UFC on ESPN 38 Prelims: Carlos Ulberg Staggers, Finishes Tafon Nchukwi

The Black Jag POUNCED for the 1st RD finish 🐾

[ @UlbergCarlos | #UFCVegas57 ]
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— UFC (@ufc) June 26, 2022

With a cast of decorated City Kickboxing teammates in attendance, Carlos Ulberg put on a show.

The Auckland, New Zealand, native earned his first finish in the Octagon at UFC on ESPN 38, defeating fellow Dana White’s Contender Series alum Tafon Nchukwi via technical knockout in a light heavyweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Ulberg put Nchukwi (6-3, 2-3 UFC) away 1:15 into Round 1.

Ulberg (5-1, 2-1 UFC) waited patiently for his opening, circling on the outside before staggering his foe with a sneaky, short left hook. “Black Jaguar” then swarmed with power punches, ultimately dropping a dazed Nchukwi to the canvas with a right hook to seal his victory. The explosive finish set off a celebration from stablemates Israel Adesanya, Alexander Volkanovski and Brad Riddell, who were seated cageside in support of Ulberg.

Shayilan Outgrapples Brown

Takedowns, positional control and solid submission defense propelled Nuerdanbieke Shayilan to a unanimous decision triumph against DWCS alum T.J. Brown in a grueling featherweight clash. All three cageside judges saw the fight 29-28 in favor of the China Top Team representative, who has won back-to-back fights in the Octagon.

Shayilan (38-10, 2-1 UFC) flashed some heavy hands in the opening frame, when he knocked Brown (16-9, 2-3 UFC) off balance with a right hook. While Shayilan bloodied his opponent’s nose with his punches, wrestling and grappling was the prevalent theme as the bout progressed. Shayilan landed multiple takedowns and enjoyed significant periods of control time in each round and while Brown occasionally reversed and threatened with submissions, it was the Chinese athlete who imposed his will more consistently down the stretch.

Related » UFC Vegas 57 Round-by-Round Scoring

Morozov Wears Down Paiva

Former M-1 Global champion Sergey Morozov weathered a rough start to rally past Brazilian Contender Series alum Raulian Paiva for a unanimous decision triumph in a bantamweight bout. All three judges submitted 29-28 scorecards in favor of Morozov (18-5, 2-2 UFC). Paiva (21-5, 3-4 UFC) has dropped back-to-back fights for the second time in his promotional tenure.

Paiva was the aggressor early on, as he wobbled his opponent with a right hand in the first minute of the contest. The Brazilian spent much of the opening period landing punching combinations and that right hand, which drew blood from Morozov’s nose. The tone of the bout changed drastically early in Round 2, when Morozov executed a beautifully-timed level change to plant Paiva on his back in the center of the cage. The Kazakhstan native spent much of the period in top position, draining Paiva’s gas tank in the process. The pace slowed significantly in the final stanza, but Morozov landed the more effective offense against his fatigued opponent to seal his triumph.

Durden Unloads on Buys

American Top Team Atlanta representative Cody Durden swarmed all over J.P. Buys, winning via technical knockout in a flyweight scrap. Durden brought the show to a close with a barrage of punches and hammerfists on his turtled opponent 68 seconds into Round 1. Durden (13-4-1, 2-2-1 UFC) has finished nine of his career triumphs inside of a round.

Durden brought the fight to Buys (9-5, 0-3 UFC) immediately, rocking his foe with a right hand that prompted a desperation shot. Durden continued to press the action and dropped Buys to a knee with a right hook before teeing off with a series of unanswered shots. Referee Mark Smith gave Buys ample opportunity to recover, but a comeback wasn’t in the cards. Buys has now suffered a whopping eight knockdowns in three UFC bouts.

Bautista Chokes Out Kelleher

MMA Lab export Mario Bautista made short work of Brian Kelleher, winning via first-round submission in a bantamweight affair. Bautista forced the 35-year-old New Yorker to tap to a rear-naked choke at the 2:27 mark of the period, winning for the fourth time in five outings. Kelleher has lost eight career fights by way of submission, including back-to-back UFC appearances via rear-naked choke.

Bautista (10-2, 4-2 UFC) was visibly quicker than Kelleher (24-14, 8-7) in standup exchanges, but he wasted little time changing levels for a takedown in the opening stanza. Kelleher worked his way back to his feet relatively quickly, but Bautista reversed his way into top position when “Boom” attempted to get the action to the canvas with a trip. From there, Bautista deftly defended a guillotine choke, passed to mount and transitioned to the fight-ending maneuver as soon as his adversary surrendered his back.

Demopoulos Tops Frey

Former Legacy Fighting Alliance title holder Vanessa Demopoulos won her second consecutive Octagon appearance, taking a split-decision over ex-Invicta Fighting Championships atomweight queen Jinh Yu Frey in a strawweight clash. Ron McCarthy had it 29-28 and Jerin Valel scored it 30-27 -- both for Demopoulos -- while Sal D’Amato submitted a 29-28 tally in favor of Frey (11-7, 2-3 UFC).

Demopoulos (8-4, 2-1 UFC) seemed to get stronger as the bout progressed. The more technical Frey landed crisp punching combinations to the head and countered effectively, but “Lil Monster” made headway thanks to her overall aggression. The Ronin Training Center representative connected with heavy right hands, knees in the clinch and executed the fight’s only takedown to sway the scorecards in her favor.