Shawn Brady proved he belongs among the welterweight elite with a hard-fought victory in the main event of UFC Fight Night 242 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. Brady earned a well-deserved unanimous decision victory over former UFC title challenger Gilbert Burns after five hard-fought rounds.
Brady (17-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) established his jab early in the first round, twice forcing Burns (22-8 MMA, 15-8 UFC) against the cage. Both fighters scored brief takedowns, but the round was mostly contested in the clinch. Burns wobbled the Philadelphia native with a right hook early in the second, but Brady wisely tied him up in the clinch and landed a one-two combo on the Brazilian’s face after the fighters separated. Brady targeted Burns’ inside and outside left leg with kicks as the clock ticked down. Early in the third round, Burns seemed to slow down, with Brady forcing him against the cage. But a sudden burst of energy allowed Burns to score with two powerful right hooks. Brady landed knees and uppercuts in the clinch and momentum seemed to be shifting to the Brazilian, but then Brady took Burns to the mat and kept him there until the end of the round.
The fourth round began with two timeouts due to accidental kicks to the groin, one each for both fighters. Burns landed two more right hooks, freezing Brady in place after the restart. Brady continued to clinch and briefly took Burns down, but the Kill Cliff Fight Club representative fought back and slammed Burns to the mat. The fight went into the fifth round with a flurry of punches from Brady. Burns responded with a flying switch knee to Brady’s face. Brady responded by taking Burns down, keeping him pinned against the bottom of the cage until the end of the bout. The scores were 49-46, 50-45, 50-45 for Brady, who has won consecutive rounds since suffering the only loss of his career to current UFC champion Belal Muhammad in October 2022.
The UFC women’s flyweight division has a new breakout star in Brazil’s Natalia Silva (18-5-1, 6-0 UFC). Silva extended her winning streak to 12 bouts by defeating former UFC women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade (26-13, 17-11 UFC) by unanimous decision in the co-main event at 125 pounds. Silva was constantly on the move in the first round, moving from side to side and using her trademark power punches to prevent Andrade from landing her strikes. Silva landed crisp jabs and countered Andrade’s combinations with side kicks to knock her down. Andrade changed tactics in the second round, going for a takedown, but Silva’s defense was excellent. Silva also hurt Andrade with a left hook to the eye. Andrade recovered, but Silva landed a punch and a kick to the face before the final bell rang. Andrade resorted to half guard in the final round after Silva knocked Andrade down with a spinning heel kick to the face. Silva quickly got to his feet, drawing blood from Andrade’s nose in the exchange. Andrade landed two of the best punches of the fight before time expired, but Silva barely flinched.
The scores were 30-27 in favor of Silva, who has not lost since December 2017.
Featherweight rising star Steve Garcia (17-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) fought hard despite being down in weight and earned his fifth consecutive stoppage victory against Kyle Nelson (16-6-1 MMA, 4-5-1 UFC) in a high-profile bout. The bout started with a quick takedown by Nelson, who tried to get a rear-naked choke from back control and then an armbar. However, this was a fatal mistake, and Garcia took advantage, punishing Nelson with heavy elbows and punches from above. Nelson defended and the bout looked like it would be stopped, but the Canadian survived the onslaught. Soon after, as Nelson leaned against the cage, Garcia stunned him with two elbows to the face. Nelson collapsed to the side again and secured his position. Garcia landed punches and the bout ended at 3:59 of the first round. All six of Garcia’s UFC wins have come by knockout.
Cody Darden (17-6-1, 6-4-1 UFC) snapped a two-fight losing streak and earned his second UFC finish in a spectacular bantamweight bout against Matt Schnell (16-9, 6-7 UFC). The quick matchup saw Darden battle Schnell through an action-packed first round before submitting him early in the second. The bout began with both fighters trading power punches, with neither willing to give an inch. Darden started trading blows, but Schnell landed a counter hook and an uppercut. Soon, both fighters had cuts next to their eyes. Schnell began targeting Darden’s lead leg, and later in the round, Darden fended off a head kick from the Georgia native. As the second round began, Schnell changed gears and went for a takedown. However, Darden quickly sprawled out and caught Schnell in a tight ninja choke. Schnell tried to spin away but couldn’t, tapping out with both hands at the 29-second mark of round two. The win put Darden back on track after two recent losses ended his four-fight winning streak.
Opening the main card, Yanar Ashmos (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) used his grappling skills effectively to win a duel against light heavyweight fighter Trevor Peake (9-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC). In the first round, Peake used his jab and a straight right, which worked, but Ashmos took him down and got into side control. Peake got up and resumed his jab, and Ashmos went for another takedown before the bell rang. In the second round, Peake slipped while throwing a looping punch, allowing Ashmos to get behind him. As Peake got to his feet, Ashmos landed three powerful knees to the chest. In the final round, Park came roaring and tried to land a knockout punch, but Ashmos held Peake in the clinch to limit his power. The final seconds of the bout saw an exchange of powerful punches, but Peake was unable to land the knockout he was looking for as Ashmos pressed him against the cage, winning by 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 to see Ashmos return to action after suffering his first professional defeat in July 2023.
On the undercard, Chris Padilla (15-6, 2-0 UFC) extended his winning streak to five bouts, including a brutal elbow to the left eye of Road to UFC Season 2 lightweight winner Chu Long (25-6, 1-3 UFC) at 4:14 of the second round, forcing a doctor’s stoppage of the bout. Featherweight Isaac Dalgaryan (7-1, 2-1 UFC) bounced back from his first professional defeat by hurting the underdog Brendon Marotte (8-3, 0-2 UFC) with an arm-triangle choke at 4:19 of the second round, eventually submitting him. Andre Lima (10-0, 3-0 UFC) remained undefeated in the flyweight division with a commanding 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 unanimous decision victory over Felipe dos Santos (8-2, 1-2 UFC) while Gabriel Santos (11-2, 1-2 UFC) earned his first UFC victory with a commanding 30-26, 30-26, 30-27 unanimous decision victory over Road to UFC Season 2 featherweight winner Zha Yi (25-5, 0-1 UFC).
In other prelims, Jacqueline Amorim (9-1, 3-1 UFC) quickly submitted fellow former LFA champion Vanessa Demopoulos (11-6, 5-3 UFC) with an armbar 3:28 into the first round of their strawweight bout. Andre Petroski (12-3, 7-2 UFC) dominated overweight Dylan Bucca (7-4, 0-2 UFC) on the ground for much of their middleweight bout, earning a lackluster unanimous decision victory with an overall score of 30-27. Featherweight Nathan Fletcher (9-1, 1-0 UFC) submitted Szygimantas Lamasca (9-3, 0-1 UFC) with an arm triangle choke 1:14 into the second round to start the bout.
