Francis Ngannou Preys Upon Junior dos Santos in UFC on ESPN 3 Main Event
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Francis Ngannou struck more fear into the heart of the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division with his latest performance.
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The two men traded devastating leg kicks before the heavy artillery started flying. Dos Santos overextended on an overhand right, wound up with his back turned to “The Predator” and was blindsided by a right hook. Ngannou (14-3, 9-2 UFC) chased the fallen Brazilian to the mat, forced him onto all fours with a volley of hammerfists and sealed the deal on his third consecutive first-round finish with unabated punches to the side of the head.
Benavidez Handles Formiga in Rematch
Joseph Benavidez subdued former Shooto Americas champion Jussier Formiga with punches in the second round of flyweight co-main event. Formiga (23-6, 9-5 UFC) wilted 4:47 into Round 2, his run of four consecutive victories at an end.
Benavidez (28-5, 15-3 UFC) connected with a series of crippling kicks to the Brazilian’s upper and lower leg, darted in and out with punches and, most importantly, proved superior in the scrambles. Formiga opened a cut near the San Antonio, Texas, native’s left eye with a counter right hook in the first round but never put him in legitimate danger. Benavidez picked up his pace in the middle stanza, caught the American Top Team standout with a jarring head kick, reset and then flurried with punches. Formiga collapsed to all fours and continued to absorb punishment until referee Jason Herzog intervened.
The 34-year-old Benavidez, now 2-0 in his head-to-head series with Formiga, has pieced together a three-fight winning streak and emerged as the No. 1 contender for Henry Cejudo’s flyweight crown.
Relentless Maia Stymies Martin
Well-timed takedowns and suffocating top control carried 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist Demian Maia to a majority decision over Anthony Rocco Martin in a featured welterweight attraction. Maia (27-9, 21-9 UFC) was awarded 29-28 scores by two of the three judges, while a third saw it 28-28.
Martin (16-5, 8-5 UFC) dug an early hole from which he could not escape. Maia took down the American Top Team standout in the first and second rounds, settled into a kneeling mount, grapevined the legs and chipped away with annoying but effective punches. Up two rounds to none on the scorecards, Maia tried to cruise down the stretch and nearly paid a steep price. Martin wobbled the longtime Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with an overhand right and followed it with a right uppercut. However, in his haste to flurry for a potential Hail Mary finish, he drifted to close to Maia and allowed him to retreat to full guard, thus avoiding further damage.
The loss closed the book on Martin’s four-fight winning streak.
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Pichel Outduels Undefeated Roberts
“The Ultimate Fighter 15” semifinalist Vinc Pichel posted his fifth win in six outings, as he took a unanimous decision from Roosevelt Roberts in a three-round lightweight feature. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28 for Pichel (12-2, 5-2 UFC), who rebounded from his submission loss to Gregor Gillespie a little more than a year ago.
Roberts (8-1, 2-1 UFC) moved out to quick lead with a strong start but could not keep the Californian at bay. Pichel stood up the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate with a punishing leg kick in the second round and slowly but surely altered the complexion of the fight. By the end of the middle stanza, he was dropping punches from full mount. Pichel tightened his grip on the match over the final five minutes, as he threatened Roberts with a standing guillotine, scrambled to his back and again worked his way to full mount.
Dober Blitzes Unwary Reyes
Elevation Fight Team export Drew Dober cut down “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America” Season 2 semifinalist Marco Polo Reyes with punches in the first round of their featured lightweight clash. Reyes (8-6, 4-3 UFC) succumbed to blows 67 seconds into Round 1.
Dober (21-9, 7-5 UFC) wasted no time. He blitzed Reyes with both hands, drove him to all fours and allowed him to stand to resume his assault. From there, Dober pinned “El Toro” to the fence, let fly with punches and sent a straight left crashing into his face. Reyes hit the deck and was in no condition to defend himself from the punches that followed.
The 30-year-old Dober has rattled off four wins in five appearances.
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Undefeated Menifield Waylays Craig
Fortis MMA prospect Alonzo Menifield kept his perfect professional record intact, as he knocked out former British Association of Mixed Martial Arts champion Paul Craig in the first round of their light heavyweight showcase. Craig (11-4, 3-4 UFC) met his end 3:19 into Round 1.
Menifield (9-0, 2-0 UFC) sprawled out of repeated takedowns from the Scottish Hit Squad rep, denied his attempt to pull guard and waited for an opening. Craig misfired on an ill-advised spinning attack and fell to the mat, where he was met by a clubbing right hand from the Dana White’s Contender Series alum. A volley of unanswered punches followed before referee Herb Dean arrived on the scene.
Craig, 31, has lost four of his last six bouts.
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