UFC on ESPN+ 38: Gadzhimurad Antigulov vs. Maxim Grishin Play-by-Play

Making the move back down to light heavyweight, Maxim Grishin fought Gadzhimurad Antigulov on Saturday’s prelims. Here’s how their fight panned out.

Bout 2: Gadzhimurad Antigulov (20-7) vs. Maxim Grishin (30-8-2) (Light Heavyweight)

Antigulov shot for a takedown in the second minute, putting Grishin against the cage in a clinch after the attempt was stopped. They separated with half of a round left. Antigulov put him against the cage again with two minutes to work. The fight returned to striking shortly after, although both fighters were very hesitant throughout the round.

Antigulov got on the back of Grishin early in the second round after going into a clinch. Antigulov got Girshin down his knees while in the position. Grishin worked back up to his feet eventually. Antigulov scored a takedown in the second minute of the round, although Grishin immediately got back up to a clinch on the feet. The fight went back to striking with half of the round left. Grishin caught a leg kick for a takedown, although Antigulov put in a guillotine choke going down. Grishin escaped the choke and moved into full mount with two minutes left. Grishin periodically landed punches and elbows to the head from the position. He eventually upped his pace of strikes. Antigulov was able to push his feet off the fence to spring out of the position and return to the feet. Antigulov put together a combo of punches on the feet before they clinched up. Leaving the clinch, Grishin landed a series of punches against the fence that caused Antigulov to cover up. The referee to stopped the fight after a series of unanswered strikes. Antigulov protested the stoppage after.

RESULT: Maxim Grishin def. Gadzhimurad Antigulov via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:58)

My Scorecard:

Live coverage of the entire card can be viewed here.