Kevin Vallejos

At just 24 years of age, Kevin Vallejos is fighting with a maturity reminiscent of a young Ilia Topuria. No, Josh Emmett is not young anymore, but he’s been a staple of the featherweight top10 for years, in part due to his durability, and Vallejos dispatched of him inside a round. The Argentinian fighter refrained from calling out a name after his last one was poorly received in December. If he keeps putting on performances like these, he won’t need to have rehearsed call outs in the chamber, because his hands will do all the talking.

I do believe Jean Silva has a future as a title contender, which is why I wouldn’t book this rematch just yet as I would wait for the stakes to get even higher. I think either of Patricio Pitbull or Aljamain Sterling would make for great opponents if they win their next fights, but I’m not totally confident that they will. For now, I will choose the winner of Diego Lopes versus Steve Garcia at the White House.

Vallejos’ next fight: Lopes/Garcia winner

Gillian Robertson

It’s strange to think that Gillian Robertson is only 30 years old since her name is already in the UFC record books. She had to overcome a rough opening frame at UFC Vegas 114, where she faced Amanda Lemos, and show off her resiliency to take the next two rounds.

Robertson’s clearly hitting her stride and is now building a strong case for being the best Canadian fighter on the roster. Having won five in a row, she could be argued as the most deserving contender, but it’s hard to see this kind of performance being the one that makes her undeniable in the UFC’s eyes. With Tatiana Suarez facing Loopy Godinez and Virna Jandiroba facing Tabatha Ricci in the coming weeks, it still feels like the number one contender spot is up for grabs. And that’s not even counting Zhang Weili who could still drop back to strawweight and face Mackenzie Dern.

At the end of the day, I went with the winner of Jandiroba/Ricci as I think the winner of Suarez/Godinez is more likely to steal Robertson’s current spot as the number one contender.

Robertson’s next fight: Jandiroba/Ricci winner

Jose Delgado

After losing a decision a lot of fans thought he should’ve won in October, here is Jose Delgado winning a decision a lot of fans thought he should’ve lost. I guess it evens out. Kidding aside, barely a year into his UFC career, Delgado is quickly proving to be one of the safe bets for a good fight every time out. I think a fight with Gabriel Santos not only makes a lot of sense for where both fighters are at, but would also be a surefire bet for Fight of the Night on whichever card it’s on.

Delgado’s next fight: Gabriel Santos

Marwan Rahiki

Newcomer Marwan Rahiki had a memorable introduction to the UFC fanbase, winning Fight of the Night for his back-and-forth affair with Harry Hardwick. Though his lack of defense may be fun to watch for us fans, at just 23, there’s still time for Rahiki to work on all his skills. I think fellow rookie Javier Reyes, who was also victorious in his promotional debut two weeks ago in Mexico would be a good opponent for Rahiki.

Rahiki’s next fight: Javier Reyes

Ion Cutelaba

Ion Cutelaba is one of the names that feels like they have faced everyone they possible could have, by now. With this latest win over Oumar Sy to his name, we now have to scramble to find a sensible fight for The Hulk. I think both Iwo Baraniewski or Navajo Stirling would make for fine opponents if they win their upcoming fights. Between those two, it’s difficult not to go with Iwo Baraniewski as he would certainly bring out the “crazy” in Cutelaba.

Cutelaba’s next fight: Baraniewski/Lane winner

Charles Johnson

This was a fairly short turnaround for Charles Johnson, who got KO’d just this January. As is common with Inner G fights, he started off slow in the first round, but picked it up as the fight went and was flowing by the end of the bout. Johnson is such an active fighter, it can already feel like he’s fought most people at 125 pounds, but there are still some viable names out there for him to face. Someone like Tagir Ulanbekov, who is also looking for redemption after getting finished would make a good matchup.

Johnson’s next fight: Tagir Ulanbekov

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Josh Emmett

Kevin Vallejos(#14) peppered and finished Josh Emmett(#11) in the first round of their main event on Saturday to tally the largest win of his career. An absolutely devastating loss for 41-year-old Emmett who has now lost five of his last six fights.

Emmett is in a tough situation here, he hasn’t won consistently in a while. He looked a bit rough on Saturday (yet game), but he made no indication that he was prepared to hang it up. Emmett could slide to the edge of the rankings or out of them altogether.

