UFC Fight Night 237 Prelims: Raoni Barecelos Choke Stuns Cristian Quinonez

Raoni Barcelos can exploit any opening, no matter how narrow.

The former Resurrection Fighting Alliance and Shooto Brazil titlist re-established himself in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division, as he rallied to submit Cristian Quinonez with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their featured UFC Fight Night 237 prelim on Saturday at Arena CDMX in Mexico City. Quinonez (18-5, 1-2 UFC) tapped 2:04 into Round 3.

Barcelos (18-5, 7-4 UFC) bided his time, made the necessary adjustments and leaned into his experience. Quinonez handled his business through the first 10 minutes with clean combination punching, steady leg kicks and expert grappling. Barcelos, however, never went away. He caught a kick and followed a right cross into a takedown early in the third round. From there, he climbed to the back, snuck his arms into place and finished the choke.

The victory was Barcelos’ first in 511 days.

Meanwhile, onetime Ultimate Warrior Challenge titleholder Jesus Santos Aguilar won for the 10th time in 11 appearances, as he took a split verdict from fellow Dana White’s Contender Series alum Mateus Mendonca in a three-round flyweight clash. All three cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards, two of them for Aguilar (10-2, 2-1 UFC).

Mendonca (10-3, 0-3 UFC) secured takedowns in all three rounds, and though he paired them with ample control time, he failed to truly corral his counterpart. After a closely contested first round, Aguilar dazed the Brazilian with a counter left hook in the second, followed it with a takedown and ultimately achieved full mount. Mendonca answered with a dominant Round 3, where he delivered a takedown, progressed to the back, applied his ground-and-pound and threatened with a reverse triangle. Those efforts fell short.

Aguilar, 27, owns a perfect 3-0 mark in fights that go the distance.

Further down the card, former Fury Fighting Championship titleholder Edgar Chairez put away Daniel da Silva with a triangle choke in the first round of their flyweight rematch. Winless since July 24, 2021, the reeling da Silva (11-6, 0-5 UFC) checked out 2:17 into Round 1.

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Chairez (11-5, 1-1 UFC) conceded a takedown and ate some elbow-laced ground-and-pound but managed to stay calm under duress. He hunted the choke from the bottom, alternated between sides and bit down on the triangle once he settled on his desired position. Da Silva felt the Entram Gym export’s squeeze and offered no resistance before he raised the white flag of surrender.

Both men missed weight for the bout—Chairez by a whopping five pounds, da Silva by a pound. Their first encounter ended in a no contest at UFC Fight Night 227 in September.

Elsewhere, Kill Cliff Fight Club export Fares Ziam put a third straight win in the books with a split decision over “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America” Season 3 finalist Claudio Puelles in a three-round lightweight tilt. Scores were 29-28 for Puelles, 30-27 and 29-28 for Ziam.

Puelles (12-4, 5-3 UFC) executed multiple takedowns but failed to consolidate them with damage or meaningful control. Ziam (15-4, 5-2 UFC) overcame being mounted in the second round, freed himself from a guillotine choke in the third and landed virtually all the strikes of consequence in the 15-minute affair. Elbows and standing-to-ground hammerfists were his weapons of choice in numerous ground exchanges between the two men.

Ziam will ride a three-fight winning streak into his next assignment.

Finally, Ronaldo Rodriguez shined in his promotional debut, as he put away ex-World Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Denys Bondar with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their flyweight scrap. Rodriguez (16-2, 1-0 UFC) brought it to a close 4:59 into Round 2.

Bondar (14-5, 0-3 UFC) stung the Prime Combat Academy product with overhand rights and twice followed them with takedowns in the first round, progressing to the back at one point. However, his inability to find a finish came back to bite him. Rodriguez answered a takedown in the middle stanza, sprang a reversal and maneuvered behind the weary Ukrainian with a body triangle. Bondar managed to escape and set off a scramble, only to attempt an ill-advised heel hook. Rodriguez was wise to his advances, wheeled behind him with ground-and-pound and flattened him out while cinching the fight-ending choke.

Rodriguez, 24, has rattled off six consecutive victories.

In other action, Felipe dos Santos (8-1, 1-1 UFC) eked out a contentious split decision—27-30, 29-28, 29-28—over former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Victor Altamirano (12-4, 2-3 UFC) in their three-round flyweight affair; and an apparent knee injury suffered by former Lux Fight League champion Erik Silva (9-3, 0-2 UFC) resulted in a technical knockout loss to Muhammadjon Naimov (11-2, 3-0 UFC) just 44 seconds into the first round of their featherweight tilt.