The biggest event of the UFC’s year thus far went down in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday. With a good shot at breaking the promotion’s viewership record on PPV, the return of Conor McGregor at UFC 229 was set to be huge. The title fight between ‘The Notorious’ and lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov promised to be thrilling. And a hardy undercard was an added bonus, with Tony Ferguson taking on Antony Pettis at lightweight, and Derrick Lewis taking on the surging Alexander Volkov in a key heavyweight battle. That was just a small portion of the action.

Before any of the fights went down on PPV, UFC 229 featured a trio of fights exclusively on UFC Fight Pass. Opening up the card, welterweights Ryan LaFlare and Tony Martin threw down. LaFlare entered the bout off a win over Alex Garcia at UFC Atlantic City, while Tony Martin had defeated Keita Nakamura at that same event.

Next up, former lightweight title challenger Gray Maynard was back. ‘The Bully’ was also back at lightweight, facing another gritty veteran Nik Lentz.

And in the featured bout of the UFC Fight Pass prelims, Lina Lansberg and Yana Kunitskaya, both of whom entered the UFC by fighting Cris Cyborg, threw down at bantamweight.

Ryan LaFlare vs. Tony Martin

A low blow by Ryan LaFlare halted the action early in the card’s opening welterweight bout, but that said, LaFlare was finding success with his kicks.  Martin continued to eat those kicks to the body as the round progressed, with his midsection showing more and more redness. Martin, however, stayed behind his right hand, and managed to wobble LaFlare towards the final minute of the round.

In round two, that right hand would come out again, with Martin dropping LaFlare around the two minute mark. He pounced on the fallen fighter, adding more right hands. LaFlare was bloodied, and tied Martin up in half-guard, hanging on for dear life. Despite this dangerous turn of events, LaFlare managed to make it out of the round.

The third saw LaFlare continue attacking with kicks, this time nearly taking Martin’s legs out from under him with an inside leg kick. Martin, however, had a kick or two, and a trick or two, up his sleeve. He launched a right head kick, catching LaFlare with his hands down. LaFlare dropped, and Martin followed up with a few punches for the finish!

Head kick finish to start the night on @UFCFightPass!

Wow @TMartinMMA! #UFC229 pic.twitter.com/ubeMRUpR3Y

— UFC (@ufc) October 6, 2018

Tony Martin def. Ryan LaFlare by TKO (head kick and punches), Round 3, 1:00

Gray Maynard vs. Nik Lentz

Former title challenger Grand Maynard found himself bullied by Nik Lentz early, eating a right hand followed by a knee to the body. Just a minute into the first round of their lightweight fight, and Maynard was down by the side of the fence, covering up while Lentz worked to control him. Maynard survived that exchange, but was clipped by a left hand moments later. Lentz then got him to the ground, and worked himself into position for a guillotine. Maynard broke free of that as Lentz rolled on top, but ‘The Bully’ was in a bad spot, eating elbows from Lentz as they entered the final minute. Lentz then let his hands fly, lefts and rights raining down. Maynard covered up, struggled his way back to his feet, only to eat a pair of heavy knees to the head before round’s end.

Round two was halted early when Maynard suffered an eye poke. Back underway, Lentz and Maynard wound up trading, each man landing on the other before Lentz added a head kick, dropping Maynard! A few follow-up blows and Lentz had the TKO. Two right head kick finishes to start the card. Wow.

Another head-kick knockout at #UFC229! @NikLentz pic.twitter.com/OTT4csZwn9

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) October 6, 2018

Nik Lentz def. Gray Maynard by TKO (head kick and punches), Round 2, 1:19

Lina Länsberg vs. Yana Kunitskaya

The featured prelim on UFC Fight Pass at UFC 229 saw Yana Kunitskaya fending off an attacking Lina Lansberg early. Lansberg pressed the attack, with Kunitskaya throwing a kick that was nearly caught. In a clinch shortly thereafter, Kunitskaya landed a takedown via a throw that saw her enter into Lansberg’s guard. Lansberg worked her way back to the fence with Kunitskaya on her, which allowed Kunitskaya to control from the back as Lansberg powered back to her feet. Soon enough Lansberg had managed to turn, getting underhooks on Kunitskaya, who appeared to have a strength advantage. Kunitskaya then powered her opponent down with another throw. She’d finish the round dropping some elbows from the top.

Kunitskaya attacked with leg and body kicks in round two, while Lansberg circled out of harm’s way. Yana would then close the distance and clinch, landing a knee to the body. Another knee followed as Kunitskaya maintained control. Lansberg would fire back a pair of knees of her own, but she was struggling to find any way off the fence. The ref, however, came to her rescue, deeming that not enough action was taking place. Off the restart, Lansberg pressed forward, but couldn’t find her range. Toward’s the end of the round, Kunitskaya changed levels, looking to take the fight down, but nearly gave up her neck in the process.

Round three featured Lansberg again trying to start strong, while Yana answered with her jab and was a little quicker to circle away. However, she soon had a clinch on by the cage. Kunitskaya landed a takedown near the ninety second mark, but couldn’t keep Lansberg down long. Lansberg needed a finish, but couldn’t find it — they went the distance, with Kunitskaya taking the unanimous decision.

