Merab Dvalishvili vs. Terrion Ware (Bantamweight/135)
Round 1: Dvalishvili scores with a quick single leg takedown. Bruce Buffer announced Dvalishvili as being from Georgia, USA…It feels like its rare for him to make a mistake. Anyway, back to the fight and Dvalishvili is maintaining position from the top. He is landing some hard elbows from the half guard position. More punches from half guard land for Dvalishvili. Ware is taking shots but he’s looking to posture up. He does just that and uses the fence to get back to his feet. Dvalishvili isn’t interested though and quickly scores with another single leg takedown. Ware recovers guard and is working to get up but Dvalishvili has go control of his body. Ware is up but Dvalishvili is stuck to him like glue. Ware is defending a takedown attempt, and Dvalishvili is making him pay with short shots in the clinch, and he follows it up with a head kick as they separate! Good round for Dvalishvili. 10-9 Dvalishvili
Round 2: Dvalishvili lands a high kick early. He’s looking a bit wild, but his shots are landing. Ware just can’t land much of anything and he’s looking a bit tentative. Perhaps the threat of the takedown is keeping him from throwing strikes. Dvalishvili changes levels for a double leg and he completes it. Ware is back on the mat with Dvalishvili is side control. Ware is up, and he’s been doing a good job of that all night, but he can’t create any separation once he gets there. Dvalishvili completes another takedown, just complete domination tonight in that regard. Dvalishvili ends the round with some ground and pound from the top position. Ware is being utterly outclassed tonight. 10-9 Dvalishvili
Round 3: Ware opens up with a big spinning backfist that just misses! Dvalishvili makes him pay with an immediate takedown and we are back where we have been all fight. Dvalishvili is clearly the superior grappler, so much so that it seems that Ware doesn’t have the confidence to really open up on the feet. Dvalishvili is landing from the top half guard position. Ware recovers guard, but it doesn’t appear that he is much of a threat from that position. He’s just attempting to control Dvalishvili’s posture and is making no attempts to stand. Dvalishvili is landing punches and elbows from the top position with just over a minute remaining in the round. He lands a few more solid shots before the round ends. Dominant performance by Dvalishvili. 10-9 Dvalishvili (30-27 Dvalishvili) Any of these rounds could be 10-8.
Result: Merab Dvalishvili def. Terrion Ware via Unanimous Decision
Ramazan Emeev vs. Stefan Sekulic (Welterweight/170)
Round 1: Emeev is pressuring early. Sekulic lands a left hand as Emeev moves in but can’t stop him from securing double under hooks. They quickly separate though, and we are right back in the center. Sekulic chances levels for a takedown and completes a single leg but Emeev rolls through it with a kimura attempt. Emeev is controlling things against the fence, he lands a solid elbow as they separate. Emeev shoots in for a single and completes it, but Sekulic is right back up. Emeev lands a hard-right hook and Sekulic is hurt! Emeev moves in and lands a hard knee and Sekulic is down! Emeev is attacking with strikes as the round ends. 10-9 Emeev
Round 2: Emeev land an early high kick! Sekulic is moving forward though and attempts a takedown but Emeev won’t allow it. Hard knee lands for Sekulic but Emeev eats it and returns a hard-left hook and uppercut combination. Side kick to the body lands for Sekulic. He keeps circling towards the high kick that Emeev keeps throwing. Sekulic lands a side kick to the body. He’s having some success with his kicks with roughly a minute left in the round. Sekulic shoots in for a takedown but Emeev stuffs it. 45 seconds remain in the round. Emeev lands a hard knee as they clinch. 10-9 Emeev
Round 3: Sekulic lands an eye poke and we have a time out within the first 10 seconds of the round. Back to the action and Emeev quickly gets the fight to the ground. Emeev is using heavy pressure and Sekulic is finding is hard to create any separation. Emeev just called a time out basically so that he could fix his shorts. Back to the action and Emeev is just moving forward with pressure. Sekulic seems a bit hesitant to really commit to any of his strikes. 10-9 Emeev (30-27 Emeev) The story of this fight was the pressure applied by Emeev. He was always moving forward, and he countered most of the grappling attempts from Sekulic.
