UFC Orlando kicked off with a four-pack of promising scraps capped off by Sam Alvey taking on promotional newcomer Marcin Prachnio at light heavyweight.
The UFC returned to action in Orlando, Florida on Friday, bringing with it one of the better FOX cards in recent memory. Top to bottom, UFC Orlando (or UFC on FOX 28) held promise. In the main event, breakout featherweight Josh Emmett was fresh off his big win over Ricardo Lamas, and looked to continue his roll against veteran Jeremy Stephens. Co-main event action, meanwhile, had strawweight title implications Tecia Torres took on Jessica Andrade. And with Mike Perry opening the card against Max ‘Pain’ Griffin, you could expect the violence to come early and often.
Prior to all that, however, the UFC served up a four pack on UFC Fight Pass. UFC Orlando’s fight pass prelims were capped off by the popular Smile’n Sam Alvey, venturing up to light heavyweight to meet promotional newcomer and ONE Championship veteran Marcin Pracnio.
A pair of bantamweight scraps also decorated the UFC Fight Pass prelim card for UFC on FOX 28. In the first, Albert Morales was set to face Manny Burmudez. Later in the evening, both Russell Doane and Brazil’s Rani Yahya looked to make it two wins in a row when they clashed.
The final UFC Fight Pass prelim, meanwhile, featured Eric Shelton and Alex Perez, a scheduled flyweight bout moved to a 126.5lb catchweight when Perez missed weight.
Albert Morales vs. Manny Bermudez
Morales held the center of the cage early, and connected connected first with a right hand. Bermudez, wobbled, shot for a takedown. That allowed him to gain top control, but Morales reversed. The reversal, however, allowed Bermudez to work for a triangle. Though he wasn’t able to secure it, Bermudez showed some solid ground skills throughout round one, threatening with submissions on several occasions. When they did go back to the feet, Morales opted to take Bermudez down despite the close calls earlier in the round.
Morales unleashed the big right hand again in round two. Under fire, Bermudez attempted some sloppy takedowns, which were easily stuffed. However, later in the round, a beautiful level change by Bermudez led to a mounted takedown, with Morales tapping shortly thereafter.
Manny Bermudez def. Albert Morales by submission (guillotine choke), Round 1, 2:33
Eric Shelton vs. Alex Perez
Perez opened the affair with a leg kick as things got underway in second fight of UFC Orlando. Shelton came back with a right hand, and landed another off an outside kick by Perez. Perez was showing solid forward pressure, walking Shelton down and firing a right hand of his own. Shelton answered by changing levels and shooting for a takedown; Perez sprawled and wound up in Shelton’s guard. Perez was able to control a good chunk of the early action; back on the feet he continued to attack his opponent’s legs, and closed out the round with a final takedown.
Shelton looked a little more active to start round two, but it was a Perez right hand that was the first significant strike of the round. Perez added a kick moments later, and kept chopping away at his opponent’s legs. He’d later overpower Shelton to put him on his back. Shelton worked his way back to the fence, while Shelton controlled his legs to stay in top control. Shelton spun out and tried to explode to his feet only to be dragged back down by Perez. By the end of the second, Perez was in full control, though he hadn’t managed to do much in the way of damage.
In round three, it was more of the same. While the pair stayed standing a little bit longer to open the round, before long, Perez had the fight to the ground. Any time Eric Shelton managed to work his way up, Perez would put his weight on him, controlling him from all angles. When Shelton finally did escape, he was not able to land enough to put Perez in real danger. Shelton would land a right with just under two minutes remaining, but Perez would later score one last takedown. In the end it would go to the scorecards, with the end result being no surprise whatsoever.
Alex Perez def. Eric Shelton by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Rani Yahya vs. Russell Doane
In the second bantamweight fight of UFC on FOX 28, Rani Yahya had Russell Doane to the ground almost immediately. He would spend nearly the entirety of the right round in top control, at times looking to work in a choke from the top. By the end of the round, Yahya passed to side control, scoring some knees to the cheat, but the action was stopped and the fighters stood up after an illegal knee to the spine by Yahya.
Round two saw more dominance on the ground by Yahya. This time, he managed to take the back and lock in a body triangle. That allowed him to soften Doane up; Doane would eventually manage to stand up with Yahya on his back, an impressive display of strength. Still, he was completely dominated throughout.
Doane was again forced to fight off a takedown attempt in round three, and this time, he found success. Doane wound up on top, although that was no doubt still to Yahya’s advantage. Mercifully, Yahya was able to finish Doane off in the round, putting a finish to the one-sided affair.
Rani Yahya def. Russell Doane by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 3, 2:32
Sam Alvey vs. Marcin Prachnio
Prachnio took the outside early, throwing a number of leg kicks. He then threw a spinning kick that Alvey caught, taking him down. Prachnio powered right back up, landing a body shot whilst Sam Alvey maintained a headlock. The newcomer tried grinding him up against the cage, throwing knees to the thigh while Alvey held on to the headlock. They finally broke; Alvey would later fire a head kick that was blocked, while Prachnio would go to the body. The pair then traded blows by the fence; Alvey began working in some leg kicks that nearly knocked his opponent off his feet. The finish came in the final minute: Alvey caught Prachnio with a counter right that dropped him. Prachnio, hurt, regained his feet and pressed on. That was a mistake, as he walked right into another Alvey punch. Prachnio was out on his feet, and rather than beat on a wounded opponent, Alvey backed off to allow the ref to call it, which he did. Big win for Smile’n Sam!
Sam Alvey def. Marcin Prachnio by TKO (punch), Round 1, 4:23
The action kicks off just past 4PM ET; check back come fight time for a full recap and results from the action UFC Orlando action!
UFC on FOX 28 Fight Pass Preliminary Results:
Sam Alvey def. Marcin Prachnio by TKO (punch), Round 1, 4:23
Rani Yahya def. Russell Doane by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 3, 2:32
Alex Perez def. Eric Shelton by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Manny Bermudez def. Albert Morales by submission (guillotine choke), Round 1, 2:33
