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MURTAZALIEV vs DOLLAWAY

A late notice call to the Octagon didn’t deter middleweight newcomer Khalid Murtazaliev from his mission on Saturday, as he stopped CB Dollaway in UFC Fight Night prelim action at Olympic Stadium in Moscow.

Murtazaliev was the third opponent for Dollaway, who saw Omari Akhmedov and Artem Frolov both fall out due to injury before Murtazaliev stepped in.

Dollaway got the fight to the mat in the second minute, but Murtazaliev scrambled out of trouble and back to his feet. Murtazaliev responded with a flush kick to the body and followed up with a takedown. Dollaway tried to lock up a guillotine choke, but Murtazaliev fought free and maintained control as the two rose.

Taking Murtazaliev down in round two, Dollaway worked for a submission but the Dagestan native got loose again, eventually working into the mount position. Dollaway got out, but Murtazaliev kept the pressure on as his foe tired. An unanswered ground-and-pound assault followed, and while referee Herb Dean didn’t step in, when the horn sounded to end the round, it was clear that Dollaway was in no shape to continue, with the official finish coming at 5:00 of the second round.

Murtazaliev moves to 14-2 with the win. Arizona’s Dollaway falls to 18-10

YAN vs SON

As a protégé of “The Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung, it was no surprise that UFC debutant Jin Soo Son showed up ready to fight for 15 minutes. Yet despite an exciting effort, Son wasn’t able to vanquish top bantamweight prospect Petr Yan, who earned his second UFC victory via unanimous decision.

Scores were 30-27 twice and 29-28, for Omsk’s Yan, now 10-1. Seoul’s Son, who missed weight, coming in at 137 pounds, falls to 9-3.

Son impressed in the first two rounds as he took several hard shots from Yan and kept standing in the pocket. Unfortunately for the South Korean newcomer, the calm, cool and collected Yan kept landing those shots, piling up points in the process. Son did get a takedown just before the midway point of round two, switching things up and catching Yan off guard. Yan did reverse position, though, ending the round on his feet.

Son took more punishment from Yan in the third, but he kept smiling as he absorbed the blows and fired back, thrilling the crowd with a debut performance to remember, albeit in a losing effort.

KHABILOV vs JOHNSON

Back in action for the first time since September 2017, Rustam Khabilov extended his current winning streak to six with a close split decision victory over Kajan Johnson.

Scores were 29-28 twice and 28-29 for Dagestan’s Khabilov, now 23-3. Vancouver’s Johnson falls to 23-14-1.

Khabilov was the aggressor throughout the first round, but it was Johnson who put together the winning round, as he peppered Khabilov with kicks and jabs while keeping the Russian from getting close enough for a takedown.

Khabilov got closer with his strikes in round two, allowing him to find the opening for his first takedown. Johnson stayed busy from his back, looking for submissions, but Khabilov stayed out of trouble and in control.

With the fight presumably on the line, the third was difficult to call, with Johnson tagging Khabilov from long range. Khabilov did get a late takedown, but again, the Canadian stayed busy, wrapping up a solid three-rounder between the two lightweights.

TAISUMOV vs GREEN

Russia’s Mairbek Taisumov didn’t have an easy road to UFC Moscow, coming in at 161 pounds for his lightweight bout against Desmond Green, but “Beckan” did win his sixth consecutive bout, decisioning Green over three rounds.

Scores were 30-27 across the board for Grozny’s Taisumov, now 27-5. Green falls to 21-8.

The busier of the two, Taisumov dug to the body and leg with thudding kicks in the opening stanza, and while his shots upstairs didn’t deter Green, the New Yorker didn’t fire back enough to take the round.

Green had more success in the second round, as he countered well with his left hand and cut Taisumov over the right eye. He did get dropped briefly by a right hand, but it was clear that Green was back in the fight heading into round three.

The third was another competitive one, but Taisumov did enough to take the round and the win.

ANKALAEV vs PRACHNIO

The second UFC start of Russian light heavyweight prospect Magomed Ankalaev was a lot different than the first one, as he delivered an impressive first-round finish of Poland’s Marcin Prachnio.

On target with crisp strikes from the start, Ankalaev was sharp, and while Prachnio wasn’t shy about exchanging with his foe, the short punches of Ankalaev eventually told the tale of the fight, as he stunned Prachnio with a couple right hands before sending him to the canvas with a left kick to the head. Two follow-up shots put an end to the match, with referee Herb Dean stepping in at 3:09 of the first frame.

Ankalaev, who lost his first UFC bout in March to Paul Craig at 4:59 of the third round, improves to 10-1. Prachnio falls to 13-4.

JOHNSON vs YANDIEV

The middleweight debut of Jordan Johnson was a successful one, as he submitted Moscow newcomer Adam Yandiev in the second round and kept his perfect record intact.

Yandiev’s aggressiveness put him at a disadvantage early, as he ate an uppercut and was taken down. In the second minute, Yandiev fought his way back to his feet, but Johnson got him back down midway through the frame, and once the American moved into the mount, he began firing off strikes more frequently. With under a minute left, Johnson nearly finished the bout with a rear naked choke, but the gutsy Russian broke free and made it to the end of the round.

Johnson didn’t let it last much longer, though, as he got Yandiev to the mat early in round two and ended the bout with a side choke. The time of the tap was :42 of the second round.

Johnson moves to 10-0 with the win. Yandiev falls to 9-1.

EMEEV vs SEKULIC

Russian welterweight Ramazan Emeev had his home country fans roaring, as he pounded out a workmanlike three-round unanimous decision win over Serbian newcomer Stefan Sekulic.

Scores were 29-28, 30-27 and 30-26 for Emeev, now 18-3. Sekulic falls to 12-3

Emeev had a solid, but unspectacular, first round in all aspects of the game, but just before the end of the round, a right hand to the head followed by a right kick stunned and dropped Sekulic, putting a flourish on a big round for the Russian.

Sekulic got a takedown in the opening minute of round two, but Emeev got back to his feet with little difficulty and put in another good round, albeit with no late round fireworks. Sekulic did have his moments in the final frame, but not enough to turn things around or deter the forward march of Emeev.

DVALISHVILI vs WARE

Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili picked up his first Octagon victory in the bantamweight opener, as he shut out Terrion Ware over three rounds.

It was a dominant opening frame for Dvalishvili, as he controlled the action on the ground and feet, leaving Ware at a scoring deficit as the second round approached. But it was more of the same from Dvalishvili in the second and third rounds, as he refused to let Ware get into the fight, allowing him to get in the UFC win column for the first time in three tries by scores of 30-25.

With the win, Dvalishvili ups his record to 8-4. Ware, who tweeted after the bout that he tore his shoulder in the first round, falls to 17-9.

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