The Valid Winners and Losers from UFC on ESPN 23
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It became once a elaborate act to have a study.
Loyal per week after a three-title show in front of a packed dwelling in Florida, the UFC became once relieve in the Saturday night wrestle business with a lower-profile Battle Night time show at Apex in Las Vegas.
Two-time mild heavyweight challenger Dominick Reyes battled streaking fifth-ranked contender Jiri Prochazka in the major occasion of an 11-bout show that featured 5 numerous ranked contenders too.
Brendan Fitzgerald captained an ESPN broadcast employees that additionally incorporated Michael Bisping and Paul Felder, while Laura Sanko labored the leisure of the room for breaking news and characteristic remark.
The B/R wrestle sports actions employees returned to its location and took in the card’s most practical most likely and lowest capabilities while placing collectively its entire weekly listing of the actual winners and losers. Click on via to try what we got here up with, and make definite to plunge an realizing or two of your have in the comments.
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Each time he became once anxiousness, Dominick Reyes rallied.
Unless he could now not.
The 2-time mild heavyweight title challenger became once rendered straight unconscious by the point of Jiri Prochazka’s spinning left elbow, toppling face-first to the canvas to give up Saturday’s show with what’s definite to be truly apt one of many 365 days’s most memorable knockouts.
The official give up got here at 4: 29 of Round 2.
It became once the third spinning relieve elbow KO in UFC historical previous and a 13th straight total victory for Prochazka, who turned down an preliminary provide to make an Octagonal debut till he felt he became once prepared for the field-class opponents.
He eventually arrived with a 2d-round KO bewitch at UFC 251 closing summer on Battle Island after which took on Reyes, who had won 12 straight himself before consecutive losses to Jon Jones and Jan Blachowicz in title fights at 205 pounds.
“All the pieces he throws is with maximum depth and maximum vitality,” Bisping acknowledged. “And he build it on Dominick Reyes tonight.”
The Czech had the greater of the violence via the predominant nine minutes, usually wobbling Reyes with a unfold of strikes but additionally taking a bunch of counter photographs upon charging in to continue his have flurries. The truth is, Prochazka shook off the outcomes of a laborious left and escaped from a guillotine choke strive early in the 2d after which regained his toes and drove Reyes relieve to the fence.
He grazed Reyes’ chin with an overhand genuine elbow, after which he paused easiest a 2d before spinning and catching his foe super with the left elbow. Reyes fell straight to the bottom and referee Herb Dean straight waved off the battle as cage-aspect physicians got here in to are liable to the fighter.
Reyes regained consciousness and became once sitting within a number of minutes.
“It became once a truly nice battle,” Prochazka acknowledged. “I genuine be pleased to show the shock of the paintings. I’m discovering out nonetheless from battle to battle.”
UFC President Dana White acknowledged sooner than the occasion that Saturday’s victor would battle the winner of the upcoming title bout between Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira, a match Prochazka is alive to to make.
“I’m prepared,” he acknowledged. “I’m prepared. Let’s assemble that.”
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It became once the most piquant advise Giga Chikadze passed over all night.
Moments after landing a decisive kick to the body of Cub Swanson, the joyful Georgian ran across the mat and tried to spring to the tip of the cage. Instead, he fell quick and needed to wander up the fence before eventually swinging a leg over and celebrating in model.
Nonetheless the awkward execution shouldn’t private away from its starting establish.
The streaking featherweight landed a fantastically positioned left-leg kick to Swanson’s liver teach, forcing the feeble to crumple to his knees and sharp a series of ground strikes till referee Jason Herzog intervened after genuine 63 seconds of the opening round.
It became once the night’s first stoppage after eight choices and a disqualification in nine fights.
“I in fact be pleased ton of respect for Cub, nonetheless it’s some distance what it’s some distance—I needed to assemble it,” acknowledged Chikadze, who won his sixth straight in the UFC and eighth in a row total. “I’m here. If you occur to did now not know my name, now you understand.”
Certainly, Chikadze, a former professional kickboxer, established himself with kicks to the head in the sooner going and compelled Swanson to present protection to himself from these strikes. That created the opening for the body shot and enabled the winner to ranking his eighth knockout in nine profession finishes.
Within the aftermath, he known as out ex-champion Max Holloway and contender Calvin Kattar.
“Ohhh,” he groaned, upon watching a replay of the finishing kick. “I knew. That is why I extra or much less stopped. Nonetheless the ref did now not give up it, so I needed to step in and throw a couple of punches.”
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Given context, it might per chance were the night’s least most likely consequence.
After Dustin Jacoby became once taken down eight instances in the predominant 5 minutes of his major card bout with Ion Cutelaba, the prospect of him even finishing the battle—let by myself now now not dropping it—looked some distance-off.
Nonetheless the Colorado-primarily primarily primarily based feeble wasn’t relatively prepared to concede matters.
Jacoby rallied gamely across the final 10 minutes, taking most piquant thing about his foe’s emptying gas tank and landing adequate major blows of his need to earn a attract the three-rounder at 205 pounds.
Every fighter obtained a 29-28 ranking in his settle on, while a third judged cemented the map with a 28-28 count.
“Each and each men deserved a victory,” Bisping acknowledged. “They both build out quite lots of punishment, they once in a while can both claim the momentum is nonetheless going.”
Cutelaba, who arrived with four wins in nine UFC appearances, tied an Octagonal narrative alongside with his takedown tempo in the predominant round but became once significantly much less effective in Rounds 2 and 3. Within the period in-between, Jacoby started establishing himself at distance and customarily landed jabs and prolonged genuine fingers.
The Moldovan accomplished with a 111-100 edge in strikes and 9-1 aid in takedowns, although Jacoby became once up 84-71 in major strikes and became once ready to give up off the mat after the predominant minute of the 2d round.
