Lone’er Kavanagh proved he could run with the big dogs in the flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.Vicious leg kicks, a crisp jab and bulletproof takedown defense lifted the British Top Team candidate to a unanimous decision over two-time champion Brandon Moreno in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 268 main event at CDMX Arena in Mexico City. The scores were 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 – all for Kavanagh (10-1, 3-1 UFC), who came on late for Asu Almabayev.
Moreno (23-10-2, 11-7-2 UFC) was shortchanged and took too long to adapt. Kavanagh bit his bottom lead leg with repeated kicks, pumped out his jab and targeted the body with a few kicks. He staggered Moreno with punches at one point in the second round. The Fortis MMA mainstay turned to the clinch in the third and fourth rounds, crawling Kavanagh up the fence, feeding him knees to the inner thigh, bleeding time off the clock and changing the momentum. That set the stage for Round 5. Moreno continued to close the distance, but failed to stay busy enough to avoid restarts from referee Herb Dean. Kavanagh took advantage of the exchanges and made a stronger closing argument, as he delivered a front kick to the body, a triple punch, and in the waning moments, a spinning back kick to the midsection.Meanwhile, Bonebreakers MMA standout David Martinez continued his rise up the 135-pound rankings with a unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America” semifinalist Marlon Vera in their three-round bantamweight co-headliner. Martinez (14-1, 3-0 UFC) won the scorecards with matching 29-28 points from all three members of the cage judiciary.
Vera (23-12-1, 15-11 UFC) struggled to put together a meaningful attack for much of the match. Martinez frustrated “Chito” with lateral movements and quick hands, which he used to dart in and out with multi-punch bursts. The former Combate Global defending champion also managed to land leg kicks, trip takedowns and some vicious left hooks to the body. Vera did not leave without being heard. He turned up the heat in the third round, where the Ecuadorian cut the cage, found a home for his jab and left hooks to the head and smashed his opponent’s breadbasket. However, Martinez circled away from danger and managed to withstand a late rally from one of the division’s most accomplished veterans.Martinez, 27, is now on a 10-fight winning streak.
Elsewhere on the main card, ex-King of the Cage champion Bobby Green dispatched a confused Daniel Zellhuber with punches in the second round of their lightweight showcase.
Green (34-17-1, 15-12-1 UFC) brought it to a decisive close 4:55 into Round 2 as he earned his first finish in over two years.
Zellhuber (15-4, 3-4 UFC) never established a rhythm. Green kept him guessing with awkward movements, verbal taunts, lead leg stomps and punches from odd angles. Late in the second round, the 39-year-old Californian wobbled Zellhuber with a sharp right hand, followed him with a club left and drove him into the fence in a daze. Green let his fists fly until the Fight Ready rep melted. More punches followed, forcing the stoppage.
The 26-year-old Zellhuber has had three consecutive setbacks.
Elsewhere, Entram Gym product Edgar Chairez picked up a hard-earned split decision over former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Felipe Bunes in their three-round flyweight feature. All three judges returned 29-28 scorecards: Alex Winter for Bunes, Sal D’Amato and Dave Tirelli for Chairez.
Bunes (14-9, 2-2 UFC) grabbed the reins in the first round, where he jumped into the backpack position, locked himself in a body triangle, used the cage for leverage and went to work with a variety of punches, including 12 to 6 elbows to the shoulders. Chairez (13-6, 3-2 UFC) weathered the adversity and stepped up his performance over the final 10 minutes despite bleeding from a cut near his right eye. He doubled down on his jab, found a home for his left hook and unleashed strategic volleys at the end of both the second and third rounds. It was enough to curry favor with two of the three cage-side referees.
Chairez heads into his next outing riding on back-to-back wins.
Deeper into the draw, The Ultimate Fighter Season 33 semifinalist Imanol Rodriguez threw away ex-Inka Fighting Championship titleholder Kevin Borjas with punches in the second round of their flyweight attraction.
Rodriguez (7-0, 1-0 UFC) tapped the Peruvian’s figurative toe at 4:21 in round 2.
Borjas (10-5, 1-4 UFC) got his chance. He defeated Rodriguez twice in the first round – landing a vicious left hook during a whirlwind exchange and later connecting with an overhand right – but his inability to close the deal proved costly. The tide turned slowly but surely. Rodriguez cleared the cobwebs with a successful takedown, piling up control time and integrating his ground-and-pound. He then ramped up his offense in the middle stanza, stunning Borjas with a left hook and sending an overhand right to the side of his head. The blow resulted in a delayed reaction knockdown and set the stage for the stoppage with follow-up punches.
Rodriguez, 26, has knocked out all seven opponents.
Finally, undefeated Mexican prospect Santiago Luna kept his perfect professional record intact with a unanimous decision over Angel Pacheco in their three-round bantamweight starter. All three judges scored the same: 30-27 for Luna (8-0, 2-0 UFC).
Pacheco (7-4, 0-2 UFC) leaned heavily on his jab against a superior athlete. It wasn’t nearly enough to keep Luna at bay. Jason Parillo’s protégé used repeated takedowns, occasional leg kicks, close-range knee strikes and precise, high-volume punch combinations. Luna hit his counterpart with three, four and five punches at a time, controlling the center of the cage and striking for takedowns in all three rounds. A finish against the durable Pacheco was never on the agenda. Luna remained true to his approach, used sharp counters and processed his own shot with varying degrees of success.
The 34-year-old Pacheco has lost three fights in a row.
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