It was worth the wait for Alex Perez.
The Team Oyama standout earned his first win in 1,421 days, defeating Mateusz Nikolaou with a sensational one-punch KO in UFC on Saturday’s ESPN 55 headliner, earning him a spot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight division. He stabilized his position and won a great victory. UFC Apex held in Las Vegas. Perez (25-8, 7-4 UFC) replaced Manel Kape on short notice and advanced the Brazilian to the second round in 2 minutes, 16 seconds.
Nicolau (19-4-1 UFC, 7-3 KOs) was content to circle on the outside, dishing out the occasional lightning counter. Perez took advantage of his lack of aggression and stayed busy, chipping away at his leg kicks and finding openings with his aggressive hands. He pressured Nicolau backwards midway through the second round and landed a hard right hook. Nova Uniao’s product hit the deck he was standing on, requiring an immediate stop.
With this win, Perez’s losing streak ended at three.
Meanwhile, Bogdan Guskov displayed his destructive power in the light heavyweight co-main event, burning former Legacy Fighting Alliance titleholder Ryan Spann with punches in the second round. Guskov (16-3, 2-1 UFC) won the fight 3 minutes and 16 seconds into the second round.
Spann (21-10, 7-5 UFC) landed a takedown in the first round, nailing the Gor Azizyan disciple to the canvas and eventually advancing to the back. He threatens with a neck crank, but time is up. The second Guskov looked like a new person. He spoiled Spann’s takedown attempt, staggered the Fortis MMA rep with a right hand, and headhunted him. An uppercut left “Superman” on his skates, leaving him vulnerable to Guskov’s subsequent onslaught. He slammed Spann to the floor with a right hand, took advantage of his position on top of Spann, and finished it off with a standing-to-ground punch.
All of Guskov’s 16 wins were by completion.
Elsewhere, in the women’s flyweight division, Karine Silva took another step forward in the women’s flyweight division by defeating former KSW champion Arian Lipski by unanimous decision in three rounds at 125 pounds. Silva (18-4, 4-0 UFC) dominated the scorecards with marks of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 from the cageside referee.
Lipsky (17-9, 6-6 UFC) performed well in the upright position, but simply couldn’t stay on his feet. Silva fearlessly closed the distance and went for a takedown and top control. The 30-year-old disciple of Gail Ribeiro kept Lipski on the canvas for all three rounds and dominated her with submission attempts mixed with pressure and ground-and-pound. Silva appeared to be on autopilot for much of the third round, but he honed his performance with a late takedown before moving backwards and securing position with a body triangle.
Silva has won nine straight fights.
Not to be overshadowed, 2023 Dana White’s Contender Series alum Jonata Diniz, with his perfect record as a pro intact, took on former NFL defensive end Austin Lane in the second round of their heavyweight bout. , and made a successful promotional debut. Lane (12-5, 0-2 UFC) checked out 2:12 into round two.
Diniz (7-0, 1-0 UFC) survived a rough start. Lane scored a takedown within the first minute and kept the Brazilian in half guard for much of the first round, climbing to full mount and sending punches flying away. However, he appeared to be visibly draining his strength in the middle stanza. Diniz fought off the exhausted former Fury Fighting Championship titleholder’s takedown attempt, catching him at his feet and staggering him with a clean right hand. The decorated kickboxer then backed Lane to the fence and turned it on with a hard left hook followed by a right cross. No follow-up shots were required.
Diniz, 32, has defeated all seven of his opponents by knockout.
Further down the main card, Factory X Export’s David Onama defeated Jonathan Pearce in a hotly contested three-round featherweight pairing, winning by unanimous decision. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28 for Onama (12-2, 4-2 UFC), who was 2.5 pounds underweight for the fight.
The 15-minute battle was characterized by scrambles, reversals and changes of position. Pearce (14-6, 5-3 UFC) was able to ground the Mark Montoya protégé in all three rounds, but despite some cranks and chokes, he was unable to provide any meaningful control or damage. I couldn’t consolidate my efforts. His body triangle turned out to be terribly ineffective. Onama excelled in stand-up exchanges, cutting angles and switching stances, lighting up his fight-ready stand with jabs, sharp left straights, and the occasional well-timed uppercut.
Onama will take on his next mission with the help of his winning streak.
Finally, Kings mixed martial arts representative Uros Medic crushed former King of the Cage champion Tim Means with punches in the first round of the welterweight appetizer. Medic (10-2, 4-2 UFC) bounced back from a submission loss to Miktibek Olorubai on Nov. 18, closing the door 2:09 into round 1 for his third win in four fights. I got it.
Means (33-16-1 UFC, 15-13 UFC) pursued a takedown and clinch, but had minimal success at close range. Medic separated and landed an elbow from the top, catching the Albuquerque, New Mexico native with a level change. A perfectly timed left uppercut dropped Means on the spot, leaving “Dirty Bird” unable to defend intelligently. The medic fired a standing shot just in case, prompting a stoppage in the match.
Means, 40, has lost four of his past five fights.
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