Alex Pereira’s otherworldly powers have claimed a new victim, this time under the brightest spotlight.
Pereira retained the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title by defeating Jamahal Hill in the first round of the UFC 300 headliner Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Pereira (10-2, 7-1 UFC) tagged his final challenger on the figurative toe 3 minutes and 14 seconds into round one.
Hill (12-2, 6-2 UFC) returned some of the Brazilian’s leg kicks of his own, but the champion didn’t have much to worry about. Pereira moved forward with jabs to the body, biding his time and marking his territory with calm stoicism. He calmly brushed off referee Herb Dean after absorbing an accidental kick to his groin, then decked Hill with a left hook just seconds later and pounced on him with punches and hammerfists, completing a near-flawless performance. concluded.
Meanwhile, Syndicate MMA’s Weili Zhang defeated Team Alpha Male standout Xiaonan Yan by unanimous decision in a five-round co-main event to retain the undisputed women’s strawweight championship. overcame considerable difficulties. Zhang (25-3, 9-2 UFC) dominated the scorecards from his countryman, with all three cageside judges scoring it 49-45. This was the first ever UFC title fight between Chinese fighters.
Yan (18-4, 8-3 UFC) proved to be a strong candidate for defeat, repeatedly pummeling the unbalanced champion with powerful right hands. However, it was not enough to close the gap in overall strength. As the bell rang to end the first round, Chan put her to sleep with a rear naked choke, but as soon as she was released her challenger woke up and stood up. The second round also put Yan in a tight spot, where she got behind her, flattened her and sliced her with punches for another close finish. Only referee Jason Herzog’s restraint allowed the match to continue. Chan endured fatigue for her final 15 minutes, and she turned to grappling multiple times when the opportunity presented itself. She dragged Yan to the canvas twice in the fifth round, holding him down and racking up points with some moderate ground and pound.
Zhang won three games in a row.
Elsewhere, Max Holloway caps off another sensational performance with a stunning final blow knockout of Justin Gaethje to claim the iconic BMF title in the fifth round of an unforgettable lightweight showcase obtained. Holloway (26-7 KOs, 22-7 KOs UFC) drew the curtain 4 minutes, 59 seconds into the fifth round. Jaws was depressed everywhere.
Gaethje (25-5, 8-5 UFC) ran into trouble right away. Holloway appeared to break his nose late in the first round with a spin to his face, making it virtually impossible for the former World Series of Fighting champion to breathe normally. Still, Gaethje moved on. He pounded Holloway’s lead leg with kicks to the thigh and calf, but the Hawaiian’s speed and power had no answer. Looking at the scorecards, Gaethje somersaulted forward and attempted a rolling thunder kick with just seconds left in round five. When he turned to Holloway, he was beckoned forward to exchange in the center of the cage. The two action heroes attacked each other with reckless abandon for the better part of 10 seconds until Holloway connected with a devastating right hook. Gaethje was knocked unconscious and his face buried in the canvas in one of the most spectacular finishes in UFC history.
Holloway will head into his next assignment riding the momentum of three consecutive wins.
Further down the card, American Top Team standout Arman Tsarukyan takes two brutal submission attacks from Charles Oliveira (guillotine choke in the first round and bravo choke in the third round). He pulled through and won a split decision in a three-round lightweight attraction. All three judges gave it a score of 29-28: Mike Bell for Oliveira, Adalide Byrd, and Ron McCarthy for Tsarukian.
Outside of those two chokes, Oliveira (34-10 KOs, 22-10 UFC) struggled to get his offense into gear. Tsarukyan was on top in all three rounds, nearly neutralizing the Brazilian’s notoriously virulent guard. He reached his peak in the second round, where he scored takedowns and repeatedly cut Oliveira with repeated elbows. Tsarukyan (22-3, 9-2 UFC) defeated de Bronx in the third round, landing an arching knee to the body and surviving a late-hail merry choke from the Chute Boxe stander. Ta.
Tsarukyan has won four in a row.
Finally, American Top Team’s Bo Niccal eliminated Cody Brundage with a rear-naked choke in the second round of the middleweight appetizer. Brundage (10-6, 4-5 UFC) conceded defeat 3:38 into the second round, ending his modest two-fight winning streak.
Niccal (6-0, 3-0 UFC), a four-time NCAA All-American wrestler and three-time national champion at Penn State, set the tone in the first round, standing behind the Factory X rep. and bullied him. He reached the canvas and eventually climbed to full mount. Brundage withstood his advance, forcing the rising prospect into his first career second stanza, but it only prolonged the inevitable. Nickal scored a takedown within the first minute and proceeded to mount again, moving to the back and securing position with a body triangle. After a brief struggle, he wriggled his arm into a choke and tightened the choke, prompting Brundage to tap out.
Nickal, 28, shut out all six of his opponents.
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