Rafael Fiziev Knee Injury Hands Mateusz Gamrot TKO in UFC Fight 228 Headliner

Mateusz Gamrot was awarded a technical knockout when Rafael Fiziev suffered an apparent knee injury in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 228 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Referee Herb Dean called for the stoppage 2:03 into Round 2—an unfortunate ending to what was shaping up as a compelling strategic battle between two of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s premier lightweights.

Fiziev (12-3, 6-3 UFC) inched ahead in a competitive first round, where he leaned on multi-strike bursts, bulletproof takedown defense and a heavy focus on the body with punches and kicks. Gamrot (23-2, 6-2 UFC) completed a takedown to start Round 2, only to have those efforts negated soon after. Fiziev scrambled to his feet and moved to the safety of open space. The Kill Cliff Fight Club collapsed after throwing a body kick—his left knee buckled as he pivoted—and turtled in noticeable distress, clearly unable to continue.

American Top Team’s Gamerot, a former two-division KSW champion, will head into his next assignment with wins in six of his past seven bouts.

Determined Mitchell Downs Ige

“The Ultimate Fighter 27” semifinalist Bryce Mitchell rebounded from his Dec. 10 defeat to Ilia Topuria and outgrappled Dan Ige to a unanimous decision in the three-round featherweight co-main event. All three cageside judges scored it for Mitchell (16-1, 7-1 UFC): 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

Related » UFC Vegas 79 Round-by-Round Scoring

Ige (17-7, 9-6 UFC) did considerable damage to the Barata MMA rep’s right eye in the first and second rounds, opening multiple cuts and causing an alarming amount of swelling with thudding right hands and clean left hooks. Mitchell countered with takedowns and positional dominance. He progressed to full mount in all three rounds—he also advanced to the back and flattened out the Hawaiian at one point—and stymied Ige with stifling control, doing just enough to get by on the scorecards.

The setback snapped Ige’s modest two-fight winning streak.

Dominant Rodriguez Brutalizes Waterson-Gomez

Marina Rodriguez moved to 2-0 in her head-to-head series with Michelle Waterson-Gomez, as she wrecked the onetime Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder with elbows and punches in the second round of their women’s strawweight rematch. Rodriguez (17-3-2, 7-3-2 UFC) brought it to a close 2:42 into Round 2, though referee Kerry Hatley would not have been criticized had he stopped it much sooner.

Waterson-Gomez (18-12, 6-8 UFC) executed a takedown inside the first 20 seconds but could not corral the Dana White’s Contender Series alum on the canvas. Rodriguez returned to her feet and unleashed a hellacious barrage of close-range knee strikes and elbows that left her counterpart with serious damage to her nose and a significant cut near her right eye. The cageside physician was brought into examine Waterson-Gomez at one point and cleared her to continue despite the fact that she had turned away from contact more than once. Rodriguez picked up where she left off in Round 2, powered into a full mount on a failed takedown attempt from “The Karate Hottie” and uncorked elbows and punches until the job was done.

The 37-year-old Waterson-Gomez has lost four fights in a row.

Battle Coke Finishes Fletcher

“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 29 winner Bryan Battle disposed of Factory X rep A.J. Fletcher with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their welterweight feature. Battle (10-2, 5-1 UFC) drew the curtain 4:32 into Round 2, as he recorded his ninth victory in 10 outings.

Related » UFC Vegas 79 Prelims: Johns Powers Past Argueta

Fletcher (10-3, 1-3 UFC) successfully navigated a 10-inch reach deficit in the first round, where he crowded “The Butcher” and floored him with a standing elbow off the break. Battle recovered, pushed the fight deeper and made the necessary adjustments. He trapped Fletcher along the fence in the middle stanza, slammed home knee strikes to the body and assumed top position after shedding a guillotine choke. Battle then advanced to the back and cinched the choke.

A onetime Atlas Fights titleholder, Fletcher had never before been finished.

Jourdain Guillotine Taps Ramos

Former TKO Major League MMA champion Charles Jourdain put away Ricardo Ramos with a guillotine choke in the first round of their featherweight appetizer. In his first appearance since June 18, 2022, Ramos (16-5, 7-4 UFC) checked out 3:12 into Round 1.

Jourdain (15-6-1, 6-5-1 UFC) cut loose with a straight left-right hook combination and followed it with a knee, forcing the Brazilian to engage him in the grappling department. Ramos shot for a takedown, dodged a guillotine and passed to side control. Jourdain then set off a scramble, caught the guillotine on the transition and squeezed his way to the submission.

The 27-year-old Jourdain has recorded back-to-back victories for the second time since joining the UFC roster in 2019.

Continue Reading » UFC Vegas 79 Prelims: Tim Means Buries Andre Fialho