29-28 across all of the scorecards đź‘Ź
🇦🇲 @Melsik_The_Gun
is back in the win column!
#UFCVegas77 pic.twitter.com/dRl6CP3hhf— UFC (@ufc)
July 16, 2023
Advertisement
Glendale Fighting Club member Melsik
Baghdasaryan earned a hard-fought three-round verdict against
fellow Contender Series alum Tucker Lutz
in the evening’s featured prelim at
UFC on ESPN 49 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
All three cageside judges scored the featherweight contest 29-28 in
favor of Baghdasaryan (8-2, 3-1 UFC).
Lutz (12-4, 1-3 UFC) got out of the gates quickly, as he walked
Baghdasaryan down with body kicks before ending Round 1 with a
takedown and more than two minutes of top control. Baghdasaryan
began to find a rhythm in the second frame, when a counter
combination that included a left uppercut put his opponent on the
retreat. Lutz did his best to make it a grind in Round 3, as he
landed a takedown and threatened a back take. However, he did
little with the position, and upon returning to his feet,
Baghdasaryan landed a variety of impactful kicks at range and knees
and elbows in close quarters to make a lasting impression.
Nunes Suffers Gruesome Elbow Injury
Istela
Nunes suffered an apparent dislocated elbow while defending a
takedown, bringing a premature ending to her strawweight clash
against Victoria
Dudakova. The Russian was declared the victor via technical
knockout due to injury just 34 seconds into Round 1.
Dudakova (7-0, 1-0 UFC) dropped down to her opponent’s ankle for a
takedown early in the bout, and when Istela attempted to post on
the mat to defend, her elbow contorted at a gruesome angle. With
Nunes (6-5, 0-4 UFC) screaming in agony on the canvas, the fight
was waved off instantly.
Costa Outclasses Lingo
Melquizael
Costa put on a clinic against Austin
Lingo in a dominant decision triumph at featherweight. The
Brazilian earned tallies of 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 to win for the
third time in his last four professional outings.
Costa (20-6, 1-1 UFC) essentially used Lingo for target practice.
He unleashed a wicked barrage of body kicks — lncluding rear kicks
to the liver and spinning back kicks to the midsection — throughout
the fight, an assault that had his opponent grimacing in Round 1.
When he wasn’t working Lingo’s body, Costa landed head kicks,
punches to the head and put the punctuation mark on his victory by
grounding his adversary and threatening with submissions in the
final stanza. Lingo (9-3, 2-3 UFC) was almost too tough for his own
good, as he absorbed everything Costa had to offer to make it to
the final horn.
Elder Notches First UFC Win
Nick
Diaz Academy product Evan Elder
outdueled Entram Gym export Genaro
Valdez to win a unanimous decision in a lightweight slugfest.
All three judges saw the fight in favor of Elder: 30-26, 29-28 and
29-28.
Elder hurt Valdez at the outset of each round: he clipped him with
a counter right in Round 1, sat him down with a jab in Round 2 and
staggered him with another jab while dislodging his mouthguard in
Round 3. In between, Elder utilized the more versatile attack with
powerful shots to the head and body and kicks to the legs. Valdez
(10-3, 0-3), meanwhile, scored a massive knockdown in the second
frame but was unable to capitalize on that moment.
Maksum Edges Nam
Azat
Maksum kept his undefeated record intact with a split-decision
victory against Tyson Nam at
flyweight. Sal D’Amato and Chris Lee
both submitted 29-28 tallies for the Kazakhstan native, while Brian
Puccillo saw it 29-28 in favor of Nam (21-14-1, 3-5 UFC).
Maskum (17-0, 1-0 UFC) was a little quicker to the punch in
exchanges, and his lead hand was especially effective in keeping
Nam at bay. Nam, meanwhile enjoyed periodic success with low kicks
before making a push in the final frame, when he landed a couple
powerful right hands, stuffed multiple takedowns and worked the
body in the clinch. It wasn’t quite enough to sway the scorecards
in his favor, however.
Munoz Outpoints Deaton
Team Alpha Male export Alex Munoz
secured his first promotional triumph with a unanimous decision
over former PFL competitor Carl Deaton
at lightweight. Munoz garnered tallies of 30-26, 30-27 and 29-28 in
his first bout since April 17, 2021.
In a relatively low-volume affair, Munoz (7-2, 1-2 UFC) authored
the fight’s most memorable moments. He buckled and cut Deaton
(17-7, NC, 0-2 UFC) with a left elbow in the opening stanza and
clipped him again in Round 2 with a left. Munoz’s best work came in
the final period, when he dropped his opponent and swarmed with a
barrage of left hands on the canvas. Though the finish didn’t
arrive, Munoz implemented his wrestling for much of the final five
minutes to clinch his victory. Deaton was able to periodically land
straight rights, but his offense wasn’t as effective as that of his
adversy’s.
Perez Mauls Evans-Smith
Takedowns, positional control and ground-and-pound propelled MMA
Masters representative Ailin Perez
to a clear-cut unanimous verdict over Ashlee
Evans-Smith in a bantamweight showdown. All three cageside
judges scored the fight for the Argentina native: 30-25, 30-25 and
30-26. Evans Smith (6-6, 3-6) has lost five of her last six Octagon
appearances.
Perez (8-2, 1-1 UFC) rarely gave her opponent any room to breathe,
as she grounded Evans-Smith multiple times in each frame. From
there, Perez advanced to dominant positions — including mount on
multiple occasions — and nearly finished “Rebel Girl” with a salvo
of punches and hammerfists from above in Round 1. While
Evans-Smith, who was making her first promotional appearance since
2020, stayed in the fight, she was unable to author any moments of
note.