UFC 235 Prelims: Zabit Magomedsharipov Wins 13th Consecutive Bout

WILD finish to this one! What. A. Fight!#UFC235 pic.twitter.com/tdsALDJjCD

— UFC (@ufc) March 3, 2019

Zabit Magomedsharipov has been tabbed as an Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger sooner rather than later and rugged veteran Jeremy Stephens was pegged as the perfect fighter to test the meddle of the gifted Dagestani.

That’s exactly what happened on the UFC 235 undercard in Las Vegas on Saturday night, as Magomedsharipov earned a unanimous decision, but not without being put through his paces a little bit.

The opening round was tense and tightly contested, with Stephens (28-16 MMA, 16-15 UFC) attacking and Magomedsharipov (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) countering, each landing glancing punches and hard low kicks. Things looked to be changing for the much-hyped prospect in Round 2 though, as he began landing his left cross more actively, then got Stephens on the mat, taking his back, pounding away and threatening the rear-naked choke. Just when it looked like “Zabeast” was taking over, we saw why Stephens was chosen as the veteran to vet him.

In the final round, Stephens jabbed more diligently and brought heavy hook combos behind it, staying in Magomedsharipov’s face and forcing him to circle and strictly counter, as it appeared the blue chipper was starting to tire. Ultimately, “Lil Heathen” couldn’t get the knockout and wound up losing on three 29-28 judges’ scorecards, but gave Magomedsharipov, now 5-0 in the UFC, his toughest fight thus far in the Octagon.

“Jeremy is a very tough opponent, he has a lot of experience in the UFC and I think this was a great step up for me,” Magomedsharipov said after the contest through his translator. “I would like to face anyone in the top 10, anyone to get me one step closer to the belt.”

Walker Hype Train Picks Up Steam with Flying Knee on Cirkunov

If you’re looking for a spot on the Johnny Walker bandwagon, you might need to get your spot soon, as the Brazilian prospect earned yet another quick, stunning knockout, knocking Misha Cirkunov silly in just 36 seconds with an aerial attack.

Walker (17-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who splits his time between his native Brazil and Phuket, Thailand, seized the very first opportunity that Cirkunov (14-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) gave him. The Latvian-Canadian feinted, threw a pawing jab, then tried to duck under for a double-leg takedown. In a split second, Walker went airborne, flattened him with a flying knee, then pounded away until Herb Dean intervened.

Curiously, the only adversity the charismatic Walker faced came after the fight, when he launched a military salute and then planked forward onto his face, after which he embarrassingly admitted to UFC in-ring interviewer Joe Rogan that he may have dislocated his shoulder.

Walker, who entered the UFC just four months ago with little fanfare, has now won nine consecutive bouts and his three Octagon appearance have lasted a combined 2:48 in the cage with him, all falling via knockout. Cirkunov, meanwhile, is now just 1-4 in his last four with three knockout losses.

Related » UFC 235 Round-by-Round Scoring

Stamann Takes Solid Win Over Perez via Pressure

Cody Stamann might have been surprised by how difficult former “Ultimate Fighter: Latin America” winner Alejandro Perez proved to be, but despite the Mexican fighter showing clearly improved takedown defense due to his time with American Kickboxing Academy, “Mr. Wonderful” stayed in his face with his high-pressure wrestleboxing style to take a unanimous decision. Scores were 30-27 and 29-28 twice for Stamann.

Stamann (18-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) came out switching stances, staying in the face of Perez (21-7-1 MMA, 7-2-1 UFC) with jabs, feints, hooks and takedown attempts off of “Turbo’s” kicks. Perez was able to land hard right hands on occasion, but the Sparta, Mich., native ate them gladly and never let him off the hook, even when Perez got more aggressive in the final round, even crotch lifting Stamann high in the air and slamming him on his head at one point. The bout was the first loss for Perez in his last eight fights.

Sanchez Turns Back the Clock, Crushes Gall in the Second

Even at 37 years-old and after 40 pro bouts, Diego Sanchez continues to defy expectations and age, as he outlasted and ultimately battered Mickey Gall en route to a dominant second-round stoppage.

Things looked iffy early for Sanchez (29-11 MMA, 18-11 UFC) as the much larger Gall (5-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) rushed him with long, accurate punches for the first half of the opening round. The Jackson-Wink MMA product was finally able to wrestle Gall to the mat, landing clean elbows and applying constant pressure. In Round 2, Gall was clearly fatigued already and was dropped with a clean knee to the solar plexus by Sanchez, who completely demolished him from there, riding him effortlessly on top, crushing him with punches and elbows. After taking full mount for a second time and pounding away, referee Marc Goddard finally rescued at 4:13 of the second frame.

“I knew he was gonna come in hard in the first round, I was just trying to stay calm out there, I knew he was going to come out hard … for the first round, I just let him punch himself out,” Sanchez said after the bout. For “The Nightmare,” it was his first stoppage win since halting Luigi Fioravanti June 2008 and he has now won consecutive bouts for the first time in eight years.

Shahbazyan Stays Perfect, Demolishes Byrd with Browne Elbows

Undefeated Edmen Shahbazyan needed less than a minute to notch the biggest win of his career, destroying Charles Byrd in a mere 38 seconds. The 21-year-old Shahbazyan (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) immediately landed a clean uppercut on Byrd (10-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC), then just missed on a second one, which prompted a double-leg takedown attempt from the Texan.

Pressed up against the fence, “The Golden Boy” drew inspiration from the husband of his trainer Edmond Tarverdyan’s best-known pupil Ronda Rousey, delivering a vicious stream of elbows to the temple of Byrd, a fellow Dana White’s Contenders Series veteran, who quickly crumpled to the mat. Shahbazyan pounced on Byrd, punching away until referee Mark Smith sprang into action. into action.

’TUF’ Winner Chiasson Terrific in First-Round KO of Mazany

Macy Chiasson may have been making her bantamweight debut, but she looked like a million bucks against Gina Mazany.

Chiasson (4-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who won “The Ultimate Fighter 28” at 145 pounds last year, ran roughshod over Mazany (5-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC), opening up with heavy body kicks before ramming the Xtreme Couture fighter into the fence. The New Orleans native, who now trains with Fortis MMA in Dallas, then rocked Mazany to her heels with a volley of punches, then crumpled her with a three-punch combo and ground-and-pound to force referee Chris Tognoni to intervene at just 1:49 of the first round.

Cifers Scores First UFC Win With Split Squeaker Over Viana

In the evening opener, Hannah Cifers (9-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) got the first win of her UFC career, knocking off Polyana Viana (10-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) with a tight split decision.

While Viana had five-inch reach advantage, Cifers was the more effective puncher early, hunting the Brazilian down and landing right hooks and overhands, scoring a knockdown late in the first round. She was on the receiving end of a flash knockdown herself in the second and despite spending the last three minutes on top, Viana controlled her with punches and elbows on bottom. “Shockwave” sealed it in the third, however, finding her right hand repeatedly against an attacking Viana. Judge Ron McCarthy and Tony Weeks both scored it 29-28 for the North Carolina native, while Dave Hagen dissented with a 29-28 card for Viana.