Yana Kunitskaya def. Lina Länsberg by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) 

Check back come fight time for results and a full recap of the UFC 229 Fight Pass Prelims!

UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor Fight Pass Preliminary Results

Yana Kunitskaya def. Lina Länsberg by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Nik Lentz def. Gray Maynard by TKO (head kick and punches), Round 2, 1:19
Tony Martin def. Ryan LaFlare by TKO (head kick and punches), Round 3, 1:00

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UFC 229 is getting bigger by the minute. Not that anything is going to top the main event of Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov. Still, on Thursday the UFC announced the addition of five bouts to the event, including a previously announced pairing of Ryan LaFlare vs. Tony Martin (LaFlare spilled the beans on that one yesterday). In addition to that, Michelle Waterson vs. Felice Herrig, Jussier Formiga vs. Sergio Pettis, Dominick Reyes vs. Ovince St. Preux, and Lina Lansberg vs. Yana Kunitskaya have all been added to the card.

Where to begin. It’s easy to forget that Ovince St. Preux was fighting for interim light heavyweight gold against Jon Jones not too long ago. OSP put on a valiant effort against Jones, but lost the war, and his next two fights. Since then, however, St. Preux (23–11) has gone 3-1, including back-to-back Von Flue choke wins last year, and most recently, a straight arm-bar submission of Tyson Pedro.

A tough test for anyone at 205lbs, he’s set to welcome Dominick Reyes (9-0) to the upper echelon of the division. Reyes is three for three in the UFC so far, and is coming off a TKO of Jared Cannonier.

On the women’s side, at strawweight, arguably the most significant addition to the card is Michelle Waterson vs. Felice Herrig. A promotional darling, Waterson (15-6) has struggled, going just 3-2 in her UFC tenure to date. The former Invicta FC atomweight champ most recently earned a split decision win over Cortney Casey in April.

Felice Herrig, meanwhile, battled her way to four straight wins until losing a close split decision to Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC 223. She’ll look to take the momentum back here.

Yana Kunitskaya (10–4 (1)) is a former Invicta FC bantamweight champ who was fed to granted a featherweight title fight against Cris Cyborg in her UFC debut earlier this year. She’ll take on another former Cyborg opponent, Lina Lansberg (8–3). Lansberg is coming off a win over Gina Mazany.

Flyweight action could put one of Sergio Pettis (17-3) and Jussier Formiga (21-5) in the title picture. Pettis is coming off a split decision win over one of the division’s best fighters in Joseph Benavidez. Formiga, meanwhile, has won two straight against Ben Nguyen and Ulka Sasaki.

And finally, Ryan LaFlare (14-2) will look to build on his UFC Atlantic City win over Alex Garcia when he takes on Tony Martin (13-4), who won his UFC welterweight debut last time out against Keita Nakamura.

UFC 229 takes place October 6 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.

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Atlantic City, NJ — It wasn’t the finish he was looking for. But so what? Ryan LaFlare came back off a knockout loss and got the win at UFC Atlantic City on Saturday. At the historic Boardwalk Hall, LaFlare battled Alex Garcia for three rounds. It was a win well-earned. A spirited, battle, in which LaFlare sustained a knee injury thanks to Garcia clamping down on his knee.

LaFlare ultimately earned a unanimous decision, with 30-27 scores on all three judges scorecards. And while there has always been talk about the fighter struggling to finish in the UFC (he had a perfect finishing record outside the promotion, but has yet to avoid the judges in any of his wins in it), he was in good spirits post-fight.

“I finally have a nickname, ‘The Decisionator Ryan LaFlare'” the welterweight quipped. “Lets patent that thing.”

“If I had ten more seconds, I think I was finishing that,” he added later. “He was a tough opponent, and I’m happy to get the win, get back on the winning column. You’re only as good as your last fight, regardless of my last fight, I wanted to get in there and win.”

On the knee he apparently injured during the bout, LaFlare said that “There’s definitely something wrong with it, but what am I going to do?” Pointing out that it’s part of what fighters sign up for, he suggested that “I’m ready to die in there. I’ll worry about it later.”

LaFlare had talked prior to the bout about distractions in his last fight in Uniondale, and while Atlantic City wasn’t exactly at home, it’s right next door. So would he prefer his next bout be on the road? “I don’t care. As long as it’s not in Nassau Coliseum” he said of the possibility.

That was a reference to his prior fight, a loss to Alex Oliveira in Long Island.

“It didn’t feel like I was in the fight mode,” he said of the difference when it came to fighting at home. There, his students and family were distractions. “It felt like I was going to work, I had  my bagged lunch with me. I just felt like, I was like ‘oh crap, I still got to fight in front of millions of people.’ I don’t like that.” His preference is to get the fight week experience. “I like coming here on Tuesday, fortunately my coaches are also my best friends, so you get here, you bond, you bulls***, it’s all about you, and the fight. It’s something that makes a big difference.”

