Martin Buday is starting to loom large as a problem in the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division.
Advertisement
Relentless Durden Smothers Johnson
Cody Durden put on a three-round takedown and back control clinic at the expense of Charles Johnson, en route to sweeping all three rounds on all three judges’ scorecards. The story of the fight was Durden’s wrestling and offensive grappling, from the first round on. Within the first minute of the fight, he took Johnson’s back standing, locked up a body triangle, and processed to dominate the bulk of the round with repeated choke attempts, punctuated by stinging punches from the back. After a Johnson escape, Durden promptly took him down again and kept the pressure on, including constant work for positional advances and a couple of emphatic mat returns. The second round was a near-repeat of the first, as Durden once again took Johnson down repeatedly, took back mount and provided virtually all of the offense for the first four minutes of the round. When they returned to their feet with 45 seconds left in the frame, however, Durden appeared winded, pointing the way toward a possible window of opportunity for Johnson to get back into the fight. For a while, it looked as though momentum had shifted, as Johnson opened Round 3 by shucking off his foe’s takedown attempts and hurting him with punches, but before he could rack up any appreciable damage, Durden once again took his back, sealing up the round—and the fight—for himself. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 in favor of Durden (15-4-1; 4-2-1 UFC), placing him on a three-fight winning streak since his first-round submission loss to Muhammad Mokaev last March. In defeat, Johnson fell to 13-5, 2-3 in the UFC.
Alekseeva Taps Out Egger
The third straight catchweight bout to open “UFC Vegas 72” featured a third straight successful Octagon debut, as Irina Alekseeva cranked up a kneebar on Stephanie Egger for a first-round submission. Alekseeva, whose four-pound miss on the scale Friday dictated the 140-pound catchweight at which the fight was contested, struggled in the early going against Egger. The Swiss judoka was the more poised and effective fighter on the feet, advancing and scoring with kicks while Alekseeva mostly missed with wild swings, but it was all moot once the fight hit the ground. Egger attempted a rear waistlock, Alekseeva countered by rolling for a kneebar and from there, “The Russian Ronda” had her way. Egger defended effectively for a few moments, but Alekseeva rolled through to a better position and the tap came nearly instantly, prompting referee Jason Herzog to intervene at 2 minutes, 11 seconds of Round 1. Alekseeva’s impressive grappling display, marred only by the severe weight infraction, elevated her professional record to 5-1; Egger’s record dropped to 8-4 (4-3 UFC).
McGhee Clubs, Subs Newson
Marcus McGhee (7-1) capped off what must have been a whirlwind week, as he stepped up on a few days’ notice to face Journey Newson and ended up netting the biggest win of his career. The 140-pound catchweight clash was a torrid affair from the beginning, as Newson and McGhee—both habitual bantamweights—threw caution to the wind and set a furious pace in a highly competitive first round. The second frame appeared to be set to deliver more of the same, but everything turned on a dime when McGhee sat Newson down with a clean left hand. “Maniac” pounced, took Newson’s back in a flash and locked up a rear-naked choke before his opponent could react. Newson tapped within seconds, spurring referee Mark Smith into action for the stop at 2:03. The win was McGhee’s third straight overall and propelled him to 1-0 in the Octagon, while Newson fell to 10-5 with one no contest overall, 1-4 (1 NC) in the UFC.
Horth Outlasts Cowan
The opening bout featured Jamie-Lyn Horth (6-0) keeping her undefeated record intact in a 138-pound catchweight affair against fellow UFC debutante Hailey Cowan (7-3), who missed the contracted bantamweight limit on Friday. All three rounds were individually competitive, as Horth scored repeatedly with kicks to the body and head, while Cowan leaned on power punches, effective clinch work and a couple of emphatic takedowns. Going into the final round, it may well have been either woman’s fight for the taking, but it was Horth who pulled ahead as the less apparently fatigued fighter. After 15 minutes, the Canadian prevailed by unanimous 29-28 scores, marking a triumphant Octagon debut and a successful return to action after a nearly 18-month layoff. Cowan, who finally made her way to the cage after previously scheduled debuts in February and March were both scuttled, fell to 0-1 in the promotion.
« Previous Video: UFC Fight Night 223 Post-Fight Press Conference
Next UFC Fight Night 223 ‘Song vs. Simon’ Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring »
More