
The Ultimate Fighter 29 bantamweight winner Ricky Turcios was in action at UFC 311 on Saturday, taking on Benardo Sopaj early in the night’s preliminary card.
Sopaj had dropped his UFC debut last time out, losing to Vinicius Oliveira back in March. The Turcios match-up had first been booked for November, only for the TUF winner to be forced out due to medical issues.
Looking to make a statement perhaps, Sopaj went to the head early with a kick that was at least partially blocked. Turcios chopped at his opponent’s legs, then had to fend off another head kick, also partially blocked and this time drawing a huge reaction from the crowd. Turcios stuck to the low kicks, then mixed in a spinning kick to the body.
As the round wore on, Turcios would have a chance to take the back, standing. Too high up, however, he went over the top, with Sopaj ending up in the dominant position and Turcios working back to the fence and up.
Round two opened with Sopaj at center, keeping Turcios guessing and occasionally surging forward on the attack. Turcios was having his moments, but Sopaj seemed to have found his rhythm. And when Turcios looked to take the fight down, it was Sopaj coming out on top, though they soon went back to the feet. There, in a clinch, Sopaj fired a knee. A scrappy round ended with some left hands from Sopaj, and they headed to the third.
The third had a nasty start to it, as a body shot from Sopaj absolutely punished Turcios. The TUF 29 champ appeared to struggle to recover and Sopaj went after him, but just couldn’t put the fight away. Then, as Turcios stood up, Sopaj threw a knee – which was caught! Turcios dumped Sopaj, and seemed to have earned a stay of execution. Bloodied, tenderized, but not out was Ricky Turcios, though Sopaj continued to move forward.
With the clock winding down, the final minute of the round was no less scrappy. Turcios couldn’t pull a rabbit out of his hat, however, and Sopaj finished the frame with a little rolling thunder.
Official Result: Benardo Sopaj def. Ricky Turcios by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)