UFC Fight Night 201 Prelims: Onama Destroys Benitez

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

In one of the wildest rounds we’re likely to see this year, David Onama was the last man left standing.

Onama (9-1) and Gabriel Benitez (22-10) threw everything but the kitchen sink at one another for four minutes and change. Both fighters landed early, often and hard, but Benitez was the first to put his man in serious trouble. A left hand by “Moggly” had Onama stumbling away, pawing at his right eye. As the injury was caused by a perfectly legal punch, Benitez rightfully gave chase, swinging away with both hands. However, Onama recovered quickly and backed his opponent into the fence, where he unloaded a dozen-punch combo, finishing with a series of left and right hooks that left Benitez facedown and unconscious. The vicious finish gets Onama in the win column after his short-notice, lightweight debut loss to Mason Jones last fall. Benitez, who missed the non-title featherweight limit by two pounds, has now lost two in a row.

Egger Throws, Taps Clark

Stephanie Egger (7-2) made short work of Jessica-Rose Clark, securing a first-round submission in their bantamweight clash. As soon as the fight began, Clark (11-7, 1 NC) came forward immediately to clinch with the decorated judoka. It would turn out to be a fateful choice, as Egger used a hip throw to deposit her on the canvas a minute later. Clark returned to her feet, but Egger quickly tossed her again, securing control of Clark’s right arm as she did so. Egger isolated and hyperextended the arm, and Clark was tapping seconds later, spurring referee Jason Herzog into action at 3:44. The loss snaps a two-fight win streak for “Jessy Jess,” while Egger moves to 2-1 in the UFC.

Skelly Knocks Out Striegl

Fighting for the first time in nearly three years, in what he asserted was his final mixed martial arts contest, Chas Skelly went out with a bang. “The Scrapper” dropped Mark Striegl with a knee and finishing him with ground-and-pound in the second round of their featherweight contest. Skelly was in control throughout, winning the first round with a combination of wrestling, clinch muscle and a few solid ground strikes. Skelly took Striegl down quickly in the second round, and while the Filipino sprang back to his feet a moment later, Skelly leveled him with a knee to the jaw. Skelly gave chase, whaling away with both hands until referee Keith Peterson intervened. The finish came at 2 minutes, 1 second of the round, and if it truly was Skelly’s last fight, the 36-year-old Texan retires with a record of 19-3 with one no contest. Striegl falls to 18-4 with one no contest, and is now 0-2 in two UFC appearances.

De Paula Edges Out Belbita

Gloria de Paula edged out Diana Belbita across three close rounds in their strawweight affair. As might be expected of two former kickboxers, de Paula and Belbita elected to engage almost entirely on the feet. The fight was characterized by a near dead heat in striking volume, lengthy clinch stalemates and Belbita’s effective head strikes versus de Paula’s focus on leg kicks. Each round was individually difficult to score, but in the end all three judges saw the fight for the Brazilian, 29-28. The win, de Paula’s first in three tries since emerging from Dana White's Contender Series in 2020, brings her record to 6-4 overall; Belbita goes to 14-7.

Anheliger Thumps Strader

Chad Anheliger (12-5) made a successful Octagon debut — his 10th straight win overall — weathering a strong early effort from Jesse Strader (5-3) to score a third-round knockout in their bantamweight prelim. The first round appeared to go to Strader, as “Sui Generis” outwrestled and outlanded Anheliger for most of the round. The second round was more competitive, with Anheliger picking up momentum over his increasingly fatigued foe. Strader looked to wrestle immediately to open the final frame, but Anheliger eluded his takedown attempts and continued to pepper him with strikes. The end came when Anheliger landed a left-handed counter that stunned Strader, followed by another left that dropped him to the canvas. Anheliger swarmed with punches, landing lefts and rights from the back until referee Herb Dean dove in for the stop at 3:33.

Pearce Grinds Out Rodriguez

Jonathan Pearce spoiled the Octagon debut of Christian Rodriguez, handing the Dana White's Contender Series his first professional loss after 15 minutes of scramble-heavy grappling. “JSP” racked up over two full rounds’ worth of ground control, plying his wrestling skills and visible size advantage to good effect. Rodriguez had his moments, including a very tight guillotine choke in the first round and a series of strikes in the third that had Pearce reeling, but Pearce’s ability to fight through fatigue and secure takedowns at crunch time ended up making the difference. The judges awarded Pearce the win via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28), sending his record to 11-4, while Rodriguez exits the Apex at 7-1.

Bautista Blanks Perrin

In the opening bout of the evening, Mario Bautista gave a rough welcome to bantamweight newcomer Jay Perrin, who stepped up on short notice to replace Khalid Taha. Bautista established his superiority in all phases from the onset, denying Perrin’s takedowns, scoring one of his own and hurting Perrin with punches, all within the first round. The second and third rounds offered more of the same and then some, as Bautista put more distance between himself and the CES MMA veteran. After three rounds, Bautista prevailed by 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 scorecards to go to 9-2 as a professional; Perrin falls to 10-5.

Related » Jamahal Hill Shuts Off Johnny Walker's Lights in UFC Fight Night 201 Headliner