UFC 297 Prelims: Garrett Armfield Upends Favored Brad Katona in Toronto

Garrett Armfield proved he belongs, and he did so in hostile territory.

The Marathon MMA representative took a significant step forward in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division, as he outstruck two-time “The Ultimate Fighter” winner Brad Katona to a unanimous decision in their featured UFC 297 prelim on Saturday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Armfield (10-3, 2-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with matching 29-28 marks.

Katona (13-3, 3-3 UFC) had issues getting in gear initially. Armfield called upon an effective jab and multi-punch volleys, all while keeping the Canadian honest with well-disguised kicks, and appeared to have built a narrow lead through two rounds. Katona turned up the heat in Round 3, where he executed multiple takedowns and overwhelmed his opponent with pace and output. By the time it was over, Armfield was gasping for air but had done enough to curry favor with the judges.

The setback closed the book on Katona’s run of five consecutive victories.

Meanwhile, clean combination punching, stellar head movement and bulletproof takedown defense carried Wolves’ Den Training Center’s Sean Woodson to a split verdict over former TKO Major League MMA champion Charles Jourdain in a three-round featherweight confrontation. All three members of the judiciary submitted 29-28 scorecards: Declan Woods and Derek Cleary for Woodson, Patricia VanderMeer for Jourdain.

The 6-foot-3 Woodson (11-1-1, 5-1-1 UFC) made the most of his nine-inch reach advantage, as he pecked away with punches on the perimeter, mixed in occasional front kicks to the body and checked his adversary’s chin with a few knees and shovel uppercuts. Jourdain (15-7-1, 6-6-1 UFC) responded with leg kicks but struggled—and ultimately failed—to successfully navigate the considerable distance between the two. Even so, he appeared to rally in Round 3, where he bullied Woodson into the clinch and went all-in on a late guillotine choke. Those efforts fell short.

Woodson will enter his next assignment on the strength of back-to-back victories.

In the second of two bantamweight prelims, Bulldog Boxing mainstay Ramon Taveras evened his head-to-head series with Serhiy Sidey at 1-1 by outlasting the Canadian to a split decision in their highly entertaining rematch. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28: Eric Colon and Saleem Haniff for Taveras, the aforementioned Cleary for Sidey.

Taveras (10-2, 1-0 UFC)—who missed weight by 3¾ pounds—put an enormous amount of damage on the former Battlefield Fight League champion, highlighted by a bloodletting cut across the bridge of his nose and a grotesque hematoma under his left eye. Sidey, who defeated the Floridian on Dana White’s Contender Series in September, answered with merciless forward pressure and output. He slammed kicks into the body, legs and arms, operated behind an effective jab and controlled the cage. Taveras dropped him to a knee with a left hook to the body and stunned him with an overhand right in the first round, then leaned heavily on counterstriking for the duration of the fight.

The loss snapped Sidey’s six-fight winning streak.

Related » UFC 297 Round-by-Round Scoring

Meanwhile, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 26 alum Gillian Robertson turned away ex-Jungle Fight champion Polyana Viana with punches in the second round of their women’s strawweight encounter. Viana (13-7, 4-6 UFC) succumbed to blows 3:12 into Round 2, losing for the third time in four appearances.

Robertson (13-8, 10-6 UFC) consumed the Brazilian with cold calculation. She secured takedowns in both rounds, shifted from full mount to the back while meeting little resistance, chased a few submissions and bolstered her efforts with heavy ground-and-pound. Robertson moved to mount midway through the middle stanza, unleashed elbows and sealed the deal with a sustained burst of unanswered punches.

Viana had never before been stopped by strikes.

Further down the card, Team Crossface rep Sam Patterson disposed of onetime Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder Yohan Lainesse with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their welterweight clash. Lainesse (9-3, 1-3 UFC) raised the white flag of surrender 2:03 into Round 1, as he suffered his second setback in as many outings.

Patterson (11-2-1, 1-1 UFC) walked through an overhand right and dragged the Tristar Gym export to all fours with a basic front headlock. The 2022 Dana White’s Contender Series graduate put his Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt to use, made a smooth progression to the back, secured his position with hooks and slipped the blade of his forearm under Lainesse’s chin. In an instant, the outcome became a formality.

It was the fifth first-round finish of Patterson’s career.

Not to be outdone, Niagara Top Team standout Jasmine Jasudavicius tormented Priscila Cachoeira for the better part of 14 minutes before she took out the Brazilian with a mounted anaconda choke in the third round of their women’s bantamweight tilt. Cachoeira (12-6, 4-6 UFC) checked out 4:21 into Round 3.

The 34-year-old Jasudavicius (10-3, 4-2 UFC) struck for takedowns in all three rounds, floated from one dominant position to the next and tore into her counterpart with punches and elbows. By the time they made it to the third round, a virtually defenseless Cachoeira was bleeding heavily from the nose and mouth. Jasudavicius assaulted her with combination punching, scrambled into a takedown and progressed to a mounted crucifix, at which point the Canadian poured on the punishment with punches and elbows. She then bit down on the choke, shifted to mount and brought an epic beatdown to its inevitable conclusion.

Jasudavicius has won three of her past four bouts.

Finally, former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Jimmy Flick weathered a significant storm and put away Malcolm Gordon with an arm-triangle choke in the second round of their flyweight affair. Flick (17-7, 2-2 UFC) brought it to a close 77 seconds into Round 2, as the Oklahoma native posted his first win since Dec. 19, 2020.

Gordon (14-8, 2-5 UFC)—who missed weight for the match by 1½ pounds—lit the crowd on fire with a fast start. The Canadian overwhelmed Flick with activity in the first round, where he paired a takedown with punishing ground-and-pound, escaped a triangle choke and threatened with a guillotine. Gordon cut loose with punches from both hands early in the middle stanza but paid a price for his overzealousness in a rush to finish. The resourceful Flick ducked behind him, powered into top position and moved on the arm-triangle. From there, he tightened his squeeze, cleared Gordon’s guard and prompted the tapout.

The 33-year-old Gordon has lost three fights in a row.