Good next fight for Josh would be giving him the loser of (#12) Patricio Pitbull vs Aaron Pico. That fight goes down on April 11th, so timing would matchup just fine. Both fighters carry names and are former Bellator standouts. Pitbull is 1-1 with the UFC having lost his debut to Yair Rodriguez, but winning against Dan Ige in July of last year. Pico is 0-1 but lost via a wild spinning back elbow at the hands of top ranked, Lerone Murphy. This bout is going to be fireworks with two, very violent stand up strikers. Giving Emmett the loser keeps him relevant, gives the fans an exciting fight and offers another litmus test for the former Bellator fighters against a former UFC title challenger.

Emmett’s next fight: Patricio Pitbulll vs. Aaron Pico Loser

Amanda Lemos

Gillian Robertson (#8) strategically landed take downs in order to neutralize the striking of Amanda Lemos (#5) on Saturday and capture the unanimous decision victory. Lemos has to be a tad frustrated with herself after the performance in a very winnable fight. The 38-year-old is now riding a two fight losing streak and has lost four of her last six dating back to her 2023 unsuccessful title sho,t against then champ, Zhang Weili.

Amanda’s next fight should be against (#13) Denise Gomes. The UFC isn’t going to do Lemos any favors here, almost a 40-year-old 115lbs. fighter, they are going to continue to feed her to the young guns of the division. Denise is 6-2 with the promotion and is currently riding a four-fight win streak (Eduarda Moura, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Elise Reed and Teicia Pennington). A lot of these fighters aren’t even with the UFC anymore. But that’s not the 26-year-old’s fault. Most of the fighters directly above her a matched up already in the rankings, so what better fight to make than this? Both are strikers, and a fighter like Gomes could very well be the future of the division. A good fight to book and one that could easily sneak onto the main card of a fight night card. Winner propelled into the top 7 easily.

Lemos’s next fight: Denise Gomes

Andre Fili

Jose Delgado just edged out UFC veteran, Andre Fili, in a back and forth standup war on Saturday. Fili, a 13-year UFC veteran with 26 fights with the promotion, has gone 2-3 in the last two years. All losses in the time period have still been opposite some talented competition (Dan Ige, Melquizael Costa and now Jose Delgado). Andre is one of those guys has fought everyone. Not everyone, seemingly everyone…a whole lot of fighters. Often times Fili serves as a litmus test for fighters that want to enter the rankings of the featherweight division.

A solid next matchup for Fili would be pitting him against Chepe Mariscal. Chepe started off red-hot in the UFC back in 2023, ripping off five victories in a row (Trevor Peek, Jack Jenkins, Morgan Charriere, Damon Jackson and Ricardo Ramos). Unfortunately, in his most recent fight, last November, Chepe suffered his first promotional defeat at the hands of Pat Sabatini. Despite the timing not exactly matching up, this would be an excellent fight to get Mariscal back on the board. To get his bearings back and to see if he’s worthy of making a run at the rankings. For Fili, it’d be an excellent opportunity for him to prove he still belongs against a hot prospect that has recently stumbled. Great fight for the main card of an APEX based, fight night card.

Fili’s next fight: Jose ‘Chepe” Mariscal 

Harry Hardwick

Undefeated fighter, Marwan Rahiki, came out on top of an edge-of-your-seat, two-round barn burner, opposite of Harry Hardwick. Harry was unable to answer the call for the third round, as his jaw was badly broken in the second. Rahiki and Hardwick landed the fight of the night bonus for this scrap, an honor rarely given to bouts that don’t go the distance. Harry has had a rough go at it in his short stint with the UFC, especially factoring injuries in now. Hardwick is 0-2 with the promotion. He made his debut last year on short notice and up a weight class and was rewarded by being finished in the first round with a calf kick.

Give this man a break and have him take on a fighter in his weight class, that he can prepare for, and has a similar promotional record. He’s more than proven that he can scrap.

Good next fight for Harry would be to give him the loser of the Tommy McMillen vs Manolo Zecchini fight. This fight goes down on April 4th, but due to Harry’s broken jaw- who knows when he’ll be looking at making an octagon return. Zecchini is 0-1 with the promotion and made his debut back in September of 2023, where Morgan Charriere stopped him in the first round. Manolo will be taking on a undefeated fighter making his UFC debut after winning on the Contender Series last year. Three young hungry guys with solid record, two of them having being fed to the wolves immediately upon entering the promotion. Excellent fight to book here, and defending how the fight goes on April 4, potentially tremendous upside.

