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After three weeks out of town and ahead of a four-week run that features stops in Boston, Singapore, Paris, and Sydney, the UFC stopped over at home for a 13-fight card at the UFC APEX on Saturday.
The action inside the Octagon kicked off early in the afternoon on the West Coast, starting with a bang and remained entertaining throughout, with a record-tying seven first-round finishes, a number of breakthrough efforts, and an outstanding overall collection of fights to send us off to Boston next weekend for UFC 292.
Here’s a look at what transpired. | Official Scorecards
She had to take a couple shots before settling in, but once Luana Santos got comfortable, she started to shine, resulting in an impressive stoppage win over Juliana Miller in the opener.
Miller pressured Santos right out of the chute, hitting the Brazilian with a handful of good shots to welcome her to the Octagon. The newcomer seemed to wake up soon after and took the fight to the recent TUF winner, slamming home heavy strikes that left Miller in rough shape along the fence, prompting referee Jason Herzog to step in and halt the action.
The 23-year-old is now 6-1 in her professional career and extended her winning streak to three with her first TKO finish. For Miller, it’s a second straight setback this year, with her record falling to 4-3 as a result. | Official Scorecards
How about a twister on a Saturday afternoon?
Da’Mon Blackshear locked up his second straight stoppage win by collecting just the third twister finish in UFC history. Blackshear took the fight to Johnson from the jump, showcasing his grappling skills by dragging him to the canvas with authority before taking advantage of a tactical mistake by Johnson to lock up the rare submission finish.
The 29-year-old Blackshear impressed in his first two outings despite not registering a victory, but has since shown he belongs in the bantamweight division. Now 14-5-1 overall, “Da Monster” is now in the UFC record books and making waves in the 135-pound weight class. | Official Scorecards
Jaqueline Amorim showed her tremendous grappling acumen on Saturday, picking up her first UFC victory with a dominant victory over the returning Montserrat Conejo Ruiz.
A world-class jiu jitsu player, Amorim was in control for every second of the fight, threatening with multiple submission attempts and turning to ground-and-pound from mount when she couldn’t connect on any of her submission looks. Ruiz survived two lopsided rounds and spent the majority of the third in top position, offering very little offense before Amorim hit a lovely kimura sweep, getting to mount and pounding out the finish.
Amorim started well, but faded fast in her debut loss to Sam Hughes, but showed none of those issues here. This was an outstanding performance from the Brazilian and it’ll be interesting to see what the American Top Team representative can do going forward. | Official Scorecards
Martin Buday turned in his best UFC performance to date on Saturday, taking the fight to Josh Parisian, dispatching his fellow Dana White’s Contender Series grad.
After earning victories in each of his first three appearances by gruelling decision, Buday showcased the attacking elements of his game this time around. He battered Parisian on the feet for the opening three minutes of the round before dragging the Michigan native to the canvas, clamping onto a kimura, and twisting out the tap.
Now 4-0 in the UFC, Buday pushed his winning streak to an even dozen with the victory, and continues to look like someone to watch in the heavyweight ranks. | Official Scorecards
Isaac Dulgarian went longer in his UFC debut than he had in any previous appearance, but he still hasn’t seen the second round.
“The Midwest Choppa” put Francis Marshall on the canvas early and never let him back to his feet, patiently working to more dominant positions, chipping away the entire time. Late in the opening stanza, the newcomer busted Marshall open, and from there, he cranked up the volume, forcing the stoppage with a torrent of elbows from mount in the waning seconds of the first.
Now 6-0 with six first-round finishes, the 27-year-old Dulgarian is a featherweight prospect to pay close attention to going forward. This was an absolutely sensational debut! | Official Scorecards
Terrance McKinney jumped in against Mike Breeden on short notice and took full advantage, getting himself back into the win column with an overwhelming effort on Saturday.
After suffering back-to-back stoppage losses to begin his 2023, “T. Wrecks” took the fight to Breeden right away, landing powerful shots and leaving referee Chris Tognoni no choice but to stop the fight.
This was an absolute mauling from McKinney, who has shown flashes of dominance at times and did again here. The 28-year-old still owns a 100 percent finishing rate, with 13 of his 14 victories coming in the opening round. | Official Scorecards
Marcus McGhee closed out an all-finish prelims with a one-shot, walk-off finish of JP Buys.
The bantamweights spent the first couple minutes trading on the feet, with McGhee showcasing his speed and precision. After hitting Buys with a beautiful two-piece, “The Maniac” drove home a clean right hand that sent the South African falling forward into the canvas, with McGhee raising his hands and walking off in celebration.
