UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs Rozenstruik Results

In a clash of heavyweight contenders that headlined the UFC Fight Night card at the APEX in Las Vegas, Alexander Volkov was more than willing to walk into the fire against Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and that strategy paid off, as Russia’s “Drago” improved to 35-10 with a first-round finish of the Suriname native that saw him eat a couple hard blows before jarring his foe with a right hand and finishing the bout moments later.

The UFC Fight Night main event promised explosive standup action, and Alexander Volkov delivered in the APEX in Las Vegas, as he halted fellow heavyweight contender Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the opening frame.

Volkov was busy with his kicks to open the bout while Rozenstruik looked for an opportunity to strike. He found it around two minutes in, and he briefly jarred Volkov with a pair of left hands. Volkov shook it off and moments later, he rocked Rozenstruik with a right hand, and after landing a barrage of blows along the fence, referee Herb Dean stepped in and stopped the fight. The official time was 2:12 of the first round.

The No.7-ranked Volkov moves to 35-10 with the win. The No.8-ranked Rozenstruik falls to 12-4.

Unbeaten featherweight contender Movsar Evloev came up big in the most important fight of his career, as he scored a shutout three-round unanimous decision over Dan Ige in the UFC Fight Night co-main event.

Scores were 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 for the No.13-ranked Evloev, now 16-0. The No.10-ranked Ige falls to 15-6.

Ige opened up with a crisp 1-2 that got Evolev’s attention early, but midway through the round, a flying knee from the Russian evened the score. That shot seemed to boost Evloev’s confidence, and he subsequently slammed Ige to the mat. Ige rose quickly but got thrown down again. Ige battled, though, and he got separation from his foe before the horn sounded.

Evloev’s knee landed again in the second minute of round two, and Ige was showing the wear of the battle on his face, but he was still fighting and scoring, prompting a takedown by Evloev with less than two minutes to go. On the mat, Evloev kept the strikes coming, adding to his lead.

The fight went right to the mat to start the final frame, Evloev controlling matters from the back position and then from the top. Ige couldn’t find daylight as Evloev fired off strikes, but with 30 seconds to go, he did get to his feet, only to get taken down once again before the bout ended.

Lucas Almeida made quite an impression in his UFC debut, as he stopped former Ultimate Fighter winner Michael Trizano in the third round of their featherweight bout.
 
Almeida got his UFC career off to a good start, as he had success with his standup attack, particularly his kicks, but late in the first round, Trizano changed the complexion of the fight with a left hook that staggered the Brazilian, with a knee also landing on the way down. A follow-up barrage followed, opening a cut on Almeida’s forehead, but the horn intervened.
 
With his legs back under him, Almeida got back to work in the second, throwing and landing in combination. Midway through the round, a left hand put Trizano on the deck, and now it was Almeida’s turn to look for the finish. As Almeida stood and then moved back in on the grounded Trizano, a clash of heads left the New Jersey fighter bloodied and prompted a visit from the Octagonside physician, who allowed the bout to continue.
 
In the opening minute of round three, another left put Trizano on the mat, and this time, the Brazilian emptied his tank, with the ensuing strikes coming fast and furiously until referee Mark Smith called a halt to the bout at :55 of the final frame.
 
Almeida moves to 14-1 with the win. Trizano falls to 10-3.

Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Karine Silva made a statement in her UFC debut, as she submitted Poliana Botelho in the first round.

After a measured start to the fight, Silva landed a flush right hand that stunned Botelho, who would have gone down if not for the takedown that followed immediately. Silva then went on the attack, using her strikes and then setting up the D’Arce choke that forced a tap out at 4:55 of round one.

With the win, Silva moves to 15-4. Botelho falls to 8-5.

Official Result – Karine Silva defeats Poliana Botelho via submission (D’Arce choke) at 4:55 of round one

Ode’ Osbourne’s Las Vegas rebirth continued in flyweight action, as he scored a stirring first-round knockout of Zarrukh Adashev.

Adashev attempted to find his way inside Osbourne’s reach as the bout commenced, but a counter right from “The Jamaican Sensation” dropped Adashev hard, with a follow-up barrage of shots bringing in referee Keith Peterson in to stop the fight at 1:01 of round one.

Osbourne moves to 11-4, 1 NC with the win. Adashev falls to 4-4.

In the main card opener, Alonzo Menifield scored a dominant win over Askar Mozharov, stopping his foe in the first round.

Menifield drilled Mozharov with a right hand as soon as the fight began and then took the newcomer to the mat. The Texan was patient with his ground attack, with Mozharov showing little effort to get back to his feet. But with 90 seconds left, he did get upright, and a fight broke out briefly before another Menifield takedown. “Atomic” went on to lock Mozharov in the crucifix position, and after a series of thudding blows, referee Herb Dean intervened, with the end coming at 4:40 of the opening frame.

With the win, Menifield moves to 12-3. Mozharov falls to 19-13.

The last victory from former strawweight title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz was in 2018 against Felice Herrig. More than four years later, she repeated the win, this time by second-round submission.

Herrig started out fast in a standup-centric first round, but Kowalkiewicz answered and then doubled down on her attack as she scored with crisp shots throughout.

In the second, Herrig looked to rebound, but after Kowalkiewicz again weathered the incoming fire, she nearly got caught in a rear naked choke from the Poland native as the pair went to the mat. Herrig got free, but Kowalkiewicz kept her back, fired off strikes, and the second rear naked choke attempt was the one that ended the fight, with Herrig’s tap out coming at 4:01 of round two.

