As first noticed by automated service UFC Roster Watch, which monitors the UFC’s fighter database, the following athletes appear to be out of the organization:

• Sijara Eubanks (7-7)
• Mike Trizano (10-3)
• Liudvik Sholinian (9-3-1)
• Marcelo Rojo (16-9)
• Jay Perrin (10-7)
• Alejandro Perez (22-9-1)
• Raulian Paiva (21-5)
• Gadzhi Omargadzhiev (13-2)
• Kevin Natividad (9-4)
• Vince Marales (11-7)
• Brandon Davis (14-10)

The removal of a fighter from the database does not necessarily mean they have been cut outright. As an example, a fighter may have fought out his or her current contract, and not been immediately re-signed (but could be brought back at a later date).

That having been said, some of the names revealed on Wednesday come as no surprise. Sijara Eubanks missed weight for her fight with Priscila Cachoeira just a week ago, resulting in the bout being scratched from the UFC Vegas 67 card. It was far from Eubanks’ first struggle with the scale: she lost her spot in The Ultimate Fighter 26 finale, where she would have competed for the promotion’s inaugural women’s flyweight title, due to a weight cut gone wrong.

Another weight miss followed in 2018, prompting a move to bantamweight. Eubanks then returned to flyweight last year, posting a 1-1 record while missing weight for a fight with Melissa Gatto.

Trizano won The Ultimate Fighter 27 tournament in 2018, and has gone 4-3 inside the octagon including the TUF 27 finale win. He last competed in November, knocking out Seung Woo Choi. Trizano fought out his contract in that bout; he feels like one name that could be brought back under the right circumstances, but that doesn’t look to be the case in the immediate future.

Mexico’s Alejandro Perez was 1-3 in his last four, while Jay Perrin just suffered defeat at the hands of teen phenom Raul Rosas Jr.

27-year old Raulian Paiva’s exit comes as a bit of a surprise. Paiva, who endured personal tragedy as he started his UFC run, has been ranked at both 125 and 135 pounds. He’s lost his last two.

Ukraine’s Liudvik Sholinian, a TUF 29 alum, went 0-2 in the UFC at bantamweight, though given the circumstances with his home country at war with Russia, seeing him gone is unfortunate.

Marcelo Rojo, who spent time at both bantamweight and featherweight, went 0-3 in his UFC run. Gadzhi Omargadzhiev and Kevin Natividad were both winless in their time in the promotion, while Vince Morales had lost his last two. Brandon Davis had lost both his fights since returning to the UFC in 2021. He first competed for the company from 2018-19.

Morales, for one, confirmed the news in entertaining fashion.

https://t.co/Q23jHYdVl8 pic.twitter.com/Hj3X4etpxE

— Vince Morales (@vandetta135) January 18, 2023

The post Eleven Fighters Removed from UFC Roster Including TUF Alums Trizano, Eubanks appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Feel great. Little bit disappointed with myself and my performance, but a win’s a win. I’ll take it,” Martinez told Cageside Press among other media at his post-fight scrum.

At the end of the second round Martinez had Davis hurt and may have finished the fight then had he not run out of time.

“I think I needed about 3 to 5 more seconds and Herb would have called that. I had him hurt so many times and for me not to finish him is just kind of disappointing. But it’s something I’ve got to work on. I’m going to keep improving my game and I’ll be back,” Martinez said.

Davis proved to be a very tough out, but Martinez said he expected that from his opponent.

“I figured he’d be tough like that. Like I mentioned he’s a down south boy. Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Texas all them boys are tough man. We come to scrap every time,” he said.

With no finish the fight went to the judges and one judge in particular made Martinez pretty nervous.

“When they said the final judge Tony Weeks….and of course as we know that’s a boxing judge, so I was like ‘Am I really about to get f*cked by a boxing judge” pause. Thank God it went my way, shoutout Tony Weeks, but he definitely seen the fight the proper way and with the knockdowns I had and how many times I had him hurt,” Martinez said.

“I don’t know who the other two judges were, but shout out Tony Weeks.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Mana Martinez above.

The post UFC Vegas 62: Mana Martinez Shouts Out Tony Weeks Following Decision Win appeared first on Cageside Press.

Although each fighter was coming off of a loss, their exciting fight style and the competitive nature of the match-up was likely what lead to its placement on the card.

