UFC Baku Prelims: Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev shreds Julius Walker in eight seconds
· Yahoo Sports
The line of
Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweights who want to
test Abdul-Rakhman
Yakhyaev figures to grow even shorter given his latest
performance.
The fast-rising Turkish contender kept his perfect professional record intact and did so in sensational fashion, as he wiped out Julius Walker with punches in the first round of their featured UFC Fight Night 280 prelim on Saturday at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. Yakhyaev (10-0, 3-0 UFC) slammed the door just eight seconds into Round 1, authoring the second-fastest finish in the history of the 205-pound weight class.
Walker (7-3, 1-3 UFC) never stood a chance. Yakhyaev felled the Xtreme Couture rep with a devastating overhand right on the counter, pounced with follow-up punches and drew the curtain with an almost dismissive disdain.
Meanwhile, American Top Team’s Nursulton Ruziboev put Andrey Pulyaev to sleep with a vicelike rear-naked choke in the first round of their middleweight encounter. Pulyaev (10-4, 1-3 UFC) lost consciousness 3:58 into Round 1, losing for the second time in as many appearances.
Ruziboev (37-9-2, 5-1 UFC) dragged the Alexander Shlemenko protégé to the canvas, jumped to his back and married steady ground-and-pound with repeated submission attempts. His efforts generated the desired opening, as he weaved his arms into place, cut off blood flow to the brain and waited for Pulyaev to go limp.
The 32-year-old Ruziboev has strung together three consecutive victories.
Elsewhere, former Hex Fight Series champion Kaan Ofli dismissed Javier Reyes with a mounted arm-triangle choke in the second round of their featherweight tilt. Reyes (23-5, 1-1 UFC), who entered the cage on the strength of a three-fight winning streak, made his unceremonious exit 4:16 into Round 1.
Ofli (14-4-1, 3-2 UFC) successfully navigated the Colombian’s enormous seven-inch reach advantage, peppering him with well-timed counters and stout leg kicks. He ultimately decked Reyes with a sharp one-two, swarmed with punches and hammerfists, cinched the choke in full mount and elicited the tapout.
It was the seventh first-round finish of Ofli’s career.
Deeper into the prelims, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 33 winner Daniil Donchenko dispatched Theodor Berggren with a head kick and follow-up punches in the second round of their welterweight affair. A late-notice fill-in for Andreas Gustafsson, Berggren (8-4, 0-1 UFC) clocked out 1:35 into Round 2.
Donchenko (14-2, 3-0 UFC) zeroed in on the organizational newcomer with low kicks and brutal body shots in the first round, slowly but surely immobilizing the Swede. The emerging Tiger Muay Thai star floored Berggren with a head kick roughly 90 seconds into the second period, gave chase and cut loose with a violent volley of punches to seal the deal.
The 24-year-old Donchenko has won seven fights in a row, five of them finishes.
Finally, former UAE Warriors champion Tahir Abdullayev put away the previously unbeaten Renovacao Fight Team prospect Jefferson Nascimento with punches in the third round of their welterweight pairing. Abdullayev (20-3, 1-0 UFC) brought it to a close 4:28 into Round 3.
Neither man offered much in terms of meaningful offense ahead of the stoppage. Abdullayev grew frustrated with the Brazilian’s incessant movement—he flashed a middle finger at him in the first round—but turned up the heat near the end of the middle stanza. Nascimento (13-1, 0-1 UFC) picked up his pace in Round 3 but left himself open for takedowns and started to absorb some significant ground-and-pound. Abdullayev eventually increased the intensity of his punches, prompting referee Jim Perdios to intervene.
Abdullayev, 29, has rattled off five straight victories.
In other action, Farman Hasanov (5-0, 1-0 UFC) called on repeated takedowns and outlasted Eric Nolan (8-5, 0-2 UFC) to a unanimous decision in their three-round featherweight confrontation, as he earned 30-27 marks from all three cageside judges; and Jean Matsumoto (18-2, 4-2 UFC) overcame a gnarly cut to his left eyebrow and posted a unanimous decision—29-28, 29-28, 29-28—against Bekzat Almakhan (12-4, 1-3 UFC) in their three-round bantamweight scrap.