Result: Ramazan Emeev def. Stefan Sekulic via Unanimous Decision
Jordan Johnson vs. Adam Yandiev (Middleweight/185)
Round 1: Johnson grabs ahold of a leg early and nearly completes a takedown. Yandiev defends but Johnson lands a hard shot and Yandiev might be hurt. Johnson has the back, Yandiev spins but Johnson stays with him. Back on the feet and Yandiev misses with a spinning back fist. Johnson ducks under the shot and completes a takedown! Johnson takes full mount! Yandiev is attempting to hold on, he should be trying to get up. Yandiev briefly creates some space but Johnson is just staying on him. Hammer fists are landing for Johnson. Absolutely fantastic performance by him so far. Johnson takes the back and has a tight rear naked choke! I mean this is deep! Yandiev somehow manages to escape! Incredible submission defense there because that was a tight choke. 10-9 Johnson
Round 2: Johnson scores a takedown early. He slaps on an arm triangle and this fight is over. Wow. Yandiev offered up no resistance once Johnson set up the choke.
Result: Jordan Johnson def. Adam Yandiev via Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) Round 2, 0:42
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Marcin Prachnio (Light-heavyweight/205)
Round 1: Ankalaev lands a hard kick to the body. Prachnio is having a hard time getting inside to land. Ankalaev is making him pay with hooks and uppercuts. Prachnio moves in and Ankalaev side steps him and lands a vicious high kick! Prachnio is down and Ankalaev lands one more hard shot on the ground. Now that I am seeing the replay I can see that it was actually a pretty hard right hook that hurt Prachnio and allowed for the high kick to land.
Result: Magomed Ankalaev def. Marcin Prachnio via KO (Head kick and Punches) Round 1, 3:09
Mairbek Taisumov vs. Desmond Green (Lightweight/155)
Round 1: Green is looking to stick and move early. Taisumov seems content to wait for the big shot. Hard body kick lands for Taisumov. Taisumov keeps going back to that body kick and he’s having success with it. Green is doing a good job of getting in but he’s landing punches of little consequence. Taisumov seems to be getting the timing down a bit, and he is just killing the body with kicks. Hard right-hand lands for Taisumov as the round ends. Chaotic but good round. Green is trying to make something happen, but you can tell that he is very aware of the power that his opponent possesses. 10-9 Taisumov
Round 2: Taisumov attacks the body early with a combination. Green changes levels for a takedown but Taisumov avoids it. Green lands a left hook and Taisumov returns a right of his own. Taisumov lands another hard-right hook. Taisumov lands a huge overhand right and Green is down. Taisumov follows him but Green uses a single leg to work his way back to his feet. Front kick to the chest lands for Taisumov, and Green returns a left hand of his own. 10-9 Taisumov
Round 3: Taisumov lands a high kick in the early seconds of the round. Both guys seem to have slowed down a but which benefits Taisumov. Right hand connects for Taisumov. Green is standing in front of him a bit more than before. Taisumov continues to push forward and Green isn’t offering up much resistance. Green lands a series of hooks as he moves backwards, his movement is picking up again and with that Taisumov isn’t landing with the same frequency. Green rushes forward with a right hook as the round ends. 10-9 Taisumov (3-27 Taisumov) This fight really could go either way and Desmond Green had a fantastic showing despite the score that I predict here.