The fighters opened by trading kicks from distance as they found their range. Davis was the first one to start using his hands and he landed a few times early on with straight punches. Two early accidental fouls, one from each fighter, paused the action in the opening half round— but Martinez recovered quickly from the low blow and Davis from the eye poke before they got back to work. The southpaw vs. orthodox match-up, when Martinez went southpaw at times, seemed to be making each fighter feel awkward early on. Mana mainly dealt with it by throwing open side kicks while Davis focused on his right straight. Martinez clipped Davis with a good hook in the final minute and coach James Krause encouraged his fighter to move forward for the finish. Davis called on his opponent as well, however, and soon recovered. At the end of the round it was unclear who had won the first stanza.

Early in round two Mana hurt Davis again and he retreated. Martinez swarmed him, looking for the finish, but Davis was able to duck in on a takedown and end up in the clinch. Martinez escaped, but it allowed Davis to recover a bit. The constant body kicks from Martinez appeared to be beginning to take a toll. After three minutes of fighting Davis landed his big right hand, his biggest strike of the bout, but Martinez countered well with a left hook. Davis began to gain some momentum and seemed to be ending the round strong, but Martinez dropped his foe with a spinning back fist. When he swarmed to finish the fight he knocked out Davis’ mouth guard. Davis stood up again but was dropped again with only seconds left before being perhaps saved by the bell.

A big right hand almost dropped Mana one minute into the final round but he was able to regain his footing. The pressure and offense from Davis was non-stop this round however, and Mana frequently found his back to the cage. Martinez tried to defuse the pressure with a takedown which was stuffed at first but he used chain wrestling to land it finally. Davis popped to his feet and they ended up in the clinch until Davis separated the hands and got back to striking. The forward pressure from Davis was suffocating and Martinez seemed to be starting to tire. Another spinning back fist attempt came from Mana but Davis defended it this time. With one minute left Davis landed a takedown of his own, into Mana’s full guard. He perhaps needed a finish, but Martinez was doing all he could to lock down his opponent. Still, Davis was able to drop down hard elbows on Mana and avoid the armbar attempt his opponent offered. When the bell rang, Davis had clearly won round three but the first two close rounds remained in question, although Mana hurt his veteran opponent in each of them.

To the judges we go! How did you score that one? #UFCVegas62 pic.twitter.com/BciGpuY6xP

— UFC (@ufc) October 15, 2022

When the scorecards were read it was a split decision with the first judge scoring it 29-28 Davis but the final two scored it 29-28 Martinez, giving him the victory by hard fought decision.

Official Result: Mana Martinez def. Brandon Davis by Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

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Brandon Davis returned to the UFC at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 40, kicking off his second stint with the promotion against Mongolian Danaa Batgerel.

Both fighters came in on solid win streaks: Batgerel had won two straight under the UFC banner both coming the way of first-round knockout, Davis on the other had won all four of his fights outside the promotion, after being released in 2019.

Danaa opened up the fight with lots of pressure, putting Davis on the backfoot and looking for some big shots. Danaa quickly found a home for his right hand that dropped Davis, but he didn’t quickly look for the kill. Davis seemed to get his legs under him for a moment and tried to pump his jab but Danaa covered distance so quickly he was seemingly landing at will.

Mongolia’s Danaa leaped in with another hand right, and this one put Davis down badly. Danaa jumped on with the big ground and pound, and Davis did his best to scramble out and survive but it wasn’t enough. Herb Dean gave him every chance but in the end, it ended up being another knockout win for Danaa Batgerel.

HOLY 🤬🤬🤬

Danaa Batgerel has thunder in his hands 🌩 #UFCVegas40 pic.twitter.com/5oLLrrFQ7j

— UFC (@ufc) October 16, 2021

Danaa Batgerel earned his third straight first-round knockout win, absolutely proving himself as one of the greatest bantamweight prospects on the planet. After the fight, Danaa called for “50g’s baby” in reference to a post-fight bonus, and he absolutely deserves it.

Official Result: Danaa Batgerel def. Brandon Davis by knockout, Round 1, 2:01

The post UFC Vegas 40 Results: Danaa Batgerel Finishes Returning Brandon Davis appeared first on Cageside Press.

MMA Junkie was the first to report the news that Brandon Davis will be returning to the promotion after two years away. He will be fighting Danaa Batgerel on October 16 at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Dumont. Both fighters would subsequently confirm the booking on social media.

Davis (14-8) will be returning to promotion after being released in 2019. “Killer B” went 2-5 in his first stint. However, he went back to the regional scene and picked up four wins to get the call back to the UFC. Davis has faced the likes of Giga Chikadze, Randy Costa, and Zabit Magomedsharipov.

