DE LA ROSA vs MARKS
In TUF 26 Finale prelim action at Park Theater in Las Vegas, Team Gaethje’s Montana De La Rosa made quick work of Team Alvarez’ Christina Marks Friday night, submitting her opponent via first-round submission.
A furious striking exchange to start the bout went in Marks’ favor, but De La Rosa quickly tied her foe up. After a brief spell in the clinch, Marks caught a kick and the fight went to the mat, but De La Rosa locked up an armbar and the San Diegan tapped out. The official time was 2:00.
With the win, Fort Worth’s De La Rosa ups her record to 8-4
JANES vs SANCHEZ
Canadian middleweight Ryan Janes had to dig deep to earn his first Octagon victory, roaring back from a near-stoppage in the first round to halt former Ultimate Fighter winner Andrew Sanchez in the third stanza.
Sanchez nearly ended the bout early on after dropping Janes with a right hand and then following up with a barrage of shots. Remarkably, the Canadian recovered, and it was clear that Sanchez had emptied his tank trying to finish, allowing Janes to get out of the round and back into the fight.
After a minute’s rest, Sanchez landed with some solid shots to begin round two, but the gas tank emptied soon enough, allowing Janes to start tagging him with punches of his own. Sanchez found the energy for a quick takedown, but Janes got right back up and continued teeing off on Sanchez, whose legs were clearly gone. He still kept swinging, even though his punches had lost their steam by the end of the frame.
Early in round three, Janes completed his comeback in style, jarring Sanchez with a combination and then following those shots with a series of punches that brought in referee Mark Smith to stop the bout at :58 of the third frame.
With the win, British Columbia’s Janes moves to 10-3. Sanchez falls to 10-4.
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OSTOVICH vs GEVORGYAN
Waianae’s Rachael Ostovich picked up her first UFC win, submitting fellow Team Gaethje member Karine Gevorgyan in the first round.
Ostovich scored a quick takedown to kick off the bout, and while Gevorgyan scrambled out of immediate danger, she ran right into some more, with the Hawaiian locking in the armbar that produced a tap out at 1:40.
Ostovich moves to 4-3 with the win; Armenia’s Gevorgyan, who missed weight for the bout at 130.5 pounds, falls to 3-3.
DOBSON vs BECK
In a clash of Team Alvarez flyweights from TUF 26, Shana Dobson impressed with a second-round stoppage of Ariel Beck.
There was solid back and forth standup action from both fighters in the opening round, with Dobson particularly effective with her kicks throughout. Beck mixed things up nicely, though, with her body attack working well.
In the second, Dobson began to start throwing upstairs with more frequency, and while Beck took the shots well for much of the round, just past the midway point, a huge right hand hurt the Montana native, and a follow-up right sent her to the canvas with her hands covering her head, prompting referee Mark Smith to step in at 2:53 of round two.
Fort Worth’s Dobson moves to 3-1 with the win; Beck falls to 4-5.
ROBERTSON vs WHITMIRE
Team Gaethje squadmates Gillian Robertson and Emily Whitmire kicked the night off against each other in the flyweight division, with Robertson scoring a first-round submission win.
Robertson got the fight to the mat in the opening minute and went to work. A scramble allowed her to take Whitmire’s back, but the Las Vegan got free and took the top position against the fence. Robertson stayed cool, though, and out of nowhere she locked on an armbar, forcing the tap at the 2:12 mark.
With the win, Robertson moves to 4-2. Whitmire falls to 2-2.