Result: Mairbek Taisumov def. Desmond Green via Unanimous Decision
Kajan Johnson vs. Rustam Khabilov (Lightweight/155)
Round 1: Khabilov is attacking the body early. He’s throwing short punches and making is difficult for Johnson to utilize his reach. Johnson lands with a hard-low kick. He’s doing a better job of using his length here towards the later part of the first round. Left hook lands for Khabilov. Johnson lands a nice straight right, Khabilov is looking to set something up I think but he’s eating some shots on the process. Johnson shakes off a weak takedown attempt by Khabilov. Johnson lands a high kick as the round ends! 10-9 Johnson
Round 2: Johnson misses with a left and Khabilov nails him with a counter shot. Jumping front kick lands for Johnson but Khabilov seems unphased. Johnson lands a front kick to the body to give himself some space. Khabilov grabs a hold of a leg for a single but Johnson shakes him off. Not much seems to be working for Khabilov so far. Khabilov has a high crotch position and manages to complete the takedown. Johnson immediately attacks the leg of Rustam Khabilov! Khabilov escapes and he’s working from the top, but Johnson is throwing up a series of submissions from his back. Nice defense by Khabilov though and he’s patiently working his way out of all of them. One minute remains in the round. Khabilov lands a hard-left hand from top position. Johnson is constantly threatening with armbars and triangles but Khabilov is shaking out of them. 10-9 Khabilov
Round 3: Slow first minute to the round. Johnson lands a left hand and then a right. Khabilov seemed to have felt those. Khabilov shoots in for a takedown but Johnson defends it and keeps the fight standing. Khabilov moves in for a single, Johnson defends but eats a hard-right hook for his efforts. Johnson throws a low kick but Khabilov counters with a takedown. Johnson is on his back, in a close fight, against a Russian, in Russia. He needs a finish here. He is looking for an armbar from his back but Khabilov is defending it well. Johnson has been very active from his back. 10-9 Khabilov (29-28 Khabilov) In some ways this fight should probably go to Johnson. He was more effective nearly everywhere but just couldn’t stop the takedowns when it really mattered.
Result: Rustam Khabilov def. Kajan Johnson via Split Decision
*Tough night for Johnson. That was probably the best showing of his UFC career and it’s a shame that he couldn’t get the win.
Petr Yan vs. Jin Soo Son (Bantamweight/135)
Round 1: They are trading early. Yan lands a hard-right hook, but Son shakes it off. Son lands a hard jab and then another. Yan lands an eye poke and we have a break in the action. Son’s eye appears to be bothering him, but it looks fine, no blood or noticeable damage to the surrounding skin. Yan scores a takedown, but Son pops right back up and lands a few hard shots. Yan lands a hard elbow and Son is smiling but it had to hurt. Son gets in right a straight right and Yan is forced to use some footwork to escape the cage. Son is keeping the pressure up and Yan is having a hard time setting up his punches. He’s just throwing, and Son is doing a good job of ducking and securing body locks. Son grabs a clinch and Yan hits him with a few hard hooks. This is a really fun fight so far. 10-9 Son
Round 2: Yan is connecting early. He lands a hard-left hook and then a right. Son moves in for the clinch, but Yan shakes him this time. Yan connects with a hard uppercut! Yan’s striking is looking fantastic so far in this round. Really crisp and diverse selection of punches by the Russian. Son scores with a huge takedown! Yan is landing elbows from his back though, and Son is having a hard time getting past the butterfly guard. Son passes into half guard but only briefly. Yan rolls into the turtle position and Son goes with him. Son took a chance at a twister, but Yan rolls out of it and they are back on the feet. (10-9 Yan) He fought well off his back and countering that Twister there at the end of the round was a good look.
