MUHAMMAD vs. BROWN
Chicago welterweight Belal Muhammad got back in the win column in his second visit to the Big Apple on Saturday, defeating Queens’ Randy Brown via unanimous decision in UFC 208 prelim action at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Scores were 30-27 twice and 29-28 for Muhammad, now 11-2; Brown falls to 9-2
Muhammad went to work on Brown’s lead leg at the start, and his defense was quietly effective as he dodged most of the incoming fire from the busy New Yorker. Midway through the first round though, Brown began to find his rhythm, tagging Muhammad several times.
Brown began the second where he left off in the previous frame, and in response, Muhammad made several attempts to put the fight on the mat. With a little over a minute left, he got his wish, and a barrage of ground strikes followed from the Windy City product.
Muhammad put the fight back on the mat in the second minute of the final round, Brown trying to stay busy with submission attempts from his back as Muhammad landed punches from the top. Soon, Muhammad took Brown’s back and looked for a choke, but Brown fought free and ended the bout in a dominant position while firing off strikes. It wasn’t enough to turn the tide though, with Muhammad picking up a hard-fought win.
More from UFC 208: Full results | de Randamie makes history by defeating Holm | Silva, Jacare, Teixeira get main card wins | Fighters go distance for prelim wins
Watch Octagon interviews: Germaine de Randamie, Anderson Silva, Ryan LaFlare
Backstage interviews: Anderson Silva, Jacare Souza, Glover Teixeira
Order the UFC 208 digital replay now!
REIS vs. SASAKI
Flyweight contender Wilson Reis upped his winning streak to three with a close, but unanimous, decision win over Ulka Sasaki.
Scores were 29-28 across the board.
These flyweights are going at it! #UFC208 pic.twitter.com/hxO91ctvlT
— #UFC208 (@ufc) February 12, 2017
Sasaki’s long-range striking served him well for a good part of the first round, with Reis eating several momentum-halting punches on the way in. But in the latter half of the frame, Reis was able to put Sasaki on the mat, where he was able to work his ground game until the horn sounded.
Reis wasted no time getting Sasaki (19-4-2) back to the mat in round two, and while it looked like he was in control as he took his foe’s back, Sasaki smoothly escaped and got back to his feet. A subsequent takedown attempt from Sasaki came up short, allowing Reis to get in the top position, and in a scramble, he took his opponent’s back once more. This time he had plenty of time to work, and while he wasn’t able to submit Sasaki, it was a dominant frame for the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt.
In the third, Sasaki nearly broke open the close fight and ended it, as he was able to take Reis’ back in a scramble. Yet despite his best efforts, the Japan native was unable to finish off Sao Paulo’s Reis, who improved to 22-6 with the win.
MAKHACHEV vs. LENTZ
Lightweight prospect Islam Makhachev made a huge statement in his bout with Nik Lentz, winning a lopsided unanimous decision by scores of 30-25 twice and 30-27.
Makhachev got the bout to the mat in the opening minute, but Lentz responded well with a tight guillotine choke. Makhachev pulled free and worked Lentz over with his mauling style until “The Carny” got to his feet with 90 seconds left. Makhachev put him back on the canvas moments later, but Lentz’ second guillotine attempt kept him out of trouble until the horn.
The first 90 seconds of round two held some interesting standup exchanges until Makhachev decided that it was time to go back to the mat. There, it wasn’t high-impact action, but Makhachev was in control throughout as he wrapped up the round.
Makhachev continued to put on a ground clinic in the final round, putting Lentz on the verge of a stoppage with his ground strikes before the Floridian weathered the storm and made it to the end of the bout.
With the win, Makhachev moves to 14-1; Lentz falls to 29-8-2 with 1 NC.
GLENN vs. NOVER
Featherweight veteran Rick Glenn picked up his first UFC win in prelim action, taking a three-round split decision over Brooklyn native Phillipe Nover.
Scores were 29-28 twice and 27-30 for Glenn, now 19-4-1; Nover falls to 12-8-1.
The first round was largely tactical, with Nover having more success on the feet, but not enough to keep him from going back to his corner with a cut under his left eye. For Glenn’s part, he made a late attempt at getting the fight to the mat, but was unsuccessful in doing so.
There was little change to the pace in the second, and the fans continued to let the fighters know it. Glenn’s inability to get the fight to the mat hurt him once more, as Nover was able to control much of the standup action from a distance, but Glenn did keep his foe pinned to the fence for long stretches, and he did the same in the third, allowing him to edge the fight on the cards.
LaFLARE vs. CARNEIRO
Back in action for the first time since December 2015, Long Island’s Ryan LaFlare thrilled the local crowd with a three-round unanimous decision win over Brazil’s Roan Carneiro in the welterweight opener.
LaFlare (13-1) showed off a little bit of everything in a close first round, acquitting himself well with his standup, clinch and ground games, but Carneiro (21-11) wasn’t far behind in any aspect in the first five minutes.
Putting the heat on in the second, LaFlare clipped Carneiro with a left in the opening minute and put him on the canvas. Carneiro recovered quickly, but was kept grounded until three minutes remained. LaFlare scored a second knockdown with two minutes left, yet again, the crafty Brazilian vet was able to survive, making it to the end of the frame.
LaFlare continued to surge in the final frame, mixing up his striking and grappling well as Carneiro was reduced to looking for fight-altering haymakers. “Jucao” did make a late charge for an arm triangle choke, but it wasn’t enough to pull off the win on the scorecards, which went to LaFlare by tallies of 30-26, 30-27 and 29-28.