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Alex Garcia went in with a left but Ryan LaFlare kept him at bay. LaFlare was able to get a brief takedown, but Garcia popped up quickly. LaFlare closed in on Garcia with punches and clinched him against the cage. LaFlare dragged him to one knee and landed knees to the body. When Garcia got up, LaFlare had double underhooks, but Garcia broke free.

Garcia got into clinch range and LaFlare took full advantage by spinning him to the cage. LaFlare was able to cause Garcia to stumble with an inside leg kick, and the round ended shortly after Garcia returned to his feet.

Garcia came in with a big right hand that nearly landed flush and LaFlare answered with a body kick. LaFlare was able to get a takedown on a second effort in the middle of the cage. LaFlare had the Dominican’s back but Garcia spun out, then LaFlare used butterflies to stand up.

Garcia plowed through LaFlare with a double leg, and stayed in top position for a good amount of time before LaFlare used the butterfly guard again. Garcia got another takedown but LaFlare swept to top position and was content to stay in half guard for the remaining minute of the round.

Garcia countered a body kick to start round three and earned a takedown. Garcia held LaFlare down for a minute before Marc Goddard stood them up. LaFlare stuffed a takedown and landed a head kick as he let Garcia up. LaFlare stuffed another takedown, but Garcia was able to transition to get top position.

Ryan LaFlare was able to crucify Garcia from his back but neither fighter truly had top position. As a result of the stalemate, Marc Goddard stood them up. One more stuffed takedown for LaFlare and that was that, time expired and the judge’s scorecards were consulted.

Ryan LaFlare def. Alex Garcia by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)

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Atlantic City, NJ — In hockey, we tend to say that a player on a scoring slump is squeezing his stick too tight. Trying too hard, in other words. Maybe that’s the case for UFC welterweight Ryan LaFlare (13-2), who had a perfect finishing rate outside the UFC — but has won nothing but decisions since joining the promotion. It’s an apt comparison, perhaps, given the Stanely Cup Playoffs are currently underway, with the New Jersey Devils taking part. LaFlare, a New Yorker, is in Atlantic City, New Jersey this week ahead of his UFC Fight Night 128 scrap with Alex Garcia this weekend. Rest assured, he’ll be looking for the finish.

The lack of finishes hasn’t hurt LaFlare’s success any, as the former CompuStrike employee has managed to headline a card against Demian Maia, and ultimately owns a 6-2 record in the promotion. Still, the lack of a finish during his UFC tenure does nag at him.

“It definitely nags at me, a hundred percent,” he told Cageside Press at Thursday’s UFC Atlantic City media day. “I remember my first two fights, being like ‘what the hell, I’m not finishing in the UFC.’ Then people started calling me ‘the Decisionator.'” That unfortunate nickname led of a feeling that it was “okay to just win these rounds.” Something LaFlare admits isn’t a good thing. Still, “if you watch my fights, I’m an exciting fighter. I’m not just a patient fighter looking to get the win. I’m out there trying to fight, I’m out there trying to win decisively and trying to finish the guy.”

In his defense, LaFlare points out that “ninety percent of the guys I’ve fought in the UFC were either ranked or have been ranked in the past. I’m not fighting scrubs.”

“Everybody I’m fighting at least was ranked at one point in their career,” he continued. “There’s not many guys that can say that, their entire UFC career. I’m coming up on nine, ten fights. I’m fighting good guys, I want to finish them, I’m going to try to finish them, but me not getting caught and not making bad mistakes is more important right now.”

LaFlare has come a long way from his Compustrike days. Headlining a card, compiling an impressive record against a number of tough outs — it’s one of those situations that has a dreamlike quality to it. Looking back, he agrees it is a little crazy. “Yeah,” LaFlare said on coming such a long way, though “it seems like a short time, because I only have nine or ten fights, but I’ve been in the UFC since 2013. I’ve been around this sport for a very long time.”

Still, “it is a little surreal to me,” he continued, “but my goals are always to be at the top. I always knew I would be there. I’m that type of person, if I’m not succeeding at something, I’m not doing it anymore. So I have to keep doing it until I’m at the top. You’re always going to see Ryan LaFlare until I’m at the top.”

The next step in that journey comes against Alex Garcia on Saturday. Garcia has been training with Canada’s famed TriStar, and heads into UFC Atlantic City off a win over Muslim Salikhov in Shanghai late last year.

“What-star?” LaFlare cracked when asked about his opponent’s training camp. “I’m just kidding. TriStar is obviously a big camp.” As for the fight Saturday, “how’s it go down? I think I’m more of an elite striker. I’m an elite grappler. I’m faster, I’m bigger, I’m longer. I think there’s a lot of things that can play out to me being the better fighter. My conditioning is one of my best tools.”

It’s something that had been pointed out as a weakness of Garcia. “That’s something that he lacks in.” Ultimately, said LaFlare “I think it could play out with me finishing him on the feet, or me taking him down and finishing him on the ground, but at the end of the day, it’s going to be me getting my hand raised.”

Ryan LaFlare vs. Alex Garcia serves as the featured prelim at UFC Fight Night 128 (UFC Atlantic City), this Saturday, April 21 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. Both the televised prelims and main card air live on Fox Sports 1.

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