Featherweight prospect Arnold Allen won in his first-ever UFC main event this Saturday, although the victory might have not come the way he had wanted.
Allen overcame Calvin Kattar due to a knee injury that took him out of the fight early in the second round. Their bout, which could have gone a total of five rounds, headlined a card from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Kattar started to suffer an injury late in the first round.
Upon landing after missing a flying knee attempt, Kattar slipped and fell to the canvas. After enduring some ground and pound to end the round, Kattar limped toward his corner.
Kattar was dropped at the start of the second round due to a leg kick that was thrown by Allen. The referee stopped the fight following this moment.
Allen found success in the fight apart from that injury as well. He notably put together combinations of punches in the first round, connecting with lead right punches and left crosses.
The fight on Saturday was Allen’s first appearance in a UFC main event fight. He has gone undefeated since joining the promotion in 2015, having won now 10 fights since then.
Allen felt that the result of Saturday’s fight hurt his chances of getting into the title picture next.
“I can’t ask for a title [fight] after this,” said Allen in his post-fight interview.
“Maybe give me the interim [title] job.”
Allen noted afterward that he wanted to have a five-round fight this weekend.
Kattar was making his fifth consecutive appearance in a UFC main event. He has served as a tough test for many prospects at featherweight in recent years.
Kattar took a loss in his previous fight, dropping a unanimous decision to Josh Emmett. Before then, he stopped the momentum of Giga Chikadze with a five-round scorecard victory.
Griffin Earns Split Decision Against Veteran Means
Max Griffin returned to the win column in Saturday’s co-main event, defeating Tim Means in a split decision result.
A mix of Griffin’s stand-up skills and control on the mat allowed him to win on scorecards.
The biggest moment in the fight for Griffin came early, as he scored a knockdown in the opening round.
The fight shifted to a focus on wrestling in the later minutes, as both fighters attempted to take control of the fight on the ground.
The welterweights were both attempting to come back from recent losses.
Griffin had a three-fight winning streak broken earlier this year, as he lost a split decision to Neil Magny.
Means was submitted in his previous fight, getting caught in a darce choke against Kevin Holland in June.
Cortes-Acosta Punches His Way To UFC Debut Win
Undefeated heavyweight Waldo Cortes-Acosta was successful in his UFC debut this weekend, earning a unanimous decision victory over Jared Vanderaa.
Cortes-Acosta focused on punches to the head of Vanderaa throughout the three rounds that they competed. Vanderaa was able to connect with leg kicks throughout the fight, although judges did not value these shots are more important than Cortes-Acosta’s in the end.
Cortes-Acosta earned a UFC contract earlier this year with a successful performance on the TV show “Dana White’s Contender Series.” Previous fights in his career included two finish wins in LFA and a decision victory in Bellator.
The fight on Saturday continued Vanderaa’s rough UFC run. The heavyweight has now lost six of his seven appearances since joining the roster in 2021.
Gore Submits Fremd For First UFC Win
Tresean Gore scored his first UFC win on Saturday night, putting Josh Fremd to sleep early in the second round with a ninja choke.
Gore first applied the choke while Fremd attempted a single-leg takedown during the opening minute of the second round. The fight went to the ground as Gore kept the choke fully locked in, eventually putting Fremd unconscious and causing the fight to end.
Gore’s first UFC win was a year in the making.
Gore was first expected to join the UFC roster through a fight on the grand final of “The Ultimate Fighter.” However, after he suffered an injury, he was pulled from that booking.
Gore was given a UFC debut early this year against Bryan Battle, who he was originally meant to face in the “TUF” finals a year before. He ended up losing that fight via decision.
He then had a second unsuccessful UFC fight in July, getting stopped within a round by Cody Brundage. But after Saturday, he can now say that he has a win in the UFC cage.
Fremd is now winless through two UFC fights. The former LFA title challenger lost his promotional debut in April, dropping a decision to Anthony Hernandez.
Rountree Stops Jacoby’s Run In Close Result
Khalil Rountree put an end to Dustin Jacoby’s winning streak on Saturday night, taking a razor-thin split decision victory after three rounds.
Rountree’s victory came after a three-round battle on the feet that proved to be a clash between power and volume. Jacoby had the higher output early on, connecting with a high amount of shots. However, Rountree frequently connected with the more explosive blows during exchanges.
The fight reached its peak in the third round when the light heavyweights went back and forth with clean shots.
Rountree mentioned afterward that he thought the fight was close.
“I had a feeling that all of the rounds were pretty even,” he said during his post-fight interview.
The fight on Saturday was Jacoby’s first loss through eight appearances in his ongoing UFC campaign. He had earned two wins earlier this year, stopping Jung Da-un and beating Michal Oleksiejczuk on scorecards.
Rountree is now on a three-fight winning streak, including finishes over Modestas Bukauskas and Karl Roberson.
The Rest of the Card
Phil Hawes suffered a knee injury during his fight against Roman Dolidze due to a submission attempt on the ground. This injury greatly limited the mobility of Hawes, allowing Dolidze to put away the fight in the first round.
Marcos Rogerio de Lima scored an early knockdown against veteran Andrei Arlovski, then used that momentum to earn a first-round rear naked choke submission in the first round.
Park Jun-yong moved his UFC record to a solid five wins and two losses Saturday, adding a second-round rear naked choke submission against Joseph Holmes to his record.
Steve Garcia won his UFC featherweight debut with a quick and dominant performance, dropping Chase Hooper numerous times with strikes to earn a first-round finish win.
Cody Durden had a comfortable lead on scorecards after three rounds against former LFA Flyweight Champion Carlos Mota, using ground control to overcome the short-notice opponent in a unanimous decision result.
Christian Rodriguez scored his first UFC win to open the main card, locking in an anaconda choke to submit short-notice opponent Joshua Weems in the first round.
Quick Results
Main Card (7:00PM EDT / 4:00PM PDT) (ESPN+ / TSN 4)
Bout 11: Arnold Allen def. Calvin Kattar via TKO, Injury (RD 2, 0:08)
Bout 10: Max Griffin def. Tim Means via Decision, Split
Bout 9: Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Jared Vanderaa via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Tresean Gore def. Josh Fremd via Submission, Ninja Choke (RD 2, 0:49)
Bout 7: Khalil Rountree def. Dustin Jacoby via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (4:00PM EDT / 1:00PM PDT) (ESPN+ / TSN 4)
Bout 6: Roman Dolidze def. Phil Hawes via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:09)
Bout 5: Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Andrei Arlovski via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 1:50)
Bout 4: Park Jun-yong def. Joseph Holmes via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:04)
Bout 3: Steve Garcia def. Chase Hooper via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:32)
Bout 2: Cody Durden def. Carlos Mota via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Christian Rodriguez def. Joshua Weems via Submission, Anaconda Choke (RD 1, 4:07)
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