Lone’er
Kavanagh proved he could run with the big dogs in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight division.
Savage leg kicks, a sharp jab and bulletproof takedown defense
carried the Great Britain Top Team prospect to a unanimous decision
over two-time champion Brandon
Moreno in the
UFC Fight Night 268 main event on Saturday at CDMX Arena in
Mexico City. Scores were 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47—all for Kavanagh
(10-1, 3-1 UFC), who filled in for Asu
Almabayev on late notice.
Moreno (23-10-2, 11-7-2 UFC) was outgunned on the feet and took too
long to adjust. Kavanagh chewed up his lower lead leg with repeated
kicks, pumped out his jab and zeroed in on the body with a few
kicks. He had Moreno reeling with punches at one point in the
second round. The Fortis MMA mainstay turned to the clinch in the
third and fourth rounds, as he bottled up Kavanagh along the fence,
fed him knees to the inner thigh, bled time off the clock and
shifted momentum. That set the stage for Round 5. Moreno continued
to close the distance but failed to stay busy enough to avoid
restarts from referee Herb Dean.
Kavanagh capitalized in the exchanges and made a stronger closing
argument, as he delivered a front kick to the body, tripled up on
his jab and landed a spinning back kick to the midsection in the
waning moments.
Meanwhile, Bonebreakers MMA standout David
Martinez continued his rise through the 135-pound ranks with a
unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America”
semifinalist Marlon Vera
in their three-round bantamweight co-headliner. Martinez (14-1, 3-0
UFC) swept the scorecards with matching 29-28 marks from all three
members of the cageside judiciary.
Vera (23-12-1, 15-11 UFC) struggled to piece together meaningful
offense for much of the match. Martinez frustrated “Chito” with
lateral movement and quick hands, using them to dart in and out
with multi-punch bursts. The former Combate Global titleholder also
managed to incorporate leg kicks, trip takedowns and a few vicious
left hooks to the body. Vera did not go away without being heard.
He turned up the heat in the third round, where the Ecuadorian cut
off the cage, found a home for his jab and slammed left hooks into
his adversary’s head and breadbasket. However, Martinez circled
away from danger and managed to withstand a late rally from one of
the division’s most accomplished veterans.
Martinez, 27, now finds himself on a 10-fight winning streak.
Further down the main card, ex-King of the Cage champion Bobby Green
dismissed a befuddled Daniel
Zellhuber with punches in the second round of their lightweight
showcase.
Green (34-17-1, 15-12-1 UFC) brought it to a decisive close 4:55
into Round 2, as he nailed down his first finish in well over two
years.
Zellhuber (15-4, 3-4 UFC) never established a rhythm. Green kept
him guessing with awkward movements, verbal taunts, stomps to the
lead leg and punches from odd angles. Late in the second round, the
39-year-old Californian wobbled Zellhuber with a crisp right hand,
followed it with a clubbing left and drove him into the fence in a
dazed state. Green let his fists fly until the Fight Ready rep
melted. More punches followed, necessitating the stoppage.
The 26-year-old Zellhuber has suffered three straight setbacks.
Elsewhere, Entram Gym product Edgar
Chairez eked out a hard-earned split decision over former
Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Felipe
Bunes in their three-round flyweight feature. All three judges
turned in 29-28 scorecards: Alex Winter for Bunes, Sal D’Amato and
Dave
Tirelli for Chairez.
Bunes (14-9, 2-2 UFC) seized the reins in the first round, where he
jumped to the backpack position, locked in a body triangle, used
the cage for leverage and went to work with a variety of strikes,
including 12-to-6 elbows to the shoulders. Chairez (13-6, 3-2 UFC)
weathered the adversity and increased his output across the final
10 minutes despite bleeding from a cut near his right eye. He
doubled up on his jab, sought a home for his left hook and
unleashed strategic volleys at the end of both the second and third
rounds. It was enough to curry favor from two of the three cageside
arbiters.
Chairez heads into his next outing on the strength of back-to-back
victories.
Deeper into the draw, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 33 semifinalist
Imanol
Rodriguez disposed of ex-Inka Fighting Championship titleholder
Kevin
Borjas with punches in the second round of their flyweight
attraction.
Rodriguez (7-0, 1-0 UFC) tagged the Peruvian’s figurative toe 4:21
into Round 2.
Borjas (10-5, 1-4 UFC) had his chance. He floored Rodriguez twice
in the first round—he landed a vicious left hook during a whirlwind
exchange and later connected with an overhand right—but his
inability to close the deal proved costly. The tide slowly but
surely turned. Rodriguez cleared the cobwebs with a successful
takedown, piled up control time and integrated his
ground-and-pound. He then stepped up his attack in the middle
stanza, dazed Borjas with a left hook and sent an overhand right
crashing into the side of his head. The blow resulted in a
delayed-reaction knockdown and set the stage for the stoppage with
follow-up punches.
Rodriguez, 26, has finished all seven of his opponents.
Finally, unbeaten Mexican prospect Santiago
Luna kept his perfect professional record intact with a
unanimous decision over Angel
Pacheco in their three-round bantamweight appetizer. All three
cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Luna (8-0, 2-0
UFC).
Pacheco (7-4, 0-2 UFC) leaned heavily on his jab against a superior
athlete. It was not nearly enough to keep Luna at bay. The Jason
Parillo protégé called upon repeated takedowns, occasional leg
kicks, close-range knee strikes and accurate, high-volume punching
combinations. Luna hammered his counterpart with three, four and
five punches at a time, controlled the center of the cage and
struck for takedowns in all three rounds. A finish against the
durable Pacheco was never in play. Luna stayed true to his
approach, connected with crisp counters and incorporated his own
jab with varying degrees of success.
The 34-year-old Pacheco has lost three fights in a row.
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