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Arnold Allen
Arnold Allen has put on a dominant performance in the main event of UFC Vegas 117 at the Meta Apex. The British fighter defeated Melquizael Costa after five rounds via unanimous decision.
Allen came into the fight with only one win in his last four fights. Costa had won six in a row and was looking to get in the top 10 of the division.
Arnold Allen started the fight strong with a massive punch that put Melquizael Costa on his back. The Brazilian quickly recovered and was able to get Allen to the ground and take his back. Allen defended the position, and when back standing, he unloaded some hard shots again on Costa. A very intriguing first round. Allen pressured in the beginning of the second round, but Costa fired back with some hard calf kicks. The British fighter didn’t look fazed by it and tried to catch the chin of Costa. Costa was trying to move away and kept landing calf kicks. Allen inflicted the most damage with some good strikes to the face.
Also in the third round, Costa kept trying to keep Allen at a distance with calf kicks and high kicks. Allen tried to close the distance and took the kicks to the legs. Every time Allen was able to come through with punches, Costa reacted heavily to it. Costa pulled guard with just over 90 seconds to go in the ground. Allen followed the Brazilian to the ground but was able to stand up after landing some ground-and-pound. Allen finished the round strong with some good combinations.
Also, in round four, Allen kept putting the pressure on. Costa was able to fight through it early on, but Allen was persistent. He hit him with a hard punch and took him to the ground. Costa tried to go for a leg on the bottom, but Allen stood back up. Costa didn’t know how to handle Allen’s pressure besides landing the calf kicks. Allen kept on moving forward until the end of the round.
Going into the fifth and final round, Costa knew he most likely needed a finish. His corner was also persistent that he needed to go for the finish. The Brazilian went forward and landed some good punches to the face. Allen reacted with a beautiful takedown. Costa tried to get up, but Allen held the Brazilian against the cage and kept taking him down. Allen put on a great performance and won the fight via unanimous decision.
Juan Diaz had a very impressive debut in Las Vegas. The Peruvian fighter with former champion Brandon Moreno in his corner took on Malcolm Wellmaker. The expectations going into the fight for Diaz were already high after a highlight reel knock-out win during the Dana White’s Contender Series. Diaz knocked down Wellmaker late in the first round and kneed him in the shoulder.
The referee thought he kneed Wellmaker in the face and called a timeout. After the review, it was called a legal blow, and the fight continued. In the second round, Diaz was able to get Wellmaker’s back and put in the rear-naked choke. Diaz won after Wellmaker had to tap out. An amazing debut for the Peruvian and a second loss in a row for Wellmaker.
Alice Ardelean pulled off one of the rarest submission wins in a long time. The Romanian fighter defeated Polyana Viana in the second round via a capsule lock submission. Ardelean was in the guard of Viana while the Brazilian fighter had her legs locked behind Ardelean’s back. Ardelean leaned into the foot to put pressure on the ankle of Viana. Viana verbally submitted after wincing in pain.
Ardelean said afterwards that she had seen the move on Instagram and, during tape study, saw that Viana often locked her legs behind her opponent’s back during the fight. Ardelean thanked the UFC PI for getting her ready. She came into fight week with a tear in her LCL and almost had to pull out. Good that she didn’t because she will go into the UFC history books with this submission win.
Main Card
Preliminary Card
Marcel Dorff Marcel Dorff covers Mixed Martial Arts & Soccer for Heavy.com. He has covered MMA on a professional level since 2022. More about Marcel Dorff
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