MARCUS MCGHEE DID THAT đź’Ą
#UFCVEGAS78 pic.twitter.com/d3S78uzMP4— ESPN MMA (@espnmma)
August 12, 2023
A narrow opening was enough for Marcus
McGhee to strengthen his position on the
Ultimate Fighting Championship roster.
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The
MMA Lab rep on Saturday punched out a reeling J.P. Buys in
the featured
UFC on ESPN 51 bantamweight prelim at the UFC Apex in Las
Vegas. Buys (9-6, 0-4 UFC)—a short-notice substitution for Gaston
Bolanos—packed his bags 2:19 into Round 1, his unsightly losing
streak having been extended to four bouts.
McGhee (8-1, 2-0 UFC) utilized fluid stance switches, walked
through a few chopping right hands from the South African grappler
and let his quick, powerful punches fill in the blanks. After he
stunned Buys with a clean one-two, the 33-year-old John Crouch
disciple
stepped into a counter right hook that dropped his adversary to all
fours. It soon became apparent to everyone, including referee Jason
Herzog, that Buys was in no condition to move
forward.
Not to be upstaged, Warrior Camp export Terrance
McKinney stepped in as a late replacement for Lando
Vannata and swept aside Mike
Breeden with punches in the first round of their featherweight
scuffle. McKinney (14-6, 4-3 UFC) slammed the door 1:25 into Round
1, as he bounced back from consecutive defeats to Ismael
Bonfim and Nazim
Sadykhov.
It could not have gone much worse for Breeden (10-5, 0-3 UFC).
McKinney established himself with accurate punches and two
partially blocked head kicks, then turned his attention to other
targets. A left hook to the body doubled over Breeden and put him
in a state of retreat with nowhere to go.
McKinney gave chase, battered him with collar-tie knees and trapped
him along the fence, firing away with punches until it was
over.
Breeden, a former International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
apprentice, remains winless under the UFC banner.
Meanwhile, Factory X prospect Isaac
Dulgarian dazzled in his organizational debut and kept his
perfect professional record intact, as he buried Francis
Marshall with
punches and elbows in the first round of their featherweight
encounter. Dulgarian (6-0, 1-0 UFC) drew the curtain
4:48 into Round 1.
Marshall (7-2, 1-2 UFC) did not enjoy the experience. Dulgarian
completed a double-leg takedown inside the first minute and
proceeded to shred the Pellegrino MMA product with destructive
ground-and-pound. He opened multiple cuts on Marshall—one on the
right eyelid and another on the forehead—and methodically increased
the intensity of attack. Once the blood started flowing, Dulgarian
climbed to full mount and let fly with punches and elbows for the
finish.
Dulgarian, 27, has stopped all six of his opponents in the first
round.
Elsewhere, former Oktagon MMA champion Martin
Buday subdued two-time Dana White’s Contender Series alum
Josh
Parisian with
a kimura in the first round of their heavyweight
affair. Parisian (15-7, 2-4 UFC) conceded defeat 4:11
into Round 1, losing for the second time in as many outings.
The 31-year-old Buday (13-1, 4-0 UFC) handled his business from the
outset. The 6-foot-5 Slovakian closed the distance with punches,
pressed Parisian into the fence and unleashed punches and a few
knees. Buday later lured the Scorpion Fighting System product into
the clinch, scored with close-range knees and secured a takedown.
From there, he framed the kimura, stepped over Parisian’s head and
torqued his exposed right arm behind his back. Pain did the
rest.
Buday will ride a 12-fight winning streak into his next assignment,
though he was not the only undercard participant to author a
memorable submission.
Onetime Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder Da’Mon
Blackshear took out Jose
Johnson with a twister in the first round of their bantamweight
confrontation. A short-notice replacement for Brady
Hiestand, Johnson (15-8, 0-1 UFC) bowed out 3:47 into Round
1.
Blackshear (14-5-1, 2-1-1 UFC) executed multiple takedowns, applied
his ground-and-pound and eventually progressed to the back. Johnson
failed to adequately defend himself, threw an ill-advised backward
elbow and set the stage for his own demise.
Blackshear captured the arm, set up the twister and contorted his
counterpart’s torso to prompt the tapout.
It was the third twister submission in UFC history, as Blackshear
joined Chan Sung
Jung and Bryce
Mitchell as the only fighters to pull off the maneuver inside
the Octagon.
Further down the lineup, American Top Team’s Jaqueline
Amorim rebounded from her April 8 loss to Sam Hughes
in resounding fashion, as she disposed of Montserrat
Ruiz with elbows and punches in the third round of their
women’s strawweight clash. Amorim (7-1, 1-1 UFC) closed it out 3:41
into Round 3.
Ruiz (10-3, 1-2 UFC) was game, but the difference in skill was too
great to overcome. Amorim was utterly dominant through two rounds.
The former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion schooled Ruiz on the
mat, where she floated between full mount and the back, unleashed
elbow-laced ground-and-pound and threatened with a tight armbar, a
rear-naked choke and an arm-triangle.
Amorim accepted bottom position in the third round, swept into
mount with a kimura and cut loose with elbows and punches until
referee Chris Tognoni had seen enough.
The 30-year-old Ruiz has suffered back-to-back defeats for the
first time as a pro.
Finally, promising promotional newcomer Luana
Santos put away “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 30 winner
Juliana
Miller with
punches in the first round of their women’s flyweight
pairing. Santos (6-1, 1-0 UFC) brought it to an
emphatic close 3:41 into Round 1.
Miller (3-3, 1-2 UFC) elected to throw caution to the wind with
unbridled aggression and paid a steep price for her
miscalculations. Santos staggered the flailing 10th Planet
Jiu-Jitsu rep on multiple occasions with clubbing right hands, so
much so that she resorted to leaning against the cage to keep her
upright. The 23-year-old prospect kept her foot on the accelerator,
continued to batter the dazed-and-confused Miller with punches
along the fence and forced Herzog to intervene.
Santos has rattled off three consecutive victories.