UFC Fight Night 221 Prelims: Davey Grant Rallies, Sends Raphael Assuncao to Retirement

Davey Grant with the reverse triangle submission 😱 #UFCLasVegas pic.twitter.com/XIPSrJ5Ab8

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 11, 2023

Davey Grant showed a flair for the dramatic at UFC Fight Night 221.

“The Ultimate Fighter 18” alum rallied for a third-round submission victory over Raphael Assuncao in their preliminary bantamweight clash at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Nev., on Saturday. The 37-year-old Englishman used an inverted triangle choke to render Assuncao (28-10, 12-7 UFC) unconsicous at the 4:43 mark of Round 3. Assuncao, who has lost five of his last six Octagon appearances, left his gloves in the center of the cage and announced his retirement following the defeat.

Related » UFC Fight Night 221 Round-by-Round Scoring

Assuncao blended grappling with smart counterstriking to rack up an early lead on the scorecards, but action really picked up in the final stanza. Grant (15-6, 6-5 UFC) stumbled Assuncao with a right hand early on, a blow that seemed to slow the Brazilian for the remainder of the period. Assuncao attempted to steer the momentum in his favor by reverting back to his wrestling, and Grant was deducted a point by referee Keith Peterson for multiple fence grabs while defending takedowns.

Shortly after the fighters returned to their feet, Grant rocked his foe with a spinning backfist, prompting Assuncao to shoot out of desperation. When Assuncao picked Grant up over his shoulder, the Syndicate MMA product locked in a inverted triangle to set the stage for an unlikely finish.

Wrestling Carries Williams Past Brzeski

Dana White’s Contender Series alum Karl Williams relied on his wrestling to propel him to a lopsided unanimous decision triumph over Lukasz Brzeski in a heavyweight scrap. Williams (8-1, 1-0 UFC) earned tallies of 30-26, 30-26 and 30-27 from the cageside judges for his fifth straight professional victory.

Williams’ game plan was evident from the opening bell, as he grounded his Polish opponent repeatedly. The American Top Team Atlanta product appeared to be on the verge of a finish early in Round 2 when he blized Brzeksi (8-3-1, 0-2 UFC) with power punches being executed a powerful slam. When the stoppage didn’t arrive, the pace slowed for both fighters, but Williams continued to imposed his will through takedowns and ground-and-pound until the final horn.

Fremd Guillotines Dumas

Factory X member Josh Fremd earned his first Octagon triumph, as he tapped out Sedriques Dumas with a guillotine choke in their middleweight clash. The former Legacy Fighting Alliance competitor submitted his foe at the 3:00 mark of the second stanza. Fremd (10-4, 1-2 UFC) has finished eight of his 10 career triumphs inside the distance.

Fremd set the tone for the fight when he hurt Dumas (7-1, 0-1 UFC) with a counter left and immediately followed up with a takedown in the opening frame. A similar sequence occured in Round 2, as Fremd wobbled his foe with a right hand before executing a high-amplitude hip toss. Dumas went for an ill-advised back take during an ensuing scramble, which resulted in him falling off the top and back to the canvas. Fremd then capitalized, locking in the choke with Dumas in a seated position against the fence.

Henry Edges Gravely

Well-traveled veteran Victor Henry took a hard-fought split decision triumph against Dana White’s Contender Series alum Tony Gravely in a bantamweight bout. Judges Derek Colon (30-27) and Sal D’Amato (29-28) saw the fight for Henry, while Rick Winter submitted a 29-28 tally in favor of Gravely. Henry (23-6, 2-1 UFC) has won 11 of his last 13 professional outings.

Henry maintained a withering pace, as he kept Gravely (23-9, 4-4 UFC) on his heels with punching combinations, front kicks to the body, knees and elbows. Gravely struggled to hold his opponent down, but he made things interesting in a frenetic final stanza when he tagged his foe with power punches and scrambled free from a kneebar attempt by Henry. Ultimately, it wasn’t quite enough.

Lipski Outduels Aldrich

Former KSW champion Ariane Lipski secured a much-needed victory, as she outpointed J.J. Aldrich in a flyweight encounter. “The Violence Queen” received a trio of 30-27 tallies from the cageside judges, returning to the win column after an unsuccessful one-bout stint at 135 pounds last August. Aldrich has lost back-to-back fights for the first time in her professional tenure.

Lipski ( 15-8, 4-5 UFC) controlled the range throughout the contest, landing punching combination and kicks effectively against the Invicta FC veteran. Lipski’s takedown defense held up as well, and she punished Aldrich (11-6, 7-5 UFC) with knees in close quarters when her opponent attempted to get the fight to the canvas. By the end of the bout, Aldrich’s nose was bloodied from eating a steady diet of straight punches from the 29-year-old Brazilian. Lipski punctuated her victory by reversing an Aldrich takedown attempt in the waning moments of Round 3.

Silva Drops, Chokes Out Nam

Fight Ready export Bruno Silva earned his third consecutive finish in UFC competition, submitting Tyson Nam with a rear-naked choke in their flyweight clash. The Brazilian rendered his opponent unconscious at the 1:23 mark of Round 2, handing Nam (21-13-1, 3-4 UFC) the first submission defeat of his professional career.

Silva (13-5-2, 3-2 UFC) set the stage for his finish by dropping Nam with a front kick to the chin early in the second frame. After attempting to end the bout with ground-and-pound, “Bulldog’ jumped on his adversary’s back when Nam attempted to scramble back to his feet and secured the fight-ending maneuver shortly thereafter.

Harris Best Short-Notice Foe Gooden

Guyana’s Carlston Harris relied on his wrestling and grappling to capture a unanimous decision triumph against short-notice foe Jared Gooden in a welterweight bout. All three judges scored the fight in favor of the Renovacao Fight Team representative: 30-27, 30-27, 30-27. Gooden, who was a replacement for Abubakar Nurmagomedov, missed weight by six pounds on Friday.

After a competitive opening stanza that contested primarily on the feet, Harris imposed his will over the final 10 minutes through takedowns, top pressure and moderate ground-and-pound. “Mocambique” did some of his best work in Round 3, when he grounded Gooden (22-9, 1-4 UFC) four times, advanced to mount and dropped elbows from top position.