Former CES bantamweight champ Tony Gravely was in action on the UFC Vegas 24 prelims Saturday, throwing down with Anthony Birchak. For Birchak, it had been a roller coaster of a ride just getting to the fight. Originally booked opposite Johnny Eduardo in March, Birchak saw the fight fall through when Eduardo ran into visa issues. Quickly rebooked for an April date with Nate Maness, that opponent fell through as well — and in stepped Tony Gravely, at the very least keeping Birchak on the card.
Both fighters took the center of the cage and started swinging right off the opening bell, in what proved to be a wildly entertaining fight. Birchak landed a 1-2, and Gravely landed a right hand back. Birchak then went for a takedown, which was stuffed. Gravely in turn landed a nice takedown himself. Both men get to their feet, only for Gravley to land a right hand that dropped Birchak. That set up a near-finish.
Gravely followed his wounded opponent to the ground. Birchak managed to pull off a reversal and grabbed a tight guillotine. Birchak let the submission go, and Gravely landed some heavy ground and pound, which had the referee telling Birchak to protect himself. Lest the fight be stopped. Both men got to their feet and swung away to end the round. Gravely landed a power punch right at the bell— all around, a fantastic first round.
Gravley clinched Birchak against the fence to start round two. Birchak landed a nice elbow, but Gravley just took him down. Birchak got right back to his feet, and both men took the center. Gravely landed a nice left hook that dropped Birchak for the second time in the bout, setting up the end. Not much followup needed — that’s the fight. A great one at that.
PUT HIM OUT 😴@TonyGravely135 gets it done early in RD 2! #UFCVegas24 pic.twitter.com/f8jVExoiF1
— UFC (@ufc) April 17, 2021
Gravely is now on a two-fight win streak and is looking like a legit prospect.
Official Result: Tony Gravely def. Anthony Birchak by TKO, Round 2, 1:31
