Summary
Jordan Leavitt He won at UFC Houston. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @monkeyking_ufc
Jordan Levitt pulled off a surprise on Saturday night (21) and defeated Yadier del Vale by unanimous decision on the preliminary card of UFC Houston, in a fight valid for the featherweight category (up to 65,7 kg). Involved in controversy for an alleged manipulation of the result in the victory against Isaac Dulgarian A few months ago, the Cuban suffered the first setback of his professional career.
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Leavitt's takedown game was relentless.
Featherweight Bout: Jordan Leavitt (29-28, 29-28, 29-28 | @Jojo_MonkeyKing) defeats Yadier del Valle Unanimous Decision.
Complete Prelim Results ➡️ https://t.co/7YIRv90l09
Complete Scorecards ➡️ https://t.co/y5geICXM6l pic.twitter.com/yPZuQwKmLn
- UFC News (@UFCNews) February 21, 2026
Without wasting any time, Leavitt went on the offensive and took his opponent down against the cage in the opening seconds of the fight. Dell Valle managed to get back to his feet unharmed, but was hit with a knee to the groin and, after a few moments of recovery, began to dominate the center of the octagon and attack his opponent. Once again, the American took the fight to the ground, but continued to fail to injure his opponent throughout the entire first round.
Dell Valle returned with a new approach in the second round, dominating the center of the octagon and being the aggressor. He threatened the American with jabs and straight punches, while having to defend against good front kicks to the midsection. Very calmly, Leavitt again secured a takedown with two minutes remaining, and despite being threatened with a guillotine choke, he managed to defend and stabilize himself in the Cuban's half guard. Yadier's situation, already complicated, worsened after he landed an illegal kick in the final seconds of the round and was warned by the referee, but he didn't lose any points.
Aware of the need to finish the fight in the final round to avoid being outscored, dell Vale tried to corner his opponent against the cage, but failed to connect with powerful punches or kicks. With the rules in mind, Leavitt moved laterally without taking risks. However, he was eventually forced to play guard after a takedown attempt was defended. He held the Cuban for several minutes and, after sustaining no damage, even managed to reverse the position to finish the fight on top, in addition to playfully slapping his opponent's buttocks.
Unsurprisingly, all the judges scored it 29-28 in favor of Jordan Leavitt.
Punahele Soriano achieves his fourth consecutive victory.
Punahele Soriano (photo) in victory at UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @ufc
In a duel valid for the welterweight category (up to 77,1 kg), Punahele Soriano won Ramiz Brahimaj By unanimous decision in a very close fight. Thus, the fighter now has four consecutive victories in the biggest MMA event on the planet. On the other hand, his opponent's streak of three consecutive wins was interrupted after almost two years of positive results.
Both fighters approached the fight aggressively from the start. From inverted stances, both landed powerful kicks to the midsection and sought to occupy the center of the octagon. With his guard high, Soriano successfully connected with good jabs and especially left straights, which penetrated Brahimaj's defense on several occasions.
After a few minutes of striking, Brahimaj shifted to grappling. He attempted a takedown at the end of the first round and trapped his opponent against the cage at the start of the second, using quick sweeps to throw Soriano off balance. Highly skillful, Punahele escaped and reversed the position. He didn't manage to inflict significant damage, but did enough to maintain the lead in the fight.
The scenario changed completely in the final round. Soriano posed a significant threat with his head kicks, unbalancing his opponent in the opening seconds. Brahimaj responded with a high-amplitude takedown and managed to take his opponent's back. More forceful, Punahele began to punish Ramiz with good elbows and knees against the cage in the final part of the fight. All the judges awarded the victory to Soriano.
Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani debuts with a victory.
Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani won at UFC Houston. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram.
In a fight valid for the welterweight category (up to 77,1 kg), Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani put on a show of aggression and won. Philip Rowe By unanimous decision in his Ultimate debut. With the result, the fighter reached his fifth consecutive professional victory. For his opponent, this was his second consecutive defeat. In addition to the loss, Rowe failed to make weight for the division, as he accepted the fight at short notice to replace his opponent. Austin vanderford.
With great intensity, Lebosnoyani went on the offensive against his opponent from the start. He secured a takedown and landed traumatic blows on the ground, such as elbows and punches. Much taller than his opponent, Rowe attacked with kicks to the midsection and head, as well as good knee strikes in the Muay Thai clinch. The pace of the fight remained similar in the second round, with Jean-Paul attacking with powerful overhands and taking his opponent to the ground using the cage for support.
Despite managing to open a cut on his opponent's face, Rowe was unsuccessful in stunning Lebosnoyani. In fact, he was taken down and nearly submitted with a rear-naked choke in the final part of the third round, in addition to conceding mount on more than one occasion. He had his best moment in the last ten seconds, when he landed some good punches, but it wasn't enough to change the score.
After regulation time, two jurors scored it 29-28 in favor of Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani, while the other scored it the same for Rowe.
Carli Judice survives the grappling match and defeats Juliana Miller.
Carli Judice in victory at UFC. (Photo: Twitter/UFC News)
In the first fight of the night, Juliana Miller had trouble resisting the standing ability Carli Judice, who emerged victorious by unanimous decision in a duel valid for the flyweight category (up to 65,7 kg). With the result, the American achieved her third consecutive victory in the world's largest MMA organization and overcame the defeat suffered in her debut at the hands of Gabriella Fernandes definitely backwards.
Skilled in grappling and physically strong, Miller managed to take the fight to the ground and control her opponent's back for a few moments during the beginning of the fight. After the initial pressure, Judice began to frustrate takedown attempts and attack her rival with precise punch combinations. Juliana clearly felt the impact of the blows and from that moment on adopted a more defensive stance on her feet, in addition to taking advantage of specific situations to try to take the fight to the ground.
Miller clearly slowed down as time went on, while Judice became increasingly comfortable on her feet and, with good movement and excellent feints, began to control her opponent. Later, she started to use powerful kicks and knees to the midsection. Juliana recovered and managed a takedown from the clinch using the cage for support. Once again dominating the back, she came close to finishing the fight with a rear-naked choke.
At the end of the 15 minutes, two jurors scored 29 to 28 and another 30 to 27 in favor of Judice.
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