UFC News & FeaturesUFC Seattle Prelims: Ion Cutelaba Arm-Triangles Ibo Aslan in Pacific Northwest
Ion
Cutelaba excels in chaos.
“The Hulk” continued to reassert himself in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division, as he dismissed Ibo Aslan with an arm-triangle choke in the first round of their featured UFC Fight Night 252 prelim on Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. Cutelaba (19-10-1, 8-9-1 UFC) slammed the door 2:51 into Round 1, nailing down his first submission win since April 4, 2015.
They traded barbs throughout their brief but eventful encounter.
Cutelba sat down the Gym 23 product with an overhand right and
later delivered a double-leg takedown. He laced the legs, climbed
toward mount and scrambled into position for the arm-triangle. It
soon became clear that there was no escape for Aslan (14-2, 2-1
UFC), who tapped with resignation.
Meanwhile, onetime Predador Fighting Championship titleholder Melquizael Costa turned away Andre Fili with a guillotine choke in the first round of their featherweight confrontation. Fili (24-12, 12-11 UFC) raised the white flag of surrender 4:30 into Round 1, suffering his first submission defeat in almost a decade.
Costa (22-7, 3-2 UFC) kept the Team Alpha Male mainstay occupied with kicks to the legs, body and arms, mixing in punching bursts when the mood arose. Fili eventually wandered right into a well-sprung trap from the Brazilian. He took down Costa and looked to improve position, only to leave his neck exposed. Costa snaked his arm in place, locked in the guillotine and let his squeeze do the rest.
The 28-year-old Costa has won 10 of his past 13 bouts.
Further down the undercard, Xtreme Couture prospect Mansur Abdul-Malik dispatched Nick Klein with punches in the second round of their middleweight affair. A short-notice substitution for Antonio Trocoli, Klein (6-2, 0-1 UFC) packed his bags 3:24 into Round 2.
Sailing was far from smooth for Abdul-Malik (8-0, 2-0 UFC). Klein staggered him with a spinning backfist—he actually connected with the elbow—in the first round and swooped in for a takedown before getting some work done in the clinch. Abdul-Malik cleared the cobwebs between rounds and picked his spots from there. He shoved Klein to the mat, closed the distance, forced the Pure Vida BJJ representative into a defensive shell and snuck in a right hand underneath the armpit. It set off a savage punching flurry from Abdul-Malik that prompted referee Jason Herzog to act.
Abdul-Malik, 27, has finished all eight of his opponents inside two rounds.
Elsewhere, ex-Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Ricky Simon punched out Javid Basharat in the first round of their bantamweight tilt. Simon (21-6, 9-5 UFC) brought it to an emphatic close 3:58 into Round 1, posting his first win since July 16, 2022.
Basharat (14-2, 3-2 UFC) negated the Team Oyama standout’s only takedown, hunted counters and delivered a pair of knee strikes—one to the head, the other to the body. Simon was unimpressed. He crashed forward behind glancing left hook and zapped the Xtreme Couture rep with a surgical straight right behind it. Unconscious on impact, Basharat collapsed to the canvas and was met with an unabated hammerfist before referee Mike Beltran could rope off the scene.
It was the first stoppage loss of Basharat’s career.
Not to be outshined, American Top Team’s Austin Vanderford put away former Fury Fighting Championship titleholder Nikolay Veretennikov with punches in the second round of their 175-pound catchweight clash. Veretennikov (12-6, 0-2 UFC) succumbed to blows 4:13 into Round 2.
Vanderford (13-2, 1-0 UFC) set the tone in the first round, where he executed a takedown, opened a cut on the Ukrainian with a slashing elbow strike, threatened with an arm-triangle choke and ultimately progressed to full mount. By then, it was clear Veretennikov had no answer for the American wrestler. Vanderford secured another takedown inside the first 90 seconds of Round 2, moved to a dominant position and battered his adversary with unanswered punches until referee Keith Peterson had seen enough.
The 34-year-old Vanderford eyes his next assignment on the strength of back-to-back victories.
Deeper into the prelims, Nursulton Ruziboev disposed of promotional newcomer Eric McConico with punches in the second round of their middleweight scrap. Ruziboev (35-9-2, 3-1 UFC) drew the curtain 33 seconds into Round 2, winning for the 11th time in 12 appearances.
McConico (9-3-1, 0-1 UFC) was a non-factor against the monstrous 6-foot-5 Uzbekistan native. After a tepid first round, Ruziboev sent a devastating right cross slicing through the MMA Lab rep’s defenses at the start of the middle stanza. McConico stumbled backward and crashed to the canvas, leaving him in no position to shield himself from the onslaught that followed. Ruziboev let fly with punches, drove his counterpart to the mat a second time with a clubbing right hook and triggered the stoppage.
The setback snapped McConico’s five-fight winning streak.
Finally, former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Modestas Bukauskas cut down Raffael Cerqueira with punches in the first round of their light heavyweight pairing. Cerqueira (11-2, 0-2 UFC) checked out 2:12 into Round 1 and remains winless inside the Octagon.
