In the second of two catchweight bouts kicking off the UFC 268 card, Bruno Souza, a former LFA 145lb champ, made his debut on short-notice against the promising prospect Melsik Baghdasaryan.
Souza, who took the fight just under a week out, had missed weight on Friday, and coughed up 20% of his purse as a result.
Round one saw Baghdasaryan land a ton of leg kicks. Souza, who is primarily a striker, was visibly bothered by the kicks so he attempted a takedown. Baghdasaryan shook it off and continued to batter the lead leg. Souza never got anything off just letting Baghdasaryan lead the dance.
In round two it was a slow approach from both fighters. Baghdasaryan was coming forward just about the whole time though. Souza tried to pick his shots and time Baghdasaryan coming in. Souza let Baghdasaryan walk him down and Baghdasaryan had him in retreat mode the majority of the round, and for that matter, the fight.
Turning on the heat at the end of RD 2 🔥
[ #UFC268 | Early Prelims are LIVE on @UFCFightPass & ESPN+ ] pic.twitter.com/DkoEA6xxWp
— UFC (@ufc) November 6, 2021
In the final round, Souza was a bit more aggressive. He landed a highlight one-two, that being his best strikes of the fight. Baghdasaryan landed a sneaky good uppercut that got Souza’s attention. Souza was not exactly heavy on the gas but had more pressure, landing more on Baghdasaryan. Baghdasaryan still came forward but walked into some good strikes from Souza.
In the end, Melsik Baghdasaryan continued his strong start to his UFC career, earning the unanimous decision on all three scorecards.
Official Result: Melsik Baghdasaryan def. Bruno Souza by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
