Clark sent Knight to the moon 🌙
#UFCVegas51 pic.twitter.com/3w6WGHBbV4— ESPN MMA (@espnmma)
April 17, 2022
Devin
Clark survived William
Knight’s initial sprint and once he did, the fight was his for
the taking.
Clark (13-6, 7-6 UFC) defeated Knight via technical knockout in
their heavyweight bout at
UFC on ESPN 34, ending the contest at the 3:21 mark of Round 3
at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Clark snaps a
two-fight skid in victory, while Knight has lost back-to-back
fights for the first time in his career.
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Knight put together a strong start, threatening Clark with a tight
guillotine early and then following a jumping knee with a flurry of
power punches in the waning moments of Round 1. From there,
Knight’s output waned and Clark took control. The Elevation Fight
Team landed takedowns in both the second and third rounds and also
controlled Knight (11-4, 3-3 UFC) in the clinch.
Clark set the stage for the finish when he separated from Knight
and rocked his foe with a right elbow and left hook in the final
stanza. With Knight on wobbly legs, Clark unloaded with follow-up
punches to send the Dana White’s Contender Series alum to the
canvas and force the stoppage.
Kianzad Wins Rematch, Improves to 2-0 vs. Lansberg
Pannie
Kianzad took a unanimous decision over Lina
Lansberg at bantamweight in a rematch of a December 2012 bout.
Cageside judges submitted a trio of 29-28 scorecards in favor of
Kianzad in the all-Sweden matchup. “Banzai” defeated Lansberg via
third-round TKO in their initial meeting at an event entitled
Trophy MMA 1 “New Years Bash 1.”
Kianzad (16-6, 5-3 UFC) held her own in the clinch with Lansberg
(10-6, 4-5 UFC), as she attacked with elbows and punches in close
quarters and outgrappled her opponent while looking to maneuver to
the back. By the second round, Lansberg was bleeding profusely near
her left eye as a result of those short strikes. That didn’t deter
“The Elbow Queen,” who authored her most memorable moment when she
dropped Kianzad with an elbow late in Round 2. Kianzad shook it off
and put together a strong final frame, where she tagged her foe
with punching combinations while consistently angling out of
danger.
Klose Overwhelms Jenkins in Return
Drakkar
Klose enjoyed a successful Octagon return in his first fight in
more than two years, as he defeated Brandon
Jenkins via technical knockout in a lightweight encounter. A
series of heavy right hands ended Jenkins’ night 33 seconds into
Round 2. Klose (12-2-1, 6-2 UFC) had not fought since a loss to
Beneil
Dariush at UFC 248 in March 2020.
Jenkins (15-9, 0-2 UFC) absorbed a tremendous amount of punishment
before the finish. Klose rattled “The Human Highlight Reel” with uppercuts
in the clinch and then proceeded to land in the neighborhood of 30
unanswered right hands during a first-round onslaught. Klose also
dropped his opponent late in the round, but Jenkins somehow
survived until the horn.
He wasn’t as fortunate in Round 2. Klose rocked Jenkins with
another uppercut, and then teed off with right hands to make the Syndicate MMA
product crumble near the fence, forcing referee Herb Dean to
step in on his behalf.
Garcia Chokes Out Ronson Combate Americas veteran Rafa Garcia
overcame a point deduction to submit Jesse
Ronson in a lightweight bout. The 27-year-old Team Punisher
member used a rear-naked choke to elicit a tapout from Ronson
(21-11, 0-1, 1 NC UFC) at the 4:50 mark of Round 2. It was the
eighth submission triumph for Garcia (13-2, 2-2 UFC) in his
professional career.
After an extended period of standing and trading early in Round 1,
Garcia began to exploit Ronson’s takedown defense. He grounded his
opponent multiple times, including one occasion in the second frame
where he had a point taken after landing a knee to the head of
Ronson while his foe was still grounded. It didn’t matter. Garcia
landed another takedown late in Round 2, transitioned to Ronson’s back and slid his arm
under the chin to secure the submission.
Buday Grinds Down Barnett
Slovakia’s Martin
Buday enjoyed a successful Octagon debut, winning a technical
unanimous decision against Chris
Barnett in a heavyweight affair. All three judges submitted
30-27 scorecards in favor of Buday. The bout was stopped at the
1:35 mark of Round 3 when it was determined Barnett could not
continue due to an illegal blow.
Buday was already well on his way to victory when he landed an illegal downward elbow to the back of
Barnett’s head. Barnett fell to the canvas in agony and was
examined by a cageside physician during a break, and the fight was
waved off shortly thereafter. Buday’s strike was determined to
be accidental by referee Dan Miragliotta.
Prior to that, Buday (10-1, 1-0 UFC) wore his adversary down with
suffocating clinch work. From that position, the Dana White’s
Contender Series veteran did significant damage with knees to the
midsection, including one that may have broken Barnett’s ribs late
in Round 2. On the heels of a spectacular spinning wheel kick
stoppage of Gian
Villante last November, Barnett (22-8, 1-2 UFC) struggled to
find the space to unleash any flashy striking techniques.
Leavitt Outworks Ogden, Earns Split Decision
Dana White’s Contender Series alum Jordan
Leavitt rode a steady diet of leg kicks and positional control
to a split-decision triumph against Trey Ogden
in a lightweight tilt. Judges Anthony Maness and Mike Bell saw
the fight 29-28 in favor of “The Monkey King,” while Junichiro
Kamijo submitted a 29-28 scorecard for Ogden (15-5, 0-1 UFC).
Ogden had his moments, as he sprawled well on takedowns, landed
multiple straight rights to the body and briefly had Leavitt (10-1,
3-1 UFC) ensnared in a tight guillotine at the end of Round 1. It
wasn’t enough to get the nod thanks to Leavitt’s active kicking
game and ability to maintain top position for extended periods of
time despite not landing a takedown in the fight.
Hughes Rallies Past Nunes
Facing what could have been a must-win situation, Fortis MMA
product Sam Hughes
put together a strong final 10 minutes to rally for a majority
decision triumph against Istela
Nunes in a strawweight encounter. Two judges scored the bout
29-27 in favor of Hughes, while a third submitted a 28-28
tally.
Nunes enjoyed a clean opening stanza in which she battered and
bloodied Hughes (5-5, 1-3 UFC) with crisp combination punching and
kicks to all levels. That pace slowed as the bout progressed,
however, and Hughes gradually asserted her will through forward
pressure, takedowns and ground-and-pound. “Sampage” ended both the
second and third frames battering Nunes (6-3, 1 NC, 0-2 UFC) with
strikes from top position, including a mounted crucifix to close
out Round 2. To make matters worse for Nunes, the One Championship
veteran was deducted a point in the third round for repeated eye
pokes by referee Mark
Smith.
Alateng Rocks Croom
Fight Ready export Heili
Alateng scored a quick technical knockout victory over
well-traveled veteran Kevin Croom
in a bantamweight matchup. The Beijing, China, native put Croom
away 47 seconds into Round 1 to end a two-bout winless streak.
Alateng (15-8-2, 3-1-1 UFC) wasted little time getting to work,
rocking his opponent with an overhand right-left hook combination
during an initial exchange. From there, “The Mongolian Knight”
teed off with a flurry of punches against the fence
on a dazed Croom (21-14, 0-3, 1 NC UFC), who collapsed face-first
to the canvas from the barrage.