
Athletes
A late shift in the lineup for UFC Fight Night: Muniz vs Allen didn’t quell the excitement inside the Octagon at the UFC APEX on Saturday night, as three of the four main card matchups ended inside the distance, maintaining the energy generated on the prelims.
Here’s a look at how things played out.
Brendan Allen should find himself with a number next to his name next week after submitting Andre Muniz in Saturday’s impromptu main event.
The middleweights ran close to level for the first seven minutes of the fight, each landing good shots on the feet and dealing with the power coming back at them. Things shifted midway through the second, when Allen was able to reverse a takedown and land in top position, eventually advancing to side control and peppered the Brazilian.
Late in the third, after the two traded on the feet, Allen caught a kick and turned it into a high amplitude takedown, working his way to mount and then Muniz’ back. The Louisiana native stayed patient and kept looking for the choke, eventually lacing up the finish and securing the tap.
This was a breakout effort for Allen, who pushed his winning streak to four and his record inside the Octagon to 9-2 overall. Still just 27 years old, Allen continues making strides in his game, and should find himself standing opposite another ranked opponent next time out. | Official Scorecards
Experience was the differentiating factor in the heavyweight clash between Augusto Sakai and Don’Tale Mayes, as the Brazilian veteran fought a smart, tactical fight to earn a unanimous decision win.
In the first, Sakai battered Mayes with knees to the head along the fence before wearing on the American on the ground and in the clinch. The output decreased with each round, but Sakai continued to get the better of the exchanges and control the terms of engagement, frustrating Mayes and doing what he needed to get his hand raised.
After winning his first four appearances in the UFC, Sakai entered on a four-fight slide, and has to be breathing easier after getting his hand raised here. The Brazilian veteran advances to 16-5-1 for his career, while Mayes falls to 2-3 with one No Contest in six UFC starts. | Official Scorecards
Tatiana Suarez hadn’t fought in well over three years, but picked right back up where she left off on Saturday, earning a second-round submission win over Montana De La Rosa.
Competing at flyweight, the former Ultimate Fighter winner used her superior grappling skills to dominate De La Rosa, controlling things throughout the first before jumping on a guillotine choke in the center of the Octagon midway through the second. Despite being up a division, Suarez was undeterred, forcing De La Rosa to tap after adjusting her squeeze.
This was an outstanding performance from Suarez, who moves to 10-0 with the victory and shows she’s right back in the thick of the championship chase, regardless of where she intends to compete going forward. | Official Scorecards
Ontario got the better of Quebec in this all-Canadian battle as “Proper” Mike Malott secured a first-round submission win over Yohan Lainesse.
The two men felt each other out through the initial stages of the opening stanza, with Malott throwing and landing more as Lainesse struggled to find his range. When the Quebecer pressed forward and landed, Malott turned it into a takedown opportunity, putting Lainesse on the canvas. From there, he patiently worked towards and arm-triangle choke and squeezed out the tap.
After collecting a knockout win over Mickey Gall in his promotional debut last year, Malott is now 2-0 with a pair of first-round finishes in the UFC, and riding a five-fight winning streak overall. | Official Scorecards
Trevor Peek throws hammers, exclusively, and when they land, they do serious damage.
The unbeaten Contender Series graduate got after Erick Gonzalez in Saturday’s final preliminary card fight, earning the stoppage with one second remaining in the first round. He may not have the cleanest technique, but Peek is an absolute berserker who only has one gear and one direction, and combined with gnarly power, it makes him a dangerous man inside the Octagon.
Peek came out firing and kept slinging throughout, hurting Gonzalez on multiple occasions before finally getting him out of there just before the horn in the first. With the win, the Alabama native moves to 8-0 with eight finishes, six of them in the first round, and one No Contest. | Official Scorecards
Jasmine Jasudavicius showed a good understanding of where her advantages were in her clash with Gabriella Fernandes, repeatedly dragging the newcomer to the canvas to secure a unanimous decision victory.
The powerful Brazilian flashed explosive striking in the rare moments the two were upright, but Jasudavicius took everything coming her way well, countered at times, and worked to get Fernandes to the ground in each round. Once there, the debuting fighter had no answers, allowing the Canadian to work to dominant positions and batter her with elbows and punches while draining the clock and controlling the action.
This was a strong bounce-back effort for Jasudavicius, who lost to talented Brazilian debutant Natalia Silva last time out. The Niagara native moves to 2-1 in the UFC and 8-2 overall with the win, while Fernandes falls to 8-2 and sees her seven-fight winning streak snapped in the process. | Official Scorecards
Jordan Leavitt has been known for his grappling, but “The Monkey King” picked up a nasty finish on the feet on Saturday night.
Shortly after resuming following a brief pause for an inadvertent low blow, Leavitt walked Victor Martinez back against the fence, grabbed a Thai clinch, and dropped the newcomer with a pair of heavy knees. This was a new wrinkle from the Las Vegas native, who said he never rocked someone before in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping.
The affable DWCS grad gets back into the win column after this London loss to Paddy Pimblett, and moves to 4-2 inside the Octagon with the victory. | Official Scorecards
It was a battle of attrition between Ode Osbourne and Charles Johnson, with the late notice adversaries going attack-for-attack for 15 minutes, nearly man claiming a significant edge, nor giving any ground.
Osbourne came out sharp to start, throwing quick kicks and leaving Johnson guessing before the former LFA champ started to find his range and rhythm late in the round. An accidental low blow early in the second brought a nearly five-minute pause to the action, but when they resumed, it was more of the same, with Johnson opening a cut on Osbourne that likely earned him the round.
They continued going tit-for-tat over the final five minutes as well, leaving it up to the judges to decide. When the totals were tallied, Osbourne came out ahead, collecting the split decision victory and his fourth UFC win. | Official Scorecards
Dominant effort from Joe Solecki in the second bout of the evening, as the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate spent the vast majority of the contest on Carl Deaton’s back before putting him to sleep in the final seconds of the middle round.
Solecki forced Deaton to wear him like a backpack for nearly 10 full minutes, the first while the two were standing and the second on the canvas in the center of the Octagon. While Deaton defended diligently, Solecki continued hunting for chokes, eventually wrapping his forearm under the neck and squeezing out the finish before the end of the second.
This was a terrific effort from Solecki, who has now earned back-to-back victories and wins in five of six UFC appearances. The 29-year-old advances to 13-3 with the win, and remains a difficult out in the middle of the lightweight division. | Official Scorecards
Nurullo Aliev made sure that the point he lost in the opening round didn’t cost him in his promotional debut, grinding out a unanimous decision win over Brazilian veteran Rafael Alves in the opening bout of the evening.
The newcomer from Tajikistan was docked a point in the first when Alves complained that Aliev bit him, showing referee Mark Smith clear enough evidence that the veteran official took a point. He came out in the second, remained calm while stuck in a guillotine choke, and rode out the round in top position, hitting Alves with good shots throughout the frame. In the third, the youngster again had to navigate a guillotine choke attempt and deal with Alves in mount, but he got himself to top position and closed out the round landing shots and controlling the Brazilian on the canvas.
In the third, the youngster again had to navigate a guillotine choke attempt and deal with Alves in mount, but he got himself to top position and closed out the round landing shots and controlling the Brazilian on the canvas.
The 23-year-old is still a little green, but he shows tremendous promise, and moves to 9-0 with the victory on Saturday. While always game, Alves has now lost consecutive outings and falls to 1-3 in the UFC with the loss. | Official Scorecards
UFC Fight Night: Muniz vs Allen took place live from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 25, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!