Marlon Moraes knocks out Jimmie Rivera in 33 seconds
Marlon Moraes has long been considered one of the best bantamweight fighters on the planet, but he is surely among the next in line for a title fight following his spectacular win over Jimmie Rivera.
The heated rivals were seemingly in the obligatory feeling out process in the fight’s early stages until Moraes launched a switch kick which bounced off Rivera’s head.
Rivera crashed to the floor and Moraes smelled blood, finishing the fight with several punches. This snapped Rivera’s 20-fight win streak.
It was the perfect remedy for the fight fans in attendance at UFC Utica, who you could forgive for being a tad bored up until the main event.
Cody Garbrandt is up next for UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, but surely the winner of that bout will be facing Brazil’s Moraes next.
Gregor Gillespie submits Vinc Pichel
Gregor Gillespie continued to impress on Friday night as he submitted the tough Vinc Pichel inside two rounds.
Long Island’s Gillespie, a talented wrestler, dominated the action with takedowns and relentless pressure.
Pichel did well to survive a first-round rear-naked choke attempt from Gillespie. But Pichel was overwhelmed by Gillespie in the second stanza, and who could blame him.
Disappointed at not finishing the fight in the first round, Gillespie took Pichel down once again in the second. Gillespie actively worked for the arm-triangle choke and Pichel couldn’t do anything to stop it, tapping with a minute left on the clock of the second round.
Impressive win for Gillespie, who put a halt to Pichel’s four-fight winning run. Surely, Gillespie will get a ranked lightweight opponent yet as he looks to take his unbeaten pro career to that next level.
Nathaniel Wood had a fun, victorious UFC debut
Nathaniel Wood certainly made an impression in his UFC debut against wily Brazilian veteran Johnny Eduardo.
He went from this sequence at the end of the opening round:
To grabbing himself a D’arce choke to extend his streak of six wins by finish in a row.
UFC Utica: Rivera vs. Moraes full results
Bantamweight bout: Marlon Moraes defeats Jimmie Rivera by KO (head kick and punches) at 0:33 of round one.
Welterweight bout: Gregor Gillespie defeats Vinc Pichel by submission (arm triangle) at 4:06 of round two.
Heavyweight bout: Walt Harris defeats Daniel Spitz by TKO (punches and elbows) at 4:59 of round two.
Welterweight bout: Ben Saunders defeats Jake Ellenberger by TKO (knee and punches) at 1:56 of round one.
Featherweight bout: Julio Arce defeats Daniel Teymur by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:55 of round three.
Light Heavyweight bout: Sam Alvey defeats Gian Villante by Split Decision after three rounds.
Women’s Flyweight bout: Sijara Eubanks defeats Lauren Murphy by Unanimous Decision after three rounds.
Lightweight bout: David Teymur defeats Nik Lentz by Unanimous Decision after three rounds.
Welterweight bout: Belal Muhammad defeats Chance Rencountre by Unanimous Decision after three rounds.
Lightweight bout: Desmond Green defeats Gleison Tibau by Unanimous Decision after three rounds.
Bantamweight bout: Nathaniel Wood defeats Johnny Eduardo by submission (D’arce choke) at 2:18 of round two.
Flyweight bout: Jose Torres defeats Jarred Brooks by TKO (slam and punches) at 2:55 of round two.