Hardwick’s next fight:  Loser of Tommy McMillen vs Manolo Zecchini

Oumar Sy

Ion Cutelaba secured a clever mounted guillotine late in the first to secure a submission victory over Oumar Sy on Saturday. Sy now falls to 3-2 in the UFC after signing as an undefeated fighter in 2024. Oumar started off hot with back to back victories in the UFC, but suffered his first defeat to Alonzo Menifield and has now suffered the first stoppage defeat of his career.

Oumar’s next fight should be against Rodolfo Bellato. Its rare the UFC pairs up a fighter coming off a stoppage loss against a fighter coming of a stoppage victory (especially without rankings invovled), but it makes sense in this scenario. Bellato was scheduled to fight Sy for his second UFC fight, he has gone 1-1-1 with 1 no contest since that bout fell through in 2024. Sy has had his entire UFC stint in that time, going 3-2. So even though Bellato is coming off a win, this fight still makes sense (That win was also against a 6-0 fighter making his promotional debut). This fight is one that should be revisited and still makes sense. The two also share a common opponent in Navajo Stirling.

Sy’s next fight: Rodolfo Bellato

Bruno Silva

Charles Johnson (#14) snuck away with the win over Bruno Silva (#15) to kick off the main card of UFC Vegas 114 on Saturday. Bruno is now 5-5 with the UFC and has dropped three of his last four. Worth noting that those other two losses were stoppages, but against the likes of Manel Kape and eventual champ, Joshua Van.

Bruno should fight the loser of (#10) Alex Perez vs. Sumudaerji for his next bout. That fight takes place on May 30th so the timing isn’t the best but it could still make a lot of sense. Perez is coming off a first round victory against Charles Johnson but he missed weight ahead of the bout. So that’s probably why he’s taking on an unranked fighter in Sumudaerji for his next fight. Before that, Perez had lost five of his last six fights stemming from his unsuccessful title shot opposite of Deiveson Figueiredo in 2020.

Sumudaerji has completely turned his UFC career around after a three-fight skid (Matt Schnell, Tim Elliott, Charles Johnson). Sumudaerji has ripped off three huge wins in a row in just under a year (Mitch Raposo, Kevin Borjas, Jesus Aguilar). Perfect fight to give the loser to Silva due to the common opponents in Charles Johnson and where all three men sit in the rankings (or out of them).

Silva’s next fight: Loser of Alex Perez vs. Sumudaerji 

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The Argentinian, in his first main event with the company, proved that a December finish of Giga Chikadze was no fluke, decimating the 41-year old veteran en route to a first round TKO finish.

Emmett, who once fought for an interim title in the division, had hoped to get his career back on track at the event, after suffering back-to-back losses against Lerone Murphy and Youssef Zalal. Instead, it was Vallejos raising his stock yet again (he’s now 4-0 in the UFC)— and earning a Performance of the Night bonus in the process.

The second such bonus at UFC Vegas 114 went to Manoel Sosa, a Contender Series newcomer who knocked Bolaji Oki out clean.

The biggest surprise on the night, perhaps, was that the heavyweight slugfest between Steven Asplund and Vitor Petrino didn’t win Fight of the Night. It had seemed like a lock until Harry Hardwick vs. Marwan Rahiki rolled around. That back-and-forth affair lasted ten minutes and saw both fighters hurt the other repeatedly, until Hardwick was unable to come out for the third round due to a broken jaw.

All four bonus winners at UFC Vegas 114 take home $100,000 U.S. for their efforts. Additionally, Bia Mesquita, Elijah Smith, and Ion Cutelaba all pocket $25,000 for having finishes on the night.

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Vallejos had earned his first UFC main event assignment by putting away Giga Chikadze last time out; Emmett was looking to snap a two-fight skid and at 41 had become the “old man” of the 145lb weight class.

In the opening moments of the round, Emmett stayed at range, probing around the outside of the octagon. Vallejos quickly started landing as Emmett stepped into the pocket, countering the 41-year-old veteran with short hooks and elbows.

Vallejos began punishing Emmett on the inside, mixing in an assortment of hooks and uppercuts, landing right on the button to drop the American early in round one for the first time.

It was as if, with every strike Vallejos landed, he became more powerful and more in the zone. The head movement of Vallejos was uber impressive, slipping in and out of the way of Emmett’s strikes before eventually landing two hooks that sent Emmett falling back onto the cage, waiting for his demise.