Bukauskas (17-6, 5-4 UFC) crashed forward with power punches from both hands, walked through the return fire and kept his foot on the gas. A looping left hook from the Lithuanian set Cerqueira on unsteady legs. Bukauskas then swarmed with rapid fire punches along the fence until the Galpao da Luta product folded at his feet.
The 31-year-old Bukauskas has rattled off six wins in seven outings.
“The Hulk” continued to reassert himself in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division, as he dismissed Ibo Aslan with an arm-triangle choke in the first round of their featured UFC Fight Night 252 prelim on Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. Cutelaba (19-10-1, 8-9-1 UFC) slammed the door 2:51 into Round 1, nailing down his first submission win since April 4, 2015.
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Meanwhile, onetime Predador Fighting Championship titleholder Melquizael Costa turned away Andre Fili with a guillotine choke in the first round of their featherweight confrontation. Fili (24-12, 12-11 UFC) raised the white flag of surrender 4:30 into Round 1, suffering his first submission defeat in almost a decade.
Related » UFC Seattle Round-by-Round Scoring
Costa (22-7, 3-2 UFC) kept the Team Alpha Male mainstay occupied with kicks to the legs, body and arms, mixing in punching bursts when the mood arose. Fili eventually wandered right into a well-sprung trap from the Brazilian. He took down Costa and looked to improve position, only to leave his neck exposed. Costa snaked his arm in place, locked in the guillotine and let his squeeze do the rest.
The 28-year-old Costa has won 10 of his past 13 bouts.
Further down the undercard, Xtreme Couture prospect Mansur Abdul-Malik dispatched Nick Klein with punches in the second round of their middleweight affair. A short-notice substitution for Antonio Trocoli, Klein (6-2, 0-1 UFC) packed his bags 3:24 into Round 2.
Sailing was far from smooth for Abdul-Malik (8-0, 2-0 UFC). Klein staggered him with a spinning backfist—he actually connected with the elbow—in the first round and swooped in for a takedown before getting some work done in the clinch. Abdul-Malik cleared the cobwebs between rounds and picked his spots from there. He shoved Klein to the mat, closed the distance, forced the Pure Vida BJJ representative into a defensive shell and snuck in a right hand underneath the armpit. It set off a savage punching flurry from Abdul-Malik that prompted referee Jason Herzog to act.
Abdul-Malik, 27, has finished all eight of his opponents inside two rounds.
Elsewhere, ex-Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Ricky Simon punched out Javid Basharat in the first round of their bantamweight tilt. Simon (21-6, 9-5 UFC) brought it to an emphatic close 3:58 into Round 1, posting his first win since July 16, 2022.
Basharat (14-2, 3-2 UFC) negated the Team Oyama standout’s only takedown, hunted counters and delivered a pair of knee strikes—one to the head, the other to the body. Simon was unimpressed. He crashed forward behind glancing left hook and zapped the Xtreme Couture rep with a surgical straight right behind it. Unconscious on impact, Basharat collapsed to the canvas and was met with an unabated hammerfist before referee Mike Beltran could rope off the scene.
It was the first stoppage loss of Basharat’s career.
Not to be outshined, American Top Team’s Austin Vanderford put away former Fury Fighting Championship titleholder Nikolay Veretennikov with punches in the second round of their 175-pound catchweight clash. Veretennikov (12-6, 0-2 UFC) succumbed to blows 4:13 into Round 2.
Vanderford (13-2, 1-0 UFC) set the tone in the first round, where he executed a takedown, opened a cut on the Ukrainian with a slashing elbow strike, threatened with an arm-triangle choke and ultimately progressed to full mount. By then, it was clear Veretennikov had no answer for the American wrestler. Vanderford secured another takedown inside the first 90 seconds of Round 2, moved to a dominant position and battered his adversary with unanswered punches until referee Keith Peterson had seen enough.
The 34-year-old Vanderford eyes his next assignment on the strength of back-to-back victories.
Deeper into the prelims, Nursulton Ruziboev disposed of promotional newcomer Eric McConico with punches in the second round of their middleweight scrap. Ruziboev (35-9-2, 3-1 UFC) drew the curtain 33 seconds into Round 2, winning for the 11th time in 12 appearances.
McConico (9-3-1, 0-1 UFC) was a non-factor against the monstrous 6-foot-5 Uzbekistan native. After a tepid first round, Ruziboev sent a devastating right cross slicing through the MMA Lab rep’s defenses at the start of the middle stanza. McConico stumbled backward and crashed to the canvas, leaving him in no position to shield himself from the onslaught that followed. Ruziboev let fly with punches, drove his counterpart to the mat a second time with a clubbing right hook and triggered the stoppage.
The setback snapped McConico’s five-fight winning streak.
Finally, former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Modestas Bukauskas cut down Raffael Cerqueira with punches in the first round of their light heavyweight pairing. Cerqueira (11-2, 0-2 UFC) checked out 2:12 into Round 1 and remains winless inside the Octagon.
Bukauskas (17-6, 5-4 UFC) crashed forward with power punches from both hands, walked through the return fire and kept his foot on the gas. A looping left hook from the Lithuanian set Cerqueira on unsteady legs. Bukauskas then swarmed with rapid fire punches along the fence until the Galpao da Luta product folded at his feet.
The 31-year-old Bukauskas has rattled off six wins in seven outings.
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