Bill Algeo Clubs, Subs T.J. Brown

Bill
Algeo got the best of an entertaining featherweight scrap,
throttling T.J. Brown in
the second round of the top preliminary bout at
UFC on ESPN 44.

Both men had their moments in Round 1, as Algeo (17-7) landed a
flying knee and a resounding slam takedown, but took plenty of
clean punches from Brown, including one that busted his nose midway
through the frame. Brown won the period with a late flurry that had
Algeo hurt against the cage, and appeared to have the momentum
going into Round 2, but “Senor Perfecto” turned things around in a
flash, dropping the onrushing Brown with a left elbow, pouncing and
taking a crucifix position. From there he moved to the back,
cinched up a rear-naked choke and elicited the tap at 1:40 of the
stanza.

The win brought Algeo’s promotional mark to 4-3, while fellow
Dana White’s Contender Series Season 3 alum
Brown fell to 17-10 overall; 3-4 in the UFC.

Royval Posterizes Nicolau

Brandon
Royval made his case for a flyweight title shot, blasting
Matheus
Nicolau with a gorgeous knee-to-punch combo in the first round
of their prelim encounter.

“Raw Dawg” (15-6) was his characteristic hyper-aggressive self
immediately, taking the fight to his more measured foe. However,
things appeared to be settling into an intriguing chess match on
the feet when, out of nowhere, Royval clipped Nicolau with a
perfect right knee to the chin, followed by a long right hand that
caught the Brazilian as he fell. Royval pounced immediately,
tacking on several elbow strikes before referee Nick Berens jumped
in for the righteous stoppage at 2 minutes, 9 seconds of Round
1.

The win brought Royval’s record in the Octagon to 5-2, while
Nicolau fell to 19-3-1 overall, 4-1 in the UFC, and saw a six-fight
win streak snapped in defeat.

Hometown Hero Cummings Tops Herman in Dual Retirement Bout

Fighting for the first time in nearly three years in front of an
adoring hometown crowd in Kansas City, 37-year-old Zak
Cummings put an emphatic stamp on a pillar-to-post smashing of
41-year-old fellow grizzled veteran.

The first round was characterized by Cummings’ speed advantage on
the feet, as he landed cleanly with both hands, but especially with
his left, including one that dropped Herman. The round was also
marked—of course, on this bizarre night—by controversy, as the
supine Herman struck the kneeling Cummings with an illegal upkick
to the face, only to have referee Dwayne Bess restart the two on
the feet afterward.

The diet of left hands continued in Round 2, as Cummings rocked
Herman with multiple clean left-hand counters, including one that
dropped him to his seat with about a minute left in the round.
Cummings pounced in search of the finish and was met by another
illegal upkick from Herman, resulting in another break in the
action and this time a point deduction by referee Bess, who once
again restarted the fight standing.

By the final round, Herman’s left leg was clearly compromised as
well, and Cummings was able to put him down twice with punches that
more or less knocked him off-balance. The accumulation of damage
finally overwhelmed Herman, who went down late in the round and was
unable to withstand the swarm of follow-up blows from Cummings,
forcing referee Bess to interpose himself for the stoppage at 4:13
of Round 3.

In the wake of the resounding win, with his small daughter in his
arms in the cage, a teary Cummings announced his retirement. “Short
Fuse” then followed suit, laying down his own gloves in an
emotional moment.

Robertson Picks up Controversial Sub of Rodriguez in
Strawweight Debut

It was not without controversy, but Gillian
Robertson made a successful 115-pound debut, vindicating her
own decision to drop from flyweight while spoiling Piera
Rodriguez’s undefeated record.

Robertson quickly showed that her grappling chops would be carrying
over to her new division, as she took advantage of a Rodriguez
takedown to sweep to top position and dominate the bulk of Round 1.
Robertson’s offensive wrestling, often a sore spot at flyweight,
was effective in Round 2, as she spilled Rodriguez to the canvas
with a single-leg takedown within seconds. “The Savage” then spent
the balance of the period in a series of dominant positions
including side control and full mount, landed strikes and kept
Rodriguez looking generally overwhelmed on the ground.

With under a minute left in Round 2, Robertson peeled off for an
armbar and extended the Venezuelan’s right arm. Chaos ensued from
there, as referee Keith
Peterson moved in for the submission stoppage at 4:21, only to
have Rodriguez spring up and protest. Replay showed what appeared
to be a single tap, a second or two before the intervention.

