UFC Mexico prelims results & video: Nelson gets standing KO over Reyes

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Check out the results and highlights from the UFC Mexico City prelims, including Kyle Nelson achieving a standing knockout against Polo Reyes in the opening round.

The UFC Mexico City preliminary card just finished up with crowd favorite Jose Alberto Quinonez running away with the scorecards against Carlos Huachin. Quinonez scored an early knockdown in the first round, and stayed ahead the entire time. Quinonez now sits at 5-2 under the UFC banner. Before that, Kyle Nelson put on big time in Mexico City when he dusted Polo Reyes in the opening round. Just when it looked as if Nelson was coming to grapple, he switched gears and started to land some major heat, resulting in a standing knockout. Not a bad way to get your first UFC win.

In a rather fun fire fight, UFC veteran Angela Hill welcomed UFC newcomer Ariane Carnelossi. The fight was scrappy and chalked full of energy and effort, with each athlete having their moments. Come the third round, Hill sliced open her opponent with an elbow just above the eye, that resulted in a TKO by doctor stoppage. Earlier in the night, the UFC’s #5 ranked flyweight Sergio Pettis picked up a clean decision win over promotional newcomer, yet seasoned vet, Tyson Nam. Pettis played the matador and worked off his jab to get the best of his opponent and snap a two-fight losing skid.

UFC light heavyweight Paul Craig is quite known for his late submissions. Well, at UFC Mexico City, he switched things up and managed to hurt Vinicius Moreira with a knee, and then choked him out in the first round. In his post-fight interview, Craig stated that he was fighting for his job, and the early finish is just what he needed to re-sign with the promotion. Earlier in the night, Bethe Correia won her second fight in four years with a unanimous decision over Sijara Eubanks. She struggled in the opening act, but rallied to land strikes and stop the takedowns to secure the win.

Prelims:

Jose Alberto Quinonez def. Carlos Huachin by unanimous decision (30-27 x3): Bantamweight

A stinging right hand from Quinonez scored him an early knockdown in the opening round. Huachin recovered rather quickly and scrambled back up to his feet. The rest of the round was strictly back and forth striking, with each man scoring but not really doing damage. Quinonez played the outside in the second act, using his kicks to keep the range. He then switched levels and took Huachin to the ground. Huachin returned to his feet without sustaining much of any damage, and the bantamweights stood for the rest of the round.

A quick takedown was achieved by Quinonez in the third round. He chipped away from the before Huachin exploded back to his feet. Huachin pressured forward with urgency, but Quinonez was content to play matador and stick to the outside. Quinonez stayed smart and Huachin was unable to deal out a fight-ending blow before he ran out of minutes.

Kyle Nelson def. Polo Reyes by KO at 1:36 of round 1: Featherweight

Nelson was looking for the takedown early in this one. Then, Nelson opted to break away to throw some serious heat! He landed a massive elbow followed by a mean flurry of punches. A gigantic right hand had Reyes seeing stars without any sign of Nelson letting up. The referee stepped in and Nelson got himself a standing knockout.

Angela Hill def. Ariane Carnelossi by TKO (Cut) at 1:56 of round 3: Strawweight

Carnelossi pressured her opponent right away, forcing Hill to fight off several takedown attempts. Hill handled the pressure rather well and started to let her strikes go. She tagged up Carnelossi with a descent variety, mixing it up and giving the UFC newcomer different looks. Carnelossi continued with the forward movement in the second round. She was able to connect a lot more than the first round, and didn’t allow Hill to find her groove. Carnelossi made it ugly, and that’s just what she needed.

The third round continued with the wild pace. Each athlete was getting in solid shots, but then an elbow from Hill caused a cut above Carnelossi’s eye. The referee paused the action and brought in the doctor. The ringside physician didn’t like the location and size of the cut and recommended that the contest be called off.

Sergio Pettis def. Tyson Nam by unanimous decision (30-27 x3): Flyweight

It wasn’t a big shocker to see a technical striking contest right out of the gate between these two. Nam was throwing more hands than anything else, while Pettis incorporated more kicking. The opening round was rather sticky. Pettis showed up in the second round effectively pumping his jab as Nam stalked forward. Nam struggled to connect on a lot of his punches with Pettis sliding just out of the way of a lot of them. Pettis began to build off of his jab in the third round. He began to put a variety of volume behind it and was connecting. Nam stayed with the pressure, forcing his foe to play the role of matador, but just couldn’t land the big shot.

Paul Craig def. Vinicius Moreira by submission (RNC) at 3:19 of round 1: Light Heavyweight

Moreira closed the distance right away and ended up pulling guard. He scrambled back to his feet to attempt a takedown, but ate a vicious knee for his troubles and hit the deck. Craig instantly started dropping bombs, landing flush, causing Moreira too turtle up. He then quickly took the back and locked up a rear-naked choke to which Moreira quickly tapped out.

Bethe Correia def. Sijara Eubanks by unanimous decision (29-28 x3): (W) Bantamweight

Eubanks came out working her boxing, bobbing and weaving and landing clean punches. As Correia attempted to come forward and return fire, Eubanks changed levels and took the fight to the ground. Correia was unable to get up until the round was over. Correia had a bit more success on the feet to start the second stanza. She also ate some big shots, but wore them well and kept the fight on the feet.

Correia continued to swing in the final round as well as stuff the takedown. Eubanks started to show signs of her right eye bothering her, which seemed to happen after a series of jabs. Down the stretch, Eubanks began landing punching combos, but didn’t seem to do much damage.

Claudio Puelles def. Marcos Rosa Mariano by unanimous decision (30-25 x3): Lightweight

Puelles went right for the takedown and was able to plant Mariano on the floor. He attacked a Kimura but was unable to do much before a referee standup. Puelles took the fight right back to the ground, but nothing special happened down there before the bell rang. Puelles went right back to the takedown to start the second round and began to up his striking volume. The referee responded to the activity by letting Puelles work from the top, and the fight did not return to its feet until the round ended.

A slamming takedown from Puelles opened up the third act. He aggressively attacked a Kimura from the top, but Mariano held on as hard as he could and eventually escaped the hold. He remained on his back though, and Puelles dropped blows as time ticked away.