Round 3: Son has a single leg early, but Yan defends it well. Yan lands a nice left hand. Son is starting to eat some shots. Hard elbow lands for Yan! Yan scores with a trip and lands a high kick as Son tries to recover his footing. Yan lands a HUGE spinning elbow, but Son eats it and keeps moving forward! Son nearly scores with a takedown, but Yan defends and lands a hard-right hand. Yan connects with a high kick and a left hook, but Yan is still standing! Yan lands a left and then a right! Son is smiling like an absolute maniac. Yan unleashes a fierce combo, but Son just waves a finger at him. Great fight by both guys. Going to be hard to top that in the fight of the night department. 10-9 Yan (29-28 Yan)
Result: Petr Yan def. Jin Soo Son via Unanimous Decision
CB Dolloway vs. Khalid Murtazaliev (Middleweight/185)
Round 1: A frantic grappling exchange opens the round. Murtazaliev lands a hard body shot and Dolloway is hurt. Murtazaliev shoots in for a takedown but Dolloway counters with a guillotine. Murtazaliev shakes it and they are back on the feet. Murtazaliev is controlling the fight against the fence and scores from there with a takedown. He passes into half guard with a few seconds remaining in the round. 10-9 Murtazaliev
Round 2: Dolloway scores early with a body lock takedown. Dolloway moves into mount and Murtazaliev gives up his back. Dolloway has a darce and its deep but he can’t quite hook the legs. Murtazaliev escapes and now he’s in the mount position. Dolloway nearly swept the position but Murtazaliev keeps his base and he is landing some hard knees from top position. Dolloway briefly gets to his feet only to be dragged right back down. One minute remains in the round. Herb Dean is letting Murtazaliev take a serious beating…I don’t really get what’s going on. He is clearly done but Dean is just letting him take a beating. Dean let him survive the round…I don’t get what we just saw. Dolloway is hurt and Dean didn’t stop the fight.
*In-between rounds Dolloway couldn’t stand and Dean called the fight…Dean said, “If you don’t stand this fight is over.” It was clearly already over. That was a bad look for Herb Dean and again it was just very strange. Dolloway was clearly done.
Result: Khalid Murtazaliev def. CB Dolloway via TKO (Punches) Round 2, 5:00
UFC Fight Night 136 Main Card
Thiago Alves vs. Aleksei Kunchenko (Welterweight/170)
Round 1: Lots of low kicks are being exchanged early. Alves connects with a combination. Kunchenko is not being very active. Alves connects with a solid leg kick. Kunchenko is pressuring but his strike output is very low. Alves is a bit more active, mixing up leg kicks and punches to the body. Slow round. 10-9 Alves
Round 2: Kunchenko attacks early with a series of kicks to the legs and body. Alves returns a left hook and uppercut. Alves connects with a hard-low kick. Kunchenko was touted for his leg kicks coming into this fight but he doesn’t seem to be using them much. Kunchenko lands a left hook as Alves backs away from an exchange. He’s doing a much better job of making Alves think in this round. High kick lands for Alves but Kunchenko handles it well. Body kick lands for Alves. He seems to attack the body any time that Kunchenko pressures him against the fence and its working. He’s consistently managed to get the fight back to the center of the octagon. Alves lands a leg kick and Kunchenko stumbles. They exchange left hooks as the round ends. DRAW
Round 3: Kunchenko attacks the body early and finishes the combo with a nice right hand. Alves connects with another leg kick. They’ve been the story of the fight. Kunchenko is landing some pretty slick combinations. Mostly body, body, head, repeat. Alves lands a low kick and Kunchenko stumbles a bit. Kunchenko has a lot of speed behind his punches. Alves connects with a groin strike and we see a brief break in the action. Back to it and Kunchenko gets right back to pressuring Alves. Alves was briefly down but my apologies I missed what caused it. Alves is back up but Kunchenko scores with a quick takedown. Alves pops right back up though with 45 seconds left in the round. Kunchenko appears to be getting better as the fight goes on. His precision is something to behold. 10-9 Kunchenko (DRAW) I doubt it will be a draw but if I was a judge that’s how I would score it. The third round was clearly Kunchenko’s and the first could be in question. The second was very close though and I like a draw there.
Result: Aleksei Kunchenko def. Thiago Alves via Unanimous Decision
*Kunchenko is now 19-0 in his MMA career. He could be a fighter to watch here in the welterweight division. He called out Donald Cerrone in his post-fight interview. That would be a fun fight.
