UFC 250 results & video: Heinisch clobbers Meerschaert, Perez TKOs Formiga

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Check out the results and highlights from the UFC 250 prelims, including Ian Heinisch quickly TKO’ing Gerald Meerschaert, and Alex Perez stopping Jussier Formiga with leg kicks.

The UFC 250 prelims are officially in the books, and was just closed out with longtime UFC veteran, Alex Caceres, picking up a unanimous decision over 20-year-old Chase Hooper. Caceres out-classed Hooper on the feet, even dropping the youngster early int he first round. He was also able to fend off the bulk of the takedown attempts to maintain control of the bout. This makes back-to-back wins for Alex, and is the first career loss for Chase.

Before that, the UFC’s #13 ranked middleweight, Ian Heinisch, made quick work of Gerald Meerschaert with a first-round TKO. Heinisch came out looking fluid on his feet, using his footwork to set up the entries to his strikes. It was a viscous overhand right that dropped Gerald and set up the fight-ending ground strikes. Heinisch is now back in the win column.

The promotion’s #12 ranked bantamweight, Cody Stamann, stepped up to featherweight to face fellow true 135-pounder, Brian Kelleher. This was quite the war, with both men willing to let their strikes go and neither man willing to back down for very long. At the end of the match, it was Stamann who walked away with unanimous decision. Stamann is now unbeaten in his last three outings, and hopefully this victory provides at least a drop of relief for him after the tragic recent death of his younger brother.

In the middleweight division, Maki Pitolo scored a second-round TKO on Charles Byrd in what was a highly competitive affair up until that point. It was the combination punching of Pitolo that ultimately led to the ground and pound finish. Pitolo has now won four of his last five. Also on the prelims, the UFC’s #9 ranked flyweight, Alex Perez, picked up the always-awesome TKO by way of leg kick on the #4 ranked, Jussier Formiga. Perez was all volume from jump street, throwing combinations and attacking the calf. This makes three-straight wins for Perez and back-to-back finishes.

Opening up the event, Herbert Burns pulled out a quick first-round submission of longtime MMA veteran, Evan Dunham. Once the fight hit the floor, it didn’t take very long for Burns to sniff out a rear-naked choke to get the win. Burns has now won five-straight, finishing each of those matches before reaching the third round.

**See complete results below

Prelims:

Alex Caceres def. Chase Hooper by unanimous decision (): Featherweight

Hooper started aggressively, trying to take it right to the veteran. Caceres responded with some hard counters that cut open and also dropped Hooper. The young gun was able to recover and tried his best to get the fight to the floor. Caceres remained on his feet and continued to counter punch and score.

Hooper closed the distance in the second round, but still struggled to keep the fight there. There were a bunch of scrambling exchanges between the two, but Caceres did a great job of fending off the grappling. Hooper even tried pulling guard at one point, but just couldn’t get the fight he wanted. On the feet, Caceres continued to out-strike his less experienced opposition. The pressure of Hooper was still there in the final frame, but he was simply outclassed on the feet. Hooper found his entries into takedowns, but the defense of one point was on point. Hooper was never discouraged, but he just couldn’t compete with the standup polish of Caceres.

Ian Heinisch def. Gerald Meerschaert by TKO at 1:14 of round 1: Middleweight

Heinisch looked sharp from the get-go. He was moving in and out, launching clean strikes and establishing a rhythm. Then KABOOM! Ian uncorked a crazy overhand right that dropped Meerschaert top the canvas. Heinisch unloaded some aggressive ground strikes, prompting the referee to step in and rescue Meerschaert.

Cody Stamann def. Brian Kelleher by unanimous decision (30-27 x3): Featherweight

Stamann was the aggressor right away. Pressing forward and connecting with solo power punches. Kelleher spent a lot of time on the Blackfoot trying to avoid the power of his opposition. Towards the end of the round, Kelleher began to connect with some strikes of his own but didn’t seem to be enough to take back the round.

Kelleher pressed forward in the second round, backing up Stamann to the fence. He tried to get a takedown, but Stamann fought it off and returned to open space. Stamann got back to pressuring behind his punches, but Kelleher was much more willing to stand in the pocket and trade. Kelleher gave up the takedown and spent quite a bit of time fighting off his back before finally getting up.

Stamann continued to lead the dance int he final round. He took the center of the cage and worked off of his jabs, tagging Kelleher and disrupting his rhythm. Kelleher stayed in it though, and started to build a bit of steam. He threw his punches in combinations and began backing up his opponent. Kelleher hit a late takedown to finish the match on top.

Maki Pitolo def. Charles Byrd by TKO at 1:10 of round 2: Middleweight

Pitolo got off to a strong start, connecting with his punching combinations. Byrd was able to stall out his foe against the cage, but Pitolo was the one who pulled off a takedown. Byrd worked until he was in the top position, but that was short-lived as Pitolo switched things back. Around and around they scrambled. Byrd came out chucking leather in the second round. He was catching Pitolo clean, but the tide quickly turned. Pitolo started to unload some volume with his hands, to the head and body. He tripped Byrd and started to drop hammers until the referee pulled him off.

Alex Perez def. Jussier Formiga by TKO at 4:06 of round 1: Flyweight

Perez looked to throw volume right away, really attacking the lead leg of Formiga. He kept pressing the action being the busier fighter, with Formiga throwing back with less frequency. The damage to the leg started to accumulate on Formiga. Perez dropped his foe with a leg kick, let him up, and then dropped him again with another calf kick. That’s when the referee stepped in to wave off the bout.

Devin Clark def. Alonzo Menifield by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2): Light Heavyweight

Clark immediately closed the distance and clinched up against the cage. Menifield reversed the position and controlled his foe for a bit. Once they broke apart, Menifield blasted Clark with an uppercut that rocked him. Clark went to his wrestling to try and recover and buy him some time. Some major swelling formed around the left eye of Clark Menifield landed some more blows before clinching up against the fence again. Upon the break, Clark unleashed a flurry that caught Menifield clean a couple of times.

Clark came out swinging a lot more in the second act, and he was landing. Menifield was pressing forward, but was getting picked apart on his way in. Clark couldn’t help but get backed up to the fence, and ate a couple of heavy shots, but was still the one landing the better blows. Menifield did rack up some control time, but damage is the name of the game.

Clark closed the distance behind a big right hand to open the final frame. Menifield was looking for takedowns at this point, trying to grind on Clark. It was Clark who found top position and landed a few ground strikes. Menifield worked back to his feet and shoved Clark against the fence. They broke apart and slugged it out for the closing moments of the match.

Herbert Burns def. Evan Dunham by submission (RNC) at 1:20 of round 1: 150 pounds

Burns opened the bout with a cracking body kick, but Dunham responded with a hard left hand that seemed to register. Burns went right to his grappling, and made his way to the back of Dunham. It was only a matter of time before Burns had an RNC locked in and Dunham was tapping out.