UFC 228 Fight Pass Preliminary Results and Recap

September 8, 2018

UFC Diego Sanchez — Diego Sanchez Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Diego Sanchez and Jim Miller were among the must-see fighters gracing the UFC Fight Pass preliminary card at UFC 228 on Saturday.

UFC 228 kicked off the month of September for the UFC. After a busy Summer that saw the return of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series and what felt like countless events, the promotion’s schedule slowed a little as Autumn approached. Going down in Dallas, UFC 228 was the first card since UFC Lincoln, and brought with it a welterweight title fight. That main event saw champ Tyron Woodley back in action, taking on Darren Till (rather than interim champ Colby Covington).

The card’s co-main event, meanwhile, was expected to feature women’s flyweight champ Nicco Montano defending her title against the dangerous Valentina Shevchenko. Instead, Montano was hospitalized following weight cut issues, and was stripped of her championship on Friday.

In early action at UFC 228, four fights streamed live via UFC Fight Pass, including bouts featuring a couple of veteran names. Those included Ultimate Fighter winner Diego Sanchez, still going all these years later, taking on Craig White. And appearing for a record 30th time in the octagon, New Jersey’s Jim Miller faced Alex White.

Check back come fight time (approximately 6:15PM ET) for a full recap and results from the night’s action!

Roberto Sanchez vs. Jarred Brooks

With Jarred Brooks walking out to the Imperial March from Star Wars, ‘The Monkey God’ faced off against Roberto Sanchez at flyweight to kick off UFC 228. Both Brooks and Sanchez got the hands going early, but single strikes rather than combos. Sanchez then set up a single leg attempt on the cage with his striking, getting Brooks to the ground. Brooks would threaten with a heel hook, trying to use the submission attempt to sweep. Sanchez dropped a few hammer fists in answer, and they’d wind up back on the feet in due course.

Round two saw Brooks circling on the outside as Roberto Sanchez cut off the angles. They’d clinch by the fence, with Brooks reversing. Sanchez, however, opted to pull guard after nearly climbing Brooks’ back. ‘The Monkey God’ would spend plenty of time in guard, but could not improve position, and only managed to fire off a bit of ground and pound in the final few minutes of the frame.

Round three saw Jarred Brooks pressing Sanchez against the fence early, with Sanchez using an extremely wide stance to stay upright. Brooks would eventually get things down, and move to side control. Sanchez made it back to his feet, only to eat some knees against the fence. Brooks would then muscle him back down. The body and head combinations from the top ended the round for Brooks, who likely claimed the final two rounds of the bout. An impressive showing from Brooks given he took the fight on five day’s notice.

Jarred Brooks def. Roberto Sanchez by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Irene Aldana vs. Lucie Pudilova

In a round contested basically entirely on the feet, Irene Aldana got her striking going, landing a right hand on numerous occasions, leading with her jab. Pudilova had a right hand of her own at her disposal, however, and was controlling the pace of the fight and pressing the action more often than not. In the final thirty seconds of the round, Pudilova really opened up, attacking with kicks low and high, then connecting with a front kick to the face. Aldana hung in and answered with a spinning back fist, but Pudilova had a clear edge by round’s end.

Aldana attempted to move forward early in the second round, only to have Lucie Pudilova land a kick to her neck. The pair then exchanged punches, with Pudilova getting the better of the trade. The Czech fighter then simply began walking down Aldana, firing kicks as she went. She was wearing Aldana down, and it was somewhat of a shock that Aldana didn’t opt to try to get the fight to the ground. Aladana did connect enough to do some damage to Pudilova’s face, and did finally change levels for a takedown with just seconds left in the round — only to be stuffed.

Round three saw Aldana open by attacking the legs of her opponent, causing Pudilova some discomfort. Aldana then landed a hard right; Pudilova answered back with a combination. Both girls were connecting with some serious blows. Pudilova’s face was becoming a mask of blood. Aldana wasn’t looking much better. Pudilova managed to have Aldana on her heels towards the final minute, but it was a number of knees in the clinch immediately after by Aldana that hit home. They’d duke it out right to the bell, with Pudilova connecting with a superman punch. An early candidate for Fight of the Night!

Irene Aldana def. Lucie Pudilova by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Jim Miller vs. Alex White

Fan favorite Jim Miller entered the octagon for the thirtieth time at UFC 228, the first man to hit that number in the UFC. On a four fight losing streak, Miller’s back was against the wall. Taking on Alex White, he needed a win. And he got it.

JIM MILLER! #UFC228 pic.twitter.com/qLNGCECnNq

— UFC (@ufc) September 8, 2018

Staggering White early with a left hand, Miller swung away, dropped White with a second left hand. When follow-up ground strikes couldn’t put White away, Miller snaked his arm under White’s neck, got his hooks in, and forced White to tap to a rear-naked choke. In doing so, he showed the old dog still has some fight left!

Jim Miller def. Alex White by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 1:29

Diego Sanchez vs. Craig White

Diego Sanchez stormed across the octagon like a nightmare to start his bout against Craig White at UFC 228. When he found himself caught in a guillotine, he tried to drive through it, and when that didn’t work, he picked White up and slammed him down. Sanchez then had to navigate some dangerous upkicks, while looking to land blows when he could get inside White’s guard. White’s length gave him an advantage off his back, and when Sanchez threatened to move to side control, White was able to maneuver him back to guard. Sanchez, however, finally found an opening for some heavy right hands. He then moved to side control, nearly had White in a crucifix, and unloaded some heavy bombs at the end of the round, but not before a gash was opened up on his own nose.

White looked to take momentum back in round two, and connected with a crushing knee early! Sanchez grabbed a leg, however, landed a takedown, and got back in guard. Yet while posturing up, he ate another hard upkick. Sanchez then went to work looking to weave his way through the active defense of White. While he’d score a bit of ground n’ pound he’d take several more upkicks. Sanchez, though, would make it to side control, attacking with a knee to the body. Back to guard, back to side control, Diego Sanchez once again dominated the round outside of the upkicks that caught him from time to time.

White had a moment to open round three where he managed to clip Diego Sanchez with a punch. And just when it looked like he was back in the game, Sanchez again latched on to the leg and got White down. He managed to land a nasty looking elbow, but couldn’t string enough together to earn a finish. Another elbow would land for Sanchez with just over three minutes to go. He followed that up with a knee to the shoulder, and was still throwing elbows and punches from the top to end the round. Though he couldn’t find the finish, Diego Sanchez clearly won the fight.

Diego Sanchez def. Craig White by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)