UFC Fight Night 153 Prelims: Sergey Khandozhko Edges Rostem Akman
A lovely combo punctuates round !
— UFC (@ufc) June 1, 2019
How do you have it scored? #UFCStockholm pic.twitter.com/lGtT7OGF8d
Advertisement
The debuting Sergey Khandozhko (27-5-1, 1-0 UFC) handed the Swedish crowd its first loss of the night by taking a competitive decision over fellow Octagon debutant Rostem Akman (6-1, 0-1 UFC) in the featured UFC Fight Night 153 preliminary bout.
The men went strike for strike over three hard-fought rounds, with
the commentary team noting that their significant strikes were
equal heading into the final stanza. Khandozhko varied his attack
more, landing a few spinning kicks on the Swede and stymying many
of Akman's takedown attempts. Khandozhko dropped Akman in the
second and had his foe hurt at the end of the third, doing enough
to take unanimous 29-28 scores from all three judges.
The loss was the first in Akman's career, and the first time Akman had ever gone the distance.
Lansberg Batters a Bloodied Evinger
Lina Lansberg (9-4, 3-3 UFC) took Tonya Evinger (19-9, 0-3 UFC) to task across three rounds, beating her opponent from bell to bell with powerful punches and elbows.
In the first round, "Elbow Queen" lived up to her nickname by slicing Evinger's forehead with an elbow while breaking the clinch. Getting the fight to the ground, Lansberg unleashed vicious ground-and-pound that had referee Kevin Sataki looking closely at the action several times. The next two rounds were much of the same, with Evinger eventually ending up on her back eating punches and elbows from Lansberg. "Triple Threat" survived to the final bell, but the judges awarded a clear-cut unanimous decision verdict to Lansberg with two scores of 30-26 and one 30-27.
Related » UFC Stockholm Round-by-Round Scoring
Santos Starches Ray in the First
Leonardo Santos (17-3-1, 6-0-1 UFC) remained unbeaten inside the Octagon when he laid waste to Steven Ray (22-9, 6-4 UFC) in Round 1.
Although he had a modicum of success with his body kick, the Brazilian did not mount a great deal of offense until he landed a powerful right hand counter that shut Ray's light off. Santos had not competed in the UFC since UFC 204 in October 2016, but showed "ring rust" was not a factor, scoring a dynamic one-punch knockout at 2:17 of the first round.
Camacho Pummels Hein in Exciting Battle
Frank Camacho (22-7, 2-3 UFC) made a statement with his performance against Nick Hein (14-5-1, 4-4 UFC), finishing the German judoka with a standing TKO.
Beating Hein to the punch repeatedly, Camacho resisted the urge to brawl and rush forward recklessly. In doing so, "The Crank" outstruck Hein in both rounds, landing several vicious kicks that broke down the body of "Sergeant." The body shots were ultimately the undoing of Hein, and Referee Leon Roberts had no choice but to step in at 4:56 of the second round.
In his post-fight interview, Camacho expressed his excitement to finally talk to former title challenger-turned-commentator Dan Hardy, instructing the crowd to Google the Brit if they were unfamiliar with his work.
Malecki Capitalizes on Mistake to Tap Santanna
Sometimes one mistake is all it takes to go from dominating the fight to losing in dramatic fashion. Sweden's Bea Malecki (3-0, 1-0 UFC) had lost the first round handily, and was behind in the second until Duda Santanna (3-1, 0-1 UFC) tried for a takedown against the fence only to fall to her back. Landing in the mount position, "Bad News Barbie" went on to take the back of Santanna. After a few attempts, Malecki cinched up the rear-naked choke to coax the tap of her Brazilian opponent.
Referee Rich Mitchell called a stop to the contest at 1:59 of Round 2, much to the delight of the home country crowd.
Clark Outworks Stosic En Route to Victory
Devin Clark (10-3, 4-3 UFC) lifted his UFC record above .500 with a decision win over Darko Stosic (13-2, 1-1 UFC). Clark mixed in takedown attempts with a sharp jab that dropped the Mirko Filipovic protégé in the first round.
Although only landing two takedowns of 11, Clark kept his opponent guessing and wore out the Serbian striker across three rounds. With all three judges scoring the contest 29-28 in favor of the American, Clark has now alternated wins and losses in his last five bouts.
Alvarez Turns the Tides on Belluardo
In the opening bout on the prelims, Joel Alvarez (16-2, 1-1 UFC) had an impressive sophomore effort by turning away the debuting Danilo Belluardo (12-4, 0-1 UFC) by technical knockout.
Alvarez maintained his distance in the early going before Belluardo scored a takedown in the first round to maintain top control until the bell sounded. It was much of the same in Round 2 until Alvarez swept his Italian foe, taking an advantageous position and finishing the fight quickly with elbows and punches. Referee Rebin Saber officially waved off the contest at 2:22 of the second frame, and Alvarez earned the first win of his UFC career.
Related Articles
