TUF Brazil 3 winner Warlley Alves was looking to stave off a possible cut from the promotion when he faced Abus Magomedov in middleweight action at UFC Vegas 92 on Saturday.
Alves, who won his season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil in 2014, was entering the bout off a trio of losses, and was 1-4 in his last five fights under the UFC banner. As for Magomedov, he had come into the promotion behind a lot of hype, but had dropped his last two, against Sean Strickland and Caio Borralho.
The first round began very quickly with Magomedov almost immediately shooting for a takedown and initiating a little scramble. Magomedov was able to briefly secure a guillotine, before Alves returned to his feet and the two men clinched up against the cage. Both fighters began to let their hands go with Magomedov definitely scoring some cleaner shots.
Nearly midway through the round and Alves looked for a big punch, missed and exposed his back. Magomedov seized the opportunity and brought Alves to the ground. Abus was in a modified mount landing damaging strikes as his opponent was desperately trying to slide to the cage in order to return to his feet. With 45 seconds left in the round, Alves exploded to his feet and started throwing strikes before Magomedov again shot for a takedown. Alves again momentarily locked up a guillotine but his opponent escaped, started working and landing strikes as the round ended with Warlley clearly looking exhausted.
The second round began with Alves throwing hard punch and kick combinations before clinching and pushing his opponent to the cage. Magomedov was able to reverse this position and secure yet another takedown. Magomedov temporarily threatened a choke before moving to full mount, completely flattening out his opponent. Abus was peppering his opponent with strikes as Alves struggled to get to a hip and return to his feet. The two fighters were perfectly in the center of the octagon as Alves tried desperately to get to a hip. With a minute and a half left, Magomedov landed an absolutely devastating series of elbows that cut Warlley right under his eye. With 30 seconds left, Magomedov was looking to isolate the arm before abandoning it in favor of keeping Alves on his back. That is how the round would end with Alves again lying flat on his back, an exhausted, bloody mess.
The final round opened with Alves temporarily losing his balance off of a kick and hitting the ground. 45 seconds into the round and Alves landed a nasty body kick that doubled over his opponent. However, Magomedov was able to quickly secure yet another crucial takedown and mat return his opponent, halting a standup attempt.
Warlley’s back was now against the cage as he sat upright with Magomedov trapping both of his legs. After a scramble, Alves exploded off the cage with his legs but gave up his back and his opponent locked up a body triangle. With a minute and a half left, Magomedov briefly locked in the choke before deciding to let it go. Alves was able to escape from the body triangle, but Magomedov once again moved to a modified mount and began to drop ground and pound. With 30 seconds left, Warlley was trying desperately to lock in a guillotine, squeezing hard. But with just moments left on the clock, Magomedov popped his head out and disengaged, walking away triumphantly, hands raised.
Official Result: Abus Magomedov def. Warlley Alves by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
