UFC News & FeaturesUFC 300 Prelims: Jiri Prochazka Rallies to Wreck Aleksandar Rakic in Las Vegas
Jiri
Prochazka deals in unadulterated violence.
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder dispatched Aleksandar Rakic with punches in the second round of their featured UFC 300 prelim on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Rakic (14-4, 6-3 UFC) checked out 3:17 into Round 2, as he bounced back from his Nov. 11 knockout loss to Alex Pereira.
Prochazka (30-4-1, 4-1 UFC) endured some initial suffering. Rakic
tortured him with devastating kicks to the lower leg for much of
the first five minutes, forcing him to switch stances. Prochazka
was undeterred. He wobbled Rakic with right hands on multiple
occasions in the second round, eventually set him on skates and
gave chase with follow-up punches and a knee strike to the head
along the fence. It was the beginning of the end. Rakic ultimately
collapsed in the center of the cage, absorbing a barrage of elbows
and punches before he turned away from contact. A few more punches
fell before referee Herb Dean elected to intervene.
Meanwhile, Serra-Longo Fight Team’s Aljamain Sterling completely controlled and neutralized Calvin Kattar, as he made a successful move to 145 pounds with a one-sided unanimous decision in their three-round featherweight altercation. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Sterling (24-4, 17-4 UFC).
Sterling has won 10 of his last 11 fights.
Elsewhere, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time Professional Fighters League champion Kayla Harrison passed her first test inside the Octagon and did so with breathtaking ease, as she disposed of Holly Holm with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their women’s bantamweight scrap. Harrison (17-1, 1-0 UFC) slammed the door 1:47 into Round 2.
Holm (15-7, 8-7 UFC) chose to engage the decorated judoka in close quarters and paid a steep price for her questionable-at-best approach. Harrison took top position in the first round and activated her ground-and-pound. Punches and elbows fell, establishing a clear tone and setting the stage for what was to come. Harrison followed a head kick into a takedown early in the middle stanza, threatened with a standing guillotine and dumped “The Preacher’s Daughter” to the canvas a second time. She climbed to full mount, progressed to the back and cinched the fight-ending choke in a dominant display of power and technique.
Harrison joined Amanda Nunes and Miesha Tate as the only women to stop Holm inside the distance.
Not to be outshined, surging Lobo Gym standout Diego Lopes blew away Sodiq Yusuff with punches in the first round of their featherweight confrontation. Yusuff (13-4, 6-3 UFC) succumbed to blows 1:29 into Round 1, suffering his second setback in as many starts.
Lopes (24-6, 3-1 UFC) cracked the Lloyd Irvin protégé with a few low kicks, obliged him with a close-range standup exchange and proceeded to floor him twice with brutal right uppercuts. He powered into full mount, forced Yusuff to go belly down and polished off the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate with unanswered punches.
The 29-year-old Lopes now has 15 first-round finishes on his resume.
Elsewhere, American Top Team export Renato Carneiro showed considerable resolve, withstood a near finish and took care of Jalin Turner with elbows and punches in the second round of their lightweight tilt. Carneiro (19-5-1, 11-5 UFC) drew the curtain 4:11 into Round 2.
Turner (14-8, 7-5 UFC) appeared to sting the Brazilian with a pair of early front kicks to the body, then almost ended it with a straight left hand late in the first round. Carneiro hit the deck in a dazed state, where he was ripe for the picking. Instead of following up, Turner elected to walk away in hopes of procuring a sensational stoppage. Carneiro rose to his feet, survived the waning seconds and recovered between rounds. “Moicano” took down Turner roughly a minute into Round 3, advanced to full mount and went to work with his world-class ground skills. Carneiro ultimately settled on a three-quarter mount, trapped the American beneath him and cut loose with blows from above until the job was done.
Carneiro will ride a three-fight winning streak into his next outing.
Still deeper into the prelims, Parana Vale Tudo star Jessica Andrade called upon damaging leg kicks and timely takedowns in claiming a split verdict over Marina Rodriguez in a competitive three-round women’s strawweight affair. All three members of the assigned judiciary scored it 29-28: Adalaide Byrd and David Lethaby for Andrade, Derek Cleary for Rodriguez.
