UFC Vegas 56 Ends in a Night of Finishes
After a week off, the UFC got back to business quickly, featuring a stellar card with two top ten Heavyweights, Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik, competing in the main event at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. Let’s recap what went down.
Controversial Stoppage?
While the main event ended in the 1st round, a lot of fans were quick to ask whether Alexander Volkov’s first-round TKO over Jairzinho Rozesntruik was legitimate. Early into the fight, Rozenstruik clipped Volkov with a left hook that had him wobbled. Volkov quickly regained his composure and followed up later with a massive straight and then a hook that sent Rozenstruik’s mouthpiece flying. Rozesntruik crumbled and was not defending himself from Volkov’s barrage of punches, which prompted referee Herb Dean to stop the fight. Rozenstruik seemed to raise his hands in the air in confusion and protested the stoppage, but Volkov, in his post-fight interview, seemed to agree with the stoppage. He stated, “I know that he does not have good defense back to the cage. I just see him go to the cage and just go forward for the knockout. Good fight.” While many fans sided with Jairzinho over the early stoppage, some also sided with Alexander, saying that Jairzinho was not defending himself. A very small 0.68% of the Verdict Community correctly predicted Volkov to win by first round knockout, as well.
Movsar Evloev Is a Top Ten Featherweight
Movsar Evloev is a prospect that has a lot of potential in this sport. He is now 16-0, following a unanimous decision victory over Dan Ige, where he dominated with over 144 total strikes landed, and nine takedowns. With wins over Ige, Hakeem Dawodu, Mike Grundy, and Seungwoo Choi, Evloev really seems like a future title contender in this division. It will be interesting to see how the UFC matches him up in his next fight, but I personally am aiming for a fight between Evloev and Ilia Topuria, two fellow prospects with very high ceilings.
Debuters Welcome Themselves To The UFC
It was a night to remember for three fighters making their UFC debut. Lucas Almeida picked up a third-round TKO victory over the former Ultimate Fighter season 27 winner Michael Trizano, in an exciting fight. Almedia is now 14-1, with his only loss coming on Dana White’s Contender Series, which was a back-and-forth fight. 1.24% of the Verdict Community correctly predicted Almedia's third round knockout. Karine Silva also picked up her first UFC win by submitting Poliana Botelho in the 1st round after landing a massive overhand right. Finally, Rinat Fakhretdinov picked up a unanimous decision win over Andreas Michalilidas, moving his record to 19-1. Rinat dominated with the wrestling, with five takedowns, and an astounding thirteen minutes of control time. The majority of the fight was spent with Michailidis on his back, tired, and no way of getting up. Dana White and company consistently find, and bring in stellar talent to the UFC, and these three fighters certainly made their debuts a good one, with all of them picking up wins.
Karolina Kowalkiewicz Is Back In The Win Column
Once a former title challenger with wins over Rose Namajunas and Randa Markos, Karolina Kowalkiewicz has not had much success lately. On Saturday night, she snapped a five-fight losing streak dating back to 2018, with a submission win over Felice Herrig in the second round. Karolina looked fantastic throughout the fight, landing more offense, maintaining top control on the ground, and eventually sinking in the rear-naked choke, at 4:01 in the 2nd round. Karolina was very emotional following her win, as it has not been easy for her recently.
Who is Askar Mozharov?
Most fans were quick to assume that Askar Mozharov was just another fighter making his UFC debut this weekend. But, if you do a little digging, you’ll find some very mysterious things about this fighter. Mozharov has gone by multiple names with his record being a complete mystery. The UFC now has his record at 19-13, but prior to that, it was 25-7, and then 21-12. Mozharov quickly earned his 13th professional loss at the hand of Alonzo Menifield, but it was very fascinating to learn about this fighter’s mysterious past.
It was an afternoon of fights to remember at the UFC APEX, with great finishes, back and forth bouts, UFC debutants shining, mysterious fighter's pasts, and more. Next week, the UFC will pack their things and head to Singapore for UFC 275 featuring two title fights and a rematch of one of the greatest fights of all time.
