UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs Holland Prelims

Kasanganay (9-1) used a hard right hand to set up a takedown in the opening minute of the fight, and “Tshilobo” went to work. Palatnikov (6-3) made it back to his feet midway through the round, and the two proceeded to battle it out along the fence, each having their positive moments.

It was a strong start to round two for Kasanganay, and after a couple wild scrambles, he locked in a rear naked choke with no hooks in that forced a tap out at :26 of round two.

Official Result: Impa Kasanganay def. Sasha Palatnikov by submission (rear naked choke) at :26 of Round 2 | Official Scorecards

It was another strong start to round two for Knight, but again, he sought a takedown and got reversed by Jung, who put the fight on the mat once more. Knight would get up, only to get dragged to the canvas, and with a little over two minutes left, Jung flattened him out and let loose with his strikes. Knight was able to make it out of the round, but he now needed a finish to get the win.

Knight began the third firing bombs, but Jung eluded serious danger while scoring three consecutive takedowns, keeping the Connecticut native grounded for the rest of the bout.

Official Result: Da-un Jung def. William Knight by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27) | Official Scorecards

The bout went back to the mat in round two and Saldana stayed busy off his back as he worked to return to his feet. After a stint standing, though, the two went to the ground with a little over two minutes remaining, Griffin controlling the action before nearly finishing the bout with a rear naked choke in the closing seconds.

Both fighters had their moments in the final frame, but when the final tallies were read, it was 29-28 on all three judges’ scorecards for Saldana, now 15-6. Griffin falls to 18-9.

Official Result: Luis Saldana def. Jordan Griffin by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) | Official Scorecards

MORE UFC VEGAS 23: Scorecards | Fight by Fight Breakdown | Significant Stats | Fighters You Should Know | Marvin Vettori | Kevin Holland | Arnold Allen | Sodiq Yusuff | Daniel Rodriguez | Julian Marquez | Jim Miller | Scott Hotlzman | Mackenzie Dern | Da-un Jung | Impa Kasanganay | Sasha Palatnikov | Hunter Azure | Jack Shore

The grappling exchanges continued to be close in the second, perhaps leaving the standup game to decide the round, and while Shore was the busier striker, Azure got in enough shots to make it a frame too close to call.

In the third, though, Shore surged and did enough to take the victory on two of the three judges’ scorecards and that’s all he needed.

Official Result: Jack Shore def. Hunter Azure by split decision (30-27, 30-27, 28-29) | Official Scorecards

After a tactical start from both fighters, the action heated up with a Danho (7-1-1, 1 NC) takedown midway through the round, and after the two rose quickly, the hands began flying and in the midst of an exchange, Danho landed a sharp right hand that put De Castro (6-3) out on impact, bringing in referee Mike Beltran to step in and stop the fight at 3:02 of the opening round.

Official Result: Jarjis Danho def. Yorgan De Castro by KO at 3:02 of Round 1 | Official Scorecards

Holtzman (14-5) was sharp as the fight began, with sharp counters and good takedown defense keeping Gamrot (18-1, 1 NC) from implementing his offensive attack. Midway through the round, Gamrot did land a hard right hand and a minute later he scored his first takedown. Holtzman rose quickly and went back to work, the fast-paced action continuing.

A beautiful 1-2 from Gamrot stunned Holtzman early in round two, stopping the Tennessee product, and after a couple ground strikes, referee Jason Herzog halted the fight at 1:22 of the second round.

Official Result: Mateusz Gamrot def. Scott Holtzman by KO at 1:22 of Round 2 | Official Scorecards

Solecki’s striking was sharp in the first two minutes of the fight, clearly getting Miller’s attention. Miller focused on kicks when it came to his return fire before the fight went to the mat with two minutes to go, Miller working from the top position until the end of the frame.

Scoring a takedown early in round two, now it was Solecki’s turn to work from the top as the two battled on the mat, and it was Solecki keeping Miller on his back for the rest of the round, likely evening the fight on the scorecards heading into the final round.

Another trip to the mat opened up the third stanza, Solecki again taking the dominant position on the veteran, and again, he refused to let Miller get up, in the process scoring the biggest win of his career. 

