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Sometimes fights come down to the winning fighter having one great technique and the courage to use it, and their opponent being unable or unwilling to adjust.
In the final bout of four bouts on the undercard of UFC on ESPN 61 in Las Vegas on Saturday, Karol Rosa (18-6) battered Panny Kianzad (16-9) with a barrage of calf kicks over the course of three rounds. Right from the start of the bout, Rosa targeted Kianzad’s lead leg, and it was those kicks that determined the round. Kianzad first ignored the kicks, then tried to pull his exposed leg out of danger, and finally flexed it late in the round. The onslaught continued in the second round, with Rosa firing low kicks and responding with punches and elbows when “Banzai” tried to close the distance. By the middle of the round, Kianzad was bleeding heavily from a cut opened by Rosa’s elbow and limping, but he remained in the fight, moving forward and landing punches despite falling further and further behind. Kianzad wisely charged forward, clinching early in the final round to move his struggling left leg out of range, but Rosa hurt him with short punches and elbows before breaking away and resuming his kicking attack. Rosa scored an easy takedown midway through the round and chipped away at him with striking from top position to seal a dominant performance.
After the final horn sounded, Rosa was victorious by a unanimous score of 30-27, improving his UFC record to 8-3 and establishing himself as a rising star in a crowded 135-pound division, while Kianzad fell to 5-6 with the promotion.
Unbeaten Diniz beats Williams
In a showdown of solid heavyweight prospects, Jonata Diniz (8-0) came into the bout with a clean pro record against Carl Williams (10-2). Diniz started well in the first round, catching Williams with several clean punch combinations, fending off takedown attempts, and steadily attacking Williams’ lead leg with low kicks. The Brazilian maintained his momentum in the middle rounds, weaving in body punches to further keep Williams off balance. Diniz looked poised to make a big move in the third round, rocking Williams with two impressive punches that sent him reeling violently. However, Williams was able to take Diniz down with a desperate double leg takedown and began his attack from top position near the fence, slamming Diniz with punches and elbows. After the final horn sounded, Williams launched a furious charge, but Diniz held on and won by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) with two rounds already played. The win improved Diniz to 2-0 at UFC, while Williams’ first loss inside the Octagon dropped him to 3-1.
Zalal strangles Ellens to death
Yousef Zalal (15-5-1) easily defeated Dutchman Jarno Ellens (14-6-1) in the first round of their featherweight preliminaries, tapping out via standing rear-naked choke. Zalal wasted no time dragging Ellens to the floor with a single-leg takedown. As Ellens rose to his feet near the fence, “The Moroccan Devil” jumped onto his back and locked in a body triangle to initiate the choke. Ellens tapped within seconds, and the fight was officially finished at 3:52 of the first round. With the win, Zalal’s UFC record improves to 5-3-1 and 2-0 since re-signing with the promotion. Ellens’ Octagon record, meanwhile, is now 1-3.
Luciano Perutz Alencar
In their strawweight opener, Stephanie Luciano (6-1-1) gave Talita Alencar (6-1-1) all she had in the fight, as the three rounds became increasingly one-sided. The two fought to a draw last year on Dana White’s Contender Series, where Luciano defeated a weary Alencar, 10-8, in the third round to earn a draw. In Saturday’s rematch, Luciano dominated from the start, peppering the smaller Alencar with kicks, punches and elbows as she vainly tried to close the distance and take the bout to the floor. The dynamic became more and more evident as the bout progressed, with a grinning Luciano poised to land a highlight-reel head kick in the final round. In the end, the fight was called in a draw, but the judges unanimously scored the bout 30-27 in favor of the 24-year-old “Londinha,” who improved to 1-0 in the UFC. Alencar fell to 1-1 in the UFC.
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