UFC Fight Night 138 Prelims: Sean Strickland Pounds Out Nordine Taleb

All business tonight for Sean Strickland, as he gets the TKO victory. pic.twitter.com/TBN2rihAKF

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) October 28, 2018

Welterweight contender Sean Strickland ventured all the up to the Great White North and came out on top in the UFC Fight Night 138 prelims headliner as he stopped quasi-local fighter Nordine Taleb in the second frame.

Strickland (20-3) dropped Taleb with a powerful right to the head in the second, but couldn’t put him away with his initial follow-up flurry. However, moments after Taleb (14-6) sprung back up to his feet, “Tarzan” drilled him with another right to the face. Taleb fell again and tried to recover his guard, but the Californian rained down a storm of punches until referee Eric Nevitt had to pull him off.

The end came officially at 3:10 of the second.

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Haqparast Bests Gouti

In a pairing of European lightweights, it was Afghanistan native Nasrat Haqparast who had his hand raised after three exciting rounds.

Haqparast landed dozens of powerful punches to the head and repeatedly rocked opponent Thibault Gouti, but the Frenchman was as tough as they come and stayed in the battle until the end. Haqparast rocked “GT” with left hooks to the dome in every round, but in the third he nearly stopped Gouti (12-5) with kicks to the body and follow-up punches.

Gouti rallied down the stretch but still came up short on the cards; Haqparast (10-2) won via scores of 29-27, 29-28 and 30-26.

Kattar Finishes Fishgold

Featherweight contender Calvin Kattar lived up to his nickname as he dispatched England’s Chris Fishgold in the opening frame. Fishgold exploded out of his corner and swarmed the Massachusetts fighter with a relentless barrage of punches, but Kattar remained calm and waited for his moment to strike.

Fishgold (17-2) was effective with his power punches, but once Kattar saw an opening, he pelted his foe with a sharp left-right to the head. The right landed behind the debutant’s ear, ruining his equilibrium. Kattar pounced on the fallen, woozy Brit and unloaded punches until referee Yves Lavigne intervened, stopping the battle at the 4:11 mark. With the TKO win, “The Boston Finisher” rose to 19-3.

Bernardo Outpoints Moras

Brazilian bantamweight prospect Talita Bernardo nabbed her first-ever win inside the Octagon as she outlasted Sarah Moras over three rounds for a unanimous decision.

Bernardo landed decent strikes on the feet, but the story of the duel was her takedowns and relentless pressure on the canvas. Moras had difficulty in finding a rhythm and was forced into being defensive whenever the fighters were on the ground. In the end, Bernardo (6-3) was awarded the nod via tallies of 30-27 and 29-28 (twice). Moras, from Canada but fighting out of Las Vegas, fell to 5-4.

Madge Destroys Edwards

Coming into the fight, virtually all of the media attention was on Phoenix’s Te Edwards based on his six first-round knockouts. However, South African Don Madge never got the memo as he not only nearly subbed him in the opening minutes, he blew him away with a head kick in the second round.

“Magic Man” rocked Edwards badly in the first with a blistering right-left punch combo to the face and then nearly snapped “T’s” arm with an armbar. Edwards escaped it but was hurt again by a left to the head moments into the second. From there, Madge (7-3-1) landed a glancing right head kick and then finished the American with a follow-up right head kick. Edwards (6-2) crumbled in a heap and Madge’s ensuing punches were unnecessary as referee Barry Gallant was already in the midst of stopping the lightweight duel. The end came officially just 14 ticks into the second.

Bhullar Outpoints Golm

Heavyweight contender Arjan Singh Bhullar looked solid against Brazil’s Marcelo Golm (6-2) as he waded through leg kicks en route to a unanimous decision victory. Bhullar, an Indian-Canadian, landed the much harder punches and scored a powerful takedown in the third to solidify his win.

Two judges favored Bhullar (8-1) 29-28 while the third saw it 29-27.

Ray Gets Controversial Decision

Steven Ray said that his career was on shaky legs and could ill afford a loss against Jessin Ayari on Saturday. Their fight was the first of the evening and it seemed as though Germany’s Ayari did enough -- more than enough -- to win the battle, but the judges saw it differently.

“Abacus” pressured Ray for nearly three full rounds and busted “Braveheart” up with a plethora of punches to the head, but it wasn’t to be. Two cageside judges favored Scotland’s Ray (22-8) via tallies of 29-28 and the third had it 30-27, flabbergasting nearly everybody who watched the contest. Ayari, who made his debut at lightweight, fell to 16-5 with the effort.