Kicking off the UFC Vegas 41 card on Saturday was one of four promotional newcomers fighting at the event. Zviad Lazishvili, a former LFA bantamweight champ, was set to debut on short notice against Jonathan Martinez.
Imagine the spot Lazishvili found himself in this week: making weight on just a few days’ notice, while headliner Paulo Costa managed to force his fight up an entire weight class.
About a minute into the fight was all it took Lazishvili for to close the distance, attempting to take Martinez down. Lazishvili had Martinez pressed against the cage with a strong body lock. He was controlling Martinez against the cage but couldn’t get the takedown. Halfway into the round, Martinez finally separated. Lazishvili did land a right hand getting the attention of Martinez. The round ended on the feet with the pair feeling each other out.
Lazishvili continued to throw kicks from the outside in the second, which had been his best weapon in the fight so far. Martinez landed well and continued to throw a knee up the middle to try and time a level change from Lazishvili. Lazishvili was crashing the pocket, and landed in blitzes. At the end of the round, Martinez found his rhythm countering Lazishvili as he came in.
Martinez was landing at will on Lazishvili in the third on the outside. He was jabbing Lazishvili and landing straight punches while countering effectively. Lazishvili shot for a double leg but Martinez sprawled defending perfectly. Martinez continued to piece Lazishvili up at range making life difficult for Lazishvili. He busted up the face of Lazishvili at the end of the round.
Swinging through round 3️⃣!
Who's going to finish strong here? #UFCVegas41 pic.twitter.com/Ubps5Z3Ftm
— UFC (@ufc) October 23, 2021
With the second likely going to Martinez and the third definitely going his way, the winner was no surprise.
Official Result: Jonathan Martinez def. Zviad Lazishvili by decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