McGhee made his promotional debut on short notice earlier this year, submitting Journey Newsom. Now he’s got consecutive stoppage wins to start his UFC career, putting him in the running for Newcomer of the Year when the Year-End Awards drop in December. | Official Scorecards
We ventured into the third round for only the second time all day in the main card opener, and unlike the first time, the judges were required to determine the winner.
Josh Fremd and Jamie Pickett engaged in a low-output, grappling-heavy battle, with the former getting the better of the interaction and landing the more telling blows throughout the contest. While he was unable to connect on any of the submission attempts he chased, Fremd remained the aggressor throughout, neutralizing Pickett for prolonged periods.
When the scores were totalled and the verdict was read aloud, Fremd emerged with his second consecutive victory, sweeping the scorecards and moving to 11-4 in process. | Official Scorecards
Middleweights AJ Dobson and Tafon Nchukwi went toe-to-toe in a kickboxing match contested inside the Octagon on Saturday’s main card, trading blows for 15 minutes as each man searched for a return to the win column.
Dobson threw with greater variety, landing solid kicks to the legs and body, mixing in occasional clean shots with his hands, while Nchukwi was largely limited to connecting with outside kicks. Dobson was able to spill his fellow DWCS grad to the canvas twice off of caught kicks, landing in top position each time and looking to attack in both instances.
For the second consecutive fight, the judges were called upon to determine the victor, and for the second consecutive fight, they were consistent in how they saw things, awarding Dobson the unanimous decision victory. After dropping each of his first two appearances, this is the first UFC win for the Ohio resident, who moves to 7-2 as a result. | Official Scorecards
Iasmin Lucindo got the better of Polyana Viana in an All-Brazilian battle on Saturday, securing her first UFC finish.
The youngest female fighter on the roster was the stronger, more physical of the two, landing the heavier shots on the feet and bullying Viana to the canvas on a couple different occasions. A little over three minutes into the second round, Lucindo worked her way to three-quarter mount, setting up an arm-triangle choke before jumping off to the side and squeezing out the tap.
After giving a good account of herself while dropping her promotional debut, the 21-year-old Lucindo has now registered consecutive victories this year to raise her record to 15-5. She clearly has a strong foundation and a ton of promise, so it will be interesting to see how the emerging Brazilian develops over the next couple years. | Official Scorecards
Khalil Rountree Jr. is on a mission!
The former Ultimate Fighter finalist registered his fourth consecutive victory on Saturday, blasting former Top 10 heavyweight Chris Daukaus with a clean left hand down the pipe that sent the Philadelphia native crashing backwards to the canvas.
Something has clicked for Rountree Jr. since moving home to Las Vegas, as he’s now registered four straight victories, flashing devastating power and the finishing abilities that made him a highly regarded prospect earlier in his career. Cutting through Daukaus in a hurry should earn the local boy a step up in competition next time out, and puts him on the radar as a dangerous force in the 205-pound ranks. | Official Scorecards
The featherweight co-main event between Hakeem Dawodu and Cub Swanson was as entertaining and feisty as anticipated, with the veteran landing on the favorable side of the scorecards.
For the majority of the contest, the two men stood toe-to-toe, trading clean shots and happily wading into the fire, accepting of the punishment it would bring. In all three rounds, both Swanson and Dawodu connected flush with both kicks and punches, each man appearing to get stung a couple times, but neither really taking a backwards step.
The verdict seemed to surprise Swanson — and shock Dawodu — as both thought the result would go the other way. For “Killer Cub,” it’s a return to the win column after a one-off trip to bantamweight, and a 4-1 run over his last five in the 145-pound weight class. | Official Scorecards
Vicente Luque returned to the Octagon and returned to the win column to close out Saturday’s show at the UFC APEX, outworking fellow Brazilian Rafael Dos Anjos in his first appearance in over a year.
This was a much more tactical, economic approach from Luque than we’ve seen in the past, as he worked for more takedowns and was much more selective about his shots than in previous engagements. Dos Anjos was right there with him the entire time, occasionally landing clean shots in space, but he struggled to wrestle effectively and was unable to counteract the size and physicality of his compatriot.
Getting the better of Dos Anjos is a big feather in Luque’s cap, as the veteran has logged the most time inside the Octagon in UFC history and fought into the championship rounds for the 11th time in his career on Saturday; it was just the second time Luque had done so. With the win, Luque solidified his place in the Top 15 at welterweight, and got things moving in the right direction again. | Official Scorecards
UFC Fight Night: Luque vs Dos Anjos took place live from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas on August 12, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!