Daniel
Santos made Johnny
Munoz Jr. pay for his willingness to play guard.

Top control and ground-and-pound carried Santos to a unanimous
decision victory over Munoz Jr. in their
UFC on ESPN 46 clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday.
All three judges scored the contest 29-27 in favor of the Chute
Boxe Diego Lima member.



It was a rough outing for Munoz Jr., who weathered a pair of kicks
to the groin — the second which led to a point deduction — and
struggled to mount significant offense from his back. The former
King of the Cage champion had his best moments in Round 1, when he
landed a series of upkicks against Santos before briefly trapping
his Brazilian foe in a triangle choke.

For the most part, however, Santos was comfortable working from top
position when Munoz Jr. pulled guard. He controlled positioning,
nullified his opponent’s submission game and chipped away with
punches and elbows from above. Munoz Jr. didn’t assume top position
until late in Round 3, but Santos rocked him with an upkick of his
own to allow him to scramble back on top before the final horn.

Mayes Clobbers Arlovski

Don’Tale
Mayes secured the most significant victory of his career to
date, defeating former heavyweight king Andrei
Arlovski via technical knockout in a heavyweight contest. The
Jackson-Wink MMA product brought the show to a close at the 3:17
mark of Round 2, giving him six career triumphs via knockout or
technical knockout. Arlovski (34-22, 23-16, 1 NC UFC), who has the
second most fights in promotion history, has been stopped in
back-to-back bouts.

Arlovski used distance management and technical boxing to control
the majority of Round 1, but the momentum shifted late in the
period when Mayes landed a pair of short elbows in close quarters
before staggering his foe with a left hand. The finish was a thing
a beauty for Mayes, who
slipped an Arlovski jab and then dropped the Belarusian with an
overhand right. “Lord Kong” landed a few follow-up
hammerfists on a defenseless Arlovski before Mark Smith
stepped in to halt the contest.

Castaneda Holds Off Gafurov

Combate Americas veteran John
Castaneda survived a hard-charging Muin
Gafurov to capture a unanimous decision triumph in a
bantamweight encounter. All three judges scored the fight 29-27 for
“Sexy Mexy,” as Gafurov (18-5, 0-1 UFC) had a point deducted in
Round 2 for leading with his head.

Castaneda (20-6, 3-2 UFC) had a shot at ending things early when he
hurt Gafurov with a head kick and dropped him with an ensuing right
hand. Gafurov was able to recover on the canvas, and make it to the
end of the opening frame. The former One Championship competitor
set a relentless pace in Round 2, marching forward while winging
power punches for most of the stanza. Castaneda kept his cool and
imposed his will with a pair of takedowns in the final round,
ending the contest in mount and threatening with a rear-naked choke
to punctuate his victory.

Newcomer Naimov Upsets Mullarkey

Elevation Fight Team export Muhammadjon
Naimov scored an upset in his promotional debut, as he defeated
Jamie
Mullarkey via technical knockout in a lightweight scrap. Naimov
(9-2, 1-0 UFC) ended the proceedings 2:59 into Round 2 for his
fourth straight professional triumph.

Mullarkey (16-6, 4-4 UFC) started well, controlling the range with
crisp boxing while blending in periodic takedown attempts. Naimov
sent a message early in the second stanza when he connected with a
spinning back kick to the body. Later, he caught Mullarkey moving
forward recklessly with his hands down, and that allowed him to
step back and
drop his adversary with a right hook to the chin. From
there, the Tajikistan native unloaded with punches and hammerfists
on the canvas to force the stoppage.

Reed Outpoints Frey

Elise
Reed edged former Invicta FC champ Jinh Yu
Frey via unanimous decision in a strawweight affair. All three
cageside judges submitted 29-28 tallies in favor of the ex-Cage
Fury Fighting Championships title holder. Frey (11-9, 2-5 UFC) has
lost her last three Octagon appearances.

Frey did her best work in the opening stanza, when she connected
with several solid punches and grounded Reed on multiple occasions.
Frey would land just one takedown the rest of the way, however, and
her striking output waned down the stretch, as well. Reed (7-3, 3-3
UFC), meanwhile, got stronger as the bout progressed, keeping the
fight upright while putting Frey on her heels with punching
combinations and kicks to the legs and body.

Blackshear Bashes Lacerda

Jackson-Wink MMA representative Da’Mon
Blackshear made Luan
Lacerda pay for his insistence on hunting for leg locks,
winning via technical knockout in a bantamweight clash. A salvo of
ground-and-pound ended the bout at the 3:54 mark of Round 2, giving
“Da Monster” his first win via KO/TKO since 2018.

Blackshear (13-5-1, 1-1-1 UFC) landed with superior volume on the
feet, as he landed punching combinations while Lacerda (12-3, 0-2
UFC) marched forward. When the fight hit the canvas, Blackshear
demonstrated good scrambling ability and submission defense as his
Brazilian foe gambled by attacking the lower limbs. That came back
to haunt the Nova Uniao product in the second stanza, when Lacerda

ate a series of unanswered shots to the head while clinging to
Blackshear’s leg to force referee Chris Tognoni to intervene on his
behalf.

Lins Wins Third Straight

Former Professional Fighters League heavyweight champion Philipe
Lins improved to 3-0 at 205 pounds, taking a unanimous verdict
over ex-World Fighting Championship Akhmat title holder Maxim
Grishin. All three judges scored the contest in favor of Lins:
29-28, 29-28, 30-27.

While the fight stalled out repeatedly against the cage, Lins
(17-5, 3-2 UFC) had success during exchanges, rocking Grishin
(33-9-2, 2-3 UFC) with overhand rights, uppercuts and his left
hook. Grishin spent much of the contest with his back against the
fence defending Lins takedowns, but he did connect with several
solid short elbows and body kicks. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough
sway the scorecards in his favor.





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Daniel Santos Outworks Johnny Munoz Jr.