Lightweights Ottman Azaitar and Francisco Prado both suffered the first loss of their careers in their last bout before fighting each other.
Ottman had won twelve of thirteen fights by finish, including two knockouts in the UFC, before taking his first pro loss against Matt Frevola in late 2022. The Moroccan knockout artist had the tables turned on him as he was put out cold in the first round. He looked to rebound against the twenty-one year old Argentinian Francisco Prado, who had suffered his first career loss in his UFC debut to Jamie Mullarkey. Prado needed to win this bout and get his first UFC win in order to keep his back from being pressed up against the wall.
Prado the fight on the front foot and quickly shot in for a takedown. Azaitar was able to defend it and push off, forcing Prado to return to striking. Azaitar threw a massive leg kick and Prado turned his leg out for a brutal check, making Azaitar’s shin bleed. Ottman was loading up when he threw punches, some of which were only inches away from the chin of Prado. Prado on the feet mostly threw kicks, very few punches.
He failed another two takedowns in the early going and ate a monster body shot from Azaitar. However Prado backed an aggressive Ottman off with a clean clinch elbow when Azaitar started to gain momentum. Prado then threw a spining elbow which cut Azaitar open and threw him to the ground. Francisco got on top, landing massive hammerfists nonstop. Tognoni warned Azaitar to fight back two times before stopping the fight, giving Prado a TKO for the first win of his UFC career. Azaitar protested the stoppage right away, but he had eaten several clean shots in a row after being dropped.
Official Result: Francisco Prado def. Ottman Azaitar by TKO (spinning elbow and hammerfists) Round 1, 4:05
