UFC 215 Prelims: Ketlen Vieira Arm-Triangle Choke Finishes Resurgent Sara McMann
There is a new contender at 135 pounds, and her name is Ketlen Vieira! That makes her pro record now 9-0! https://t.co/VKIhbOOBau
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) September 10, 2017
Ketlen Vieira has announced her arrival as a serious player in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight division.
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The encounter was marked by momentum swings. McMann (11-4) manhandled the Nova Uniao rep for much of the first round, where the 2004 Olympic silver medalist delivered a takedown, passed to half guard and achieved full mount, all while scoring with intermittent punches and elbows. Vieira turned the tables in the second, as she struck for a takedown of her own, framed the choke and elicited the tapout with a crushing squeeze.
Gruesome Moras Armbar Submits Evans Smith
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 18 graduate Sarah Moras submitted Team Oyama’s Ashlee Evans-Smith with an armbar in the first round of their undercard matchup at 135 pounds. Evans-Smith (5-3) bowed out 2:51 into Round 1, her left arm bent beyond its bounds.
In her first appearance since July 2015, Moras (5-2) stayed calm under duress. The 29-year-old conceded an early takedown and ate some ground-and-pound before reclaiming guard and going to work on the armbar. After several transitions and a prolonged struggle, Moras locked down the arm, brought her hips into play and prompted a painful tapout.
Evans -Smith, 30, has lost two in a row.
Glenn Destroys Undefeated Tucker
Former World Series of Fighting champion Rick Glenn won for the fifth time in six appearances, as he captured a lopsided unanimous decision from Gavin Tucker in a preliminary featherweight confrontation. Glenn (20-4-1) swept the scorecards with 30-25, 30-24 and 29-27 marks from the judges.
After the first round, Tucker (10-1) was not competitive. Glenn executed multiple takedowns in the middle stanza, where he unleashed a sustained burst of punches, standing elbows and knees to the body. His assault depleted Tucker’s gas tank, leaving him with little to offer in the third round. Glenn countered a weak takedown attempt into top position and cut loose with standing-to-ground punches and hammerfists. Tucker was powerless to resist, eating shot after shot while turning away from contact on multiple occasions. Though it was clear the 31-year-old had endured enough, referee Kyle Cardinal allowed it to go the full 15 minutes.
White Dissects Retiring Clarke
Team Destruction standout Alex White took care of Mitch Clarke with second-round punches in their undercard tilt at 155 pounds. Clarke (11-5) succumbed to blows 4:36 into Round 2, as the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt suffered his third straight defeat. Afterward, the 31-year-old announced his retirement.
White (12-3) controlled the majority of the fight and turned up the heat in the second round. He rang Clarke’s bell with a series of vicious standing elbows and then knocked down the Canadian three times, once with a knee to the body and twice with knifing left hands. When a battered and bloodied Clark kissed the canvas for a third time, referee Jerin Valel called for the stoppage.
The win moved the 28-year-old White to 3-3 in the UFC.
Unbeaten Bhullar Outduels Oliveira
Undefeated prospect Arjan Bhullar kept his perfect professional record intact and made a successful promotional debut with a three-round unanimous decision over Luis Henrique Barbosa de Oliveira in a preliminary heavyweight scrap. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28 for Bhullar (7-0).
Oliveira (10-4) did not perform well through the first 10 minutes. Bhullar opened a cut on his right eyelid in the first round and dropped him with an overhand right in the second. The 2012 Olympian followed the knockdown with a high-amplitude takedown before settling in half guard and applying his ground-and-pound with punches, elbows and shoulder strikes. Oliveira came to life in the third round, where he swarmed with power punches, incorporated clinch knees to the body and cut loose with body and leg kicks. By then, however, the deficit was too much to overcome.
Returning Johnson KOs Martins
Tristar Gym representative Kajan Johnson cut down former Jungle Fight champion Adriano Martins in the third round of their preliminary undercard pairing at 155 pounds. Martins (28-9) hit the deck 49 seconds into Round 3, as he suffered his second consecutive defeat.
In his first appearance in nearly two years, Johnson (22-11-1) played matador for two-plus rounds and made it work. While Martins floored the off-balance Canadian with an overhand left late in the first round, he grew increasingly frustrated with the inactivity. Johnson seemed content to avoid exchanges and circle on the outside, his back to the fence. Early in the third, his right hand ricocheted off Martins’ head. The Brazilian nosedived at the base of the cage and could not defend himself from the follow-up attack, referee John McCarthy rushing in to save him from any unnecessary damage.
The 33-year-old Johnson has rattled off three straight wins.
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