UFC 260: Miocic vs Ngannou 2 Early Prelims

A competitive first round was likely won by Azaitar, who was the busier fighter both at range and in the clinch, and while the Moroccan briefly jarred Barriault with a right hand in the second minute of round two, he was rapidly fatiguing and the Canadian was surging, leading to a third round where Barriault began taking over. After an odd sequence where Azaitar bent down to pick up his mouthpiece, Barriault went on the attack, and after he moved into the mount position, he delivered a barrage of strikes that forced Azaitar to give up his back. The game Azaitar wouldn’t give in, but another blitz of strikes brought in referee Jerin Valel to stop the bout at the 4:56 mark of round three.

With the win, Barriault moves to 12-4, 1 NC. Azaitar falls to 14-3-1.

Official Result: Marc-Andre Barriault def. Abu Azaitar by TKO at 4:56 of Round 3

After a slow yet effective first round for Morales, Young went on the attack early in the second, getting a takedown in the opening minute. Morales didn’t stay grounded long, and he began to up his work rate in order to get Young on the defensive, and a late surge certainly helped him on the scorecards. Add in a takedown in the second minute of round three, and Morales was extending his lead as the fight entered its closing stages. And though Young kept trying to close the gap, Morales’ striking left no doubt when the identical scorecards of 30-27 were read.

Venezuela’s Morales moves to 11-1 with the win. New Zealand’s Young falls to 13-6.

Official Result: Omar Morales def. Shane Young via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Scores were 29-28 twice and 28-29 for Oleksiejczuk, now 15-4, 1 NC. Bukauskas falls to 11-4.

Oleksiejczuk was in Bukauskas’ face from the start, but the Lithuania native wasn’t backing down, leading to some solid back-and-forth action highlighted by Bukauskas rocking the Polish prospect two minutes in and Oleksiejczuk returning the favor with a little over two minutes to go.

Refusing to back up, Oleksiejczuk’s pressure remained relentless in the second stanza, and while Bukauskas got in his shots, it was the Polish fighter’s forward motion that was leaving the best impression until a later surge from “The Baltic Gladiator” that put Oleksiejczuk on the defensive.

Bukauskas kept the momentum going in the third as he outworked his foe on the feet, but a late-round body shot hurt him and forced him to backpedal to gather himself, making it another tough round to call.

Official Result: Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Modestas Bukauskas via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

Scores were 30-27 across the board for Nurmagomedov, now 16-3-1. Gooden falls to 17-6.

After a tactical opening, Nurmagomedov stung Gooden with a 1-2 midway through the opening round and he continued to score well with a strong technical striking attack throughout the first and second frames. The Dagestan native finally implemented his grapping game in the final stanza, and he was just as dominant as he kept Gooden grounded for most of the round.

Official Result: Abubakar Nurmagomedov def. Jared Gooden via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Menifield blitzed Cherant as the bout opened, taking him down within 20 seconds, and moments later, the Texan had locked in the Von Flue choke that forced a tap out at 1:11 of round one.

With the win, Menifield moves to 10-2. Cherant, who replaced William Knight on short notice, falls to 7-2.

Official Result: Alonzo Menifield def. Fabio Cherant via submission (Von Flue choke) at 1:11 of round 1

After the two fighters got acclimated to the Octagon, Mullarkey landed
a perfect left hook on the chin of Worthy, and the Pittsburgh native
fell face-first to the deck, and after a few follow-up shots, referee
Chris Tognoni stopped the fight at :46 of the first round.

Mullarkey moves to 13-4 with the win. Worthy falls to 16-8.

Official Result: Jamie Mullarkey def. Khama Worthy via knockout at :46
of round 1

Scores were 30-27 twice and 29-28 for Maverick, now 11-2. The No.
15-ranked Robertson falls to 9-6.

Maverick kept the heat on Robertson from the start, and after
establishing herself in the standup game, she put Robertson on the
deck with under two minutes to go. It wasn’t a long stretch on the
mat, but Maverick made her point and added a second takedown in the
latter stages of the round.

Robertson scored her own takedown in the opening minute of round two
and she went to work, nearly catching Maverick’s neck before the fight
went back to the feet, where Maverick scored well until the horn. In
the third, Maverick broke open the fight, working well on the feet and
the ground to wrap up her 11th pro win.

Official Result: Miranda Maverick def. Gillian Robertson via unanimous
decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

O’Malley (13-1) fought a disciplined fight in the first round, varying
his striking attack from range. In the second half of the frame,
O’Malley landed a flush left kick to the head that stunned Almeida,
and seconds later he dropped the Brazilian with a left hand. O’Malley
began to walk away, thinking the fight was over, but it wasn’t, and
Almeida got up and made it out of the round.

Almeida (22-5) opened up the second round by focusing on O’Malley’s
legs with his kicks, and they were having an effect. In between,
though, O’Malley continued to mix up his striking attack effectively
as he kept his opponent at bay, and the third was more of the same
until a left hand put Almeida on the deck. O’Malley began to walk away
again, but this time he left no doubt, as a right hand on the grounded
Almeida brought in referee Mark Smith to halt the bout at 3:52 of
round three.

Official Result: Sean O’Malley def. Thomas Almeida via knockout at
3:52 of round 3

Woodley raced out of his corner and after missing with a big right
hand, he bulled Luque into the fence. The two traded positions in the
clinch until separating, and Woodley was much more aggressive than he
has been in recent fights. With a little over two minutes left,
Woodley rattled Luque with a right hand, but Luque answered with a
right of his own that staggered the former champ. On wobbly legs,
Woodley fired back and tagged his foe, but once Luque got the fight to
the mat, he closed the show, sinking in the D’Arce choke that forced a
tap at 3:56 of round one.

With the win, the No.10-ranked Luque moves to 20-7-1. The No.7-ranked
Woodley falls to 19-7-1.

Official Result: Vicente Luque def. Tyron Woodley via submission at
3:56 of round 1

Ngannou struck first with an overhand right in the second minute, but
Miocic was unbothered by it, and moments later, the champ shot for a
takedown. Ngannou defended the takedown and landed some ground
strikes, following up with a head kick when the two rose and
separated. Miocic’s offense consisted mainly of leg kicks, making it
an Ngannou round.

Early in round two, a left hand dropped Miocic, and while the
Cleveland native rose and swung back, landing a hard right, as he
rushed in to follow up, a short left put him back on the deck, with a
follow-up strike bringing in referee Herb Dean to stop the fight at
:52 of round two.

Cameroon’s Ngannou moves to 16-3 with the win. Miocic falls to 20-4.

Official Result: Francis Ngannou def. Stipe Miocic via knockout at :52
of round 2