UFC Fight Night 222 Prelims: Christos Giagos Melts Ricky Glenn

Christos Giagos parlayed nearly two years of frustration into focused aggression, and Ricky Glenn had the misfortune to be in harm’s way.

Giagos (20-10) entered the top preliminary bout of “UFC Vegas 71” on the first losing streak of his UFC career, having dropped his last two fights to Thiago Moises and Arman Tsarukyan by first-round submission and first-round TKO respectively. Perhaps feeling his back was against the wall, the “Spartan” came out with urgency against Glenn (22-7-2), who was returning for the first time since his majority draw against Grant Dawson over a year and a half ago. After some tentative early exchanges on the feet, Giagos caught Glenn with a pinpoint left hook to the temple, dropping him immediately. A pair of glancing follow-up shots were hardly needed, as referee Jared Montalvo was already diving in for the stoppage. The knockout win came officially at 1:35 of Round 1 and put Giagos back on track in emphatic fashion while elevating his UFC record to 5-4 across two separate stints with the promotion; Glenn’s Octagon record fell to 4-4-1 in defeat.

Jackson Blasts Yahya

Montel Jackson (13-2) lived up to his “Quik” nickname, using his speed, reach and power to make short work of Rani Yahya (28-11-1, 1 NC). Befitting one of the most prolific submission artists in MMA history, the 38-year-old Yahya came forward looking to bring the fight to the ground, swinging his way into range against the UFC’s tallest bantamweight. It was an approach that had served Yahya surprisingly well for over a decade and a half in the UFC and World Extreme Cagefighting, but did not pay off this time. Jackson caught the shorter man overextending himself on a punch and dropped him with a clean left hand. A few follow-up strikes to the fallen Brazilian were enough to spur referee Keith Peterson into action for the technical knockout at 3 minutes, 42 seconds. Jackson’s UFC record moved to 7-2, while the loss—Yahya’s first by stoppage since 2009—left him at 13-5-1 with one no contest since joining the UFC out of the dissolution of WEC.

Dumont Defeats Rosa

Karol Rosa turned up the urgency in the last 90 seconds, but it was too little, too late as Norma Dumont prevailed in a grueling, clinch-filled featherweight matchup. Both women had sporadic success on the feet over the course of the fight, but the kickboxing exchanges invariably gave way to long clinch stalemates against the fence. The first two rounds were close—especially the second—but Dumont appeared to land the harder blows, including one that opened a bad cut near Rosa’s right eye. The third round saw the best offense of the fight, as Rosa sat Dumont down late with a big right hand, then scored with a judo throw and a spinning elbow. It was enough to win her the round, but not the fight, as Dumont picked up the win by unanimous 29-28 scorecards. The win left Dumont 9-2 as a professional, 6-2 in the UFC and with a decent case for the next shot at Amanda Nunes’ featherweight crown, while Rosa (16-5) fell to 5-2 in the promotion.

Usman Outlasts Tafa

In a heavyweight battle that slowed to a crawl by the midpoint of Round 2, Mohammed Usman (9-2) crawled just a bit faster and further than Junior Tafa (4-1) en route to a well-deserved decision win. The striker-versus-grappler dynamic was set almost immediately, as Tafa worked to elude the takedown attempts of Usman and land his vaunted power punches. For a few moments late in Round 1 it looked as though he might succeed; Tafa rocked Usman with punches and pursued the finish as the Nigerian-American stumbled across the Octagon. Usman survived the round, however, and it turned out that Tafa may have over-pursued, as he was visibly winded early in Round 2. Usman was clearly tired as well but found himself able to secure takedowns with relative ease in Rounds 2 and 3, and in both cases those takedowns effectively ended the rounds, as Tafa offered next to nothing from his back and Usman stayed busy on top. The judges awarded the bout to Usman by unanimous 29-28 scores, sending his Octagon record to 2-0; Tafa’s first professional loss left him 0-1 in the UFC.

Gomis Frustrates Marshall

In a battle of intriguing young featherweight prospects, William Gomis (12-2) spoiled Francis Marshall’s undefeated record, but not without overcoming some adversity. For the bulk of the fight, Gomis’ footwork, feints and arsenal of speedy kicks baffled Marshall, who struggled to find any success striking or wrestling until well into the third round. When he was finally able to track down the elusive Frenchman, however, Marshall made the most of it, dominating the final two minutes of the fight with back control, rear-naked choke attempts and an arm-triangle try in the closing moments. “The Jaguar” survived to hear the final horn, prevailed by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28), his second straight win since joining the UFC last September; Marshall’s first professional loss left him at 7-1 overall and 1-1 in the UFC.

Bloodied Hiestand Pounds out Danaa

Brady Hiestand weathered a storm for two rounds and change before pounding out Batgerel Danaa in their card-opening bantamweight clash. After a first round characterized by Hiestand’s difficulty securing takedowns and a power differential in the Mongolian’s favor, Danaa sat Hiestand down with his very first punch of Round 2, a solid left hand. A successful desperation takedown by Hiestand led to a lengthy ground sequence in which he achieved back control and worked for a rear-naked choke for most of the rest of the frame. The final round opened with Hiestand bleeding heavily from a cut over the right eye and seemed to offer more of the same until the Washington state native grounded Danaa late in the round with a nice double-leg takedown. Hiestand quickly trapped Danaa near the base of the fence and poured on a stream of unanswered punches until referee Jerin Valel was forced to intervene at 4:21 of the round. The TKO win brought “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 29 runner-up to 2-1 in the UFC and 8-2 overall; Danaa’s third straight loss saw him fall to 3-4 in the UFC; 12-5 overall.