UFC 245 Prelims: Geoff Neal Head Kick, Punches Unravel Mike Perry in Las Vegas

Geoff @handzofsteelmma Neal melts Platinum #UFC245 pic.twitter.com/wtgEJtMIvV

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 15, 2019

The ordering process for Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-views has changed: UFC 245 is only available on ESPN+ in the U.S.

A new threat has emerged in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s welterweight division, and they call him “Handz of Steel.”

Fortis MMA mainstay Geoff Neal extended his winning streak to seven fights, as he dispatched Mike Perry with a head kick and follow-up punches in the first round of their featured UFC 245 prelim on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Perry (13-6, 6-6 UFC) wilted 90 seconds into Round 1, bowing to strikes for the first time in his 19-fight career.

Neal (13-2, 5-0 UFC) picked his spots. The 29-year-old blindsided Perry with a left high kick, pursued him to the fence and unleashed a volley of pinpoint lefts and rights. Referee Chris Tognoni gave “Platinum Mike” every opportunity to recover before he intervened on his behalf.

Aldana KOs Returning Vieira

Lobo Gym export Irene Aldana cut down the previously undefeated Ketlen Vieira with punches in the first round of their women’s bantamweight clash. Aldana (12-5, 5-3 UFC) drew the curtain 4:51 into Round 1, as she posted her fifth win in six outings and announced her arrival as a potential contender at 135 pounds.

In her first appearance in nearly two years, Vieira (10-1, 4-1 UFC) controlled a majority of the standup exchanges but paid a steep price for leaving her chin exposed. A leaping left hook from Aldana leveled the Brazilian in the waning seconds of the first round, and two follow-up right hands pounded her unconscious at the feet of referee Jason Herzog.

The knockout was Aldana’s first since 2016.

Related » UFC 245 Round-by-Round Scoring

Surging Akhmedov Outduels Heinisch

American Top Team’s Omari Akhmedov won for the third time in as many appearances, as he took a unanimous decision from Ian Heinisch in a three-round middleweight encounter. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28 for Akhmedov (20-4-1, 8-3-1 UFC), a former welterweight who has found new life at 185 pounds.

Outside of occasional leg kicks and a late third-round surge, Heinisch (13-3, 2-2 UFC) was ineffective. Akhmedov fed him left hooks throughout the 15-minute engagement, wobbling the Factory X representative more than once. He supplemented his efforts with a powerful takedown in the first round, low kicks and well-disguised hooks to the body. Heinisch secured a takedown with a little more than a minute to go in the match and applied his ground-and-pound but failed to bottle up Akhmedov on the canvas.

Heinisch has followed five-fight winning streak with consecutive losses.

Brown Stops Reeling Saunders

“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 7 quarterfinalist Matt Brown put away Ben Saunders with elbows and punches in the second round of their welterweight scrap. Saunders (22-13-2, 9-10 UFC) met his end 4:55 into Round 2, suffering his fourth consecutive defeat.

It was not all smooth sailing for Brown (22-16, 15-10 UFC), who spent more than three minutes stalled inside a triangle choke in a surprisingly uneventful first round. In the second, he wobbled Saunders with a partially blocked head kick and slashed away with some of his patented standing elbows. Late in the round, Brown tripped the Floridian to the mat, settled in top position and cut loose with punches and elbows to prompt the stoppage.

Brown has posted back-to-back wins since enduring a three-fight losing streak between May 14, 2016 and Dec. 10, 2016.

Unbeaten Hooper Subdues Teymur

Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Chase Hooper disposed of Daniel Teymur with elbows and punches in the first round of their featherweight tilt. Teymur (7-4, 1-4 UFC) succumbed to blows 4:34 into Round 1, as he lost for the fourth time in five fights.

Hooper (9-0-1, 1-0 UFC) weathered some adversity—he escaped a guillotine choke and walked through a stout right hand from the Swede—and lured the Allstars Training Center rep out of his comfort zone. He maneuvered onto Teymur’s back, broke down the 31-year-old and secured his position with hooks before threatening with a rear-naked choke. Hooper’s pass at a submission was unsuccessful, but he climbed to full mount, trapped his opponent in a topside triangle and unleashed elbows and punches until the job was done.

The 20-year-old Hooper has recorded three straight wins, all of them finishes.

Moreno Slows Kara-France Ascent

Merciless aggression, crisp boxing combinations and a steady stream of lead-leg kicks to the body and head lifted former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Brandon Moreno to a unanimous decision over Kai Kara-France in a three-round battle at 125 pounds. Moreno (16-5-1, 4-2-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 marks from the judges.

Kara-France (20-8, 3-1 UFC) knocked the Entram Gym star off-balance with a clubbing right hand and more than held his own in the first round, but he started to sputter in the second. A left hook to the body gave him pause and a series of punishing Moreno jabs bloodied his nose. His situation did not improve as the two combatants waded into deeper and deeper water. Moreno assaulted his forearms with a commitment to head kicks, forcing the City Kickboxing standout to retreat while also taking the steam out of his punches.

The loss closed the book on Kara-France’s run of consecutive victories at eight.

Overweight Eye Topples Araujo

Stinging leg kicks and thudding overhand rights carried Xtreme Couture export Jessica Eye to a unanimous decision over former Pancrase champion Viviane Araujo in a three-round women’s flyweight affair. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28 for Eye (15-7, 5-6 UFC), who won for the fourth time in five outings.

Araujo (8-2, 2-1 UFC) enjoyed a strong start and executed takedowns in the first and second rounds, but she slowly ceded ground and allowed her counterpart to seize control. Eye—who missed weight for the match by five pounds—found another gear in the middle stanza, where she backed up the Brazilian with punches and continued to target the inside and outside of the lead leg with kicks. Araujo struggled to find her bearings across the final five minutes, as Eye mixed in body-head combinations and maintained a steady pace.

The setback snapped Araujo’s five-fight winning streak.

Undefeated Soriano Wrecks Piechota

Dana White’s Contender Series alum Punahele Soriano wiped out former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Oskar Piechota in the first round of their middleweight pairing. Piechota (11-3-1, 2-3 UFC) bowed out 3:17 into Round 1.

Soriano (7-0, 1-0 UFC) floored the Pole with a left hook, pounced with hammerfists and transitioned to the back. Piechota regained his faculties, threatened with a kimura and managed to move to a more advantageous position but only prolonged the inevitable. Once they separated and resumed their exchanges on the feet, the difference in punching power again became apparent. Another left hook folded Piechota at the base of the cage and necessitated the stoppage.

Piechota, 29, has lost three fights in a row.