UFC Vegas 102 Prelims: Jose Delgado Wrecks Connor Matthews in Octagon Debut

Jose Delgado sent a loud-and-clear message to the rest of the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division: He intends to stick around awhile.

The MMA Lab prospect made quite the impression in his organizational debut, as he wiped out Connor Matthews with elbows and punches in the first round of their featured UFC Fight Night 251 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Matthews (7-3, 0-2 UFC) succumbed to blows 2:58 into Round 2.

Delgado (9-1, 1-0 UFC) took his time, probed for openings and unleashed his hands. He floored Matthews with an overhand right and immediately powered into full mount, prompting the New England Cartel product to surrender his back. A few elbow strikes and punches from Delgado were enough for referee Dan Miragliotta to wave it off.

Meanwhile, Alliance MMA standout Angela Hill rebounded from an Aug. 24 loss to Tabatha Ricci and did just enough to skate past fellow former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder Ketlen Souza by split decision in their three-round women’s strawweight affair. All three judges struck 29-28 scorecards: Michael Bell and Sal D’Amato for Hill, Derek Cleary for Souza.

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Hill (18-14, 13-14 UFC) benefitted from a fast start, as she forced the Brazilian onto the back foot, cut loose with punches and trapped her in the clinch, at which point she attacked the body with knees. She later mixed in a takedown, pairing it with top control and mild ground-and-pound. Souza (15-5, 2-2 UFC) turned the tide in the middle stanza, where she increased the ferocity of her attacks, connected with a brutal spinning back kick to the body and forced her adversary into more of a defensive posture. It all boiled down to Round 3, and both women had their moments. Hill surprised the Carioca Academy representative with another takedown, then managed to hold serve in the standup exchanges. It was enough to curry the necessary favor from Bell and D’Amato.

The 40-year-old Hill has won five of her past seven bouts.

Further down the undercard, Nova Uniao’s Rafael Estevam kept his perfect professional record intact with a unanimous decision over Jesus Santos Aguilar in their three-round flyweight scrap. All three members of the cageside judiciary scored it the same: 29-28 for Estevam (13-0, 2-0 UFC), who returned to the Octagon for the first time since Nov. 18, 2023.

Aguilar (11-3, 3-2 UFC) was ineffective through two rounds. Estevam executed repeated takedowns, consolidated them with suffocating control and piled up points with his ground-and-pound. The Andre Pederneiras protégé also made a pass at an arm-triangle choke. Aguilar found another gear in Round 3, where he took advantage of a visibly fatigued opponent. He pieced together two- and three-punch combinations and sprawled on attempted takedowns but eventually ran out of time when the finish he needed failed to materialize.

The setback snapped Aguilar’s three-fight winning streak.

Elsewhere, onetime Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Gabriel Bonfim put Kalinn Williams to sleep with a brabo choke in the second round of their welterweight encounter. A late replacement for Rinat Fakhretdinov, Williams (15-4, 6-3 UFC) lost consciousness 4:58 into Round 2.

Bonfim (17-1, 4-1 UFC) kept the Murcielago MMA mainstay off-balance with a persistent jab, stinging leg kicks and multiple takedowns in the first round. Williams upped the aggression to start the middle stanza but unknowingly wandered into danger. Bonfim ducked into another takedown, progressed to full mount and caught the choke in a transition. He then tightened his squeeze and waited for his counterpart to go limp.

It was the first stoppage loss for Williams in 19 professional appearances.

Not to be overshadowed, Team Victory prospect Elijah Smith called upon fast hands, well-timed takedowns and failproof submission defense to claim a unanimous decision over Vince Morales in a three-round bantamweight tilt. All three cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards for Smith (8-1, 1-0 UFC).

Morales (16-9, 3-7 UFC) made his move in the second round, where he threatened the promotional newcomer with a brabo choke and a Peruvian necktie. Those efforts were unsuccessful. Smith hammered away with clean combination punching and opened a serious cut across the bridge of the Syndicate MMA export’s nose with a short-range uppercut in the third round. Battered and bleeding, Morales positioned himself for a Hail Mary standing bulldog choke in the waning seconds, only to have time run out.

The 22-year-old Smith has rattled off six consecutive victories.

Finally, former Titan Fighting Championship titleholder Valter Walker dispatched Don’Tale Mayes with a heel hook in the first round of their heavyweight confrontation. Mayes (11-8, 4-6 UFC) raised the white flag 1:17 into Round 1, suffering his first submission defeat in almost five years.

Walker (13-1, 2-1 UFC) pressed the monstrous Jackson-Wink MMA rep into the cage, ducked into a takedown, advanced to half guard and activated his ground-and-pound. From there, he sat back on the heel hook, readjusted his grip and prompted the tapout.

It was the fifth first-round finish of Walker’s career.

In other action, Jacqueline Cavalcanti (9-1, 4-0 UFC) outstruck Julia Avila (9-4, 3-3 UFC) to a unanimous decision in their three-round women’s bantamweight pairing, earning 30-27 marks across the board.