Andrade (26-12, 17-10 UFC) capitalized on the opportunities she was afforded. She spent time in top position in the first and third rounds, pressed forward while eating punches from her rangy adversary, damaged Rodriguez’s legs and leaned on swarming punching attacks along the fence. It proved to be just enough to get by. Rodriguez (17-4-2, 7-4-2 UFC) was effective on the perimeter but too often allowed “Bate Estaca” to close the distance and compromise her defenses. Andrade dropped her to a knee with one final leg kick late in the third round, giving the judges one more piece of evidence to consider.
The 32-year-old Andrade has rattled off back-to-back victories.
Others were forced to go the distance, as ex-King of the Cage champion Bobby Green rebounded from his Dec. 2 knockout loss to the aforementioned Turner and brutalized Jim Miller ahead of a unanimous decision in their three-round lightweight battle. Green (32-15-1, 13-10-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with 30-27, 30-25 and 29-26 marks from the cageside judges.
Miller (37-18, 26-17 UFC) staggered the Pinnacle MMA rep twice with left hands inside the first five minutes but could not match his opponent’s speed or ferocity. The tide turned in the second round, then devolved into an absolute bloodbath. Green tore apart the right side of the onetime Cage Fury Fighting Championship titleholder’s face with a piercing jab and accurate multi-punch bursts. He dazed the battered and bloody Miller with a left hook late in Round 3, then dropped him with a subsequent right. Heavy ground-and-pound followed. Only Miller’s legendary durability allowed him to reach the final bell.
Green, 37, has won three of his past four bouts.
Finally, former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo put away Team Alpha Male’s Cody Garbrandt with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their pairing at 135 pounds. Figueiredo (23-3-1, 12-3-1 UFC) brought it to a close 4:02 into Round 2, nailing down his third win in four appearances.
Garbrandt (14-6, 9-6 UFC) took a cautious approach from the start, preferring to counter with his lightning-quick hands and chip away with powerful leg kicks. Figueiredo shifted gears in the middle stanza, executed a takedown and tightened the screws from top position. He threatened with an arm-triangle, then progressed to the back after Garbrandt triggered an ill-advised scramble. Figueiredo bottled up the Ohio native with a body triangle, slipped his forearm under the chin and prompted the tapout.
It was the first submission defeat of Garbrandt’s 20-fight career.
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder dispatched Aleksandar Rakic with punches in the second round of their featured UFC 300 prelim on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Rakic (14-4, 6-3 UFC) checked out 3:17 into Round 2, as he bounced back from his Nov. 11 knockout loss to Alex Pereira.
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Meanwhile, Serra-Longo Fight Team’s Aljamain Sterling completely controlled and neutralized Calvin Kattar, as he made a successful move to 145 pounds with a one-sided unanimous decision in their three-round featherweight altercation. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Sterling (24-4, 17-4 UFC).
Kattar (23-8, 7-6 UFC) generated no meaningful offense in his first
appearance since Oct. 29, 2022. Sterling (24-4, 16-4 UFC) left
behind the bantamweight division he once ruled, completed takedowns
in all three rounds, swamped the New England Cartel product with
suffocating control and generally made life miserable for his
increasingly frustrated adversary. Kattar’s face bore a look of
resignation for much of the third round, as he was unable to
counteract the former 135-pound champion’s efforts.
Sterling has won 10 of his last 11 fights.
Related » UFC 300 Round-by-Round Scoring
Elsewhere, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time Professional Fighters League champion Kayla Harrison passed her first test inside the Octagon and did so with breathtaking ease, as she disposed of Holly Holm with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their women’s bantamweight scrap. Harrison (17-1, 1-0 UFC) slammed the door 1:47 into Round 2.
Holm (15-7, 8-7 UFC) chose to engage the decorated judoka in close quarters and paid a steep price for her questionable-at-best approach. Harrison took top position in the first round and activated her ground-and-pound. Punches and elbows fell, establishing a clear tone and setting the stage for what was to come. Harrison followed a head kick into a takedown early in the middle stanza, threatened with a standing guillotine and dumped “The Preacher’s Daughter” to the canvas a second time. She climbed to full mount, progressed to the back and cinched the fight-ending choke in a dominant display of power and technique.
Harrison joined Amanda Nunes and Miesha Tate as the only women to stop Holm inside the distance.
