Middleweight Azamat Bekoev looked to bounce back from his first loss in the UFC, and first loss since 2021, when he faced Tresean Gore on Saturday’s UFC Vegas 115 preliminary card.
Gore, a member of The Ultimate Fighter 29 who had to withdraw from the finale due to injury, was 2-4 in the UFC to date and coming off back-to-back losses himself.
Round 1 – Bekoev came out aggressively, trading leg kicks with Gore while pushing him back to the cage. Gore was countering Bekoev’s aggression with punches, not letting himself be pushed back too far. A big left kick to the body landed for Gore, causing early redness in the body of Bekoev. When Bekoev threw an overhand right, Gore was stunting his movement with combinations. Bekoev landed a big body kick of his own, pushing into a clinch and landing some dirty boxing. The two then traded body kicks, with Gore landing a spinning back fist that hurt Bekoev on the follow-up. After some cage-clinching, Bekoev found success with his overhands and a big knee up the middle.
Round 2 – Exchanges of leg kicks started the round once again, with Bekoev shooting an unsuccessful double leg on the cage. When they separated, Bekoev landed a pair of right hands that dropped Gore, following up with some massive ground and pound. Gore quickly worked back to his feet, eating a big right hand but firing back some big hooks of his own that landed clean. After brawling for a second, Bekoev went back to his grappling and landed a double leg takedown. Gore worked up and landed some nice uppercuts in the clinch, but Bekoev stayed aggressive with some clean elbows. After pushing through a combination, Bekoev landed his own pair of big hooks into another takedown. Gore then stood up and landed a bodylock takedown of his own from the cage. Bekoev worked back up but was held in a clinch until Gore separated and landed some bombs when the 10-second clapper went off.
Round 3 – Gore came out the fresher fighter, immediately landing a massive overhand at range. A big leg kick wobbled Bekoev, whose leg seemed badly compromised at this point. Gore remained calm and kept his range, landing when Bekoev left openings or came forward. Bekoev entered on a double leg but was quickly reversed and found himself taken down again. Gore secured top control in half guard, slowly working his way to mount. When Bekoev attempted to get up, he was smashed with an elbow as Gore hopped on an arm triangle. While Bekoev worked out, Gore jumped back on top in a sprawl position, locking up his patented guillotine.
Bekoev was trapped in an awful position against the cage, and put to sleep by the choke. Tresean Gore gets a much-needed win while handing Bekoev his second loss in a row.
Official Result: Tresean Gore def. Azamat Bekoev by submission (guillotine choke), Round 3, 3:27
