Jump to content
  • Playwire Ad Area



  • Photo:

    Photo:

    Ex-mat stars winners at UFC Fight Night 123

    Kamaru Usman, a 2010 NCAA Division II wrestling champ, and Tatiana Suarez, a two-time bronze medalist at the World championships, both came out winners in main-event bouts at UFC Fight Night 123: Usman vs. Maia at the Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile Saturday night.

    In his top-of-the-card welterweight (170-pound) fight, Usman scored a unanimous decision over UFC veteran Demian Maia ... while, in the strawweight (115-pound) battle leading up to the Usman-Maia fight, Suarez submitted Alexa Grasso in the first round.

    Usman comes out on top

    Kamaru Usman
    Looking at the main event by the numbers, Kamaru Usman won the fight with Maia, with the judges scoring it 50-45, 49-46, and 49-46 for the former amateur wrestler who came to the U.S. from Nigeria at age 8.

    Beyond the scores, however, the recaps of the Usman-Maia provided differing perspectives on what happened in the Octagon.

    "A crushing sprawl, superior athleticism and efficient standup spurred Usman to a unanimous decision over Maia ..." according to leading MMA website Sherdog.com ... while ESPN wrote: "Welterweight contender Kamaru Usman picked up the biggest win of his career on Saturday but may have failed to make a statement in doing so."

    "The five-round bout was difficult to watch because of lack of big moments," ESPN continued.

    That said, Usman dropped Maia in the fourth round with a straight right.

    That said, the 40-year-old Maia had taken the fight with Usman on short notice, and may not have been in ultimate shape.

    At the end of the bout, Usman -- who had qualified for the NAIA championships having wrestled one season at William Penn, then was a three-time NCAA Division II All-American and 2010 champ for University of Nebraska-Kearney -- described his opponent as "a legend of the game. It's an honor to come in and compete with him."

    With the win, Usman has compiled a 13-1 overall record since launching his pro MMA career in November 2012 (and is 8-0 in UFC) ... while Maia drops to 25-9 overall, and 19-9 in UFC.

    Suarez makes short work of Grasso

    A decade ago, Tatiana Suarez Padilla was making a name for herself in international women's freestyle wrestling, having earned bronze medals at World championships in Tokyo in 2008 and in Moscow in 2010 at 55 kilograms/121 pounds.

    Now, Suarez is an emerging force in women's MMA ... boosting her stock by submitting Alexa Grasso with a rear-naked choke at 2:44 of the first round of their bout at UFC Fight Night 129.
    Grasso fought desperately to free herself but to no avail in what ESPN described as "a textbook submission victory."

    "It just went by so fast," said Suarez said after the fight. "I had a long, long camp. I've known about this fight for ten weeks and it was over so quickly ..."

    With her quick submission win, Suarez -- The Ultimate Fighter 23 champ -- is now 6-0, and 3-0 in UFC ... while Grasso drops to 10-2 overall and 2-2 competing in UFC.

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    There are no comments to display.



    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now

  • Playwire Ad Area
×
×
  • Create New...