Angela
Hill has rarely looked better under
Ultimate Fighting Championship employ.
Non-stop output from distance and a destructive clinch spurred “The
Ultimate Fighter” Season 20 alum to a unanimous decision over
fellow former
Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder Emily
Ducote in the featured
UFC on ESPN 42 prelim on Saturday at the Amway Center in
Orlando, Florida. Hill (15-12, 10-12 UFC) drew 30-27 nods from all
three judges.
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Ducote (12-7, 1-1 UFC) struggled and ultimately failed to make
necessary adjustments. Hill piled up points with jabs, leg kicks
and combination punching, all while crowding her counterpart with
pressure from the center of the cage. She consolidated those
efforts with stellar attacks from close-range, burying knees into
Ducote’s midsection and firing elbows upstairs.
The setback was Ducote’s first since Nov. 1, 2019.
Guida Stymies Retiring Holtzman
Former Strikeforce champion Clay Guida
rebounded from his April 23 submission defeat to Claudio
Puelles, as he eked out a split decision over the retiring
Scott
Holtzman in a three-round lightweight scrap. All three cageside
judges struck 29-28 scorecards, two of them siding with Guida
(38-22, 18-16 UFC).
Holtzman (14-6, 7-6 UFC) enjoyed success in the first round with
crackling leg kicks, dogged forward pressure and occasional right
hands. None of it gave Guida pause. The Team Alpha Male
representative executed multiple takedowns in the middle stanza and
slowly but surely lured Holtzman into his kind of fight. It was
another well-set trap from Guida. Holtzman shook the Illinois
native with a chopping right hand in Round 3 but failed to maintain
a manageable distance and conceded two more takedowns, along with
valuable control time.
Guida, who turns 41 on Dec. 8, has posted three victories over his
past five appearances.
Focused Johnson Outduels Diakiese
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 12 finalist Michael
Johnson won for the second time in three outings, as he laid
claim to a unanimous decision over former British Association of
Mixed Martial Arts champion Marc
Diakiese in a three-round lightweight tilt. Scores were 29-28,
29-28 and 30-27.
Diakiese (16-6, 7-6 UFC) kept the Sanford MMA mainstay guessing
with a steady diet of left hands and kicks to the body and legs
throughout the first round. However, he lost his way across the
final 10 minutes. Johnson (21-18, 13-14 UFC) was busier and more
consistent with his punches, connecting often to the body while
commanding the center of the cage. Diakiese seemed more preoccupied
with playing to the crowd and taunting his opponent than he did
with getting something tangible going.
The loss snapped a two-fight winning streak for Diakiese.
Surging Pearce Shreds Elkins
Fight Ready representative Jonathan
Pearce sliced and diced Darren
Elkins to a unanimous decision in their three-round battle at
145 pounds. Pearce (14-4, 5-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with 30-27,
30-27 and 30-26 marks from the judiciary.
Elkins (27-11, 17-10 UFC) was his usual unrecognizable self by the
time it was over, blood streaming from multiple cuts. Pearce tore
into him with front kicks, standing elbows and a persistent jab but
did real damage when the action spilled onto the floor. Ferocious
ground-and-pound often punctuated by sharp elbows was his tool of
choice. He opened a gnarly gash near Elkins’ left eye with a short
elbow strike in the third round, and the wound was deep enough to
warrant an examination from the cageside physician. While Pearce
failed to net the stoppage he desired, his status as the better man
was never in doubt.
Pearce has rattled off five consecutive wins.
Levy Downs Game Valdez
A multi-pronged standup assault and tactical takedowns carried
Syndicate MMA’s Natan Levy
to a unanimous decision over Genaro
Valdez in a three-round lightweight encounter. All three
cageside judges scored it for Levy (8-1, 2-1 UFC): 29-28, 29-28 and
30-27.
Valdez (10-2, 0-2 UFC) leaned on his durability and occasional
punching combinations but suffered significant damage to his right
foot on a checked kick, curbing some of his enthusiasm. Levy did
his best work in the first round, where he landed a pair of
knockdowns with a searing right hand and a well-hidden hook kick.
The 2020 Dana White’s Contender Series graduate then secured
multiple takedowns in Round 3, silencing any thought of a Valdez
comeback.
Levy will enter his next assignment on the strength of back-to-back
victories.
Promising Marshall Buries Rojo
Pellegrino MMA product Francis
Marshall took care of Marcelo
Rojo with punches in the second round of their featherweight
confrontation. Still winless inside the Octagon, the 34-year-old
Rojo (16-9, 0-3 UFC) bowed out 1:14 into Round 2.
Marshall (7-0, 1-0 UFC) held his own in the standup for much of the
first round, then turned the tide with a takedown. He floated from
half guard to side control, elbowed the body and established his
superiority. Early in the middle stanza,
he touched off an exchange at close range and decked Rojo with a
clean right hook. Marshall pounced with follow-up punches, showed
no mercy and pounded the Rio Cuarto, Argentina, native
unconscious.
The knockout was the first of Marshall’s seven-fight career.
Unbeaten Jauregui Stops Nunes
Entram Gym prospect Yazmin
Jauregui put away Istela
Nunes with punches in the second round of their action-packed
women’s strawweight pairing. The undefeated Jauregui (10-0, 2-0
UFC) brought it to a close with an accumulation of damage 4:06 into
Round 2, recording her third finish in four appearances.
Nunes (6-4, 0-3 UFC) sat down the Combate Global veteran with a
counter right hand inside the first minute, but her follow-up
attacks proved unsuccessful. Jauregui recovered and rallied,
backing down her opponent with unquenchable aggression. She had
Nunes reeling more than once in the second round and eventually
drove her to the canvas with a thudding right hand to the temple.
Jauregui hovered over the American Top Team rep in a position of
dominance and
cut loose with a sustained barrage of elbows and punches until
referee Keith Peterson had seen enough.
The 30-year-old Nunes has lost three bouts in a row.