Batgerel (9-2) has been on fire since losing his UFC debut. The Mongolian fighter knocked out Guido Cannetti at UFC 248 in 2020 and then knocked out Kevin Natividad at UFC 261. Batgerel was scheduled to fight Montel Jackson last month; however, visa issues forced him to pull out of the fight.

UFC Fight Night: Costa vs. Vettori will take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV, on October 16 and broadcast on ESPN+.

The October 16 fight card now includes the following reported bouts:

• Norma Dumont vs. Holly Holm
• L’udovit Klein vs. Nate Landwehr
• Luana Carolina vs. Sijara Eubanks
• Andrei Arlovski vs. Carlos Felipe
• Julian Marquez vs. Jordan Wright
• Ariane Carnelossi vs. Istela Nunes
• Andrew Sanchez vs. Bruno Silva
• Timur Valiev vs. Daniel Santos
• Da Un Jung vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
• Brandon Davis vs. Danaa Batgerel
• Manon Fiorot vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
• Ramazan Emeev vs. Danny Roberts
• Marcelo Rojo vs. TBD

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It is not often that fighters have the ability to fight in their own back yard. Randy Costa, a Taunton, Mass. native did just that and more at UFC Boston back in October. In an arena where he watched his hometown Bruins and Celtics flourish, Costa had the chance to add some more hometown magic to the beloved TD Garden. He certainly did just that.

“UFC Boston exceeded expectations. I remember that just being a pipe dream and now it is a reality” Costa told Cageside Press recently. “I was coming off of a loss, I was at home, I felt ready and that walk out in the Garden was more than special, and so was having my hand raised and hearing that crowd.”

Randy Costa is no stranger to big crowds or the lights being on him. During his time with local Massachusetts promotion Cage Titans his fights would be sell out the venue. The biggest difference is how big that venue had become, with a lot more seats surrounding that cage as he made the walk to the octagon.

“I’ve been fighting at home my whole life during Cage Titans. I know how to fight at home, when some other fighters have a tough time with that” Costa exclaimed. “I separate myself from reality, I isolate myself, I have friends and family in that crowd but I can’t think of that in the lead up. In the cage, I’m in my own world.”

What made this win even more special, besides it being in the TD Garden, was it being his first UFC victory since joining the promotion. An entertaining fight with Brandon Davis a few months prior resulted in his first professional loss. Walking into his fight with Boston Salmon, a rising prospect with the UFC, a win was necessary for Costa, and now with that under his belt in knockout fashion Costa has his eyes on the future.

“I want to be active, I want to be a reliable fighter who will show up for this promotion” Costa told Cageside Press. “I’m ready to fight whenever, I took my time off and I’m ready. I’ve made no secret that I want Sean O’Malley, but anybody with a name throw them my way. I’m eyeing February for a return, if not then I want that UFC 248 card.”

Costa has fought two very tough opponents since joining the UFC ranks, and both fights were entertaining performances. Costa is all about entertaining, and wants a name that can help him put on a show for the fans whenever and wherever that may be.

“Fighting is super important, obviously, but part of this is entertaining too,” Costa explained. “My style inside and outside of the cage is about being myself. I’m an entertaining guy. My fans are nuts, they are some of my best friends and they are the perfect match for my style, a little bit of craziness.”

On that UFC Boston card with Costa was a very important person to the fighter and his career: Joe Lauzon. Lauzon is not only the coach and manager of Randy Costa, but is also a friend and mentor to the young fighter. Lauzon made his return to the UFC and fought to a stoppage victory over Jonathan Pearce at the TD Garden. Costa spoke highly on his mentor as you’d expect.

“Joe is a mentor, a friend, a coach and more to me, It was so special to do that together on the same night,” he said. “Never thought I’d be able to do that, and who knows if that was his last ever? I get to win with him on his last go, how special could that be.”

As for the camp together, Costa believes it was more helpful to have both of them gearing up for a fight, even if it meant Lauzon wouldn’t have his full attention on his protege. The mental battle of camp is always torturous, and having both going through it may have only made them stronger.

“I’m independent, Joe knows that. I always do 110% in camp, Joe knows that, so it made it easier for him to also be training for his fight,” Costa explained. “Mentally, us both going through the cuts and training, it was so helpful for us both to just talk and be there for each other. We were doing hardcore sparring together, everything was together even though our mindsets were on different opponents.”

