UFC on ESPN 53 Prelims: Julian Erosa Guillotines Reeling Ricardo Ramos

Julian Erosa still has a don’t-blink quality about him.

“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 22 semifinalist on Saturday moved his Ultimate Fighting Championship record back to .500, as he rallied to submit Ricardo Ramos with a guillotine choke in the first round of their featured UFC on ESPN 53 featherweight prelim at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Erosa (29-11, 7-7 UFC) drew the curtain 2:15 into Round 1, closing the book on his two-fight losing streak.

The 28-year-old Ramos (16-6, 7-5 UFC) employed an active kicking game and decked the Xtreme Couture standout with a concussive right hand before swooping in for a takedown. He connected with some mild ground-and-pound, only to see the crafty Erosa escape to his feet. Ramos shot on the hips soon after but left his neck exposed while doing so. Erosa bit down on the guillotine, refused to relinquish his grip and prompted the tapout.

Ramos has suffered consecutive defeats for the first time in his 22-fight career.

Meanwhile, perfectly executed takedowns and suffocating top control carried onetime Fury Fighting Championship titleholder Trey Ogden to a unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 31 winner Kurt Holobaugh in a three-round lightweight confrontation. All three judges struck 30-27 scorecards for Ogden (17-6, 2-2 UFC), who nailed down his first win since Sept. 17, 2022.

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Holobaugh (20-8, 1-5 UFC) could not stay upright. Ogden put him on his back in all three rounds and climbed to advantageous positions, often battering the Gracie United rep with shoulder strikes, short punches and hammerfists from half guard. He progressed to full mount late in the third round and hunted an arm-triangle, though Holobaugh refused to give into his advances.

The setback halted Holobaugh’s run of consecutive victories at three.

Further down the undercard, former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Miles Johns called upon power punching combinations and well-timed takedown, as he took a unanimous decision from “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 31 finalist Cody Gibson in a forgettable three-round bantamweight clash. All three judges scored it 30-27 for Johns (14-2, 5-2 UFC), who filled in as a short-notice substitution for Davey Grant.

Gibson (19-10, 1-5 UFC) lacked the firepower necessary to give the Marathon MMA rep true pause. Johns bullied forward behind his heavy hands, crowded the ex-Tachi Palace Fights titleholder in the clinch and executed multiple takedowns. Gibson’s best chance came and went in the middle stanza, where he secured a takedown of his own, advanced to the back with a body triangle and briefly threatened his neck. Johns stayed calm under pressure, reversed position and eventually escaped to his feet, at which he point he resumed his attack. Fatigue saddled both men down the stretch, the action slowing to a crawl.

The 36-year-old Gibson has lost three of his past four bouts.

Finally, Jarno Errens rebounded from back-to-back losses to William Gomis and Seung Woo Choi with a unanimous decision over three-time DWCS alum Steven Nguyen in a three-round featherweight affair. All three members of the cageside judiciary scored it the same: 30-27 for Errens (14-5-1, 1-2 UFC), who posted his first victory since Aug. 6, 2022.

Nguyen (9-2, 0-1 UFC) failed to establish a foothold in the match. Errens wrecked his lower lead leg with repeated kicks, turning the Fortis MMA export into more and more of a stationary target as the situation unfolded. The Dutchman landed the vast majority of the consequential strikes across the 15-minute encounter. He split Nguyen’s lip with an exquisite right uppercut-left hook combination in the first round and went on to floor the Marc Montoya protégé twice, once in the second round and again in the third.

The loss snapped Nguyen’s three-fight winning streak.

In other action, Igor da Silva (8-1, 0-1 UFC) channeled his inner Mike Tyson, as he was disqualified for biting Andre Lima (8-0, 1-0 UFC) on the inside of the left biceps while the two men were engaged in the clinch 2:52 into the second round of their flyweight pairing; Dariya Zheleznyakova (9-1, 1-0 UFC) outstruck Montserrat Rendon (6-1, 1-1 UFC) to a unanimous verdict in a three-round women’s bantamweight scrap, earning 29-28 marks from all three judges; and Michael Parkin (9-0, 3-0 UFC) kept his perfect professional record intact with a unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 30 finalist Mohammed Usman (10-2, 3-1 UFC) in their three-round heavyweight tilt, sweeping the cards with 29-28 scores across the board.