Daniil
Donchenko passed a stern veteran test in his sophomore Octagon
appearance.
“The Ultimate Fighter 33” winner pushed Alex Morono
to the brink of the defeat early, but ultimately emerged with a
clear-cut unanimous decision victory in the featured prelim at
UFC Vegas 113 at the UFC Apex on Saturday night. Judges scored
the welterweight bout 30-26, 30-26 and 30-27 for the Ukrainian
prospect. The 35-year-old Morono (24-13, 13-10, 1 NC UFC) has lost
his last four UFC bouts.
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Donchenko (13-2, 2-0 UFC) nearly made it a short night at the
office. The 24-year-old Tiger Muay Thai representative dropped
Morno with a left hook near the fence in Round 1, and proceeded to
batter his reeling foe with punches, elbows and hammerfists on the
ground. Somehow, Morono made it to the horn.
From there, it was a more measured approach from Donchenko, who
repeatedly chopped away at Morono’s leg and opened a gash near his
adversary’ mouth with a wicked spinning elbow. With his mobility
severely hindered, Morono valiantly continued to fight on — making
to the judges’ scorecards despite being dropped again in the waning
moments of the fight. Donchenko has won his last six professional
outings overall.
Veretennikov Overwhelms Price
Kings MMA member Nikolay
Veretennikov (14-7, 2-3 UFC) wasted little time imposing his
will against against Niko Price
(16-10, 9-10, 2 NC UFC), winning via first-round technical knockout
in a welterweight showdown. The 36-year-old Kazakhstan native
brought a halt to the contest 1:42 into Round 1 to earn his first
finish in the Octagon. Price, who stepped in for Jose Henrique
Souza on short notice, has tasted defeat in five of his last
six UFC appearances.
Price was more than willing to stand and trade with Veretennikov,
and that ultimately led to his demise. Veretennikov connected with
a precision right hand that nearly dropped Price, then continued
the assault with a knee and elbow that had “The Hybrid” essentially
out on his feet. A three-punch combination sealed the victory, and
only Price’s grip on the fence kept him from collapsing to the
canvas.
Souza Edges Brasil
Consistent forward pressure and aggression carried former Invicta
FC title holder Ketlen
Souza (16-6, 3-3 UFC) to a unanimous decision triumph over
Bruna
Brasil (11-6-1, 2-4 UFC) in a strawweight scrap. All three
judges saw it 29-28 for Souza, who pulled away down the stretch to
snap a two-bout losing streak.
Brasil did her best work in Round 1, when she landed multiple
impactful knees to the body and stumbled her adversary with a low
kick. The Fighting Nerds representative was unable to build upon
that success, however, as Souza gradually took control over the
final 10 minutes, utilizing clinch control and periodic punching
flurries to sway the scorecards in her favor.
Basharat Holds Off Upset-Minded Foe
Javid
Basharat shook off a rough second stanza to earn a unanimous
decision triumph over Octagon newcomer Gianni
Vazquez in a bantamweight affair. “The Snow Leopard” received a
trio of 29-28 tallies to snap a three-fight winless streak in the
promotion. Vazquez (13-6, 0-1 UFC), who was a late replacement
Said
Nurmagomedov, missed weight by five pounds on Friday.
Basharat (15-2, 4-2, 1 NC UFC) looked to be well on his way to a
rout when he dropped Vazquez with a left hook-right hand
combination early and proceeded to control the entirety of Round 1
from there. Vazquez was undaunted, as he had Basharat reeling for
the majority of the second stanza after rocking him with a right
hand. Seemingly recognizing the danger his opponent presented on
the feet, Basharat secured a key takedown in the final round,
allowing him to rack up critical control time and ground-and-pound
down the stretch.
Wang Outduels Moura
Cong
Wang (9-1, 4-1 UFC) relied on punching power and timely
takedown defense to capture a three-round verdict over Eduarda
Moura (12-2, 3-2 UFC) in a flyweight bout where both women
missed weight. All three cageside judges submitted tallies in favor
ofthe Chinese kickboxer: 30-27, 29-28, 29-28.
Wang nearly secured a quick finish when she buckled her adversary
with a right hand in the opening stanza — catching Moura mid-level
change — and pounced for the finish with a flurry of
ground-and-pound. Moura was able to survive the onslaught and
rallied to control the second frame with her wrestling, as she took
Wang down and transitioned from one dominant position to another.
The Brazilian was unable to continue that momentum in Round 3,
however. “The Joker” denied her opponent’s takedown attempts,
punished her with impactful punches and threatened with a
rear-naked choke in the waning moments of the fight to clinch the
victory.
Wiklacz Secures Last-Second Tap
Jakub
Wiklacz (18-3-2, 2-0 UFC) utilized his trademark maneuver to
snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against Muin
Gafurov (20-7, 2-3 UFC) in a bantamweight showdown. Gafurov,
who missed weight by five pounds, tapped to a mounted guillotine
choke at the 4:59 mark of Round 3. The former KSW champion has
earned 11 of his 18 professional triumphs by way of submission,
including six via guillotine choke.
Much of the fight was characterized by Gafurov’s relentless
pressure and power punching — including quality work to the body on
more than one occasion. The Tajikstan native appeared to have
Wiklacz reeling in the waning seconds of the final stanza when he
shot for what turned out to be an ill-advised takedown attempt.
That allowed the Pole to jump the guillotine, and when he was able
to transition to mount, Gafurov was unable to hold on until the
horn sounded. The tap came so close to the end of the fight that an
official review was required, and it was determined that Gafurov
did indeed tap before the final horn.
Sygula Bloodies, Decisions ‘Zombie Girl’
American Top Team product Klaudia
Sygula (8-2, 2-1 UFC) outdueled Priscila
Cachoeira (13-8, 5-8), winning a unanimous decision over the
Brazilian brawler in a bantamweight bout. The Pole earned
scorecards of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 to secure her second
consecutive Octagon triumph. Cachoeira, who has lost four of her
last five outings, went the distance for the first time since
August 2022.
Sygula relied on superior offensive volume and movement to control
the tempo of the fight. She bloodied “Zombie Girl” with punching
combinations while mixing in the occasional front kick to keep her
opponent guessing. The notoriously aggressive Cachoeira had her
moments — including dislodging her opponent’s mouthguard with a jab
in Round 2 — but she couldn’t match Sygula’s output.