Costa is one of the more promising prospects in the UFC entering 2020. While standing at a 1-1 record with the promotion, both of his fights were entertaining and “full sends” as the Taunton native puts it. Coming off of a 1st round knockout in his home arena it will be exciting to see what is next for the Massachusetts native.

With UFC 246 around the corner, we ended our discussion with a Randy Costa prediction for the McGregor vs. Cerrone main event.

“I’ve got my boy Cowboy, I’m good friends with Cerrone and he trains with us every now and then, he’s a great dude. I will say though McGregor looks and sounds like he found his hunger again. I always ride the American and I plan on being in the crowd that night for a fun one.”

The post UFC Bantamweight Randy Costa Eyes February Return, Looking for Entertaining Names appeared first on Cageside Press.

Stepping up on short notice at UFC Copenhagen on Saturday was featherweight Brandon Davis. Davis, as game a fighter as any, had the unenviable task of welcoming standout GLORY kickboxer Giga Chikadze to the promotion. Chikadze had begun his MMA journey in 2015, compiling a 7-3 record prior to being signed by the UFC.

Giga opened up with a clean left hand, before looking for a head kick. Davis then quickly looked for a takedown, which Giga responded to by grabbing the fence. Davis didn’t care, slamming him down anyways, and moving to half-guard up against the cage. Giga ended up reversing the position and went into full-guard. He landed some big shots to the body and some powerful shots upstairs. However, Davis slipped out from the bottom and soon get a takedown to end the round again.

Giga opened round two by landing a clean right hand and landing some good shots. Davis responded with a nice right hand of his own, but Giga continued moving forward and landing combinations. Giga landed a big left and right, that landed clean but didn’t stun Davis. Davis kept moving forward trying to close the distance, and eventually got the takedown near the end of the round. However, Giga got back to the feet by the end of the frame.

Giga in the third round was very mobile, staying on his bike not allowing Davis to get a hold of him. Davis tried to put on the pressure but Giga slipped most of Davis’s big shots, while he stuffed most of his takedown attempts. Davis would get a takedown in the final ten seconds but that was about all of his success in the third. Overall, a fun fight from both.

The original result, as read, was a draw, with scores of 29-28, 28-29, and 29-29. However, a review of the judge’s scorecards had the UFC announce that Giga Chikadze had in fact won.

Result: Giga Chikadze def. Brandon Davis via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Update, 1:25PM – The UFC announces Chikadze in fact won the fight, upon review of the scorecards.

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The UFC is coming to Copenhagen, Denmark on September 28. Mike Davis was supposed to take on Danny Henry at UFC Copenhagen, but Henry pulled out. It was later rumored that Davis was fighting Giga Chikadze. Mike Davis though is now out of the fight as well, to deal with some health issues. As first reported by Bloody Elbow, Chikadze is now fighting Brandon Davis in a featherweight bout.

Giga Chikadze is well-known for his background in kickboxing practically for Glory going 6-3 for the promotion. Giga is also fought on the Contender Series in 2018. He suffered his second career loss in that fight against Austin Springer. Since that loss, Giga is now on a two-fight win streak.

Chikadze is a product out of Kings MMA in California with head coach Rafael Cordeiro. Chikadze is 7-2 in MMA with a 100% finish rate. The level of competition he’s beat has been dreadful however, as the opponents he has beaten have a combined record of 3-57.

Brandon Davis is a veteran of the UFC, now 3-5 for the promotion. He recently moved down to bantamweight, however this being on such short notice it will be at 145lbs.

Davis is another fighter that competed on the Contender Series back on the first season. That fight was a memorable affair against Austin Arnett. He earned the UFC contract and would make his debut a little less than two months later, against Kyle Bochniak. Davis (10-7) is 1-1 in his last two, with a win over Randy Costa, and a loss to Kyung Ho Kang.

UFC Copenhagen takes place at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark on September 28. The card is headlined by a middleweight bout between Jack Hermansson and Jared Cannonier.

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In the second bout on the UFC 241 Fight Pass prelims, Kyung Ho Kang took on Brandon Davis in a bantamweight battle.

Kang (15-8) has won four of his last five bouts. The 31-year-old most recently submitted Teruto Ishihara at UFC 234 earlier this year. His only set back since 2013 was a split decision defeat to Brazil’s Ricardo Ramos. Kang has finished 13 out of his 15 wins, 11 via submission.

