UFC’s Zaleski dos Santos submits Millender in first round

Brazilian welterweight Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos picked up his third consecutive finish on Saturday, submitting Curtis Millender via rear-naked choke at 2:35 of the first round. The 170-pound bout co-headlined UFC Fight Night at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas.

Dos Santos (21-5) took Millender down early and dominated him on the floor. He moved from back control to full mount, then again to Millender’s back before eventually setting up the choke. It his seventh consecutive win in the UFC and could earn him a big fight moving forward.

“I want people to see my value,” dos Santos said through a translator. “I’m making history. This was supposed to be my eighth win [in the UFC], but [the] judges took one from me. I have three finishes back-to-back. Give me a top-five opponent. Show me some respect.”

Millender (17-4) went into Saturday’s contest riding a nine-fight win streak of his own, but he was clearly outmatched against dos Santos. It is his first loss since signing with the UFC last year.

For dos Santos, 32, it is only his third career win by submission. The majority of his finishes (14) have come via knockout.

Niko Price defeats Tim Means by first-round TKO

Welterweight Niko Price (13-2) scored a highlight-reel knockout over Tim Means (28-11-1) at 4:50 of the first round — just when it appeared Means was starting to run away with it.

Price, of south Florida, withstood multiple left hands to the chin from Means and countered with a perfectly placed right hand to the chin late in the opening frame. Means went down from the shot, and Price followed up with a single punch that put an end to the bout. It is the ninth knockout win of Price’s career, and he has failed to finish only one of his 13 career wins.

“I bit down and started throwing back,” said Price of the finish. “We knew he didn’t move his head too much. I set the jab, threw the right hook and boom. It hit him.”

Means, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, ate an early right hand from Price but responded well by taking him down. They stood up moments later, and Means started to get the better of exchanges until the fight-altering shot. It is only the second time Means has been knocked out in his 15-year professional career. He falls to 1-3 in his past four appearances.

Blagoy Ivanov defeats Ben Rothwell by unanimous decision

Heavyweight Blagoy Ivanov (17-2) picked up his first win in the UFC and spoiled the return of Ben Rothwell (36-11) in the process.

Ivanov, of Bulgaria, took home a unanimous decision over Rothwell, who hadn’t fought since April 2016 due to a doping suspension. The bout was close, and it was Rothwell who pressed the action. In the end, Ivanov’s counter-striking might have been the difference. He caught Rothwell coming in with counter left hooks, and cut him in the second round.

Rothwell, 37, continued to move forward despite Ivanov’s counterstrikes and appeared to be finding his groove late. He caused swelling under both of Ivanov’s eyes with punches, in what essentially turned into a boxing match. It was not enough, however, to sway the judges’ scorecards.

Ivanov is now 1-1 in the UFC. He dropped his promotional debut to Junior dos Santos in July.

Beneil Dariush defeats Drew Dober by second-round submission

Lightweight Beneil Dariush (16-4-1) rallied back from a difficult opening round to submit Drew Dober (20-9) via armbar at 4:41 of the second round. It is the seventh submission win of Dariush’s career but his first since 2015.

Dober, of Omaha, appeared to be in control after the opening frame. He hammered Dariush with punches from a boxing range, to the body and head. Near the end of the round, Dariush looked hurt and hesitant to engage, but he came out and converted a badly needed takedown in the opening minute of the next round. He eventually moved to mount and threatened with several submissions, before producing a tap with the armbar.

“What a fight. What an opponent,” Dariush said. “The first round, he hit me with some good stuff. I’m glad I didn’t go out, man. I could have for sure.”

Dariush, 29, is now on his first win streak since 2016. Dober saw his three-fight win streak snapped.

Omari Akhmedov def. Tim Boetsch by unanimous decision (30-27 x 3 for Akhmedov)

Russian middleweight Omari Akhmedov (18-4-1) lit up Tim Boetsch (21-13) on the feet en route to an obvious three-round decision. All three judges scored it a shutout for Akhmedov 30-27.

Going into the fight, Boetsch, 38, spoke publicly about the possibility of this being his last fight. If that proves to be the case, it was a tough way to go out. Boetsch was bloodied by punches in the second and third rounds and suffered cuts near both of his eyes. Akhmedov never really pushed for a finish but was in total control as the fight progressed.

Akhmedov improved to 3-1 in his past four contests. Boetsch suffered his second consecutive loss; prior to Saturday, he hadn’t fought since April 2018.

Anthony Rocco Martin def. Sergio Moraes by unanimous decision (30-27 x 3 for Martin)

Fast-rising prospect Anthony Rocco Martin (16-4) cruised to a big win (16-4) against Sergio Moraes (15-4-1) by unanimous decision to close out the prelim portion of the UFC Fight Night prelim card in Wichita. All three judges scored the featherweight fight 30-27, as Martin controlled the action most of the way with a dizzying volume of kicks.

Martin landed a multitude of calf and leg kicks throughout the bout and was the aggressor in all three rounds. Moraes took Martin down with 30 seconds remaining and got in a little bit of ground-and-pound, but Moraes didn’t haven’t enough time to do significant damage or lock in a submission attempt.

