B. Riddell wins in UFC 253. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc
Composed of six fights, the preliminary card of the UFC 253, held on Saturday (26), in Abu Dhabi, was attended by two Brazilians. At the opening of the attraction, the light heavyweight (93kg) Danilo Marques, training partner Demian Maia, debuted in the organization, having a good performance against the Russian Khadis Ibragimov and won without fear.
However, in the last fight on the preliminary card, the lightweight (70,3kg) Alex Leko, could not support the good pace he showed in the first round and was surpassed, in turn, by Brad Riddell. Other highlights were the great performance of a new generation athlete over a veteran of the sport and the triumphant return of a TUF champion.
Leko starts well but is defeated
It seemed that Alex Leko he would win his second fight in a row in the UFC, but that wasn't what happened. Astra Fight Team's promise got off to a fast start against Brad Riddell and what almost gave him victory, was the main factor in his defeat.
In the first round, Leko surprised by fighting loosely and this was evident in Riddell's stance. The Brazilian landed his best strikes while standing and scared his opponent by applying a guillotine choke.
In the next round, the New Zealander came back more alert, after the initial scare. Better at exchanging blows and with more awareness of the octagon, Riddell, little by little, regained his confidence and tied the fight.
In the last five minutes, the Brazilian complained of tiredness in the corner and worried Marcelo Zulu, his coach, who reminded him that the Brazilian needed to win the round to win the fight. Despite the appeal, it did not work. Riddell used his experience and confirmed favoritism by releasing his game.
The important, turning point victory was Riddell's third in the UFC, who remains undefeated in the organization. In turn, despite the defeat, Leko did not fight badly. At 24 years old, the Brazilian has time to evolve technically and physically and get back on the path to victory
Promise massacres veteran
J. Matthews dominates D. Sanchez in UFC 253. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc
When the fight between Jake matthews e Diego Sanchez was made official, the MMA community feared what could happen. The reason is simple: Sanchez, 38 years old, has been fighting for 18 years, has fought several battles and would have an opponent who is 12 years younger. And the concern proved right, as Matthews won in dominant fashion.
It's true that, if he wanted to speed up the pace, the Australian could have knocked him out, as he was far superior in every round, but he chose not to expose himself, as Sanchez is still dangerous on the ground. Despite being young (26 years old), Matthews showed a lot of maturity and did not rush. Much stronger, the Australian was better in all areas and hit his opponent so many times that Sanchez bled profusely in the octagon. At the end of the fight, the judges awarded the promise a peaceful victory by unanimous decision, with one of the rounds scored as 10×8.
This was Matthews' third consecutive victory in the UFC, which matches his best streak in the organization. The athlete competed in two fights in 2020 and wants to get closer to the top-15 in the welterweight division. Sanchez, who was coming off a controversial victory over Michael Pereira, he was defeated again and, despite still having three more fights left in his UFC contract, he could announce his retirement at any time.
Rookie shines
L. Klein impresses in his UFC debut. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc
Originally, the opponent of Shane Young would nate landwehr, but this was yet another athlete who contracted coronavirus. With just a few days left until the event, Ludovit Klein He accepted the fight at the last minute, was unable to prepare adequately and was unable to make the featherweight division, but he made up for it in the Octagon.
An underdog for the duel, the Slovak ignored the predictions and bookmaker numbers and knocked him out in the first round. Known for his high level of stand-up fighting, Klein proved his technique by applying a sequence that shook Young, who was unable to return to the duel.
Given everything that happened in the pre-fight, the Slovak was surprised by his performance and revealed that his favorite strike is the high kick, the same one that defined his triumph. This was Klein's 17th victory in MMA, 16 of which came via the fast track. On the other hand, Young, who had only lost to Alexander Volkanovsky, featherweight champion, suffers his second defeat in the UFC and in a heavy way.
TUF champion returns and impresses
J. Espino wins again after two years without fighting. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc
Despite not being a name known to fans, Juan Espino presents some interesting facts. The Spaniard was TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) 28 champion, but hasn't fought since 2018. However, not even his long absence and advanced age (39 years) prevented the heavyweight from being successful in his return.
Espino simply did what he wanted with Jeff Hughes, which did not threaten the favorite at any time. On the contrary, once the Spaniard took down his opponent, he submitted him immediately, in the first round. The move was a hand triangle, one of the many that Espino has in his arsenal, as he has a high level of grappling and usually shows this quality in his appearances.
Espino won both of his UFC fights by submission and said he wants to return to fighting as soon as possible, as he has no more time to waste in MMA. Hughes continues to win in the company. In four fights, the American lost three and has one no-contest, meaning his stay is unlikely.
Danilo Marques wins on debut
D. Marques (right) debuts in the UFC with victory. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc
Generally, athletes feel pressure when fighting their first fight in the UFC, but that wasn't a problem for Danilo Marques. In his debut with the organization, he faced Khadis Ibragimov and took advantage of the lack of confidence of the Russian, who had lost his three fights in the company, to make a good impression.
training partner Demian Maia, Danilo used and abused grappling and, even though he was superior in the area, he was also not afraid to exchange blows with his opponent standing up. Ibragimov tried everything to stop the Brazilian from falling, even holding onto the fence a few times, but he was unsuccessful. His only merit in the fight was having survived the submission attempts.
At 34 years old, Danilo had no trouble in his debut, he didn't suffer too much damage and, if the UFC wants, they can select the athlete to fight again in 2020. In turn, after losing his fourth consecutive fight in the UFC, Ibragimov, It is unlikely that he will receive another chance to show his value.
UFC 253 results
MAIN CARD
Average weight: Israel adesanya derrotou Paulo borrachinha by technical knockout at 3m59s of R2 – Title fight
Light Heavyweight: Jan Blachowicz derrotou Dominick reyes by technical knockout at 4m36s of R2- Title fight
Fly weight: Brandon royval finished Kai Kara France with a guillotine 48s from R2
Bantamweight: Ketlen Scallop derrotou sijara eubanks in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Feather weight: Hakeem dawodu derrotou Zubaira Tukhugov in the judges' split decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-38)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Lightweight: Brad Riddell derrotou Alex Leko in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Welterweight Weight: Jake matthews derrotou Diego Sanchez in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Feather weight: Ludovit Klein derrotou Shane Young by knockout at 1m16s of R1
Light Heavyweight: William knight derrotou Aleksa Camur in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Heavyweight: Juan Espino finished Jeff Hughes with a cervical 3m48s from R1
Light Heavyweight: Danilo Marques derrotou Khadis Ibragimov in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
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