UFC on ESPN 13 results: Lots of finishes on the prelims

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Check out the results and highlights from the UFC Fight Island 1 Fight Night: Kattar vs. Ige prelims, where Modestas Bukauskas, Lerone Murphy, and Liana Jojua scored first round finishes.

UFC Fight Island’s Fight Night: Kattar vs. Ige second event is underway and the preliminary portion just wrapped up with UFC newcomer, Khamzat Chimaev, dominating the much more seasoned John Phillips before sniffing out a second-round D’arce. This might be Chimaev’s seventh professional MMA fight, but he looked quite composed for someone with such a young record. Oh, all seven of those fights resulted in a finish. Before that, the still undefeated Lerone Murphy earned himself a first-round TKO of Ricardo Ramos. Murphy went to his takedowns and then proceeded to smash Ramos until the referee jumped in with the rescue. Now sitting at 9-0-1, England has a new prospect bubbling in the UFC’s featherweight division.

In the light heavyweight division, Modestas Baukauskas picked up a TKO of Andreas Michalidis when the referee stopped the bout just after the closing of the first-round. Baukauskas rocked his foe as time expired, and then a bit of a wonky situation ensued. After the bell sounded, Michailidis was still on his knees having a dialogue with the referee about the legality of the strikes. Then, the dazed Michalidis leaned backwards and fell through the opening to the Octagon door. He caught himself, but that was enough for the referee to make his official decision to stop the fight. Despite the typical 2020-style weirdness, Baukauskas has won his UFC debut.

Also on the prelims, Liana Jojua hit an awesome belly-down armbar on Diana Belbita in the first round. Belbita landed some good strikes in the opening moments, but then got the takedown and paid a high price for it. This marks the first UFC win of Jojua’s young career. Opening up the event, bantamweight prospect Jack Shore dominated Aaron Phillips before picking up the second-round rear-naked choke. Shore remains undefeated and improves his record to 13-0. This also makes three-straight RNC’s from the “Tank” from Wales.

**See complete results below

Prelims:

Khamzat Chimaev def. John Phillips by submission (D’arce) at 1:12 of round 2: Middleweight

Chimaev hit a head kick to takedown to open the match. He controlled and punched as Phillips tried to stand back up. Phillips was already wearing it at this point, bleeding all over his face as Chimaev was dropping volume. The punches kept landing and Phillips couldn’t do anything about it. Phillips got taken down within 20-seconds into the second round. Chimaev went hard for a D’arce, and Phillips obliged him with a tap.

Lerone Murphy def. Ricardo Ramos by TKO at 4:18 of round 1: Featherweight

Ramos was throwing all sorts of unorthodox kicks to begin the bout. He then used a heavy right hand to disguise his entry to the back. Murphy escaped into open space, but had to eat a clean knee to the face to do so. Murphy ended up switching gears and going for a takedown. Ramos scrambled up at first, but Murphy went right back to it and started dropping hammers. Ramos was getting peppered over and over again, giving the ref no choice but to step in.

Modestas Bukauskas def. Andreas Michailidis by TKO at 5:00 of round 1: Light Heavyweight

Bukauskas started out light on his feet and throwing a lot of kicks. Michailidis began to return fire, landing hard leg kicks of his own. Both men had welts on their legs before the midpoint of the opening round. Michailidis threw a lot of haymakers, and they were landing but didn’t seem to have much effect. He then went for a last-second takedown, but ate a bunch of Travis Browne elbows that dazed him. The referee informed Michailidis that the strikes were legal, and as the fighter went to lean back against the cage not realizing the door was open, he fell through the opening and that’s when the referee stopped the fight.

Jared Gordon def. Chris Fishgold by unanimous decision (30-26 x3): Featherweight

Fishgold showed up throwing heat. He wasn’t really connecting, but his intentions were clear. Gordon got a takedown and attacked the neck, but Fishgold was able to escape and stand back to his feet. Gordon shot in again but Fishgold fully committed to a guillotine. Gordon had to fight hard to escape the submission attempt, and then landed short ground strikes until the bell sounded.

The second act started with Fishgold jumping another guillotine off of an early takedown attempt from Gordon. This one wasn’t close and Gordon took side control. He then briefly attacked with a Kimura, before eating up a ton of clock. Several annoying shots landed from the top, turning the round into a complete blowout for Gordon.

Gordon went back to his wrestling in the final round, getting an early takedown before Fishgold sprung back to his feet. On the feet, Fishgold was aggressive, moving forward but eating counter punches. Fishgold then looked for the takedown, but Gordon sprawled and started to strike. He punched away as the referee warned Fishgold to move on a few occasions. The onslaught continued with Gordon dropping lots of low-powered strikes until the end of the round.

Liana Jojua def. Diana Belbita by submission (Armbar) at of round 1: (W) Flyweight

Belbita landed some quality punches right out of the gate, but then closed the distance and created a lengthy scramble. She ended up getting a takedown, but was quickly fighting off a super-tight armbar from Jojua. Belbita escaped the hold somehow, but she was still in hot water. Jojua adjusted the angle and reapplied the technique, going belly down this time. Belbita had too verbally tap to save her arm.

Jack Shore def. Aaron Phillips by submission (RNC) at 2:29 of round 2: Bantamweight

Shore came out in the opening round pushing the pace and looking for the takedown. Phillips fought hard not concede the bottom position, but he was stuck in a grinding grappling cycle and struggled to get off of the cage. Shore was able to deliver some sweet knees to the face in close to add to his total control that round. It took less than a minute into the second act for Shore to find the takedown. He punched and elbowed his way to the back, and that’s where the neck of Phillips presented itself. It was only a matter of time before Phillips was tapping.