Ricky Turcios and Benardo Sopage, UFC 311 ceremonial weigh-in Credit: Gabriel Gonzalez/Cageside Press
The Ultimate Fighter 29 bantamweight champion Ricky Turcios competed at UFC 311 on Saturday, facing Benardo Sopage earlier in the night’s preliminary card.
Sopage previously missed out on his UFC debut in March, when he lost to Vinicius Oliveira. The fight with Turcios was originally scheduled for November, but the TUF winner withdrew due to medical issues.
Perhaps trying to make a statement, Sopage landed a kick to the head early on, but it was at least partially blocked. Turcios hit a chop to his opponent’s leg and had to fend off another head kick, which was also partially blocked, this time drawing a huge reaction from the crowd. Turcios sticks with low kicks and mixes in a roundhouse kick to the body.
As the round progresses, Turcios has a chance to take the back while standing. But being too high up, he went too far and Sopazi ended up in a dominant position while Turcios worked his way back to the fence.
The second round began with Sopage in the center, with Turcios anticipating and occasionally rushing forward to attack. Turcios was in great form, but Sopage seemed to have found his rhythm. Sopazi then came on top as Turcios tried to stop the match, but was quickly countered. There, in the clinch, Sopaged landed a knee kick. A rough round ended with a left hand from Sopage and they advanced to the third round.
The third game got off to a bad start with Sopage’s body shot completely punishing Turcios. The TUF 29 champion appeared to be struggling to recover and Sopage went after him but was unable to finish the fight. Then Turcios gets back up and Sopage throws a knee kick that gets caught! Tursios dumped Sopage and appeared to get a suspended sentence. Ricky Turcios bled and went soft but didn’t go out, but Sopage continued to advance.
The final moments of the round were similarly wild as the clock ticked down. However, Turcios could not pull a rabbit out of a hat and Sopage ended the frame with a small rolling thunder.
Official result: Benardo Sopage def. Ricky Turcios unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
