UFC Fight Night 223 Prelims: Viacheslav Borshchev Wallops Maheshate Hayisaer

“Slava Claus” delivered an emphatic technical knockout victory to the UFC Apex on Saturday evening.

Viacheslav Borshchev snapped at two-bout skid at UFC Fight Night 223, as he defeated Maheshate Hayisaer via technical knockout in their preliminary lightweight showdown. Borschev (7-3, 2-2 UFC) dropped Hayisaer (9-3, 1-2 UFC) with a clean right hook to the chin and sealed the victory with about six standing-to-ground strikes at the 2:37 mark of Round 2.

Related » UFC Fight Night 223 Round-by-Round Scoring

Borschev flashed his power on multiple occasions. After a competitive striking battle for the majority of the opening frame, the Team Alpha Male product dropped Hayisaer with a short right near the end of the period. The show continued in the second frame. Borschev sat his Chinese foe down with another right early in the period before putting Hayisaer away with the finishing sequence moments later. Borschev has finished six of his seven professional triumphs via KO or TKO.

Kowalkiewicz Stymies Demopoulos

Former strawweight title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz earned her third straight promotional triumph, taking a three-round verdict over Vanessa Demopoulos in a 115-pound pairing. The Pole received a trio of 30-27 scorecards from the cageside judges. Demopoulos, who missed weight by 1.5 pounds, sees a three-bout winning streak snapped in defeat.

Kowalkiewicz (15-7, 8-7 UFC) dictated the terms of engagement for the majority of the fight, tagging her adversary with crisp, clean punching combinations to the head. As the bout progressed, Demopoulos (9-5, 3-2 UFC) face was bloodied and battered from the assault. Demopoulos’ best offense occurred early in the fight, when she briefly stunned Kowalkiewicz with a left hook. Moments like that were few and far between, however, as Kowalkiewicz displayed superior volume and accuracy during exchanges.

Urbina Crumbles Cosce

“The Ultimate Fighter 29” cast member Gilbert Urbina battered the body of opponent Orion Cosce, paving the way for a second-round technical knockout victory in a welterweight bout. Urbina put his adversary away at the 2:55 mark of Round 2 for his first TKO win since 2014. Cosce (8-2, 1-2 UFC) missed weight by 1.5 pounds on Friday.

Urbina (7-2, 1-1 UFC) dominated the opening stanza, as he assumed full mount and attacked Cosce with elbows and punches from above. He hammered at Cosce right up until the final horn, but his adversary was able to survive. The break in rounds was only a brief respite, however. An early second-round front kick drew a grimace from Cosce, and Urbina capitalized by landing the maneuver again shortly thereafter. With Cosce doubled over in pain, Urbina followed up with a pair of knees before the Dana White’s Contender Series alum crumbled to the mat, bringing an end to the contest.

Nascimento Edges Latifi

American Top Team product Rodrigo Nascimento earned his second consecutive promotional triumph, as he took a split decision over former 205-pound competitor Ilir Latifi in a heavyweight scrap. Derek Cleary and Sal D’Amato scored the contest 29-28 for Nascimento (10-1, 3-1, 1 NC UFC), while Jacob Montalvo saw it 29-28 in favor of Latifi (16-9, 1 NC, 9-7 UFC).

Nascimento’s takedown defense held up well for the majority of the bout, as Latifi was only able to ground the Brazilian for a significant period of time in the last half of Round 2. When the fight was at range, Nascimento enjoyed success with forward movement and short counters — including a left hook that landed consistently. Latifi had one final moment of aggression in the final stanza, but it wasn’t enough to sway the scorecards in his favor.

Hooper Outstrikes Fiore

Showcasing an improved standup game, Dana White’s Contender Series alum Chase Hooper outdueled New England Cartel product Nick Fiore en route to a unanimous decision triumph at lightweight. The 23-year-old Combat Sport & Fitness export earned tallies of 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 from the judges to win his 155-pound debut following a five-bout promotional stint at featherweight.

While Hooper (12-3-1, 4-3 UFC) scrambled and threatened with submissions thoughout the bout, his ability to land offense on the feet proved to be the difference against a fellow grappler. “The Dream” willingly attacked his foe with long punches, a variety of kicks and elbows and knees in close quarters. Hooper nearly secured a finish when he rocked Fiore (6-2, 0-2 UFC)with an elbow laterin Round 1 and flurried with punches before his foe was saved by the horn.

Silva Runs Through Leonardo


 Ex-Jungle Fight champion Natalia Silva extended her winning streak to nine with a technical knockout victory over Victoria Leonardo in a flyweight affair. Silva (15-5-1, 3-0 UFC) ended the contest 2:58 into Round 1, her second consecutive finish within the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Silva was visibly quicker to the punch than Leonardo (9-5, 1-3 UFC) from the start, and she set the stage for the stoppage by sitting her adversary down with a left hook about halfway through Round 1. Leonardo’s ensuing desperation shot failed, and Silva rocked her feeling foe with a right hand and high kick shortly thereafter. Leonardo could do nothing more than cover up against the fence from there, which prompted referee Kerry Hatley to step in on her behalf.

Gorimbo Hands Sato Fourth Straight Defeat

South Africa’s Themba Gorimbo relied on takedowns and positional control to capture a unanimous decision triumph against Pacrase veteran Takashi Sato in a welterweight encounter. All three judges submitted scorecards in favor of the former Extreme Fighting Championship title holder: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-27. Sato (15-7, 2-5 UFC) has lost his last four Octagon appearances.

Gorimbo (11-4, 1-1 UFC) was relentless in his pursuit of the takedown, and he authored nearly all of the fight’s most memorable moments in the process. In addition to logging significant amounts of control time, Gorimbo took his opponent’s back in both the first and third frames while dropping Sato with a massive overhand right in Round 2. Gorimbo did his best to put Sato away with ground-and-pound following the knockdown, but the Kill Cliff FC representative was able to survive the onslaught.