While we are likely to hear more about this one, Robertson elevated
her record to 12-7 overall, 9-6 in the UFC since joining out of
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 26; Rodriguez’s first professional
loss left her at 2-1 in the promotion and 9-1 overall.

Zellhuber Pieces Up Vannata

Daniel
Zellhuber parlayed youth, size and speed into a win over
Lando
Vannata in a lightweight showcase.

For a moment, it looked as though the fight might not make it out
of the first frame. Late in the round, Zellhuber rocked Vannata
with a punch, then smashed him with a right knee to the head,
dropping him to the canvas. Vannata hung on desperately, staying in
motion and avoiding the worst of the punishment as referee Jason
Herzog looked on closely, and managed finally to return to his feet
near the fence. The veteran made adjustments between rounds,
however, and used constant stance switches in Round 2 to confound
Zellhuber, get inside the taller man’s kicking range and land
several clean counters.

The 23-year-old Mexican took over again in the final round, keeping
Vannata on the outside and stinging him with jabs, crosses and a
couple of shockingly quick high kicks. There was little suspense,
as the judges scored the fight for Zellhuber (29-27, 29-28, 30-27),
who moved to 1-1 in the UFC since graduating from the 2021 season
of Dana White’s Contender Series.

In defeat, Vannata fell to 4-7-2 in the Octagon and has now lost
two in a row, his first streak of any kind since joining the
promotion seven years ago.

Gomes Blasts Brasil

Denise
Gomes made a statement, punching out Bruna
Brasil in the second round of their strawweight preliminary
bout.

The story of the fight was Gomes’ power and aggression, as she
effortlessly navigated Brasil’s greater height and reach to land
numerous overhand rights. Gomes also managed a couple of takedowns,
dragging the taller woman down with nifty trips from the clinch,
while denying Brasil’s takedown attempts in the first round.

Midway through Round 2, Gomes came forward, landing a left hook to
the body followed by a right overhand that dropped Brasil in her
tracks. Gomes swarmed for the finish, and after a string of
unanswered lefts and rights on the ground, referee Dwayne Bess dove
in for the stoppage, which came officially at 2 minutes, 42 seconds
of the stanza.

The win evened up Gomes’ UFC record at 1-1 since joining the
promotion out of the 2022 season of Dana White’s Contender Series; Brasil, who
incidentally won on the very same episode of the show last fall,
fell to 0-1 with the promotion.

Bolanos Edges Phillips

Gaston
Bolanos made a successful
Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, prevailing over Aaron
Phillips in a wild bantamweight scrap.

The bout featured major swings in momentum, with both men
dominating the action in stretches. Round 2 saw Phillips execute a
slick takedown directly into mount, then take Bolanos’ back and
threaten with a rear-naked choke. The Peruvian survived, however,
exploding to his feet and finishing out the round pummeling
Phillips against the fence.

The final round offered more of the same: Phillips once again took
Bolanos down, took his back and worked for chokes from a tight body
triangle, while Bolanos appeared to get the better of the action
while the two were standing.

In the end, the judges saw the fight unanimously in favor of
Bolanos (30-27, 30-27, 29-28), who is now 1-0 in the promotion
after having spent his entire career in Bellator MMA; Phillips remained winless in four UFC
appearances.

Edwards Takes Controversial Decision over Pudilova

In the opening bout, Joselyne
Edwards won a mystifying split decision over Lucie
Pudilova despite spending much of the first two rounds as a
grappling dummy.

Pudilova struck for a takedown in Round 1, then spent most of the
balance of the period landing periodic ground-and-pound while
controlling the Panamanian on the mat. The second frame was
Pudilova’s best, as she grounded Edwards immediately, moved to side
control and spent the rest of the stanza in the driver’s seat,
threatening with chokes and briefly taking Edwards’ back. A much
more competitive final stage saw Edwards stay upright and get the
better of a sporadic striking battle.

Both fighters appeared surprised—and the crowd voiced its
displeasure—at the 29-28, 29-28, 28-29 scorecards in favor of
Edwards. “La Pantera,” who missed weight on Friday, moved to 4-2 in
the UFC; Pudilova’s Octagon tally fell to 3-6 overall, 1-1 since
her return to the promotion last year.