Each and each men raised their fingers on the final horn.
“It became once an high-tail battle, relieve and forth,” Felder acknowledged. “Jacoby turned the tide. He got here relieve and looked fantastic. I’m now now not a acquire. I earn now now not ranking these items. I earn now now not know who would possibly want to be pleased won.”
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Sean Strickland will were genuine as without ache reducing his front lawn.
The Californian wore an emotionless inspect on his face for the duration of a three-round middleweight bout against Krzysztof Jotko, coolly stepping forward while delivering monotonously effective aggression and punishment on the manner to an straightforward-to-ranking unanimous-decision victory.
It became once the 10th bewitch in 13 UFC bouts for the 15th-ranked contender, who wasted nearly no high-tail while standing extensive and consistently walking down Jotko—landing 87 strikes to his Polish foe’s 42.
Two judges gave Strickland all three rounds on the scorecards, while a third saw it 29-28 in his settle on.
“Four wins in a row, four extensive performances,” Bisping acknowledged. “He looked sensational. Walked him down the total time, starting mixing in low kicks. Very effective.”
Strickland landed at a 53 p.c clip on strikes and successfully defended Jotko’s one takedown strive. The 2 men temporarily jawed at every numerous on the final horn before shaking fingers.
Jotko is 9-5 in the UFC and saw a three-battle bewitch skedaddle reach to an give up.
“The model he fights it be so laborious to connect,” Strickland acknowledged. “The model he became once backing up made it manner too laborious to build fingers on him. Daily I earn up, I’m grateful. It isn’t major who it’s some distance. As prolonged as I’m in the Octagon I’m happy.”
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One became once the irresistible force. The varied became once the immoveable object.
And by the give up of 15 minutes, it became once complicated to articulate which became once which.
Bantamweights Merab Dvalishvili and Cody Stamann had been consistently engaged within placing distance for the entirety of their three-rounder, beating every numerous’s faces to a swollen, reddened tinge before both men raised their palms in anticipation of a victory on the final horn.
The 12th-ranked Dvalishvili, ranked one online page online sooner than Stamann at 135 pounds, earned the aggressive albeit unanimous verdict by rankings of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.
It became once the third time the battle had been scheduled after a postponement in 2020 and but every other extend early this 365 days.
“It be the true model of him we be pleased now ever considered,” Bisping acknowledged. “A excessive-paced takedown machine, and the fingers looked greater than ever. If Cody wasn’t as complicated as he became once, maybe we would be pleased considered a give up.”
Dvalishvili landed 172 strikes to 72 for Stamann and had a 5-1 aid in takedowns as effectively.
It be the sixth straight victory for the Georgian, who dropped a name and became once stopped in his first two UFC fights in 2017 and 2018. He’s 13-4 total in a profession that stretches relieve to 2014 and known as for a match with Dominick Cruz or but every other former champion all over his put up-battle interview.
“I confirmed lots on the present time, and I in fact be pleased so many issues extra to show,” he acknowledged. “I be pleased to be relieve as rapidly as that that you simply can mediate of. Top 10. Top 5. To be factual, I deserve a astronomical name. I’m prepared to battle, and I’m hungry.”
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It took 23 fights over greater than seven years, but TJ Brown eventually obtained his Octagonal 2d.
The 30-365 days-outmoded featherweight supplied the highlight of a six-bout prelim card—all but truly apt one of which went the three-round distance—with a consistently entertaining atomize up decision over Kai Kamaka III.
“He’s a dog, genuine esteem myself,” Brown acknowledged. “One advise that became once for definite is that I fought my coronary heart out.”
Certainly, the winner became once in demand all around the total 15 minutes, all all the absolute most practical draw via which both had spells controlling the high-tail on the toes and had positional advantages on the mat.
Kamaka scored the battle’s lone knockdown with a strike, while Brown had the most piquant two takedowns and recorded the lone submission strive while he unsuccessfully chased a kimura on the give up of the predominant round.
Brown, who graduated from a bewitch on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019, misplaced his first two UFC appearances in 2020 by submission and decision. He became once on the quick give up of a 30-27 count on one scorecard Saturday but earned 29-28 margins on every of the numerous two to beef up to 15-8 total.
“I became once now now not 100 p.c definite, but I gave up all the pieces I could, and I build up a hell of a battle,” he acknowledged. “Right here’s what I’ve labored for my complete existence.”
Each and each Felder and Bisping labeled it an early contender for Battle of the Night time, while Felder went one greater and tabbed it as an early contender for the 365 days’s most piquant match, although he wasn’t extremely joyful with the choice.
“I’m now now not a acquire. I earn now now not explore a 30-27,” he acknowledged. “I’m now now not gonna argue with that decision. It be a form of fights the establish I hate to inspect that somebody’s going to be upset.”
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Fundamental Card
Jiri Prochazka def. Dominick Reyes by KO (elbow), 4: 29, Round 2.
Giga Chikadze def. Cub Swanson by TKO (kick), 1: 03, Round 1.
Ion Cutelaba drew with Dustin Jacoby (29-28, 28-29, 28-28).
Sean Strickland def. Krzysztof Jotko by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Merab Dvalishvili def. Cody Stamann by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
Preliminary Card
Luana Pinheiro def. Randa Markos by disqualification (unlawful kick), 4: 16, Round 1.
TJ Brown def. Kai Kamaka III by atomize up decision (29-28, 29-28, 27-30).
Luana Carolina def. Poliana Botelho by atomize up decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29).
Loma Lookboonmee def. Sam Hughes by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Andreas Michailidis def. KB Bhullar by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Felipe Colares def. Luke Sanders by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).