UFC Fight Night 211 Prelims: Daniel Gustavo Santos Knee Strike Wrecks John Castaneda

THE SOUND OF THIS KNEE 🔊 #UFCVegas61 pic.twitter.com/asHYf7xYWK

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 1, 2022

Daniel Gustavo Santos established his foothold in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division, as he cut down John Castaneda with a knee strike in the second round of their featured UFC Fight Night 211 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Santos (9-2, 1-1 UFC) closed it out 4:28 into Round 2, the action-packed battle having been contested at a catchweight of 140 pounds.

The Brazilian’s pace, pressure and power—along with his remarkable recuperative abilities—were too much for Castaneda (19-6, 2-2 UFC). Santos withstood nearly being finished twice with head kicks in the first round. Castaneda appeared winded when he emerged for the middle stanza, and his Chute Boxe-trained adversary capitalized. Santos tore into him with a relentless string of punches, kicks and knees to the head and body, pinned him to the fence and fired the final knee up the middle. An exhausted Castaneda collapsed at the base of the cage, the stoppage following almost immediately.

The defeat snapped a two-fight winning streak for Castaneda.

Latifi Stifles Fading Oleynik

Multiple takedowns, positional control and mild but effective ground-and-pound carried Allstars Training Center rep Ilir Latifi to a unanimous decision over Alexey Oleynik in a three-round heavyweight tilt. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Latifi (16-8, 9-6 UFC).

Oleynik (60-17-1, 9-8 UFC) offered virtually nothing in terms of meaningful offense. Latifi struck for takedowns in the first and second rounds, steered clear of the Russian’s vaunted submission game and piled up points with ground-and-pound. He then cut off Oleynik’s rushes in Round 3, stymied him in the clinch and bled valuable time off the clock.

Latifi has rebounded from a three-fight losing streak with back-to-back wins.

Silva Knee Buries Ronson

Joaquim Silva cut down former two-division TKO Major League MMA champion Jesse Ronson with a flying knee and follow-up punches in the second round of their lightweight encounter. A late replacement for Vinc Pichel, Silva (12-3, 5-3 UFC) sealed the deal 3:08 into Round 2.

Ronson (21-12, 0-5 UFC) held his own through much of the first round, flurrying on the Brazilian with punches along the fence at one point. However, Silva switched stances from orthodox to southpaw and knocked down the Canadian with a flying knee in the waning seconds of the period. It was a harbinger of what was to come. Ronson stuck to the American Top Team rep with left hands at the start of the middle stanza, but his inability to address the aerial attacks proved to be his undoing. Silva decked him with another flying knee in the center of the cage and trailed him to the canvas, where he unleashed a sustained volley of punches and hammerfists until referee Keith Peterson had seen enough.

The victory was Silva’s first since Dec. 15, 2018.

Related » UFC Fight Night 211 Round-by-Round Scoring

Surging Allen Throttles Jotko

Former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Brendan Allen disposed of Krzysztof Jotko with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their middleweight confrontation. Allen (20-5, 8-2 UFC) drew the curtain 4:17 into Round 1, authoring the 10th first-round finish of his career.

Jotko (24-6, 11-6 UFC) assumed top position after his opponent slipped on a head kick but failed to consolidate those efforts with control or damage. Back on the feet, Allen struck for a takedown, climbed to mount and methodically lulled the American Top Team-trained Pole into a false sense of security. When an arm-triangle choke failed to materialize, he transitioned quickly to the rear-naked choke and coaxed the tap.

Allen, 26, has rattled off three straight victories.

Chandler Batters Replacement Stoliarenko

Organizational newcomer Chelsea Chandler put away former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder Julija Stoliarenko with punches in the first round of their catchweight contest at 140 pounds. A short-notice substitution for Leah Letson, Stoliarenko (10-7-2, 1-5 UFC) succumbed to blows 4:15 into Round 1.

Chandler (5-1, 1-0 UFC) dodged an early bullet. Stoliarenko took down and mounted the Cesar Gracie protégé inside the first minute, only to lose the position in her haste to find one of her patented armbars. From there, it was all downhill for the Lithuanian. Chandler hammered her with thudding combinations on the feet and countered a takedown into full mount. Stoliarenko did what she could to free herself from ground-and-pound peril but instead wound up eating a burst of unanswered punches that brought her day’s work to an unfulfilled conclusion.

The 28-year-old Chandler now finds herself on a five-fight winning streak.

Cannetti Choke Bounces Costa

“The Ultimate Fighter Latin America” semifinalist Guido Cannetti submitted Randy Costa with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their bantamweight pairing. In the midst of a two-year tailspin, Costa (6-4, 2-4 UFC) checked out 64 seconds into Round 1.

Cannetti (10-6, 4-5 UFC) peppered his counterpart with kicks to the body and lead leg, then tripped him to the floor, scrambled to the back and immediately moved on the choke. Costa failed to properly defend the 42-year-old Argentinian’s advances and had no choice but to tap.

Costa, 28, has lost three fights in a row, all by stoppage.