(12) Andrei Arlovski vs. (14) Shamil Abdurakhimov (Heavyweight/265)
Round 1: Abdurakhimov scores with a single leg early but then lets Arlovski right up. Odd move there for a guy that usually likes to grapple. Abdurakhimov catches a low kick and plants Arlovski on his back with a single leg takedown. Arlovski is holding on with guard and a pair of under hooks. We see a stand up after a few moments so stalling by both guys. Abdurakhimov whiffs on a shot and falls to the ground but he’s right back up. Arlovski lands a short right hand as the round ends. Slow round and Arlovski never seemed to really get going. 10-9 Abdurakhimov
Round 2: Abdurakhimov scores early with another takedown. Arlovski is just holding on from the bottom. Remember when he ankle locked Tim Sylvia? Interesting that he doesn’t attempt any sort of offense from his back. Arlovski is attempting to get up and eats a few shots for his efforts. They clinch in the center and Arlovski scores with a trip takedown. Abdurakhimov scrambles back to his feet though, and they are back in the center. Abdurakhimov lands a short right hand as he steps into the clinch. Arlovski scores with another trip takedown and this time he’s able to keep it there. Hard shot lands for Arlovski just as the round ends. 10-9 Arlovski
Round 3: Abdurakhimov ducks under a big shot early and secures a body lock. Arlovski lands a good left hand as they separate. Arlovski catches a poke to the eye and we see a break in the action. Abdurakhimov throws a shot to the body as the initiates the clinch. We see another break in the action due to another foul, I think another eye poke. Back to it and Arlovski tries to make something happen in the final seconds but nothing comes of it. 10-9 Abdurakhimov (29-28 Abdurakhimov)
Result: Shamil Abdurakhimov def. Andrei Arlovski via Unanimous Decision
Nikita Krylov vs. (4) Jan Blachowicz (Light-heavyweight/205)
Round 1: Blachowicz connects early with a kick to the body. Krylov completes a quick takedown and Blachowicz is on his back. Blachowicz is looking for an armbar from his back but Krylov is defending well. Blachowicz has set up the armbar probably three times so far but Krylov is shaking them and landing shots in-between. Krylov gets a hold of the neck, but Blachowicz counters with a takedown and lands in side control. Blachowicz moves to the north/south position. Blachowicz does a good job of recovering half-guard, and then guard. Blachowicz moves back into side control and lands a few shots as the round ends. 10-9 Blachowicz
Round 2: Blachowicz starts the round with a quick takedown and he moves into side control. Krylov is looking to get one of his opponent’s legs but Blachowicz is aware of all of it. Krylov is getting smothered. Blachowicz takes the back and slaps on an arm-triangle choke, he’s still circling around into a sort of modified choke. Krylov taps and its over! Wow! He’s yelling for a title shot as he celebrates his win. Hard to argue with him at this point.
Result: Jan Blachowicz def. Nikita Krylov via Submission (Arm-Triangle) Round 2, 2:41
(11) Aleksei Oleinik vs. (8) Mark Hunt (Heavyweight/265)
Round 1: Both guys are taking it slow early on. Hunt connects with a hard-low kick, and then another. Hunt connects with a HUGE right hand! Oleinik takes it though and I think Hunt is a bit surprised by that judging by the look on his face. Hunt connects with another hard-low kick. Oleinik could be in trouble here if he can’t figure out these low kicks. Oleinik connects with a hard-left hand of his own! Oleinik goes for an ankle pick and gets it! Hunt is down! Oleinik has the back with one minute to work! He has the neck and its over! Oleinik Wins! Oleinik submits Mark Hunt with a rear naked choke! He dealt with adversity early on and came back to win! Great fight!
Result: Aleksei Oleinik def. Mark Hunt via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 1, 4:26
Join us next weekend for coverage of UFC Fight Night: Manuwa vs. Santos and come back this week for the follow up of the UFC’s debut event in Russia!
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