UFC Auckland results: Crute subs Oleksiejczuk, De Lima slumps Sosoli

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

On the UFC Auckland main card, Jimmy Crute submitted Michal Oleksiejczuk in the first round, and Marcos Rogerio de Lima made quick work of Ben Sosoli. 

The UFC Auckland card is in progress, and Jimmy Crute just rag dolled Michal Oleksiejczuk before pulling out a first-round Kimura. This fight was oneway traffic and Crute was the one driving. The Australian is now 3-1 under the UFC banner, and called out the promotion’s #12 ranked light heavyweight, Misha Cirkunov, in his post-fight interview. Before that, the promotion’s #14 ranked strawweight, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, was totally dominated by the unranked Xiaonan Yan. From bell to bell, Yan delivered damaging striking combos that completely shut down any offense from Kowalkiewicz. Yan owned the standup as well as the ground, earning three scores of 30-26. Having won all five of her UFC bouts, expect Yan to be ranked come Monday. Kowalkiewicz showed off tremendous toughness, but has now lost four fights in a row.

Also on the event, Marcos Rogerio de Lima was strictly business, dispatching Ben Sosoli with explosive punches just 1:28 into the first round. De Lima has been away from the cage for a year, but what a way to make a return. This was epically violent. Opening up the main card portion of the UFC Auckland card, Brad Riddell went the distance in a rather close fight with Magomed Mustafaev, with the New Zealander walking away with the split decision. Mustafaev was looking to use a stifling wrestling game, but Riddell showed off tremendous grit in not conceding the bottom position. On the feet, Riddell came up with a big first round knockdown, and then pulled away with the strike count by the time it was all said and done. That’s two up and two down for Riddell inside of the UFC.

**See complete results below

Main card:

Jimmy Crute def. Michal Oleksiejczuk by submission (Kimura) at 3:29 of round 1

Crute wasted no time in closing the distance and taking the fight to the floor. Oleksiejczuk did a sound job of standing back to his feet, but it was only the beginning of what would be a rag dolling session. Up and down Oleksiejczuk went as Crute refused to give him any space. Crute finally solidified top position, and then locked up a Kimura to get the tap.

Xiaonan Yan def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz by unanimous decision (30-26 x3): Strawweight

Yan started hot, charging right at Kowalkiewicz landing big boxing combos. Kowalkiewicz almost looked as if she wasn’t ready with how imposing Yan was. Yan did not let up on the pressure, continuing with her combination assault. Kowalkiewicz tried to get a takedown, but ended up getting tossed. She got back to her feet just to eat more strikes.

The doctor was brought in at the start of the second act to take a look at the eye of Kowalkiewicz. The was allowed to continue, but it was more of the same. Yan was landing hard blows with Kowalkiewicz offering up very little in terms of offense. Yan even hit a couple of takedowns, but allowed her foe to stand back up each time.

It was the same song and dance in the final round. Yan owned the standup with hard combos that Kowalkiewicz just couldn’t avoid. The only moment Kowalkiewicz had in the round was when she went for a leg lock. Even then, Yan stayed on top and delivered chipping shots.

Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Ben Sosoli by TKO at 1:28 of round 1: Heavyweight

De Lima showed up to fight like a man possessed. He swarmed Sosoli with flurry after flurry. Just when it looked as if Sosoli was going to be able to eat what his opponent was dishing out… BOOM! De Lima connects with a right hand that sent Sosoli falling face first to the floor. Sosoli managed to catch himself before doing a faceplant, but he was out of it and the ref stopped the fight.

Brad Riddell def. Magomed Mustafaev by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29): Lightweight

Mustafaev came out throwing mean body kicks. Then, Riddell floors Mustafaev with a laser of a right hand. He tried to follow his foe to the floor but had to fight off a leg lock, which resulted in the fight returning to the feet. Mustafaev then hit a series of rinse and repeat takedowns. When Riddell did stand up, he ate some explosive knees to the head and body.

Riddell came out for the second and landed that same huge right hand. He landed a hard leg kick before Mustafaev started to return fire. Mustafaev landed some punching combos, but was knocked over with a leg kick. He quickly shot in and pushed his foe up against the cage. Mustafaev gets the takedown, before another rinse and repeat session.

The final round saw Riddell land a lot more strikes, both punches and kicks. He also did a lot better at freeing himself from Mustafaev‘s grip up against the cage. Mustafaev even gave up a takedown and ate some ground strikes as a result. Mustafaev managed to shoot from his knees, but Riddell was ready to deliver some elbows to avoid the takedown.