The Argentinian striker continued to pour on the volume against the injured Emmett before two flush knees from Kevin Vallejos finally forced referee Herb Dean to stop the fight.

Following a statement finish, Kevin Vallejos is on his way up the rankings, moving to 18-1-0 and 4-0-0 in the UFC. On the other side, it has now been three losses in a row since Josh Emmett knocked out Bryce Mitchell. A difficult truth for the 41-year-old veteran, who drops to 19-7-0 and 10-7-0 in the UFC.

Official Results: Kevin Vallejos def. Josh Emmett via R1 TKO, 3:33

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Canada’s Robertson had hit new heights with a four-fight win streak, and already held several UFC records including most finishes, and most submissions, among women in the UFC. Lemos, a former title challenger, was looking to earn a new shot at gold with Mackenzie Dern holding the title.

Robertson, know for her love of “throat cuddles,” would be looking to get this one to the ground early. She moved forward cautiously, while Lemos bounced and moved on the outside, working her jab. Robertson clinched up just under a minute into the opening round, got an arm around the neck early, but couldn’t hang on to the Brazilian. Instead, they moved back to center, where Lemos had the edge.

Another clinch followed, just under two minutes in. Robertson changed levels, went after a single-leg, and had Lemos hopping. After spinning her opponent around a couple of times, Robertson finished the takedown, but Lemos soon swept, and dropped a few elbows, at least once hitting the back of the head. Robertson held on to the leg, but wound up with Lemos on top of her. This time, Lemos landed legal elbows, first to the head, then body. A kimura attempt from Lemos followed; Robertson freed her arm, scrambled, and got back in control.

Late, Lemos would break free, and get her hands going. Robertson blocked a high kick, and they’d head to round two.

Round two opened with more kicks from Lemos, one that had Robertson stepping a bit gingerly. Off the next calf kick, Robertson ducked down and shot a perfectly timed takedown. Lemos was very busy off her back, but couldn’t keep Gillian Robertson from moving to side control. Lemos briefly trapped Robertson’s head with her legs but didn’t have an actual choke in place. Robertson wound up in north-south, then moved to control the back, then into side control again. From there it was half-guard for Robertson, who had controlled the bulk of the first half of the round.

What Robertson had not done was find space to do much damage, or set up a choke. She nearly moved to mount, but had to adjust rather than let Lemos scramble free. Robertson would mount, from a three-quarter position, moments later, but couldn’t keep it. Robertson would finally find space to land some elbows, to the side of Lemos. Coming up on a minute remaining, Robertson was set to win the round strictly on control time and the takedown, given Lemos hadn’t done any damage. When they did get up at the end of the round, Robertson landed elbows, though Lemos would get a late takedown of her own.

Round three still had the fight very much up for grabs. Robertson closed the distance 30 seconds in, getting her hands on Lemos. Lemos broke free, preventing a key takedown and working her jab. Moments later, Robertson did land a takedown, taking both legs out from under the former title challenger. Lemos stood back up while Robertson held on to her neck. Amanda Lemos, however, was able to break free, though Robertson shot right back in again.

This time, Robertson swung Lemos around, and Lemos was able to threaten with an arm-bar, but not for long. After pulling free, it was Robertson in side control, then to half-guard. Lemos was struggling to break free. She didn’t seem to have much left off her back however. Robertson, if she could ride out the round, was likely going to claim a decision win. She fired a few elbows to the body, then to the head. Short left hands followed. Robertson finished the fight on top, knee on belly dropping punches to finish strong!

Official Result: Gillian Robertson def. Amanda Lemos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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“Touchy” Fili had been treating wins and losses since 2022, and was looking to buck that trend with a second consecutive victory. Delgado had seen a two-fight win streak of his own snapped by Nathaniel Wood in his last outing.

The two featherweights got the action underway by meeting in the center of the octagon, using feints to get a read on each other. Delgado landed a nice body kick to open, but Fili quickly rang the bell of the advancing Delgado, forcing him to back off the center.

Delgado stayed on the pressure shortly after, throwing a looping overhand past the head of Fili, but the veteran answered with a clean straight right that dropped Delgado early in the round.

Quickly back to his feet, Delgado attempted a desperate takedown, though it was effortlessly shrugged off by Andre Fili.

With confidence now oozing from the 35-year-old veteran, Fili continued to put it on Jose Delgado in the striking, landing with purpose. Delgado was able to pile up some volume as the final seconds of the first round ticked away, but it was largely a round dominated by Andre Fili.

