Xiaonan
Yan could not have fought any smarter.
The Team Alpha Male standout outstruck and outfoxed Mackenzie
Dern, as she took a significant step forward in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight division
with a majority decision in their five-round
UFC Fight Night 211 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in
Las Vegas. Scores were 48-47, 48-47 and 47-47.
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Yan (16-3, 7-2 UFC) managed to stay on her feet long enough to bank
the requisite points across 25 minutes, denying repeated takedown
attempts and cutting loose with crisp combinations to the head, all
while attacking the body and legs with kicks. Dern (12-3, 7-3 UFC)
made her moves in the second and fifth rounds, where she dragged
her counterpart to the canvas and went to work with her world-class
jiu-jitsu skills. The 2015 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission
Wrestling World Championships gold medalist threatened with an
arm-triangle choke in Round 2 and an armbar in Round 5. Yan
survived both and left her fate to the judges.
Brown Outpoints Ageless Trinaldo
Onetime Ring of Combat champion Randy Brown
maximized his considerable height, length and reach advantages, as
he was awarded a unanimous verdict over Francisco
Trinaldo in their three-round welterweight co-main event. All
three cageside judges scored it 29-28 for Brown (16-4, 10-4
UFC). Trinaldo (28-9, 18-8 UFC) struggled to manage distance for the
better part of 10 minutes. Brown sat him down with a right hand and
threatened with a guillotine choke in the first round, leaned on a
persistent jab and connected with front kicks to the body. Trinaldo
did not go down quietly. The 44-year-old Brazilian knocked down
Brown with a kick to the lower leg in Round 3, pinned him to the
canvas and bottled him up with positional control and
ground-and-pound. However, the finish he needed was never in
play.
The 6-foot-3 Brown has quietly put together three straight wins at
170 pounds.
Barcelos Routs Reeling Jones
Former Resurrection Fighting Alliance and Shooto Brazil champion
Raoni
Barcelos administered a comprehensive beatdown on Trevin
Jones, as he took a unanimous decision in their three-round
bantamweight showcase. All three judges sided with Barcelos (17-3,
6-2 UFC): 30-25, 30-27 and 30-27.
The 32-year-old Jones (13-9, 1-3 UFC) was out of his depth.
Barcelos chewed up the ex-Pacific Xtreme Combat titleholder with
body-head combinations, kicks to all levels and the occasional knee
on the feet. On the ground, the situation grew even direr for
Jones. Barcelos passed guard with ease, achieved mount on multiple
occasions and expanded his lead with damaging, elbow-laced
ground-and-pound.
Jones now finds himself on a three-fight losing streak.
Yusuff Guillotine Dismisses Shainis
Sodiq
Yusuff dispatched Glory MMA representative Don Shainis
with a guillotine choke in the first round of their featherweight
attraction. Yusuff (13-2, 6-1 UFC) slammed the door on the Octagon
newcomer 30 seconds into Round 1, netting the second-fastest
submission in the history of the 145-pound weight class.
Shainis (12-4, 0-1 UFC) walked right into the Lloyd Irvin
protégé’s trap. Yusuff snatched the Thai plum, blasted the Cage
Titans champion with knees to the body and caught the guillotine
when the action spilled onto the fence. Once he wrapped Shainis in
full guard, the outcome became a formality.
The 29-year-old Yusuff has won eight of his past nine bouts.
Davis Handles Replacement Borshchev
Fusion X-Cel’s Mike Davis
made a successful return from a 20-month layoff, as he laid claim
to a unanimous decision over Dana White’s Contender Series graduate
Viacheslav
Borshchev in a three-round lightweight feature. Davis (10-2,
3-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with 29-28, 30-26 and 30-26 marks
from the cageside judiciary.
A short-notice replacement for Uros Medic,
Borshchev (6-3, 2-2 UFC) simply could not stay upright. Davis took
down the Team Alpha Male export in all three rounds and applied his
ground-and-pound to great effect, nearly finishing it inside the
first five minutes. Borshchev briefly rallied and damaged his
counterpart’s right eye with a left hook in the third round but saw
his gains erased after he conceded two more takedowns.
Davis, 29, will carry a three-fight winning streak into his next
assignment.
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