A promising bantamweight prelim at UFC Nashville found Kyler Phillips taking on Raoni Barcelos.
Phillips was making his return to action for the first time since February of 2022, an extended layoff due in part to a six-month USADA ban, after “The Matrix” tested positive for banned substance Ostarine, a common contaminant in athletic supplements.
Barcelos was 1-3 in his last four, and had most recently fallen to the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov.
To begin the fight Kyler Phillips came out as fast as expected looking to push the action from the opening bell. “The Matrix” landed two big calf kicks to begin the fight, with Barcelos looking to land a big counter. The Brazilian tried to return with some action of his own and managed to catch a kick attempt from Phillips, subsequently pushing Phillips to the ground. He didn’t keep him down for long though as 30 seconds later, Phillips was back on his feet. Again Phillips threw a kick, this time going high with it, but it was caught by Barcelos again. The 28-year-old was using his movement well to keep out of the power range of Barcelos, but also had his timing on point as when he blitzed in with a big right hand, he landed it flush on the chin of Barcelos, dropping him to the ground. The 36-year-old started putting on some pressure of his own and did well to land a big left hook on Phillips. At the end of the round Barcelos caught yet another one of Phillips’ head kick attempts.
At the beginning of round two, Phillips perfectly timed a takedown attempt, putting Barcelos on his back. Although he secured the takedown, he couldn’t do much work with the control. Once back on their feet, Phillips continued to perpetually move around the Octagon, making it difficult for Barcelos to land one of his big shots. A few leg kicks from Phillips became the most resonating part of the early portion of the round. As Barcelos looked to put on some more forward pressure, Phillips cracked him with another big right hand, but it didn’t deter the Brazilian from pushing forward. The later the round lasted, the more comfortable Phillips began to look. Barcelos decided to try and score himself a takedown but Phillips was wise to it and latched onto a kimura attempt to deter the takedown. Not long after though Barcelos scored a big slam, but lost the top position moments after. The round concluded with Phillips looking to land some more precise right hands.
Coming into the final round, it was pretty clear that Kyler Phillips was two rounds ahead, meaning Barcelos had to do something big in the final five minutes to win the fight. Phillips still looked fresh though and Barcelos struggled to land a big shot on the constantly moving Californian. The footwork of “The Matrix” lingered as an issue for Raoni as he just couldn’t pin Phillips in close enough to let his strikes go. Barcelos momentarily dumped Phillips to the ground, but seconds later Phillips popped back to his feet. The Brazilian ramped up the pressure and began shutting the cage off with greater success, and whilst landing a few right hands, he just couldn’t inflict enough damage on Phillips.
Official Result: Kyler Phillips def. Raoni Barcelos via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
