Christos
Giagos parlayed nearly two years of frustration into focused
aggression, and Ricky Glenn
had the misfortune to be in harm’s way.
Giagos (20-10) entered the top preliminary bout of “UFC Vegas 71”
on the first losing streak of his UFC career, having dropped his
last two fights to Thiago
Moises and Arman
Tsarukyan by first-round submission and first-round TKO
respectively. Perhaps feeling his back was against the wall, the
“Spartan” came out with urgency against Glenn (22-7-2), who was
returning for the first time since his majority draw against
Grant
Dawson over a year and a half ago. After some tentative early
exchanges on the feet, Giagos caught Glenn with a pinpoint left
hook to the temple, dropping him immediately. A pair of glancing
follow-up shots were hardly needed, as referee Jared Montalvo was
already diving in for the stoppage. The knockout win came
officially at 1:35 of Round 1 and put Giagos back on track in
emphatic fashion while elevating his UFC record to 5-4 across two
separate stints with the promotion; Glenn’s Octagon record fell to
4-4-1 in defeat.
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Jackson Blasts Yahya
Montel
Jackson (13-2) lived up to his “Quik” nickname, using his
speed, reach and power to make short work of Rani Yahya
(28-11-1, 1 NC). Befitting one of the most prolific submission
artists in MMA history, the 38-year-old Yahya came forward looking
to bring the fight to the ground, swinging his way into range
against the UFC’s tallest bantamweight. It was an approach that had
served Yahya surprisingly well for over a decade and a half in the
UFC and World Extreme Cagefighting, but did not pay off this time.
Jackson caught the shorter man overextending himself on a punch and
dropped him with a clean left hand. A few follow-up strikes to the
fallen Brazilian were enough to spur referee Keith
Peterson into action for the technical knockout at 3 minutes,
42 seconds. Jackson’s UFC record moved to 7-2, while the
loss—Yahya’s first by stoppage since 2009—left him at 13-5-1 with
one no contest since joining the UFC out of the dissolution of
WEC.
Dumont Defeats Rosa
Karol
Rosa turned up the urgency in the last 90 seconds, but it was
too little, too late as Norma
Dumont prevailed in a grueling, clinch-filled featherweight
matchup. Both women had sporadic success on the feet over the
course of the fight, but the kickboxing exchanges invariably gave
way to long clinch stalemates against the fence. The first two
rounds were close—especially the second—but Dumont appeared to land
the harder blows, including one that opened a bad cut near Rosa’s
right eye. The third round saw the best offense of the fight, as
Rosa sat Dumont down late with a big right hand, then scored with a
judo throw and a spinning elbow. It was enough to win her the
round, but not the fight, as Dumont picked up the win by unanimous
29-28 scorecards. The win left Dumont 9-2 as a professional, 6-2 in
the UFC and with a decent case for the next shot at Amanda
Nunes’ featherweight crown, while Rosa (16-5) fell to 5-2 in
the promotion.
Usman Outlasts Tafa
In a heavyweight battle that slowed to a crawl by the midpoint of
Round 2, Mohammed
Usman (9-2) crawled just a bit faster and further than Junior Tafa
(4-1) en route to a well-deserved decision win. The
striker-versus-grappler dynamic was set almost immediately, as Tafa
worked to elude the takedown attempts of Usman and land his vaunted
power punches. For a few moments late in Round 1 it looked as
though he might succeed; Tafa rocked Usman with punches and pursued
the finish as the Nigerian-American stumbled across the Octagon.
Usman survived the round, however, and it turned out that Tafa may
have over-pursued, as he was visibly winded early in Round 2. Usman
was clearly tired as well but found himself able to secure
takedowns with relative ease in Rounds 2 and 3, and in both cases
those takedowns effectively ended the rounds, as Tafa offered next
to nothing from his back and Usman stayed busy on top. The judges
awarded the bout to Usman by unanimous 29-28 scores, sending his
Octagon record to 2-0; Tafa’s first professional loss left him 0-1
in the UFC.
Gomis Frustrates Marshall
In a battle of intriguing young featherweight prospects, William
Gomis (12-2) spoiled Francis
Marshall’s undefeated record, but not without overcoming some
adversity. For the bulk of the fight, Gomis’ footwork, feints and
arsenal of speedy kicks baffled Marshall, who struggled to find any
success striking or wrestling until well into the third round. When
he was finally able to track down the elusive Frenchman, however,
Marshall made the most of it, dominating the final two minutes of
the fight with back control, rear-naked choke attempts and an
arm-triangle try in the closing moments. “The Jaguar” survived to
hear the final horn, prevailed by split decision (29-28, 28-29,
29-28), his second straight win since joining the UFC last
September; Marshall’s first professional loss left him at 7-1
overall and 1-1 in the UFC.
Bloodied Hiestand Pounds out Danaa
Brady
Hiestand weathered a storm for two rounds and change before
pounding out Batgerel
Danaa in their card-opening bantamweight clash. After a first
round characterized by Hiestand’s difficulty securing takedowns and
a power differential in the Mongolian’s favor, Danaa sat Hiestand
down with his very first punch of Round 2, a solid left hand. A
successful desperation takedown by Hiestand led to a lengthy ground
sequence in which he achieved back control and worked for a
rear-naked choke for most of the rest of the frame. The final round
opened with Hiestand bleeding heavily from a cut over the right eye
and seemed to offer more of the same until the Washington state
native grounded Danaa late in the round with a nice double-leg
takedown. Hiestand quickly trapped Danaa near the base of the fence
and poured on a stream of unanswered punches until referee Jerin Valel
was forced to intervene at 4:21 of the round. The TKO win brought
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 29 runner-up to 2-1 in the UFC and
8-2 overall; Danaa’s third straight loss saw him fall to 3-4 in the
UFC; 12-5 overall.