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November 8, 2020
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It was gruesome enough to inspire widespread dry
heaves.
Former Tachi Palace Fights champion Max Griffin
prompted an injury stoppage against Ramiz
Brahimaj in the third round of their
UFC on ESPN 17 welterweight prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex
in Las Vegas, as he nearly took off the Fortis MMA rep’s left ear
with a well-placed elbow strike. Brahimaj (8-3, 0-1 UFC) was
declared unfit to continue 2:03 into Round 3, then likely sought
out the nearest plastic surgeon.
Griffin (16-8, 4-6 UFC) spent most of the first two rounds burying
jabs into his opponent’s face, opening multiple cuts and leaving
visible damage to both of his eyes. Midway through the third, he
dazed Brahimaj with an overhand right, reset and then moved into
clinch range. Griffin
uncorked an elbow over the tap that left the promotional newcomer’s
ear hanging by a thread and necessitated the stoppage.
The victory closed the book on Griffin’s two-fight losing
streak.
Giles Buries Reeling Lewis
W4R Training Center standout Trevin
Giles disposed of Bevon
Lewis with punches in the third round of their middleweight
clash. Lewis (7-3, 1-3 UFC) succumbed to blows 1:26 into Round 3,
as the Dana White’s Contender Series alum lost for the third time
in four starts.
Giles (13-2, 4-2 UFC) leaned on superior hand speed and distance
management, all while keeping a comfortable pace. He knocked down
Lewis with a stiff jab in the first round, continued to string
together punches and waited for fatigue to become a factor. By the
end of the middle stanza, Giles was in cruise control. He sprawled
on an attempted takedown from Lewis in Round 3, scrambled into a
more advantageous position on the feet and
blasted the Jackson-Wink MMA product with both hands until his body
and mind broke.
The 28-year-old Giles will enter his next assignment on the
strength of back-to-back wins.
Unbeaten Romanov Sleeps Rogerio de Lima
The undefeated Alexander
Romanov kept his perfect professional record intact, as he put
Marcos
Rogerio de Lima to sleep with a rudimentary forearm choke in
the first round of their heavyweight encounter. Romanov sealed the
deal 4:48 into Round 1, moving to 13-0 (2-0 UFC) with 13
finishes.
Rogerio de Lima (17-7-1, 6-5 UFC) assaulted the Moldovan brute with
low inside leg kicks and power punches but could not maintain a
safe distance. Romanov tripped the American Top Team standout to
the floor, settled in half guard, unleashed some ground-and-pound
and ultimately
applied crushing downward pressure on the Brazilian’s neck until he
lost consciousness.
A model of consistent inconsistency, Rogerio de Lima has alternated
wins and losses in each of his last nine appearances.
Determined Elkins Dismisses Garagorri
Team Alpha Male’s Darren
Elkins submitted Luiz
Eduardo Garagorri with a rear-naked choke in the third round of
their featherweight confrontation. Elkins (25-9, 15-8 UFC) drew the
curtain 2:22 into Round 3, as he put an end to a four-fight losing
streak and posted his first win since Jan. 14, 2018.
Suffocating pressure and the maniacal pursuit of takedowns carried
Elkins to a two-rounds-to-none lead. Still, Garagorri (13-2, 1-2
UFC) had his moments. The Fronteira Fight Team rep connected with
repeated jabs and a few early uppercuts before landing a right
cross in the third round that appeared to shake Elkins’
equilibrium. However, it was not enough to stymie the efforts of
the Portage, Indiana, native. Elkins threatened with another
takedown, moved behind the Uruguayan and jumped into the backpack
position. From there,
he set the choke, forced Garagorri to collapse and elicited the
tapout.
Garagorri has suffered back-to-back defeats after starting his
career with 13 straight victories.
Lopez Choke Submits Birchak
Xtreme Couture export Gustavo
Lopez rebounded from his June 13 defeat to Merab
Dvalishvili, as he submitted Anthony
Birchak with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their
bantamweight pairing. A short-notice substitution for Felipe
Colares, Birchak (16-7, 2-3 UFC) raised the white flag 2:43 into
Round 1.
Lopez (12-5, 1-1 UFC) stunned his former training partner with
clean left hooks right out of the gate, flurried with follow-up
punches and executed takedown. After the two men returned to an
upright position, he dragged Birchak back to the mat, advanced to
the back and cut loose with punches. Lopez then cinched the choke,
tightened his squeeze around his counterpart’s
exposed neck and forced the tap.
The 31-year-old Lopez has rattled off four wins in five
outings.
