Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC
live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device
via the ESPN app. In one of the wildest rounds we’re likely to see
this year, David Onama
was the last man left standing. Onama (9-1) and Gabriel
Benitez (22-10) threw everything but the kitchen sink at one
another for four minutes and change. Both fighters landed early,
often and hard, but Benitez was the first to put his man in serious
trouble. A left hand by “Moggly” had Onama stumbling away, pawing
at his right eye. As the injury was caused by a perfectly legal
punch, Benitez rightfully gave chase, swinging away with both
hands. However, Onama recovered quickly and backed his opponent
into the fence, where he unloaded a dozen-punch combo, finishing
with a series of left and right hooks that left Benitez facedown
and unconscious. The vicious finish gets Onama in the win column
after his short-notice, lightweight debut loss to Mason Jones
last fall. Benitez, who missed the non-title featherweight limit by
two pounds, has now lost two in a row.
Egger Throws, Taps Clark
Stephanie
Egger (7-2) made short work of Jessica-Rose
Clark, securing a first-round submission in their bantamweight
clash. As soon as the fight began, Clark (11-7, 1 NC) came forward
immediately to clinch with the decorated judoka. It would turn out
to be a fateful choice, as Egger used a hip throw to deposit her on
the canvas a minute later. Clark returned to her feet, but Egger
quickly tossed her again, securing control of Clark’s right arm as
she did so. Egger isolated and hyperextended the arm, and Clark was
tapping seconds later, spurring referee Jason Herzog into action at
3:44. The loss snaps a two-fight win streak for “Jessy Jess,” while
Egger moves to 2-1 in the UFC.
Skelly Knocks Out Striegl
Fighting for the first time in nearly three years, in what he
asserted was his final mixed martial arts contest, Chas Skelly
went out with a bang. “The Scrapper” dropped Mark
Striegl with a knee and finishing him with ground-and-pound in
the second round of their featherweight contest. Skelly was in
control throughout, winning the first round with a combination of
wrestling, clinch muscle and a few solid ground strikes. Skelly
took Striegl down quickly in the second round, and while the
Filipino sprang back to his feet a moment later, Skelly leveled him
with a knee to the jaw. Skelly gave chase, whaling away with both
hands until referee Keith
Peterson intervened. The finish came at 2 minutes, 1 second of
the round, and if it truly was Skelly’s last fight, the 36-year-old
Texan retires with a record of 19-3 with one no contest. Striegl
falls to 18-4 with one no contest, and is now 0-2 in two UFC
appearances.
De Paula Edges Out Belbita
Gloria de
Paula edged out Diana
Belbita across three close rounds in their strawweight affair.
As might be expected of two former kickboxers, de Paula and Belbita
elected to engage almost entirely on the feet. The fight was
characterized by a near dead heat in striking volume, lengthy
clinch stalemates and Belbita’s effective head strikes versus de
Paula’s focus on leg kicks. Each round was individually difficult
to score, but in the end all three judges saw the fight for the
Brazilian, 29-28. The win, de Paula’s first in three tries since
emerging from Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020, brings
her record to 6-4 overall; Belbita goes to 14-7.
Anheliger Thumps Strader
Chad
Anheliger (12-5) made a successful Octagon debut — his 10th
straight win overall — weathering a strong early effort from
Jesse
Strader (5-3) to score a third-round knockout in their
bantamweight prelim. The first round appeared to go to Strader, as
“Sui Generis” outwrestled and outlanded Anheliger for most of the
round. The second round was more competitive, with Anheliger
picking up momentum over his increasingly fatigued foe. Strader
looked to wrestle immediately to open the final frame, but
Anheliger eluded his takedown attempts and continued to pepper him
with strikes. The end came when Anheliger landed a left-handed
counter that stunned Strader, followed by another left that dropped
him to the canvas. Anheliger swarmed with punches, landing lefts
and rights from the back until referee Herb Dean dove
in for the stop at 3:33.
Pearce Grinds Out Rodriguez
Jonathan
Pearce spoiled the Octagon debut of Christian
Rodriguez, handing the Dana White’s Contender Series his first
professional loss after 15 minutes of scramble-heavy grappling.
“JSP” racked up over two full rounds’ worth of ground control,
plying his wrestling skills and visible size advantage to good
effect. Rodriguez had his moments, including a very tight
guillotine choke in the first round and a series of strikes in the
third that had Pearce reeling, but Pearce’s ability to fight
through fatigue and secure takedowns at crunch time ended up making
the difference. The judges awarded Pearce the win via unanimous
decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28), sending his record to 11-4, while
Rodriguez exits the Apex at 7-1.
Bautista Blanks Perrin
In the opening bout of the evening, Mario
Bautista gave a rough welcome to bantamweight newcomer Jay Perrin,
who stepped up on short notice to replace Khalid
Taha. Bautista established his superiority in all phases from
the onset, denying Perrin’s takedowns, scoring one of his own and
hurting Perrin with punches, all within the first round. The second
and third rounds offered more of the same and then some, as
Bautista put more distance between himself and the CES MMA veteran. After three rounds, Bautista
prevailed by 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 scorecards to go to 9-2 as a
professional; Perrin falls to 10-5.
