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Cody Gibson may be on a break from his job as a history teacher for now, but his job of teaching people is clearly not over yet.
Gibson (20-10) dominated Brian Kelleher (24-16) on the stand and on the mat to earn a first-round submission win in the top prelims of UFC on ESPN 60 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. Gibson immediately pounced on “Boom,” rocking him with a right hand within seconds of the bout and not letting up afterward. Kelleher fought back valiantly, but Gibson never let up for a moment, hurting him with punches and long kicks from afar and attacking with knees in close range. Late in the round, Kelleher attempted a guillotine attempt, but Gibson quickly fended it off, moved to half guard and applied an arm triangle choke. Kelleher tapped out within seconds, proving Gibson’s dominating performance. The win improved Gibson’s record to 2-5 in multiple tenures over more than a decade and validated his decision to quit his job as a school teacher in California and move to Las Vegas to focus on mixed martial arts. Kelleher has lost four straight and falls to 8-9 in the UFC.
Maverick beats Barbosa
Miranda Maverick (14-5) made the most of her consolation prize by outstriking and out-wrestling Dion Barbosa (7-3) in the flyweight preliminary bout. She was scheduled to face Tracy Cortez on Saturday, but when Cortez was drafted into the main event at UFC Denver, she faced the relative newcomer and unknown Barbosa instead. A former Olympic judoka, Barbosa barely showed off her best skills outside of a beautiful scarf hold throw in the second round. Aside from that highlight, Maverick was the more effective fighter in determining how the bout went, keeping Barbosa on the ground and working solidly from top position. Maverick spent most of her time dropping elbows and punches from the Brazilian’s guard, closing out the bout with a well-deserved unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). The win was Maverick’s third straight victory and fifth in her past six bouts, improving her record in the Octagon to 7-3. Meanwhile, Barbosa has one win and one loss in the promotion.
Ogden outdoes Radjabov with wrestling and grappling
In the third of three upsets to open the UFC Vegas 94 season, Trey Ogden (18-6, 1 NC) took advantage of Loic Radjabov’s (18-6-1) takedown defense to win a near one-sided lightweight bout by decision. Ogden scored two easy-looking takedowns to earn himself eight minutes of control in the first two rounds. It also wasn’t a “sleep and pray” affair, as Ogden got behind Radjabov and attempted rear-naked chokes and face cranks while landing sporadic but devastating strikes from the back mount. After barely landing any notable strikes in the first two rounds, Radjabov came alive in the final round, sweeping Ogden late in the round and landing some hard punches from top position. But it wasn’t enough to make up the difference, as Ogden won the day by scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28. With the win, Ogden’s UFC record improves to 3-2, with one no-contest, while Radjabov drops to 2-2.
Carolina, bloody and wounded by Pudilova
Luana Carolina (11-4) continued to quietly climb the flyweight rankings, defeating Lucie Pudilova (14-10) with punches and elbows for the majority of the 15-minute bout. “Dread” kept Pudilova at bay with her speed and sharpness in the stand-up, and while a high kick in the first round was blocked, she had enough momentum to hurt the blocking arm, and she kept Pudilova at bay with a variety of kicks to the legs and head. Carolina also scored in the first round with a close-range elbow that opened a cut on the Czech fighter’s forehead. Pudilova never took a step back from the fight, and there were some offensive moments in the second and third rounds that upset at least some of the cageside judges, but Carolina ultimately won by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28). Carolina’s third straight win improves her record to 6-3 at UFC and will likely face a ranked fighter next, while Pudilova is 3-8 in her two stints with UFC and 1-3 since re-signing with Octagon MMA.
Petersen touches up Usman
In the heavyweight opening bout, Thomas Petersen (9-2) led Muhammad Usman (10-4) through three rounds. Petersen won all three rounds by all three judges, but neither was able to finish the bout. The former junior college wrestling champion had mixed results against Usman’s solid takedown defense, but he dominated the striking exchanges, forcing Usman to land mostly single punches and kicks. Petersen never made his mark on the bout, but he came closest in the final moments, throwing his opponent to the canvas, pounced on him, attempted multiple submissions, and continued his ground-and-pound streak until the horn sounded. With a 30-27 overall result, Petersen improves to 1-1 in his UFC record, while Usman falls to 3-2.
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