UFC Fight Night 224 Prelims: Jonny Parsons Wins Wild Brawl, Stops Danny Roberts

JONNY PARSONS WITH SECONDS LEFT IN THE ROUND 😲 #UFCLondon pic.twitter.com/DUn027uR21

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 22, 2023

Syndicate MMA product Jonny Parsons outdueled English veteran Danny Roberts during a wild second-round brawl for a technical knockout victory in the featured welterweight prelim at UFC Fight Night 224 in London on Saturday. Parsons brought the show to a close at the 4:57 mark of Round 2 for his sixth straight win. Roberts has lost three straight fights dating back to May 2022.

Roberts (18-8, 7-7 UFC started well, using his reach and superior boxing to get the better of Parsons (9-3, 1-0 UFC) in the opening stanza. That changed in the second period when Parsons clipped his foe with a clean right to the jaw. From there, Roberts threw caution to the wind — to his detriment. Parsons had Roberts reeling with a series of knees and uppercuts against the fence, forcing “Hot Chocolate” to shoot for a takedown out of desperation. When the combatants returned to their feet, Roberts continued to swing wildly, with his hands hanging low. From there, Parsons sent his opponent somersaulting backward with a multi-punch combination. tTwo follow-up strikes on the ground sealed the victory for the Contender Series alum.

Alvarez Chokes Out Diakiese

Spain’s Joel Alvarez took advantage of an accidental clash of heads and scored a second-round submission victory against ex-British Association of Mixed Martial Arts champion Marc Diakiese in a lightweight encounter. “El Fenomeno” brought the show to a close with a brabo choke at the 4:26 mark of Round 2.

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The tide shifted for good when Alvarez and Diakiese appeared to clash heads during a striking exchange in the second stanza. While Diakese emerged clutching the back of his head in pain, referee Daniel Movahedi did not see the foul. Alvarez capitalized, attacking his reeling foe with strikes before powering the Brit down to the mat and locking in the fight-ending maneuver. Diakiese resisted as long as he could before Alvarez rolled him over and induced the tap.

Parkin Bests Pogues

London native Michael Parkin kept his undefeated record intact, as he used a technical approach to capture a unanimous verdict over fellow Contender Series alum Jamal Pogues in a forgettable heavyweight affair. All three judges saw the fight 30-27 in favor of the 27-year-old Englishman.

Parkin (7-0, 1-0 UFC) was able to keep the majority of the fight at his preferred range and pace. He landed his right hand consistently while utilizing intelligent head movement to avoid Pogues’ return offerings. As the bout progressed, a steady diet of calf kicks from Parkin prompted a stance switch from Pogues (10-4, 1-1 UFC), who was unable to provide enough output to truly threaten his opponent.

Muradov Outclasses Barberena

Makhmud Muradov gave Bryan Barberena a rude welcome to the middleweight division, winning a dominant unanimous decision in a 185-pound scrap. The Uzbekistan native swept the scorecards by identical 30-27 counts to snap a two-bout Octagon skid. Barberena, meanwhile, has lost three straight fights for the first time in his career.

Muradov (26-8, 4-2 UFC) blended crisp striking with dominant wrestling to keep his opponent on his heels. “Mach” tagged Barberena (18-11, 9-9 UFC) with laser right hands — dropping him on two occasions — and landed a UFC career-high 13 takedowns. Only Barberena’s trademark toughness kept him in the bout until the final horn.

Vieira Overpowers Kianzad

Nova Uniao representative Ketlen Vieira relied on takedowns and suffocating top pressure to cruise to a unanimous decision triumph against former Cage Warriors champion Pannie Kianzad in a matchup of ranked bantamweights. Vieira (14-3, 8-3 UFC) received a trio of 29-28 tallies to secure her third win in her last four outings.

Kianzad (16-7, 5-4 UFC), who was returning from a torn ACL, struggled to remain upright. Vieira landed takedowns early in each frame and kept her foe grounded while advancing to dominant positions and hunting for submissions. Kianzad’s lone moment of note occurred in Round 3, when she escaped back control to reverse into top position, where she ended the round attacking with ground-and-pound from above. By then, it was case of too little, too late for the Swede.

Duncan Tops Ashmoz

A multi-faceted offensive arsenal propelled American Top Team product Chris Duncan to a clear-cut three-round verdict against Yanal Ashmoz in a lightweight clash. The Scot received tallies of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 from the cageside judges to earn his fourth consecutive triumph. After a first-round knockout victory in his debut, Ashmoz (7-1, 1-1) tastes defeat for the first time in his professional tenure.

Duncan (11-1, 2-0 UFC) kept his adversary off balance by attacking with punching combinations from various angles, kicks to the legs and body and step-in knees down the middle while utilizing intelligent movement and feints. Meanwhile, Ashmoz spent the majority of the contest fighting with a compromised left arm — potentially from blocking an early head kick — which left him with limited options with which to work. Duncan gradually turned up the heat as the bout progressed to strengthen his case on the scorecards.

Brasil Outpoints Bannon

Dana White’s Contender Series alum Bruna Brasil earned a unanimous decision triumph over former Invicta FC competitor Shauna Bannon in a strawweight tilt. All three cageside judges scored the fight in favor of the Brazilian: 29-28, 29-28, 30-27.

Brasil (9-3-1, 1-1 UFC) landed nearly all the strikes of consequence, including right hands, left hooks, head kicks — and even a spinning back fist in Round 2. Bannon (5-1, 0-1 UFC) upped her output in the final stanza and appeared to wobble her opponent with a right hand, but Brasil was able to force a tie-up before landing a takedown to ride out the fight.

Filho Rallies, Taps Barez

Nova Uniao product Jafel Filho survived some early adversity to rally for a submission victory over Spain’s Daniel Barez at flyweight. An arm-triangle choke brought an end to the contest at the 3:26 mark of Round 1. Barez sees a four-bout winning streak snapped in defeat.

Barez (16-6, 0-1 UFC) came out with bad intentions, as he backed his man into the fence and punished Filho (15-3, 1-1 UFC) with powerful punches and kicks to the body. While Filho appeared to be hurt on a couple occasions, he maintained his composure and worked his way back into the fight, brawling with his opponent until he found the right opening. He took control for good when he landed a takedown against the fence, framed the fight-ending maneuver and passed to the proper side to elicit the tap.