The fast-rising Turkish contender kept his perfect professional record intact and did so in sensational fashion, as he wiped out Julius Walker with punches in the first round of their featured UFC Fight Night 280 prelim on Saturday at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. Yakhyaev (10-0, 3-0 UFC) slammed the door just eight seconds into Round 1, authoring the second-fastest finish in the history of the 205-pound weight class.
Walker (7-3, 1-3 UFC) never stood a chance. Yakhyaev felled the Xtreme Couture rep with a devastating overhand right on the counter, pounced with follow-up punches and drew the curtain with an almost dismissive disdain.
Meanwhile, American Top Team’s Nursulton Ruziboev put Andrey Pulyaev to sleep with a vicelike rear-naked choke in the first round of their middleweight encounter. Pulyaev (10-4, 1-3 UFC) lost consciousness 3:58 into Round 1, losing for the second time in as many appearances.
Related » UFC Baku round-by-round scoring
Ruziboev (37-9-2, 5-1 UFC) dragged the Alexander Shlemenko protégé to the canvas, jumped to his back and married steady ground-and-pound with repeated submission attempts. His efforts generated the desired opening, as he weaved his arms into place, cut off blood flow to the brain and waited for Pulyaev to go limp.
The 32-year-old Ruziboev has strung together three consecutive victories.
Elsewhere, former Hex Fight Series champion Kaan Ofli dismissed Javier Reyes with a mounted arm-triangle choke in the second round of their featherweight tilt. Reyes (23-5, 1-1 UFC), who entered the cage on the strength of a three-fight winning streak, made his unceremonious exit 4:16 into Round 1.
Ofli (14-4-1, 3-2 UFC) successfully navigated the Colombian’s enormous seven-inch reach advantage, peppering him with well-timed counters and stout leg kicks. He ultimately decked Reyes with a sharp one-two, swarmed with punches and hammerfists, cinched the choke in full mount and elicited the tapout.
It was the seventh first-round finish of Ofli’s career.
Deeper into the prelims, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 33 winner Daniil Donchenko dispatched Theodor Berggren with a head kick and follow-up punches in the second round of their welterweight affair. A late-notice fill-in for Andreas Gustafsson, Berggren (8-4, 0-1 UFC) clocked out 1:35 into Round 2.
Donchenko (14-2, 3-0 UFC) zeroed in on the organizational newcomer with low kicks and brutal body shots in the first round, slowly but surely immobilizing the Swede. The emerging Tiger Muay Thai star floored Berggren with a head kick roughly 90 seconds into the second period, gave chase and cut loose with a violent volley of punches to seal the deal.
The 24-year-old Donchenko has won seven fights in a row, five of them finishes.
Finally, former UAE Warriors champion Tahir Abdullayev put away the previously unbeaten Renovacao Fight Team prospect Jefferson Nascimento with punches in the third round of their welterweight pairing. Abdullayev (20-3, 1-0 UFC) brought it to a close 4:28 into Round 3.
Neither man offered much in terms of meaningful offense ahead of the stoppage. Abdullayev grew frustrated with the Brazilian’s incessant movement—he flashed a middle finger at him in the first round—but turned up the heat near the end of the middle stanza. Nascimento (13-1, 0-1 UFC) picked up his pace in Round 3 but left himself open for takedowns and started to absorb some significant ground-and-pound. Abdullayev eventually increased the intensity of his punches, prompting referee Jim Perdios to intervene.
Abdullayev, 29, has rattled off five straight victories.
In other action, Farman Hasanov (5-0, 1-0 UFC) called on repeated takedowns and outlasted Eric Nolan (8-5, 0-2 UFC) to a unanimous decision in their three-round featherweight confrontation, as he earned 30-27 marks from all three cageside judges; and Jean Matsumoto (18-2, 4-2 UFC) overcame a gnarly cut to his left eyebrow and posted a unanimous decision—29-28, 29-28, 29-28—against Bekzat Almakhan (12-4, 1-3 UFC) in their three-round bantamweight scrap.
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