UFC Fight Night 238 Prelims: Eryk Anders Wears Down Retiring Jamie Pickett

Eryk Anders’ approach may not have been aesthetically pleasing, but it was undeniably effective against a lower-level Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight.

Repeated takedowns and accompanying ground-and-pound carried the ex-University of Alabama linebacker to a unanimous decision over a retiring Jamie Pickett in their featured UFC Fight Night 238 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores were 29-27, 29-28 and 29-28—all for Anders (16-8, 8-8 UFC), who rebounded from his June 10 defeat to Marc-Andre Barriault.

Pickett (13-11, 2-7 UFC) decked the onetime Legacy Fighting Alliance champion with a counter right hand in the first round but grew more and more ineffective as time went on. Anders wore him down with takedowns, passed guard without issue and cut loose with ground-and-pound. His shots landed with increasing intensity, an elbow strike eventually opening a gash on Pickett in the third round.

Meanwhile, former UAE Warriors champion Vinicius Oliveira wiped out Bernardo Sopai with a sensational flying knee in the third round of their bantamweight encounter. A short-notice substitution for Yanis Ghemmouri, Sopai (11-3, 0-1 UFC) met his unceremonious end 4:41 into Round 3.

Oliveira (20-3, 1-0 UFC) was on his heels for much of the fight’s first half. Sopai peppered him with punches and kicks, mixed in takedowns at opportune times and kept the Brazilian guessing. He seemed to be closing in on a finish midway through the second round, where he floated from the back to full mount and flattened out Oliveira on multiple occasions. However, the Sombra Team star sprang a reversal, smashed away with standing-to-ground punches and eventually bled the Sopai gas tank dry. Oliveira seized the reins from there. He hobbled the visibly fatigued Sopai with kicks to the upper and lower leg, forced him to retreat to the fence and found the mark with a spectacular flying knee that separated the Allstars Training Center representative from his senses.

The 28-year-old Oliveira has won three fights in a row, all of them by knockout.

Further down the card, Tristar Gym underdog Aiemann Zahabi outstruck the previously unbeaten Javid Basharat to a unanimous decision in a three-round bantamweight battle, drawing 29-28 marks from all three judges. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28 for Zahabi (11-2, 5-2 UFC).

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Basharat (14-1, 3-1 UFC) started strong but struggled to establish consistency. Zahabi made it ugly across the final 10 minutes, as he cut loose with two-, three- and four-punch combinations, effective counters and heavy body kicks. The 36-year-old Canadian crowded Basharat late, often forcing the Xtreme Couture prospect out of his comfort zone and onto his back foot.

Zahabi has quietly put together a four-fight winning streak at 135 pounds.

Elsewhere, ex-Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Christian Leroy Duncan disposed of Claudio Ribeiro with punches in the second round of their woefully one-sided middleweight confrontation. Duncan (10-1, 3-1 UFC) brought it to a close 1:57 into Round 2.

Ribeiro (11-5, 1-3 UFC) was a non-factor. Duncan spent the first five minutes abusing him with jabs, leg kicks, sharp standing elbows, timely spinning attacks and various other techniques. The promising Mark Weir protégé shifted gears in the second round, where he executed a takedown inside the first 90 seconds, climbed immediately to mount and forced Ribeiro to go belly down with a series of brutal elbow strikes. Unanswered punches followed, resulting in the finish.

Duncan, 28, has rattled off back-to-back wins.

Dominant in his own right, Spartakus Fight Gym standout Ludovit Klein cut down A.J. Cunningham with a front kick to the body and follow-up punches in the first round of their lightweight tilt. A short-notice replacement for Joel Alvarez, Cunningham (11-4, 0-1 UFC) checked out 4:36 into Round 1.

Klein (21-4-1, 5-2-1) had too much firepower for the promotional newcomer. He battered him with body-head combinations, clean one-twos, clinch knees and the occasional standing elbow. Klein backed the Factory X rep to the fence and buried a front kick into his guts. Cunningham collapsed forward onto the mat, at which point it became clear he was in no condition to absorb further punishment.

The 29-year-old Klein now finds himself on a five-fight unbeaten streak.

Finally, two-time Professional Fighters League finalist Loik Radzhabov put away former Brave Combat Federation champion Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady with punches in the third round of their back-and-forth lightweight affair. Radzhabov (18-5-1, 2-1 UFC) drew the curtain 49 seconds into Round 3.

Al-Selwady (15-4, 0-1 UFC) appeared to be pointed in the right direction after a strong middle stanza, where he racked up points with inside leg kicks, counter right hands and a late takedown. Radzhabov refused to wilt. He floored Al-Selwady with sweeping right hook at the start of the third round, then pounced with a burst of follow-up hammerfists to prompt the stoppage.

The loss snapped Al-Selwady’s run of consecutive victories at five.