Amir
Albazi
showed he was ready for the step up in competition.

The Iraqi flyweight won his sixth straight fight — including five
in the Octagon — by taking a split-decision triumph over former
interim title challenger Kai
Kara-France
in the
UFC on ESPN 46
headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on
Saturday night. Judges Sal D’Amato and Chris Lee scored the bout
48-47 for Albazi (17-1, 5-0 UFC), while Mike Bell submitted a 48-47
tally for Kara-France (24-11, 7-4 UFC).

“I know it was a close fight. It’s not how I planned this fight to
go, but it is what it is,” Albazi said. “I showed my guts.”



Albazi was competitive throughout, but he did his most definitive
work in Round 3, when he grounded Kara-France, logged more than
three minutes of control time and drew a grimace from his opponent
with a tight rear-naked choke attempt. Kara-France, meanwhile,
appeared to have an edge on the feet, landing quick straight
punching combinations while effectively blending in leg kicks.
Albazi had his moments during exchanges, as he landed impactful
left hooks and counter right hands on occasion. While Albazi was
usually the advancing party, Kara-France held a 99-to-43 edge in
signficant strikes landed, according to official UFCStats.com
figures. The New Zealand native has lost back-to-back fights for
the first time in his UFC tenure.

Caceres Wears Down Pineda

“The Ultimate Fighter 12” cast member Alex
Caceres
relied on punishing body work and crafty grappling to
capture an entertaining unanimous decision win against Daniel
Pineda
in the evening’s featherweight co-main event. “Bruce
Leeroy” received a trio of 29-28 scorecards from the cageside
judges to win for the seventh time in his last eight UFC
appearances.

Caceres showcased his grappling and submission defense in Round 1,
as he scrambled and floated above Pineda for much of the frame
before escaping what appeared to be a tight armbar attempt by the
Texan. Pineda (28-15, 5-6 1 NC UFC) displayed a sense of urgency in
the second stanza, as he attacked from the outset with heavy right
hands during a wild initial exchange. “The Pit” later used a body
triangle to assume full mount, where he banked the round with
punches and elbows from above.

Caceres made his most definitive statement in the final frame. He
targeted Pineda’s body repeatedly, visibly hurting his foe with a
kick, punch and leaping knee to the liver at various times. Caceres
appeared ready to close out his victory by taking Pineda’s back
with about 60 seconds remaining, but “The Pit” was able to return
to his feet and drop his adversary with a clubbing right hand in
the waning seconds. Still, it wasn’t enough to undo the damage
Pineda suffered for most of the round.

Miller Notches 25th UFC Win

Jim
Miller
became the first fighter in promotion history to reach
25 wins, as he made quick work of short-notice foe Jesse
Butler
in a lightweight contest. The Sparta, N.J., native

ended the contest
23 seconds into Round 1 — the
fastest finish of Miller’s nearly 15-year UFC tenure. Butler, a
Fury Fighting Championship veteran who accepted the fight on two
days’ notice, sees a five-fight winning streak come to an end.

Butler (12-5, 0-1 UFC) didn’t get a chance to find his footing in
the abbreviated affair. Miller (36-17, 25-15 1 NC UFC) waited for
his opening, backed his opponent up with a left hand and then
buckled him against the fence with a left hook to the chin. One
final left uppercut sent an unconscious Butler to the mat. Miller
has finished 17 of his UFC triumphs inside the distance, the
second-highest figure in the history of the Las Vegas-based
organization.


Elliott Smothers Altamirano

In his first fight in 15 months, Tim Elliott
relied on takedowns and top control to cruise to a three-round
verdict against former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Victor
Altamirano
in a flyweight duel. “The Ultimate Fighter 24”
winner received tallies of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 from the cageside
judges to win for the fourth time in five outings. Altamirano
(12-3, 2-2 UFC) had a two-bout winning streak snapped in
defeat.

Elliott grounded his opponent in each frame and stayed busy with
ground-and-pound while navigating Altamirano’s active guard.
Altamirano struggled to remain upright, but he did manage to land a
pair of solid head kicks on the feet. To his credit, Elliott never
wavered in his approach, as he continued to get the better of
Altamirano with unorthodox striking, scrambling and wrestling.

Silva Kneebars Souza

Dana White’s Contender Series alum Karine
Silva
extended her professional finishing streak to seven,
submitting former Invicta FC title holder Ketlen
Souza
in the first round of their flyweight matchup. The Gile
Ribeiro Team member elicited a tap from Souza (13-4, 0-1 UFC) with
a kneebar at the 1:45 mark of Round 1. Silva (16-4, 2-0 UFC) has
finished all 16 of her victories inside the distance.

Silva landed a takedown early in the bout and shortly thereafter,
she hovered over her fellow Brazilian before securing her
opponent’s leg and falling back to the canvas.
Silva cranked on the submission, causing Souza’s knee to pop and
ending the contest immediately.
A limping Souza had to
be helped from the cage after the bout.

Dos Santos Takes Split Verdict Over Nurmagomedov

Elizeu
Zaleski dos Santos
rallied for a hard-fought split-decision
triumph over Professional Fighters League veteran Abubakar
Nurmagomedov
in a welterweight showdown. Ron McCarthy and Bryan
Miner scored the bout 29-28 in favor of the Brazilian, while Derek
Cleary saw it 29-28 for Nurmagomedov. It was dos Santos’ first
Octagon appearance since October 2021 after serving a
USADA-mandated suspension due to testing positive for a banned
substance.

Nurmagomedov (17-3-1, 2-2 UFC) put dos Santos (24-7, 10-3 UFC) on
the defensive with a pair of right hands during an initial exchange
while racking up plenty of control time against the fence in the
opening round, but it was all downhill from there for the
Dagestani. Dos Santos landed punches to the head, knees to the body
and a variety of kicks over the course of the final 10 minutes —
all while thwarting the vast majority of his opponent’s attempts to
get the action to the mat. The 36-year-old CM System member has won
three of his last four UFC outings.

Continue Reading »
UFC on ESPN 46 Prelims: Daniel Santos Outworks Johnny Munoz Jr.





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Amir Albazi Takes Split Decision Against Kai Kara-France in UFC on ESPN 46 Headliner