“There is no way the UFC is going to Minneapolis without having me on that card,” Martin said in the Octagon. “I want the toughest guy.”

Martin extended his win streak to four since moving up from lightweight to welterweight. Moraes had won his previous two fights before dropping Saturday’s decision.

Yana Kunitskaya def. Marion Reneau by unanimous decision (29-28 x 3 for Kunitskaya)

Yana Kunitskaya (12-4) defeated Marion Reneau (9-5-1) via unanimous decision in their women’s bantamweight prelim fight. All three judges scored the contest 29-28 for Kunitskaya, and despite getting her nose badly bloodied — likely a broken nose — she left happy with the decision victory against Reneau.

Kunitskaya’s major size advantage was on full display through the first two rounds, as she landed sharp kicks and punches on Reneau. Even after getting bloodied, Kunitskaya was otherwise able to keep her opponent at bay.

This was Kunitskaya’s second straight win in the UFC following a debut loss to Cris Cyborg. Reneau, 41, has dropped two straight decisions.

Grant Dawson def. Julian Erosa by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27 and 29-27 for Dawson)

Grant Dawson (13-1) picked up an unanimous decision over Julian Erosa (22-8) in a fairly dominant performance in Dawson’s UFC debut, a featherweight fight on the prelim card. It was Dawson’s fourth consecutive win.

Dawson took Erosa to the mat in the opening moments of the fight and racked up significant ground-and-pound strikes that put him up in the fight early on. The second round had significant action from both fighters — including a spinning back elbow by Erosa and hard punches by Dawson, which led to a heavy exchange late in the round that left both fighters worse for the wear.

After each fighter survived that exchange, Dawson and Erosa exchanged a hug rather than a fist bump as the third round got underway. Dawson left no doubt to the result, though, as he threw Erosa to the mat and landed sharp punches and elbows from above to put the fight away.

It was a fight that was a long time coming for Dawson, who was cleared after facing down a similar anti-doping case with USADA to that of Jon Jones‘.

Maurice Greene def. Jeff Hughes by split decision (two judges 29-28 Greene, one judge 29-28 Hughes)

Maurice Greene (7-2) defeated Jeff Hughes (10-2) via split decision after a close battle between the rising heavyweights.. Two judges scored the fight 29-28 for Greene, with the third judge going 29-28 in favor of Hughes. In a previous fight between these two in April 2018, in Legacy Fighting Alliance, Hughes won a unanimous decision over Greene.

Greene landed enough hard jabs and kicks throughout all three rounds, including one left jab that wobbled Hughes in the second round. Hughes kept the fight close with enough strikes of his own, but the fight remained pretty straightforward, as both men stayed on their feet throughout the fight. Hughes was 5-0 in fights ending in a decision prior to Saturday night’s loss and was riding a four-fight win streak that brought him into the UFC via Dana White’s Contender series. This was Greene’s second win in a row since joining the UFC.

Matt Schnell def. Louis Smolka by submission (triangle choke)

Matt Schnell (13-4) controlled much of the first round against Louis Smolka (15-6) and ultimately picked up a submission victory with a triangle choke at 3:18 into Round 1. This makes three consecutive wins for Schnell and was arguably the biggest win of his career.

While on his back, Schnell attempted a guillotine choke on Smolka but could not lock it in. Schnell then transitioned to the leg triangle.

“I just got to get my feet underneath me. I need to fight more regularly than every eight months,” Schnell said in the Octagon. “I can beat any of these guys. I can be the champion of the world someday.”

Schnell (13-4) has now won three fights in a row in the UFC. This was Smolka’s first loss in the UFC and snapped a four-fight win streak.

Alex Morono def. Zak Ottow by verbal submission (due to strikes)

Zak Ottow twice begged the UFC for a shot to face Alex Morono. On Saturday, he finally got that opportunity in Wichita — and the outcome was a case of “be careful what you wish for.” Morono rained down elbows and punches from the midway point of the first round, and Ottow eventually submitted.

In defeating Ottow (17-7) by first-round TKO in this welterweight fight, Morono (16-5) earned his third win in his past four fights. Morono attempted a takedown in the center of the cage that almost allowed Ottow to catch him in a guillotine choke, but he quickly reversed the effort. He took Ottow to his back, flattened him out in a mount and threw hard punches and elbows until Ottow couldn’t take any more. This was the last fight of Ottow’s current UFC deal, and he has now split his past seven fights, bouncing back and forth between wins and losses.

Alex White def. Dan Moret by unanimous decision (29-28 x 3 for White)

Alex White, bleeding from a cut on his forehead after Dan Moret landed an elbow in the first round, rallied back to take the final two rounds — and the fight — against Moret by unanimous decision.

After a slow start, White stood tough in the second round and landed enough significant strikes to even the fight at a round apiece. In Round 3, White got out of the gate early and fought off several takedown attempts against the cage. White won a late flurry in which both fighters exchanged punches in the final 30 seconds before the horn sounded.

All three judges the lightweight bout 29-28 in favor of White. White bounced back with his first win after two consecutive losses. Moret has now dropped two fights in a row.