With the win, Kowalkiewicz moves to 13-7. The 37-year-old Herrig, a strawweight division pioneer, announced her retirement after the bout, finishing up with a 14-10 record.

In an entertaining lightweight bout, a second-round point deduction from Alex da Silva cost him a draw, with the result being a majority decision win for Joe Solecki.

Scores were 28-28, 28-27, 29-27 for Solecki, now 12-3. Da Silva falls to 21-4.

Da Silva dropped Solecki with a left during an opening exchange, and though the New Jersey native recovered quickly, he was stuck on his back with da Silva in control from the top. Da Silva worked well there until 90 seconds remained, and Solecki nearly sunk in a choke. The Brazilian did get free, though, and he retained the top position until the round ended.

In round two, it was Solecki getting the fight to the mat, and he quickly took da Silva’s back, working for the rear naked choke. He didn’t get it, but da Silva did lose a point from referee Chris Tognoni for repeatedly locking his toes in the fence.

Da Silva wisely kept the fight standing for a good portion of the third, and his sharper striking was evident throughout, but the rough second round was the decisive one that led to Solecki’s victory.

Featherweight veteran Damon Jackson  extended his current winning streak to three with a unanimous decision over Octagon debutant Daniel Argueta .

Scores were 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 for Jackson, now 21-4-1, 1 NC. Argueta, who replaced Darrick Minner on short notice, falls to 8-1.

Less than 20 seconds in, Jackson took the newcomer to the mat and got his back. Argueta punched his foe to open up a chance to escape, but Jackson remained cool as he looked for a choke. Then again, Argueta wasn’t rattled either, and by the end of the round, he was in the dominant position on the mat.

Jackson caught a charging Argueta with a knee to start the second frame and the two returned to the canvas with Jackson on Argueta’s back. With under two minutes left, Jackson landed some hard elbows that forced Argueta to make a move, and with under a minute left, he got free and used his strikes to bull Jackson into the fence.

In the third, Argueta made a late charge and had his moments, but by the latter stages of the fight, it was Jackson back in control, and he got a hard-earned victory.

France’s Benoit Saint Denis entered the UFC win column for the first time, submitting Niklas Stolze in the second round of their lightweight bout.

Thirty seconds into the fight, Saint Denis put Stolze on the mat after eating a knee to the head, and though the German ultimately rose, he was put there again moments later, and Saint Denis took his back, sinking in a rear naked choke that might have ended the bout if not for the horn sounding.

Stolze almost got his own choke to open the second round, but his guillotine was defended well by Saint Denis as the fight went to the canvas. The Frenchman took the back once more, and a rear naked choke ended matters at 1:32 of round two.

With the win, Saint Denis moves to 9-1, 1 NC. Stolze falls to 12-6.

Tony Gravely made short work of Johnny Muñoz in bantamweight action, halting his foe in just 68 seconds.

After a brief feeling out process, Munoz went for a takedown, but caught a right hand on the way in, and the Californian fell to the deck. Gravely pounced on his stunned opponent, and a few shots later, referee Chris Tognoni stopped the fight. The official time was 1:08 of the first round.

Gravely moves to 23-7. Munoz falls to 11-2.

Hot flyweight prospect Jeff Molina got a fight out of Zhalgas Zhumagulov for three closely contested rounds before emerging with a split decision victory.

Zhumagulov and Molina trades right hands early, with the Kazakhstan product breaking the tie by going to his grappling attack against the fence. With 1:40 left, Molina got loose, but Zhumagulov wasn’t deterred, as he kept the strikes coming. Molina was able to counter, but it was Zhumagulov ending the round strong with a thudding leg kick.

The second was another close round, with Molina able to defend Zhumagulov’s grappling attacks while getting in his share of strikes. But late in the round, a left by Zhumagulov staggered Molina briefly, and a takedown added to his point total.

Nothing changed in the third, with each fighter having their moments, but when the judges handed in their scores, it was 30-27, 29-28 and 28-29 for Molina, now 11-2. Zhumagulov falls to 14-7.

In a welterweight clash, Octagon newcomer Rinat Fakhretdinov was victorious over Andreas Michailidis via unanimous decision.

Scores were 30-26, 30-26 and 30-27 for Fakhretdinov, now 19-1. Michailidis falls to 13-6.

Fakhretdinov locked up with Michailidis immediately, and despite a couple fence grabs from the Greece native, he got the fight to the mat. Michailidis rose and more fence grabs followed before he got free, but Fakhretdinov kept the pressure on. Michailidis eventually settled into the fight and defended well, but the bulk of the offense came from the Russian.

Fakhretdinov put the fight on the mat early in round two and he kept it there until Michailidis made it to his feet with 30 seconds to go.

It was back to the canvas early in round three, and this time, Fakhretdinov added thudding strikes to his control and he bloodied his foe, drawing warnings from referee Mark Smith to fight back. Michailidis was game as he got upright with under a minute left, but there would be no miracle comeback as he was put on the deck again.

In the opener, flyweight up and comer Erin Blanchfield improved to 3-0 in the UFC with a second-round submission of JJ Aldrich.

There was high-level action throughout the opening round, but the edge likely went to Aldrich, who dodged a couple high kicks and used her grappling to control the pace and put the fight on the mat when she wasn’t doing solid work on the feet.

Aldrich scored with another takedown in the second minute of round two, but Blanchfield rose to her feet and immediately, and after Aldrich fell to the mat when the two collided, the New Jersey product subsequently locked in a standing guillotine choke that ended matters at 2:38 of the second stanza.

Blanchfield moves to 9-1 with the win. Aldrich falls to 11-5.