Two twenty-six year old prospects put winning streaks on the line as Elves Brener welcomed Myktybek Orolbai to Brazil at UFC 301.
Kyrgyzstan’s Orolbai stepped up on short notice recrntly and dominated Uros Medic with his wrestling. On his trip to Brazil it was assumed he would look to do the same to Brener, a teammate of Charles Oliveira who had one of the biggest comebacks and upsets of last year when he beat Guram Kutateladze. In the end, the wrestling of Myktybek won him an entertaining fight, though the scorecards still ended up tense due to a late mistake from the Kyrgyzstani.
Orolbai stalked a circling Brener from the start of the fight. The Kyrgyzstani’s calm movements were contrasted by the Brazilians explosive ones. One minute in, Myktybek cracked Elves with a right hand which may have hurt him, then immediately took his foe down. From full guard Orolbai established strong top control before landing big ground strikes, especially the elbows. Elves Brener surprises by using an omoplata to sweep Orolbai and get on top in side control. Myktybek gave his back to get up, then turned into his opponent and wrestled up to his feet. He landed some good punches in combo then shot for another takedown, which was eventually successful after chain-wrestling. His control lasted until the end of the round, surely sealing a 10-9 round victory.
Orolbai’s wrestling was not the only factor, in the second round he once again won in the striking behind his superior jab, then level changed and took down Brener. Orolbai passed to mount quickly and rained down endless ground and pound. He tried to set up an arm triangle, but when he could not he went back to elbows. However Brener managed to scramble out from that most dire position. He still had a hard time getting anything going on the feet even when he did attack, which was somewhat rare. Orolbai’s constant half-steps and feints made it hard to time any entries. The end of the round saw Orolbai show and get reversed by Brener, who ended up on top in full mount, which he used to land strikes for the final ten seconds.
Despite showing signs of life, Elves Brener almost definitely needed a finish going into the third round. He initiated the grappling first in round three and managed to land a surprise takedown on Orolbai. Myktybek turned to get up but got his back taken as Brener put both hooks in. However, due to being slippery with sweat, Brener fell off. As Elves tried to get another takedown, Orolbai grabbed the fence. As a result, the referee took a point from Myktybek, who may not have known that but turned it around by landing his own takedown. He passed to the crucufix but Brener walked his feet up the wall and reversed the position, getting on Orolbai’s back. Orolbai wrestled out of the position and got to striking, which did not last long as he shot another labored takedown attempt. Both men seemed extremyl tired, in fact, as the last minute took place. They struck somewhat sloppily, with Orolbai landing the best shots in the form of a clean 1-2 combo. The best shots, that is, until Orolbai landed another straight right that knocked Brener down on his butt in the very final second of the fight.
Due to the point deduction there was a chance of a 28-28 draw, but Myktybek Orolbai might have saved his win money with a last second draw. Fans held their breath as the result of one of the best fights on the card was announced, and indeed it was Orolbai that improved to 2-0 in the UFC and avoided paying for a huge, costly mistake with a last-second knockdown.
Official Result: Myktybek Orolbai def. Elves Brener by Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
