The
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight division has a new
contender. Brazilian knockout artist Carlos
Prates entered hostile territory and walked away with an
impressive stoppage victory tonight at
UFC Fight Night 275 in Perth, Western Australia. Prates
methodically wore down recent UFC title challenger Jack
Della Maddalena en route to a third-round TKO stoppage in the
night’s featured main event.
Prates (24-7, 7-1 UFC) kept his hands low in the opening round and
alternated between landing punches to Della Maddalena’s (18-4, 8-2
UFC) face and kicks to his lead leg. Della Maddalena was eventually
able to score a takedown, but not before eating two knees to the
face, and he was unable to put Prates in danger on the ground. In
the second round, Prates landed more knees and punches early on. He
eventually hurt Della Maddalena with another knee and a head kick,
and swarmed on him with punches. Della Maddalena showed his resolve
and fought on, but Prates knocked him down one more time with a
chopping leg kick before the bell and that had Della Maddalena in
visible pain.
Seconds into the third round, Prates cut Della Maddalena on his
forehead with a knee and he continued his assault with two
knockdowns; first from a head kick and then from a one-two
combination. Della Maddalena stood up, but Prates sent him back
down to the mat with another leg kick. He repeatedly kicked the
downed Della Maddalena’s leg before following up
with a series of elbows that prompted referee Mike Beltran to
wave off the fight at the 3:17 mark of Round 3.
Della Maddalena, who had won 18 straight fights before losing his
UFC title bid to Islam
Makhachev in November, now finds himself on a two-fight losing
streak for the first time since he began his pro career with two
defeats. Prates, meanwhile, has knocked out his opponents in all
seven UFC victories. The popular Brazilian is now one of the
fastest rising stars in the welterweight division, and tonight’s
dismantling of Della Maddalena was arguably even more impressive
than his previous knockout of Leon
Edwards.
Salkilld shocks Dariush
In the lightweight co-main event, hometown star Quillan
Salkilld (12-1, 5-0 UFC) weathered an early storm from Beneil
Dariush (23-8-1, 17-8-1 UFC) and finished the veteran with
punches in the first round. Dariush rocked Salkilld with a lead
left hand early in the fight and he maintained a standing back
clinch until Salkilld eventually broke free. Seconds later,
Salkilld charged at Dariush with looping lefts and rights. He
dropped Dariush and
landed two more punches on the ground for an impressive TKO
stoppage at the 3:29 mark of Round 1. With the key win, Salkilld
should now crack the top 15 in the competitive lightweight
rankings. He has not lost a fight since his February 2021 pro
debut.
Erceg outstrikes Elliott
Former flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg
(14-4, 5-3 UFC) moved closer to championship contention with a
well-deserved unanimous decision victory over Tim Elliott
(21-14-1, 10-12) in a spirited bout. Erceg employed a similar
strategy in all three rounds and he used crisp jabs to set up right
hands that repeatedly landed on Elliott’s jaw. For his part,
Elliott used stance switches to land left hooks and he got a
takedown into side control in the opening round. From then on,
Erceg’s boxing was too much for the veteran “The Ultimate Fighter”
winner, and he even took Elliott down into back control at one
point. Erceg’s technical boxing gave him an advantage in the
striking exchanges during the final round and all three judges
scored the bout 29-28 in his favor. He has won back-to-back UFC
bouts since suffering a three-fight losing skid that dropped him
out of the title hunt.
Rahiki steamrolls Schmid
As expected, Marwan
Rahiki (9-0, 2-0 UFC) faced very little resistance in his
first-round TKO victory over late replacement Oliver
Schmid (4-3, 0-1 UFC) at featherweight. Rahiki opened the
action with front kicks to Schmid’s body early on and then
established his boxing. He backed Schmid up with a combination and
then floored him with an uppercut. As a dazed Schmid covered up,
Rahiki
landed more punches until the bout was stopped at the 2:47 mark
of the opening round.
Pericic punishes Gaziev
Unlike the heavyweight bout that preceded it, the battle between
Brando
Pericic (7-1, 3-0 UFC) and Shamil
Gaziev (14-3, 3-3 UFC) was a thrilling one for as long as it
lasted. Pericic rocked Gaziev with punches in the first round, but
Gaziev tied him up in a clinch and recovered. The fighters were
separated and Gaziev hurt Pericic with an uppercut and a right
hook. In the second round, Pericic snapped Gaziev’s head back with
a pair of left-right combos and both men unloaded with big shots as
they sought a finish. Pericic connected with a right hand that left
Gaziev dazed, and he sent him
crashing to the mat with a final uppercut for a knockout win at
the 3:44 mark of Round 2. Pericic has knocked out five opponents in
a row.
Sutherland smothers Tuivasa
Opening up the main card, Louie
Sutherland (11-5, 1-2 UFC) made the most of a short-notice
opportunity and easily won his heavyweight duel against Tai Tuivasa
(14-10, 8-10 UFC), who has now dropped seven straight fights and
mounted almost no offense at all tonight. Sutherland wisely took
the fight to the ground in all three rounds, where he struck from
the top in Tuivasa’s half-guard, in side control and in mount.
