Bantamweights Aoriqileng and Jay Perrin faced off on the early prelims of UFC 278 on Saturday in Salt Lake City.
Both men’s wild-man style and never give up attitude caused this early card fight to be highly anticipated by many hardcore fans. As it turns out, the fight lived up to expectations and more.
Both men came out swinging to start the fight which quickly saw Perrin face some adversity when a big hook sent him stumbling. Aoriqileng found holes in his defense consistently, out-striking him for most of the first round. Perrin did try for takedowns periodically, only finding success in the final minute of the round, which was too little, too late.
The second round had a similar start to the previous one. Jay Perrin had more success with takedowns, getting one a minute into the round, but ‘The Mongolian Murderer’ was able to minimize damage and wall walk to get back up after another minute. Perrin got staggered again by a straight right hand halfway through the round but poured on the pressure late, working for takedowns, and ended the round walking down Aoriqileng to make the middle stanza close.
Aoriqileng appeared tired when coming out for the final stage and Perrin clearly noticed. His pressure was the story of the round. Later on, Aoriqileng found a second wind and rocked Perrin for a third and final time. From then on, it was all Perrin. His intensity and pace gave his foe trouble and the fight ended with the men trading hooks against the fence, but Perrin got the better of the exchange by far. Only Aori’s unreal chin saved him from being knocked down by the onslaught. A clear Perrin third round left the decision somewhat up in the air, but when the judges read it out it was Aoriqileng who received the unanimous nod from the judges, as they all presumably gave him the first and second rounds.
Aoriqileng has now won two straight, both in 2022.
Official Result: Aoriqileng def. Jay Perrin by unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)