In round two, Fili opened confidently again, walking down Delgado and landing a few straight shots clean to the midsection. Though, tides began to shift as it was Delgado who really started flowing around the three-minute mark of the second, landing a mix of four consecutive kicks to the body and head of Fili.

Delgado was now in the driver’s seat against a laboring Fili, exploding into a flying knee that hurt Andre Fili and led to a flurry of strikes from Delgado. Continuing to pour it on, Delgado opened up his striking, landing a variety of teep kicks before finding a takedown of his own.

That success was short-lived, as Fili quickly returned to his feet and landed a takedown of his own as round two came to an end.

Likely 19-19 after two, it came down to the third and final round between Andre Fili and Jose Delgado. The younger Delgado kept up his movement, circling Fili on the outside of the octagon and touching the legs and midsection of Fili with kicks.

Fili was ready to trade in the center as well, eating a high kick from Jose Delgado while continuing to pressure forward in search of the knockout punch. As the two exchanged, Delgado seemed a step ahead as the round moved into deeper waters, with the veteran Andre Fili slowly breaking down from the accumulation of strikes.

In a last-ditch effort during the waning seconds of the fight, Andre Fili landed a well-timed takedown and followed with significant ground strikes, ending the round on top of Jose Delgado, making a considerable case for victory.

A difficult fight to score, the judges could not come to a unanimous decision, but it was Jose Delgado who was awarded the split-decision victory, moving him back into the win column.

Official Result: Jose Delgado def. Andre Fili by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

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While Australia’s Rahiki started the night with an unblemished record, Hardwick had dropped his UFC debut to Kauê Fernandes and was looking to bounce back.

The bell rang and Hardwick immediately checked a leg kick from Rahiki. Rahiki slipped while throwing another kick, allowing Hardwick to quickly jump on his back. Rahiki reacted well and broke free almost instantly without facing any real danger.

Back on the feet, Hardwick landed a stiff right hand as Rahiki continued working his kicks. Rahiki mixed in several nasty oblique kicks while Hardwick stayed composed, stabbing the body with jabs and crowding space with his punches. Hardwick then landed a heavy leg kick, prompting Rahiki to surge forward with a barrage of punches. Just as it looked like Rahiki might drop him, Hardwick fired back with a sharp counter that forced Rahiki to reset. It was an entertaining opening round filled with offense and very little defense from either man.

Round two began with Hardwick clipping Rahiki, only for Rahiki to immediately return the favor and hurt Hardwick. Hardwick leaned his head against the cage to regain his composure before firing back, but the momentum didn’t last long. Rahiki caught him with a left hand during an exchange that forced Hardwick backward. Sensing the moment, Rahiki went for the finish, ripping a series of punches to both the body and head. Remarkably, Hardwick absorbed the damage and fought back.

Rahiki then landed a spinning kick followed by a knee to the body. Hardwick caught the kick and attempted to wrestle, but Rahiki smartly turned into him and ended up on top. With only a little time remaining, Hardwick managed to push off and create space.

However, the fight was stopped between rounds after Hardwick was found to have suffered a broken jaw. A fantastic fight while it lasted.

Official Result: Marwan Rahiki def. Harry Hardwick by TKO (corner stoppage – broken jaw), Round 2, 5:00

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There was no love lost between the two, as they glared at one another as the fighter introductions were read out.

With action underway, both men fired kicks, Cutelaba to the leg and body, Sy focusing more on the low kicks. Cutelaba then moved in, but had to contend with a right hand. He tied things up from there, controlling Sy for a moment before being turned around. Cutelaba, however, was able to land a trip, getting on top. Sy, however, was able to reverse while getting back to his feet, and landed his own takedown— only for Cutelaba to roll through and end up on top.

Sy was active off his back initially, threatening with a heel hook. They settled down, but Sy went after the submission again a moment later, forcing Cutelaba to back off. He reengated, but it allowed Sy to get to his knees. The only problem, he gave up his neck! Cutelaba had a guillotine and rolled into mount, forcing a hurried tap from a panicked Oumar Sy!

With the win, Ion Cutelaba bounces back from a loss to Modestas Bukauskas and is 3-1 in his last four fights. He then shocked just about everyone by asking to fight again in three week’s time, on April 4.