Tuivasa did defend well by limiting the damage that Sutherland
could inflict, but he didn’t do much else. Late in the final round,
Tuivasa was gifted with a standup from referee Rich
Mitchell. However, that did not help him, as Sutherland got
Tuivasa down again and Tuivasa lost a point for an illegal knee.
All three judges scored the fight 30-26 in favor of Sutherland for
a unanimous decision victory that would seemingly, finally, spell
the end of Tuivasa’s UFC career. For his part, Sutherland fought
well on two weeks’ notice.
Rowston dominates Bryczek
Capping off the preliminary card, Cameron
Rowston (15-3, 3-0 UFC) dominated Robert
Bryczek (18-7, 1-2 UFC) on the ground for three rounds and
cruised to an easy unanimous decision win at middleweight.
Bryczek’s lone moment of success came in the first round when he
landed a hard flurry of punches to Rowston’s midsection, but
Rowston immediately took him down and battered him with punches and
elbows. He put Bryczek on the mat and landed more strikes in the
second round. After being taken down again in round three, Bryczek
rolled for a kneebar attempt, but that allowed Rowston to take top
position in side control and later in mount. He bloodied Bryczek
with elbows just before the final bell, and all three judges scored
the fight 30-27 for Rowston.
Tafa KOs Christian
Facing a must-win situation, Junior Tafa
(7-5, 3-5 UFC) ended a two-fight losing skid in a big way by
brutally knocking out Kevin
Christian (9-4, 0-2 UFC) in the first round of their light
heavyweight bout. Tafa went headhunting right away with punches,
but Christian hurt him with a hard calf kick. Tafa recovered and he
stunned Christian with a combination. Christian fell to the mat and
Tafa
pounced on him with vicious elbows that dribbled Christian’s
head off of the canvas and rendered him unconscious at the 2:42
mark of Round 1.
Malkoun defeats overweight Meerschaert
In a would-be middleweight bout that became a 190-pound catchweight
contest, Jacob
Malkoun (10-3, 6-3 UFC) overcame submission attempts from an
overweight Gerald
Meerschaert (37-22, 12-14 UFC) and escaped with a unanimous
decision win. Meerschaert pulled half-guard with a guillotine choke
and used it to sweep into top position in the first round, where he
stayed throughout. The second round was mostly uneventful and saw
neither man commit to any sustained offense on the feet. Malkoun
jabbed and landed a few right hooks in the final round, but
Meerschaert pulled guard and swept into a mounted guillotine choke.
Malkoun held on until the bell and all three judges scored the
lackluster fight 29-28 in his favor.
Thicknesse decisions Morales
Colby
Thicknesse (9-1, 2-1 UFC) survived a scare late in his
bantamweight fight against veteran Vince
Morales (16-11, 3-9 UFC) and eked out a unanimous decision
victory. Thicknesse had Morales in all sorts of trouble in the
first round by chaining together a guillotine choke, triangle choke
and armbar, but Morales escaped each time and he kept the fight on
the feet in the second round. Morales jabbed and Thicknesse
answered back with body kicks. The final round was dominated by
Morales, who badly hurt Thicknesse with a right hook and uppercut
combo. Thicknesse dove at Morales’s legs and Morales held back
control as time ticked down. The fight went to the scorecards and
all three judges had it 29-28 for Thicknesse.
Schultz guillotines Johnston
Persistence paid off for Wesley
Schultz (9-3, 1-1 UFC) in his middleweight duel against
Ben
Johnston (5-2, 0-1 UFC). After multiple failed takedown
attempts in the opening two rounds, Schultz was punished with
elbows to his face as Johnston racked up control time on top.
Schultz pulled guard with a tight guillotine choke in the final
round and Johnston escaped once. He could not escape
from a second guillotine, however, and Schultz finally forced
Johnston to tap out at the 1:50 mark of Round 3 for a comeback
win.
Micallef edges Gorimbo
Welterweight prospect Jonathan
Micallef (10-1, 3-0 UFC) extended his winning streak to five
with a hard-fought split decision victory over Themba
Gorimbo (14-7, 4-4 UFC), who faded after a strong start.
Following a back-and-forth opening round, Gorimbo took Micallef’s
back and trapped him in a body triangle during the second stanza.
Micallef dominated the final round, however, and he scored with
numerous body kicks and a spinning backfist. One judge scored the
bout 29-28 in favor of Gorimbo, while the remaining two both had it
29-28 for Micallef.
Steele heel hooks Mar Fan
Opening up the card, Kody Steele
(8-1, 1-1 UFC) spoiled the official UFC debut of RTU Season 4
winner Dom Mar Fan
(9-3, 0-1 UFC) at lightweight. Steele took Mar Fan down in the
opening minute and briefly held mount before a scramble led to
Steele
locking on an inverted heel hook for the tap at the 3:56 mark
of Round 1.