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 PEREZ vs WINELAND

Mexico’s Alejandro Perez extended his unbeaten streak to seven at CenturyLink Arena in Boise on Saturday night, as he took a close three-round unanimous decision win over veteran bantamweight contender Eddie Wineland.

Wineland was the aggressor throughout the opening round, but that cost him on a few occasions when Perez landed crisp counter right hands. But Wineland did score with the biggest punch of the frame when he scored a flash knockdown with a right hand of his own with a little over a minute left.

The second and third rounds remained close as Wineland advanced and Perez sought to counter, and as the former WEC champion ended the fight bloodied, Perez ended it with a victory, as he took the nod by three scores of 29-28.

With the win, the No. 13-ranked Perez moves to 22-6-1. The No. 15-ranked Wineland falls to 23-13-1.

VOLKANOVSKI vs ELKINS

Featherweight contender Darren Elkins saw his six-fight winning streak snapped by Australian up and comer Alex Volkanovski, who scored a three-round unanimous decision victory in his first UFC trip to the United States.

A missed takedown by Elkins allowed Volkanovski to take the top position, and then an ensuing scramble saw the Aussie lock up a guillotine choke on another takedown attempt by “The Damage,” who escaped but emerged with a cut over his eye. With a little over a minute left, Volkanovski dropped Elkins with a right hand and went for the choke again, but again Elkins eluded danger and rose to his feet, only to be dropped with another right hand just before the horn.

The right hand struck again early in round two, but this time Elkins was able to stay upright. And while the Indiana native got back into the fight, Volkanovski remained a step ahead on the feet and kept pressuring his bloodied foe throughout. Of course, Elkins’ heart could not be questioned, and that went the same for the decision, which went to Volkanovski via scores of 30-27 and 29-28 twice.

Windang’s Volkanovski improves to 18-1 with the win. The No. 10-ranked Elkins falls to 25-6.

NURMAGOMEDOV vs SCOGGINS

Flyweight newcomer Said Nurmagomedov took home a win in his first trip to the Octagon, as he scored a three-round split decision victory over Justin Scoggins.

Scores were 29-28 twice and 28-29 for Nurmagomedov, now 12-1. Scoggins falls to 11-5.

Scoggins looked confident at the start, and that confidence in his standup game only grew as the fight progressed. In the second minute of round two, Scoggins scored a flash knockdown with a flush left hand, but Nurmagomedov shot right back up and looked for a takedown, only to be rebuffed by Scoggins, who continued to look sharp with his strikes.

Early in round three, Nurmagomedov got the takedown and went to work, but a surprising restart from referee Rulon Day put the fight back on the feet with three minutes to go. That early third round surge was apparently enough for Nurmagomedov, though, with the Dagestani debutant emerging with the win on the scorecards.

BARCELOS vs HOLOBAUGH

Featherweights Raoni Barcelos and Kurt Holobaugh delivered an exciting scrap in their prelim bout before Brazil’s Barcelos ended matters with a third-round knockout.

Swinging hard from the outset, Barcelos and Holobaugh both landed flush shots but weren’t able to hurt each other with them, leading to more heated exchanges. A late takedown by Barcelos was an effective tool to switch things up, and he did the same thing in the closing stages of round two. In the third, though, Barcelos finally stunned Holobaugh, and three more punches, punctuated by a right uppercut, put the Louisianan down, with referee Herb Dean stepping in to stop the fight at the 1:29 mark of round three.

With the win, Rio de Janeiro’s Barcelos moves to 12-1. Amite’s Holobaugh falls to 17-5 with 1 NC.

CARMOUCHE vs MAIA

No. 7-ranked flyweight contender Liz Carmouche turned in a disciplined and effective performance against former Invicta FC champ Jennifer Maia en route to a three-round unanimous decision victory.

There wasn’t a lot of consistent action in the opening round, but the most effective attacks were turned in by Carmouche (11-6) both on the feet and the mat, even though Maia (15-5-1) began finding a rhythm with her strikes late in the frame.

It was close and tactical again in round two, at least until the final minute, when Carmouche exploded with a takedown followed by a move to mount, some elbows and an armbar attempt before the horn, effectively diluting the good work Maia did before then.

Carmouche took the fight right back to the mat to start the final frame and she dominated there until Maia was able to find daylight with 45 seconds left. It wasn’t enough time for the Brazilian standout to turn things around, though, and she wound up on the short end of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 scores.

DE LA ROSA vs GARCIA

Mark De La Rosa made it two for two for the family in flyweight action, as he submitted previously unbeaten Elias Garcia in the second round, eight days after his wife Montana won her own UFC fight.

Picking up his first Octagon victory, Fort Worth’s De La Rosa got a spirited fight out of Milwaukee’s Garcia, but in the second stanza, the “Bumblebee” amped up his work rate, and once he got Garcia to the mat, he ended the fight, with a rear naked choke prompting a tap out at 2:00 of round two.

AGUILAR vs ESQUIBEL

Veteran strawweight standout Jessica Aguilar earned her first UFC victory in the opener, taking a close, but unanimous, decision over Jodie Esquibel.

The first round was competitive throughout, but a takedown by Aguilar and some sharp strikes late in the frame allowed “Jag” to take it. Esquibel appeared to even the score in the second, putting everything up for grabs in the final frame, but it was the busier Aguilar closing the show strong to take the nod by scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

With the win, Aguilar moves to 20-6. Esquibel falls to 6-4.

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