UFC News & FeaturesUFC 268 Prelims: Sensational Flying Knee Knockout Punctuates Alex Pereira Debut
The MW division just got put on NOTICE
— UFC (@ufc) November 7, 2021
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Alex Pereira announced his arrival from the air.
The former two-division Glory kickboxing champion dazzled in his
hotly anticipated
Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, as he brought down
Andreas
Michailidis with a spectacular flying knee in the second round
of their featured
UFC 268 prelim on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New
York. Pereira (4-1, 1-0 UFC) lit the crowd on fire 18 seconds into
Round 2.
Michailidis (13-5, 1-2 UFC) closed the distance to great effect for much of the first round—he even managed to ground the Teixeira MMA middleweight twice—but bled his gas tank dry in the process. Pereira took flight in the opening moments of Round 2, unleashed a devastating knee strike with shocking power and precision and delivered a few follow-up blows before referee Dan Miragliotta could arrive on the scene.
Green Ambushes Returning Iaquinta
Bobby Green authored his first finish in exactly eight years and wasted little time in doing so, as he took care of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 15 finalist Al Iaquinta with punches in the first round of their lightweight affair. In his first appearance since October 2019, Iaquinta (14-7-1, 9-6 UFC) met his end 2:25 into Round 1.
Green (28-12-1, 9-7-1 UFC) lured the Serra-Longo Fight Team standout forward and sprang his trap. He decked Iaquinta with a jab-cross combination, sprawled out of a desperation takedown attempt, moved to a dominant position and closed out the former Ring of Combat champion with punches and hammerfists.
Iaquinta, 34, has suffered three straight defeats.
Related » UFC 268 Round-by-Round Scoring
Curtis Stuns Favored Hawes
Former CES MMA champion Chris Curtis dispatched Sanford MMA’s Phil Hawes with punches in the first round of their middleweight confrontation. Curtis (27-8, 1-0 UFC) sealed the deal 4:27 into Round 1, as he recorded his sixth straight win in his long-awaited Octagon debut.
Hawes (11-3, 3-1 UFC) controlled virtually every second of the bout with a diverse standup attack—until he ran into a counter left hook. He stumbled backward in a compromised state, absorbed another shot to the head and collapsed to the canvas. Curtis gave chase, uncorked a hammerfist and forced the stoppage.
The defeat was Hawes’ first since Aug. 1, 2017 and slammed the door on his seven-fight winning streak.
Imavov Slashes Reeling Shahbazyan
MMA Factory’s Nassourdine Imavov put away Edmen Shahbazyan with repeated elbow strikes in the second round of their middleweight clash. Winless since Nov. 2, 2019, a battered and bloodied Shahbazyan (11-3, 4-3 UFC) succumbed to blows 4:42 into Round 2.
A closely contested first round in which both men enjoyed their share of success gave way to the second. There, Imavov (11-3, 3-1 UFC) threatened the Glendale Fight Club rep with a pair of standing guillotine chokes, powered into top position and shredded him with elbows. The 26-year-old then advanced to the crucifix and continued slamming elbows into Shahbazyan’s exposed face until referee Keith Peterson had seen enough.
Imavov will enter his next assignment on the strength of back-to-back victories.
Undefeated Gary Flattens Williams
Blue-chip Sanford MMA prospect Ian Garry kept his perfect professional record intact and did so with pizzazz, as he punched out three-time Dana White’s Contender Series veteran Jordan Williams in the first round of their welterweight tilt. Williams (9-6, 0-3 UFC) bowed out 4:59 into Round 1.
Garry (8-0, 1-0 UFC) overcame a sluggish start and let his talent work for him. Williams bloodied his nose with basic one-twos but failed to give the onetime Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder true pause. The Factory X representative overextended on a left hook late in the first round, left himself exposed and ate a brutal counter right hand from Garry. The Irishman then followed up with two more surgical punches, floored Williams and prompted the stoppage.
Williams has lost all three of his fights inside the Octagon.
Barnett Kick Waylays Villante
Chris Barnett wiped out retiring former two-division Ring of Combat champion Gian Villante with an exquisitely timed wheel kick and follow-up punches in the second round of their heavyweight scrap. Barnett (22-7, 1-1 UFC) drew the curtain 2:23 into Round 2, as he posted his seventh win in eight outings.
Villante (17-14, 7-11 UFC) maintained a safe distance through much of the first round, using his height and reach advantages while peppering his Pablo Sandoval-shaped adversary with kicks to the body and legs. None of it mattered. Midway through the middle stanza, Barnett detonated the wheel kick behind the Bellmore Kickboxing Academy mainstay’s right ear, followed him to the canvas and let fly with unanswered punches until the job was done.
The 36-year-old Villante ends his career on a four-fight losing streak.
Surging Jacoby Sinks Allan
Former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder Dustin Jacoby stepped in as a short-notice substitution for Aleksa Camur and outstruck John Allan to a unanimous decision in a three-round light heavyweight battle. Scores were 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27, all for Jacoby (16-5-1, 4-2-1 UFC).
Allan (13-7, 0-2 UFC) seemed content to stand and trade with a world-class kickboxer—a tactic that did him no favors. Jacoby buried kicks into both of his legs, operated behind a stiff jab and cracked the Chute Boxe rep with rear-leg front kicks to the body, clean one-twos and even a standing elbow. Allan returned fire but often did so with single shots, as he failed to keep the Factory X product at bay.
Having compiled a 6-0-1 record across his past seven assignments, Jacoby has not tasted defeat in nearly seven years.
Baghdasaryan Outduels Replacement Souza
Punishing leg kicks, occasional jabs and well-timed punching bursts carried Glendale Fighting Club export Melsik Baghdasaryan to a unanimous decision over former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Bruno Souza in a three-round featherweight encounter. Baghdasaryan (7-1, 2-0 UFC) swept the scorecards with 29-28 marks from all three judges.
A short-notice replacement for T.J. Laramie, Souza (10-2, 0-1 UFC) struggled to establish his foothold. Baghdasaryan forced him to circle on the perimeter and pick his spots, though his efforts to alter the narrative that was unfolding were often met with momentum-busting counters. The Lyoto Machida did his best work in Round 3, where he capitalized on Baghdasaryan shifting into cruise control.
Baghdasaryan has rattled off seven consecutive victories.
Osbourne Spoils Vergara Debut
Syndicate MMA’s Ode Osborne rebounded from an Aug. 7 knockout loss to Manel Kape, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision over promotional newcomer C.J. Vergara in a three-round flyweight pairing. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28 for Osbourne (10-4, 2-2 UFC), who won for the sixth time in eight appearances.
Osbourne banked two rounds with efficient output and an offensive mashup that included multi-punch volleys, effective counters, front kicks to the body and stomping side kicks to the legs. Vergara (9-3-1, 0-1 UFC) steadied himself in Round 3, where he closed the distance, unleashed knees to the body from the clinch and scrambled into top position, at which point he flexed his muscles with elbow-laced ground-and-pound. Even so, the finish he needed was never in play.
The loss was Vergara’s first since May 25, 2018 and snapped the Pete Spratt protégé’s career-best five-fight winning streak.
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