The Black Jag POUNCED for the 1st RD finish
[ @UlbergCarlos
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#UFCVegas57 ]pic.twitter.com/hwWbsOijSYâ UFC (@ufc)
June 26, 2022
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With a cast of decorated
City Kickboxing teammates in attendance, Carlos
Ulberg put on a show.
The Auckland, New Zealand, native earned his first finish in the
Octagon at
UFC on ESPN 38, defeating fellow
Dana Whiteâs Contender Series alum Tafon
Nchukwi via technical knockout in a light heavyweight bout at
the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Ulberg put Nchukwi
(6-3, 2-3 UFC) away 1:15 into Round 1.
Ulberg (5-1, 2-1 UFC) waited patiently for his opening, circling on
the outside before staggering his foe with a sneaky, short left
hook. âBlack Jaguarâ then swarmed with power punches, ultimately
dropping a dazed Nchukwi to the canvas with a right hook to seal
his victory. The explosive finish set off a celebration from
stablemates Israel
Adesanya, Alexander
Volkanovski and Brad
Riddell, who were seated cageside in support of Ulberg.
Shayilan Outgrapples Brown
Takedowns, positional control and solid submission defense
propelled Nuerdanbieke
Shayilan to a unanimous decision triumph against DWCS alum
T.J.
Brown in a grueling featherweight clash. All three cageside
judges saw the fight 29-28 in favor of the
China Top Team representative, who has won back-to-back fights
in the Octagon.
Shayilan (38-10, 2-1 UFC) flashed some heavy hands in the opening
frame, when he knocked Brown (16-9, 2-3 UFC) off balance with a
right hook. While Shayilan bloodied his opponentâs nose with his
punches, wrestling and grappling was the prevalent theme as the
bout progressed. Shayilan landed multiple takedowns and enjoyed
significant periods of control time in each round and while Brown
occasionally reversed and threatened with submissions, it was the
Chinese athlete who imposed his will more consistently down the
stretch.
Morozov Wears Down Paiva
Former M-1 Global
champion Sergey
Morozov weathered a rough start to rally past Brazilian
Contender Series alum Raulian
Paiva for a unanimous decision triumph in a bantamweight bout.
All three judges submitted 29-28 scorecards in favor of Morozov
(18-5, 2-2 UFC). Paiva (21-5, 3-4 UFC) has dropped back-to-back
fights for the second time in his promotional tenure.
Paiva was the aggressor early on, as he wobbled his opponent with a
right hand in the first minute of the contest. The Brazilian spent
much of the opening period landing punching combinations and that
right hand, which drew blood from Morozovâs nose. The tone of the
bout changed drastically early in Round 2, when Morozov executed a
beautifully-timed level change to plant Paiva on his back in the
center of the cage. The Kazakhstan native spent much of the period
in top position, draining Paivaâs gas tank in the process. The pace
slowed significantly in the final stanza, but Morozov landed the
more effective offense against his fatigued opponent to seal his
triumph.
Durden Unloads on Buys
American Top Team Atlanta representative Cody Durden
swarmed all over J.P. Buys,
winning via technical knockout in a flyweight scrap. Durden brought
the show to a close with a barrage of punches and hammerfists on
his turtled opponent 68 seconds into Round 1. Durden (13-4-1, 2-2-1
UFC) has finished nine of his career triumphs inside of a
round.
Durden brought the fight to Buys (9-5, 0-3 UFC) immediately,
rocking his foe with a right hand that prompted a desperation shot.
Durden continued to press the action and dropped Buys to a knee
with a right hook before
teeing off with a series of unanswered shots. Referee Mark Smith
gave Buys ample opportunity to recover, but a comeback wasnât in
the cards. Buys has now suffered a whopping eight knockdowns in
three UFC bouts.
Bautista Chokes Out Kelleher
MMA Lab export Mario
Bautista made short work of Brian
Kelleher, winning via first-round submission in a bantamweight
affair. Bautista forced the 35-year-old New Yorker to tap to a
rear-naked choke at the 2:27 mark of the period, winning for the
fourth time in five outings. Kelleher has lost eight career fights
by way of submission, including back-to-back UFC appearances via
rear-naked choke.
Bautista (10-2, 4-2 UFC) was visibly quicker than Kelleher (24-14,
8-7) in standup exchanges, but he wasted little time changing
levels for a takedown in the opening stanza. Kelleher worked his
way back to his feet relatively quickly, but Bautista reversed his
way into top position when âBoomâ attempted to get the action to
the canvas with a trip. From there, Bautista deftly defended a
guillotine choke, passed to mount and
transitioned to the fight-ending maneuver as soon as his
adversary surrendered his back.
Demopoulos Tops Frey
Former
Legacy Fighting Alliance title holder Vanessa
Demopoulos won her second consecutive Octagon appearance,
taking a split-decision over ex-Invicta
Fighting Championships atomweight queen Jinh Yu
Frey in a strawweight clash. Ron McCarthy had it 29-28 and
Jerin
Valel scored it 30-27 — both for Demopoulos — while Sal
DâAmato submitted a 29-28 tally in favor of Frey (11-7, 2-3
UFC).
Demopoulos (8-4, 2-1 UFC) seemed to get stronger as the bout
progressed. The more technical Frey landed crisp punching
combinations to the head and countered effectively, but âLil
Monsterâ made headway thanks to her overall aggression. The
Ronin Training Center representative connected with heavy right
hands, knees in the clinch and executed the fightâs only takedown
to sway the scorecards in her favor.