Official Result: Ion Cutelaba def. Oumar Sy by submission (guillotine choke), Round 1, 4:24

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“Inner G” Johnson, who returned at UFC Vegas 114 against Bruno Silva, has wins over both.

Johnson vs. Silva kicked off the night’s main card.

Silva held center early in the fight, which kicked off Saturday’s main card at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas. Before long, however, the pair had clinched up, with Johnson reacting to Silva’s forward pressure before landing a right hand and a teep kick from distance.

Near the midway mark, Silva, who was still leading the dance and moving first, found a home for his right hand. Johnson found himself tangled up with Silva after that, the Brazilian getting a bodylock in place up against the fence.

Not much would come of the position, but Silva was back to pressuring early in the second frame. 30 seconds in, he changed levels and drove Johnson up against the fence. Johnson, despite being the taller, longer fighter could not seem to get the fight at his preferred range. And Silva, despite his height disadvantage, wasn’t having much difficultly connecting. Johnson tried working in kicks, to the body and up high; Silva blocked, returned fire with counterpunches, and seemed to just eat a head kick attempt.

Johnson was spending way too much time on the fence in defensive mode.

Round three saw Silva take the reigns out of the gate once again. Johnson had his back to the fence, with Silva dropping down to grab a leg. Johnson fought off the takedown attempt but couldn’t break free of the Brazilian, at least for a moment. Went he finally did, a jab connected for Johnson, but Silva answered with a combo. That said, Silva’s face was starting to show a bit of damage. Soon after it was Johnson clinching up, though he couldn’t hold it. And instead, Silva ripped off another combination. Johnson fired a head kick, only to have it blocked.

The final 90 seconds saw Silva pressing forward, with Johnson firing a knee in the clinch. Silva, however, was up. Johnson needed a finish. He took a big swing, missed, then missed on a hook from the opposite side. They’d open up in the final ten seconds, swinging to the final horn. Come the scorecards, the judges were split.

“The champion is Joshua Van, knocked his ass out. Kavanagh, number six, knocked his ass out,” Johnson exclaimed following the win, before calling for a top five opponent. He then had a list of names: Brandon Royval, Kyoji Horiguchi, or Asu Almabayaev.

Johnson has a loss to Royval on his record dating back to the pair’s LFA days.

Official Result: Charles Johnson def. Bruno Silva by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

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The fight served as the night’s featured prelim, after a shuffling of the deck earlier in the week.

“The Action Man” Curtis was looking to build on a July victory over Max Griffin; Orolbai had won two straight, most recently defeating Jack “The Joker” Hermansson with an impressive first-round knockout at UFC Qatar in November.

Myktybek Orolbai came out fast on the feet, landing a front kick to the body and partially connecting with a high kick upstairs. Chris Curtis answered with a few short shots as the distance closed, but Orolbai quickly imposed his grappling, taking Curtis down with ease. It was not for a lack of trying, as Curtis looked to build back up along the cage, but Orolbai repeatedly dragged him back to the mat.

Orolbai continued to dominate on the ground, eventually transitioning to back mount, flattening Curtis out, and unloading strikes to the side of the American’s head.

With the takedown count already at seven going into round two, Orolbai had Chris Curtis second-guessing himself on the feet. There was a brief moment of defensive success for Curtis in the opening seconds of the round, as he defended his first takedown attempt of the fight. Still, it was short-lived, as Orolbai stayed committed to the game plan, shooting on the legs again and finishing the takedown this time.

Orolbai was on a mission all night, repeatedly lifting Curtis and returning him to the canvas, piling up takedowns and control time. Curtis was unable to break free from Myktybek’s grip, ending the round trapped underneath the Kyrgyzstan fighter.

By the time the third round began, Myktybek Orolbai had already broken the record for most welterweight takedowns landed in a fight, making it clear Chris Curtis badly needed a finish.

Unfortunately for the veteran, the third round brought more of the same, with Orolbai giving Curtis no room to breathe in the grappling exchanges.

Orolbai may have landed his best takedown of the fight midway through the round, lifting Curtis up and slamming him back to the mat before following with more crushing top pressure. As the final minutes ticked away, veteran Chris Curtis simply could not keep pace with the surging Myktybek Orolbai who ended up with a takedown count of 19.

With the unanimous decision victory, Orolbai looks right at home at welterweight. The Kyrgyzstan fighter now moves to 3-0 at 170 pounds and 5-1 overall in the UFC.

Official Result: Myktybek Orolbai def. Chris Curtis by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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