Author: Dan Hiergesell

Charles Oliveira continued his lightweight takeover earlier tonight (Sat., May 18, 2019) at UFC on ESPN+ 10 live on ESPN+ from inside Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York, when he finished veteran Nik Lentz in a trilogy bout by way of second-round TKO (punches).

Oliveira dominated this fight from the opening bell. In typical fashion, “do Bronx” threatened with submission attempts throughout, but it was his elevated striking game that was the deciding factor in this fight. During an exchange on the feet in Round 2, Oliveira caught a kick from Lentz and immediately countered with a straight right hand down the pipe. The punch connected flush with Lentz’s chin, “Carny” dropped to the canvas, and Oliveira landed some follow-up hammer fists before the referee pushed him off for the stoppage.

Check out the knockout finish above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.

With this performance, Oliveira locks down his fifth-straight finish at 155-pounds and puts a cap on a rivalry with Lentz that spans all the way back to 2011. The 29-year-old Brazilian is looking better than ever and undoubtedly deserves a crack at the Top 10 his next time around. At this point, “do Bronx” is looking like one of the toughest outs in the UFC’s crowded lightweight division.

For complete UFC Rochester results and coverage click here.

Promising Brazilian finisher Michel Pereira showed everyone how dangerous he really is earlier tonight (Sat., May 18, 2019) at UFC on ESPN+ 10 live on ESPN+ from inside Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York, when he ended welterweight veteran Danny Roberts with a nasty first-round knockout (flying knee and punch).

Pereira looked like Anthony “Showtime” Pettis hopped up on jet fuel in the early going as he jumped off the cage multiple times to try and time a decisive blow. Roberts remained patient but clearly had some issues timing the Brazilian’s erratic movements. As “Hot Chocolate” went to enter inside Pereira launched a timely flying knee that caught the Englishman on the side of the head. Roberts stumbled backwards and “Demolidor” launched a straight right hand that ended the fight in fashion.

Check out the insane stoppage above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.

With this performance, Pereira enters the UFC’s jam-packed welterweight division in devastating fashion. The 25-year-old Brazilian has been stopped throughout his 31-fight professional career, but Pereira proved tonight that he’s a contender on the rise when operating at full force. The fact that he’s one of the biggest fighters at 170 pounds should strike even more fear into whichever sacrificial lamb UFC decides to feed him next.

For complete UFC Rochester results and coverage click here.

Rising featherweight prospect Grant Dawson made the most out of his second Octagon appearance earlier tonight (Sat., May 18, 2019) at UFC on ESPN+ 10 live on ESPN+ from inside Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York, when he finished former Ultimate Fighter winner Mike Trizano via second-round submission (rear-naked choke).

Dawson did not have his way in the early going as Trizano stuffed nearly every takedown attempt and landed crisp punches on the feet. A busted up Dawson came out in the second round with more aggression, secured a tight body lock along the cage, and dragged Trizano to the ground to end up in full mount. From there, Dawson forced Trizano to turn over, quickly grabbed a hold of the rear-naked choke, and squeezed until the TUF winner couldn’t take anymore.

Check out the beautiful choke above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.

With this performance, Dawson pushes his UFC record to 2-0 and extends his overall professional MMA record to 14-1. Dawson was getting busted up on the feet by Trizano so the young featherweight clearly needs to work on his striking, but the Nebraska native continues to demonstrate near-elite ground skills. This is exactly the type of win UFC wanted to see from a rising prospect like Dawson so look for the 25-year-old to land a bigger name his next time out.

For complete UFC Rochester results and coverage click here.

Zak Cummings became the first fighter to defeat rising middleweight prospect Trevin Giles earlier tonight (Sat., May 18, 2019) at UFC on ESPN+ 10 live on ESPN+ from inside Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York, as the Octagon veteran finished the 26-year-old Giles via third-round submission (guillotine choke).

In what was truly a back-and-forth affair, Cummings had to rely on his chin during many exchanges in order to push through the power of Giles. In the third round, Cummings would need his chin again to absorb a big right hand from Giles to land a spectacular counter overhand left that dropped Giles to the canvas. Cummings pounced on top to lock in a tight guillotine attempt and eventually forced Giles to tap after about 20 seconds of defense.