Davis (10-6) made the drop to bantamweight for the first time in April, defeating UFC debutant Randy Costa via rear-naked choke at UFC 236. Davis made his way into the UFC via Dana White’s Contender Series and has already faced solid tests in the Octagon. This includes a submission defeat to Zabit Magomedsharipov, and a unanimous decision defeat to Enrique Barzola. Davis has finished 60% of his wins, three via submission and three via (T)KO.

Round 1:

Both men exchanged leg kicks to start the bout. Davis landed a right hand, which made Kang attempt a takedown, but Davis framed well and landed a knee on the way out. Kang has landed his jab several times, but absorbed a big leg kick from Davis. Kang has landed his own leg kicks but Davis’ kicks were more effective in the first round. Kang was focusing more on the headshots followed by the kicks. Kang managed to drop Davis with a straight right hand, and then got back control. Davis turned into half guard but Kang advanced to mount briefly. The round ended with Kang on top, and the knockdown stole Kang the round.

Cageside Press scored the round 10-9 Kang.

Round 2:

Kang threw a flurry of head strikes to begin the second round, whilst Davis searched for the leg kicks. Kang attempted a takedown, Davis defended – but attempted an armbar from the scramble – which allow Kang to get top position. Kang took the back for a second but Davis reversed and now they both stood up against the cage in the clinch before getting back to the center. Davis attempted a knee to the head that partially landed. Davis fired a cross to the body, followed by a leg kick. Kang searching for a big right hand and both men are landing shots. Both men exchanged shots but Davis got the better of Kang throughout round two.

Cageside Press scored the round 10-9 Davis. 

Round 3:

Both men exchanged to open the round and Kang’s leg was really busted up from Davis’ kicks. But, Davis slipped and Kang got side control. After under a minute in side control, the referee George Allen stood Kang up. Kang managed to get a takedown shortly after and tried to get the back, but Davis got to his feet. For the third time in the round, Kang timed a perfect double leg and got Davis down again in the third round. Kang was happy in Davis’ guard firing short shots. Kang ended the round on top.

Cageside Press scored the round 10-9 Kang (29-28 Kang)

Kyung Ho Kang def. Brandon Davis by Split Decision (28-29, 29-28 x2)

Check out all the results from UFC 241 here!

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UFC 236 goes down from Atlanta, Georgia, with Max Holloway gunning for an interim lightweight title against Dustin Poirier in a main event rematch. Kelvin Gastelum will fight Israel Adesanya for the interim middleweight belt as Robert Whittaker recovers. Eryk Anders vs. Khalil Rountree, Alan Jouban vs. Dwight Grant, and Ovince Saint Preux vs. Nikita Krylov round out the main card.

On Fight Pass, Curtis Millender and Belal Muhammad face off in a Fight of the Night candidate as they both look to recover from streak-snapping losses. Andre Soukhamthath looks to even up his UFC record against 7-1 Contender Series veteran Montel Jackson. Poliana Botelho and Lauren Mueller square off coming off their first UFC losses. Opening up the card, scrappy Brandon Davis welcomes northeast prospect Randy Costa to the Octagon. Davis is 1-3 in the Octagon while Costa is just 4-0 in his MMA career.

Brandon Davis vs. Randy Costa

UFC 236 marked Brandon Davis’ debut at bantamweight, and what a debut it was. Newcomer Randy Costa went right after Brandon Davis early, attacking with a right hand, landing to the chest, just missing the chin. The pair then began trading, back-and-forth, until Davis pressed the action up against the fence. Breaking free, Costa began landing some heavy punches, but Davis fired back, and Randy Costa was already in the longest fight of his career. Davis would later land a blow, hurting Costa, who was attempting kicks from all sorts of positions. With just over a minute remaining, Costa backed Davis up to the fence, first with his jab, then began landing combinations, punctuated with a kick. Davis covered up, survived, and came back, hurting Costa with his own attack.

Costa came out firing right away once again in the second, hurting Davis and backing him up to the cage. Davis tied him up, getting some crucial recovery time. Davis fired a knee to the body, the pair were standing and trading, then Costa changed levels looking for a takedown. Then turned out to be a mistake. Davis was able to take the back, sink in the rear-naked choke, and force the tap!

Brandon Davis def. Randy Costa by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 1:12

Lauren Mueller vs. Poliana Botelho

Botelho, who was moving up to flyweight for the fight, opened the action with a kick that came up short. Mueller got her hands going, backing the Brazilian up. Botelho, within the first minute, attacked both the legs and body with kicks, and one landing to the midsection forced her to cover up in pain. Botelho drove her back into the fence, which may have actually worked in her injured opponent’s favor. The Brazilian got the fight down, however, landing in half-guard. After some top time, Botelho fired some elbows to the body as Mueller attempted to scramble free. When Mueller finally did, she ate a knee to the body for her troubles.

