before Baghdasaryan realized what was unfolding, the choke was in
place. Culibao then tightened his squeeze and prompted the
tapout.
The defeat was Baghdasaryan’s first since April 12, 2014 and halted
his run of consecutive victories at seven.
Rodrigues Blitz Folds Ross
Former Jungle Fight champion Kleydson
Rodrigues rebounded from a controversial decision loss to
C.J.
Vergara in May and took care of Shannon
Ross with
punches in the first round of their flyweight
confrontation. Ross (12-7, 0-1 UFC) succumbed to blows
59 seconds into Round 1, suffering the second sub-minute setback of
his career.
Team Nogueira’s Rodrigues (8-2, 1-1 UFC) overwhelmed the Australian
newcomer with speed, power and technique. The Dana White’s
Contender Series graduate doubled over Ross with a kick to the
midsection, pinned him to the fence and cut loose with a blinding
barrage of punches to the body and head until referee Matt Wynne
had seen enough.
The 27-year-old Rodrigues now has five first-round finishes to his
credit.
Mullarkey Handles Replacement Prado
Magnus MMA product Jamie
Mullarkey outstruck and outgrappled the previously unbeaten
Francisco
Prado to a unanimous decision in their three-round lightweight
tilt. Mullarkey (16-5, 4-3 UFC) carried all three scorecards by
30-27 counts, winning for the fourth time in five appearances.
A short-notice substitution for Nasrat
Haqparast, Prado (11-1, 0-1 UFC) struggled to muster meaningful
offense. Mullarkey short-circuited his efforts with a pair of
takedowns, one in the first round and another in the third, and
applied enough ground-and-pound to hack open a small cut near the
former Samurai Fight House titleholder’s right eye. On the feet,
the Aussie moved in and out with his punches, countered effectively
and incorporated occasional kicks at all levels, keeping Prado
off-balance with a variety of attacks.
The 28-year-old Mullarkey has posted back-to-back victories since
his March 5 defeat to Jalin
Turner.
Surging Jenkins Outduels Shainis
Sound boxing combinations and crushing low kicks spurred former
Eternal MMA champion Jack
Jenkins to a unanimous decision over Don Shainis
in a three-round featherweight battle. All three judges scored it
for Jenkins (11-2, 1-0 UFC): 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.
Shainis (12-5, 0-2 UFC) had his moments—he achieved full mount in
the second round and threatened with a kimura in the third—but
found himself outgunned by the well-rounded Aussie. Jenkins
tortured his lower lead leg with kicks, mixed in body-head
combinations and flexed his superiority in a majority of their
grappling exchanges, fishing for a rear-naked choke at the end of
Round 2. He cut off any possibility of a Shainis rally in the
third, where he paired a takedown with a move to full mount in one
sequence and connected with a brutal front kick to the face in
another.
Jenkins heads into his next assignment on an eight-fight winning
streak.
Suphisara Chokes Vanquishes Reed
Bang Tao Muay Thai representative Konklak
Suphisara put away Elise Reed
with
a rear-naked choke in the second round of their women’s strawweight
pairing. Suphisara (8-3, 5-2 UFC) brought it to a
close 44 seconds into Round 2, authoring the first submission win
of her 11-fight career.
Bleeding heavily from the nose and sporting a grotesque bruise on
the outside of her left leg, Reed (6-3, 2-3 UFC) conceded a
takedown in the first round but sprang a reversal, settled in top
position and applied her ground-and-pound before progressing to the
back. Time ran out on her bid to finish—a reality she lived to
regret. Suphisara struck for another takedown early in the middle
stanza, climbed to the back and cinched the choke before her
adversary could effectively fight the hands.
Suphisara, 27, has recorded four victories across her past five
outings.
Undefeated Bilder Downs Young
Former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder Blake
Bilder remained unbeaten with a unanimous decision over City
Kickboxing’s Shane Young
in a three-round featherweight affair. Bilder (8-0-1, 1-0 UFC)
swept the scorecards with 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 marks from the
cageside judges.
Young (13-7, 2-4 UFC) fought well in spurts but failed to
effectively cut off the cage and spent too much time walking into
punches while following the circular movements of his opponent.
Bilder paired a takedown with positional control and intermittent
ground-and-pound in the first round, held his own in the standup
exchanges in the second and turned up the heat in the third, where
he connected with leg kicks, overhand rights and sneaky jabs.
The 29-year-old Young has lost three fights in a row.
Newcomer Oliveira Stuns Tukhugov
Chute Boxe prospect Elves
Brener Oliveira made a successful—albeit
contentious—promotional debut and eked out a split decision over
the heavily favored Zubaira
Tukhugov in a three-round lightweight clash. Judges Derek
Cleary and Evan Field scored it 29-28 and 30-27 for Brener, while
Barry Foley saw it 29-28 for Tukhugov.
A short-notice replacement for Joel
Alvarez, Oliveira (14-3, 1-0 UFC) connected with the flashier
strikes and opened multiple cuts on his American Kickboxing
Academy-trained counterpart. Tukhugov (20-6-1, 5-3-1 UFC) answered
with clubbing right hands, clean jabs and crisp crosses, though he
often uncorked them as single shots. The superficial damage he
suffered was more of a nuisance than a real concern. Oliveira left
his imprint on the match with a switch knee in the first round and
a spinning backfist in the third, offering the judiciary something
to remember in an otherwise forgettable encounter.
Oliveira, 25, has rattled off three straight victories.