Check out the final moments of the fight above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.

With this performance, Cummings now pushes his record to 2-0 since making a return to middleweight this past December. The 34-year-old veteran isn’t going to skyrocket up the 185-pound ladder with this submission finish, but it’s proof that Cummings still has a lot left in the tank, especially at his new weight.

If UFC wants to reward Cummings for his fourth career finish by way of submission they may grant him a shot at the Top 15 his next time out.

For complete UFC Rochester results and coverage click here.

Julio Arce started the “Prelims” undercard off with a bang earlier tonight (Sat., May 18, 2019) at UFC on ESPN+ 10 live on ESPN+ from inside Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York, as the featherweight fighter put a brutal stop to Julian Erosa via third-round knockout (head kick).

Following two back-and-forth rounds, Arce was able to pull ahead in the third. During an exchange along the cage where both featherweights landed punches in close, Arce launched a perfectly-timed head kick that came out of nowhere and connected directly to the chin of “Juicy J.” Erosa instantly toppled to the ground, Arce landed one final punch, and the referee stepped in for the stoppage.

Check out the knockout sequence above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.

With this performance, Arce gets back into the UFC win column after dropping a split-decision loss to Sheymon Moraes this past November. Arce has now won eight out of his last 10 (3-1 UFC) pro fights and looks poised to work his way towards the featherweight Top 10 later this year. More finishes like this one will only help his cause when it comes to UFC matchmaking moving forward.

For complete UFC Rochester results and coverage click here.

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos will try to shake off back-to-back losses at welterweight when he takes on Kevin Lee later tonight (Sat., May 18, 2019) at UFC on ESPN+ 10 live on ESPN+ from inside Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York.

Despite his recent lack of success inside of the cage, which includes defeats to welterweight blankets Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington, RDA is still being counted on to hold down UFC’s trip to Rochester. It’s an indication of the promotion’s belief in dos Anjos and his ability to draw attention from fight fans even coming off a disappointing loss.

Standing in dos Anjos’ way is “Motown Phenom,” who is moving up from 155 pounds after a recent decision loss to Al Iaquinta this past December. While Lee is known for his ground skills and ability to control opponents with his wrestling, RDA is confident that he can outpoint Lee in the grappling exchanges and eventually score his first submission win since choking out Neil Magny back in 2017.

“(I predict) a win. Let’s say a submission one,” dos Anjos recently told Combate. “I’m in need of a submission win. I haven’t submitted anyone in years, I think it would be beautiful to score a submission in the second or third round. A win is always good. It won’t move me up the ranks, I’m already in third place, but I’m trying to forget about that for a little bit. A win is always good to recover your motivation. My last win was in December 2017, so that’s almost a year and a half ago. I want to win, that’s the main reason why (I took the fight).”

Dos Anjos, 34, is in a tough spot at 170 pounds entering tonight’s clash with Lee. The fact that RDA has lost to the current champion (Usman) and the No. 1 contender in the division (Covington) there’s little room for error. Another loss at welterweight could send dos Anjos all the way down the divisional ladder.

That’s why a victory over Lee at UFC Rochester is as crucial as any of RDA’s previous fights at welterweight. The Brazilian veteran understands that Lee brings a lot to the table, but he’s looking to pressure “Motown Phenom” at every turn and eventually make him fold.

“He’s a tough guy, good wrestling, good jiu-jitsu, he has decent striking, is strong and athletic,” dos Anjos said of Lee. “I know he’ll come out strong in the first rounds, but he better, because I’ll be ready. I’ll be pressuring him and ready to go five rounds. I think I’ll have the upper hand in a long distance fight, but that’s not my intention. I want no overtime in the Octagon, I want to get in there and do it as soon as possible, but I have a chance with my patience, tranquility and experience.”

If dos Anjos is able to get past Lee tonight it will certainly buy him some time atop the 170-pound division. If he’s able to finish “Motown Phenom,” whether it be a submission or knockout, RDA could launch himself back into contention entering the second half of 2019.

But if Lee should knock off dos Anjos in his welterweight debut it may very well bump RDA back down to 155 pounds.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 152 fight card below, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” undercard bouts at 5 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time of 8 p.m. ET.