Round saw the pair working against the fence early, reversing position, with both women struggling to maintain control. Both ladies would fire off elbows when they finally found some space, but shortly thereafter, Botelho put Mueller on her back. Mueller would scramble back to the fence, and eventually work her way up. However, she’d wind up trapped against the cage again as Botelho initiated another clinch. With little in the way of offense happening, the ref restarted the action with about thirty seconds left in the round, which allowed Mueller to hit home with a couple of strikes.

Mueller turned things up to start round three. pressuring Poliana Botelho and backing her up, firing punches. Botelho would again tie her opponent up, but was reversed quickly. They would reverse several more times, before breaking free, but each time Mueller tried to turn up the heat, Botelho would slow things down. Mueller finally began landing bombs in the final ninety seconds, mixing in some kicks, one of which took Botelho’s feet out from under her. However, Mueller bizarrely chose to go to the ground with the Brazilian, despite her success on the feet. She mixed in some ground n’ pound, but couldn’t find a finish, sending the fight to the judges.

Poliana Botelho def. Lauren Mueller by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-29)

Montel Jackson vs. Andre Soukhamthath

Andre Soukhamthath, the first ever UFC fighter of Laos descent, was back in the octagon at UFC 236. Squaring off with Montel Jackson, the pair had a protracted feeling out period to open the first round. It was single strikes, jabs, and leg kicks through much of the opening frame, with neither man wanting to commit, but neither wanting to back down either. That finally changed when Soukhamthath fired a knee to the body. Jackson fired a combo back, and scored a takedown with a minute remaining in the round. Soukhamthath was back up quickly, but that allowed Jackson to score a trip takedown with barely fifteen seconds remaining.

Round two opened with a little more urgency, as both fighters fired single strikes. Soukhamthath launched a superman punch. Jackson landed a knee. He’d later catch a kick, but couldn’t convert that to a takedown. The two would clinch after Soukhamthath fired off a couple low kicks, and Jackson would fire a hard left that landed to the face of his opponent as the broke apart. Jackson would later turn up the heat, backing his opponent up to the fence, but Soukhamthath proved to have a solid chin and survived the onslaught. Another takedown would come for Jackson, and he’d finish the round on top.

Soukhamthath opened the third with a kick, and then ate a kick in return moments later. Unfortunately, that kick was low, and Soukhamthath went down in obvious pain. When they restarted, Soukhamthath found himself mounted after a takedown attempt, in a very bad spot. Jackson had a tremendous opportunity to finish, or at least so serious damage. However, Soukhamthath got his opponent back into half guard. While perhaps a moral victory, he remained trapped on his back. An arm-bar attempt late in the round wouldn’t come close, and Jackson cruised to a sure victory on the scorecards.

Montel Jackson def. Andre Soukhamthath by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-27)

Curtis Millender vs. Belal Muhammad

The featured bout of the UFC 236 early prelims opened with a jumping attack from Millender, who clearly wanted to bring the fight early. Muhammad found his own success with a left hook. They would settle into a little more of a rhythm as the round progressed, but bey the end of the frame, Muhammad had been bloodied, with Millender hurting him with the jab.

The second had Muhammad still in the bout, looking to utilize his left hook some more. A couple of jumping attack attempts didn’t go his way, but he was able to close the distance and land a takedown. From there, Muhammad spent the remainder of the round on top, pretty much half the frame. Scoring some impressive ground n’ pound, he was very much able to turn the tide in his favor.

That continued in the third. Muhammad began wearing Millender down with right hands early. He than took Millender to the ground, moving the half-guard and peppering his foe with punches. Millender seemed unable to break free, and wasn’t defending particularly well, either. Part of that was likely exhaustion, given the drubbing he’d taken at the end of the second. Muhammad controlled Millender absolutely until the final seconds, landing more ground n’ pound and taking a decision win, after a tough first round.

Belal Muhammad def. Curtis Millender by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 30-26)

UFC 236: Holloway vs. Porier 2 Fight Pass Preliminary Results

Belal Muhammad def. Curtis Millender by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 30-26)
Montel Jackson def. Andre Soukhamthath by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-27)
Poliana Botelho def. Lauren Mueller by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-29)
Brandon Davis def. Randy Costa by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 1:12

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