UFC Vegas 106 Prelims: Resilient Jared Gordon Blows Away Thiago Moises

Jared Gordon took the judges out of the equation.

The 36-year-old Kill Cliff Fight Club veteran rebounded from a contentious June 22 decision defeat to Nasrat Haqparast and righted himself in the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division, as he dispatched Thiago Moises with punches in the first round of their featured UFC Fight Night 256 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Gordon (21-7, 9-6 UFC) drew the curtain 3:37 into Round 1.

Moises (19-9, 8-7 UFC) never established a stable foothold. Gordon caught the American Top Team mainstay off-guard with takedown inside the first 20 seconds, ate some elbows from the bottom and made the Brazilian work to get back to his feet. Once there, the two men separated and reset. Gordon decked the onetime Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion with a counter right hook, chased him to the canvas and closed it out with unanswered punches.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Green returned from a two-year absence and waded through serious adversity to tap promotional newcomer Matheus Camilo with a face crank in the second round of their lightweight battle. Green (12-5, 3-3 UFC) sealed the deal 3:43 into Round 2.

Camilo (9-3, 0-1 UFC) hammered away with punishing inside leg kicks and powerful right hands in a one-sided first round, then completed a takedown and backed it up with some elbow-laced ground-and-pound. The Xtreme Couture-trained Brazilian seemed to be closing in on a finish in the middle stanza, where he executed a trip takedown, climbed to mount and locked in a triangle choke. Green stayed composed, managed to free himself and scrambled behind his counterpart. He bit down on a body triangle, lassoed the head and squeezed on the fight-ending crank.

The setback snapped a six-fight winning streak for Camilo.

Further down the undercard, undefeated Mainstreet Boxing prospect Yadier Del Valle turned away Connor Matthews with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their featherweight clash. The outmatched Matthews (7-4, 0-3 UFC) checked out 2:54 into Round 1 and remains winless through three starts inside the Octagon.

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Del Valle (9-0, 1-0 UFC) tested the waters with heavy inside leg kicks, then dumped the New England Cartel product to the mat. The Bob Perez protégé threw his ground-and-pound in gear, wheeled behind his adversary and flattened out Matthews with ease. Del Valle attacked the neck, cinched the choke and forced the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate to capitulate.

The 28-year-old Del Valle now has four first-round finishes to his credit.

Elsewhere, Syndicate MMA export Luana Santos dismissed the returning Tainara Lisboa with a keylock in the second round of their women’s bantamweight scrap. In her first appearance since Oct. 14, 2023, Lisboa (7-3, 2-1 UFC) raised the white flag of surrender 4:59 into Round 2.

The 25-year-old Santos (9-2, 4-1 UFC) struck for a takedown inside the first 90 seconds and operated between side control, north-south and half guard in a tone-setting opening round. Lisboa conceded another takedown early in Round 2 and failed to respond. Santos climbed to the back, settled in full mount, isolated her opponent’s left arm and cranked it beyond its bounds. Lisboa had no choice but to tap.

Santos has won six of her past seven bouts.

Deeper into the prelims, GAEA Project standout Denis Gomes wiped out ex-Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder Elise Reed with punches in the second round of their women’s strawweight encounter. Reed (8-5, 4-5 UFC) succumbed to blows 30 seconds into Round 2.

Gomes (11-3, 5-2 UFC) was dominant from the start. She staggered Reed with a surgical right cross in the first round, pinned her to the fence and unleashed a series of short-range elbows. Gomes then struck for a takedown, applied suffocating control and incorporated some ground-and-pound, establishing her superiority in all phases. A visibly discouraged Reed retreated to her corner with a massive hematoma near her left eye. Gomes showed no mercy after the intermission. She floored Reed with a right hand off the counter early in the middle stanza, allowed the American to stand and dropped her again with a brutal left hook. More punches followed, necessitating the stoppage.

The 25-year-old Gomes has rattled off three straight victories.

Finally, “Road to UFC” Season 1 winner Hyun Sung Park kept his perfect professional record intact and did so in clinical fashion, as he disposed of VFS Academy rep Carlos Hernandez with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their flyweight tilt. Hernandez (10-5, 3-4 UFC) bowed out 2:26 into Round 1, losing for the third time in four outings.

Park (10-0, 3-0 UFC) backed up the former Hoosier Fight Club champion with punches, cut off the cage and executed a takedown. He then jumped to the back, secured his position with a body triangle and snaked his arms in place for the choke. Hernandez resisted briefly, then tapped.

The undefeated Park has stopped nine of his 10 opponents, five of them inside one round.

In other action, Tecia Pennington (15-7, 11-7 UFC) took a unanimous decision from Luana Pinheiro (11-5, 3-4 UFC) in their three-round women’s strawweight affair, earning 29-28 scores across the board.