Official Result: Joe Solecki def. Jim Miller by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) | Official Scorecards

Perry began the fight as the aggressor, but it was Rodriguez doing the bulk of the scoring with his punches upstairs, including a left hand that rocked Perry in the second minute. After steadying himself, Perry continued marching forward, but Rodriguez was having no issue landing with his shots down the middle. In response, Perry scored a takedown with 90 seconds left and he kept his foe grounded until the horn.

Rodriguez continued to dominate the action on the feet in the second round while Perry threw in another takedown to keep things close. The effects of the Californian’s shots were showing on Perry’s face, but the Florida product wasn’t backing down, and while he continued to show off his heart in the final round, Rodriguez’ striking attack was too much for him.

Official Result: Daniel Rodriguez def. Mike Perry by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26) | Official Scorecards

Dern used a wild barrage of strikes to close the distance and lock Nunes up against the fence, but Nunes got free quickly. Dern wasn’t deterred, and soon she had her first takedown. Dern worked her way into the mount position and began looking for an armbar, and once she locked it in, it was game over, as Dern forced the tap at 4:48 of the opening frame.

With the win, the No. 11-ranked Dern moves to 11-1. The No. 5-ranked Nunes falls to 10-7.

Official Result: Mackenzie Dern def. Nina Nunes by submission (armbar) at 4:48 of Round 1 | Official Scorecards

Alvey’s right hand was on target early in round two, but in the second minute, a right by Marquez staggered Alvey, and after trying to finish his foe with strikes, “The Cuban Missile Crisis ended matters with a rear naked choke. The official time of the finish was 2:07 of the second round.

Marquez moves to 9-2 with the win. Alvey, who was making his first start at middleweight since 2017, falls to 33-15-1, 1 NC.

Official Result: Julian Marquez def. Sam Alvey by submission (rear naked choke) at 2:07 of Round 2 | Official Scorecards

Nigeria’s Yusuff began the fight as the aggressor but was taken down by England’s Allen in the opening minute. Yusuff tried to lock in a guillotine choke, but when that came up empty, he used it to get back to his feet. Allen got in some hard strikes as the round progressed, scoring a knockdown with a left hand midway through. Another Allen takedown followed, but the fight didn’t stay there long.

Both fighters were getting their shots in during the first half of the second round, but is was a left kick to the head that staggered Yusuff and had him in trouble. Allen fell to the mat after landing the kick so it cost him precious seconds to try to finish, and Yusuff cleared his head and went back to work. In the final minute, Allen locked up with Yusuff against the fence, and it stayed there until less than 20 seconds remained.

Allen looked to implement his grappling in round three, confident that he was up on the scorecards, but Yusuff defended well and found the space to make his run at turning the fight around. It wasn’t to be, though, as Allen fought off the charge of “Super” Sodiq to take the win.

Official Result: Arnold Allen def. Sodiq Yusuff by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) | Official Scorecards

Holland fired off kicks to begin the bout until a low shot brought a momentary halt to the action. When the fight resumed, Holland stayed busy, his speed advantage clear. In the second minute, Vettori closed the distance and bulled his foe into the fence, but the pair didn’t stay there long, going back to the long-range game until another clinch from Vettori. With 1:42 left, Vettori scored his first takedown, but after some solid work, Holland was upright with 40 seconds to go.

After starting off the second with some solid strikes, Holland got taken down by Vettori, and the Italian went on to work his ground-and-pound attack to perfection for the rest of the frame, with Holland only getting back to his feet in the closing moments.

With his left eye starting to close, Holland had to make a run quick in order to get back in the fight, but Vettori put the fight right back on the mat in the first minute of round three. Vettori soon moved into the mount position and looked for an arm triangle, and while he got it, Holland stayed calm and Vettori let the hold go. Midway through the round, the two stood, and though Vettori kept the pressure on, a late flurry of strikes from Holland showed that he wasn’t going anywhere.

The fourth was another dominant frame on the mat for Vettori, and while a right hand apparently rattled him early in the fifth, he put Holland back on the deck and it was more of the same until the final horn. | Official Scorecards