Not to be outshined, surging Lobo Gym standout Diego Lopes blew away Sodiq Yusuff with punches in the first round of their featherweight confrontation. Yusuff (13-4, 6-3 UFC) succumbed to blows 1:29 into Round 1, suffering his second setback in as many starts.
Lopes (24-6, 3-1 UFC) cracked the Lloyd Irvin protégé with a few low kicks, obliged him with a close-range standup exchange and proceeded to floor him twice with brutal right uppercuts. He powered into full mount, forced Yusuff to go belly down and polished off the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate with unanswered punches.
The 29-year-old Lopes now has 15 first-round finishes on his resume.
Elsewhere, American Top Team export Renato Carneiro showed considerable resolve, withstood a near finish and took care of Jalin Turner with elbows and punches in the second round of their lightweight tilt. Carneiro (19-5-1, 11-5 UFC) drew the curtain 4:11 into Round 2.
Turner (14-8, 7-5 UFC) appeared to sting the Brazilian with a pair of early front kicks to the body, then almost ended it with a straight left hand late in the first round. Carneiro hit the deck in a dazed state, where he was ripe for the picking. Instead of following up, Turner elected to walk away in hopes of procuring a sensational stoppage. Carneiro rose to his feet, survived the waning seconds and recovered between rounds. “Moicano” took down Turner roughly a minute into Round 3, advanced to full mount and went to work with his world-class ground skills. Carneiro ultimately settled on a three-quarter mount, trapped the American beneath him and cut loose with blows from above until the job was done.
Carneiro will ride a three-fight winning streak into his next outing.
Still deeper into the prelims, Parana Vale Tudo star Jessica Andrade called upon damaging leg kicks and timely takedowns in claiming a split verdict over Marina Rodriguez in a competitive three-round women’s strawweight affair. All three members of the assigned judiciary scored it 29-28: Adalaide Byrd and David Lethaby for Andrade, Derek Cleary for Rodriguez.
Andrade (26-12, 17-10 UFC) capitalized on the opportunities she was afforded. She spent time in top position in the first and third rounds, pressed forward while eating punches from her rangy adversary, damaged Rodriguez’s legs and leaned on swarming punching attacks along the fence. It proved to be just enough to get by. Rodriguez (17-4-2, 7-4-2 UFC) was effective on the perimeter but too often allowed “Bate Estaca” to close the distance and compromise her defenses. Andrade dropped her to a knee with one final leg kick late in the third round, giving the judges one more piece of evidence to consider.
The 32-year-old Andrade has rattled off back-to-back victories.
Others were forced to go the distance, as ex-King of the Cage champion Bobby Green rebounded from his Dec. 2 knockout loss to the aforementioned Turner and brutalized Jim Miller ahead of a unanimous decision in their three-round lightweight battle. Green (32-15-1, 13-10-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with 30-27, 30-25 and 29-26 marks from the cageside judges.
Miller (37-18, 26-17 UFC) staggered the Pinnacle MMA rep twice with left hands inside the first five minutes but could not match his opponent’s speed or ferocity. The tide turned in the second round, then devolved into an absolute bloodbath. Green tore apart the right side of the onetime Cage Fury Fighting Championship titleholder’s face with a piercing jab and accurate multi-punch bursts. He dazed the battered and bloody Miller with a left hook late in Round 3, then dropped him with a subsequent right. Heavy ground-and-pound followed. Only Miller’s legendary durability allowed him to reach the final bell.
Green, 37, has won three of his past four bouts.
Finally, former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo put away Team Alpha Male’s Cody Garbrandt with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their pairing at 135 pounds. Figueiredo (23-3-1, 12-3-1 UFC) brought it to a close 4:02 into Round 2, nailing down his third win in four appearances.
Garbrandt (14-6, 9-6 UFC) took a cautious approach from the start, preferring to counter with his lightning-quick hands and chip away with powerful leg kicks. Figueiredo shifted gears in the middle stanza, executed a takedown and tightened the screws from top position. He threatened with an arm-triangle, then progressed to the back after Garbrandt triggered an ill-advised scramble. Figueiredo bottled up the Ohio native with a body triangle, slipped his forearm under the chin and prompted the tapout.
It was the first submission defeat of Garbrandt’s 20-fight career.
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