Rinat
Fakhretdinov made sure it wasn’t a happy homecoming for
Kevin
Lee.

The American Top Team-trained Russian made short work of the former
interim lightweight title challenger,
winning via technical submission 55 seconds into their
170-pound bout at UFC on ESPN 48 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on
Saturday. Fakhretdinov (21-1, 3-0 UFC) has won 20 straight
professional outings dating back to June 30, 2013.

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Round Scoring Lee (19-8, 11-8 UFC), who was making his first
Octagon appearance since August 2021, never had a chance to make
his mark. Fakhretdinov dropped “The Motown Phenom” with a
perfectly-placed right hand on the chin early in the opening
stanza. From there, Lee attempted to shoot for a desperation
single-leg, but that only allowed Fakhretdinov to lock in a power
guillotine. When Herb Dean moved
in to take a closer look, Lee had been rendered unconcious by the
choke — and the contest was subsequently waved off.

Brito Pounds Out Wilson

Joanderson
Brito made short-notice foe Westin
Wilson pay for his insistence on clinging to a kneebar. The
28-year-old Brazilian won his third straight bout, stopping Wilson
via knockout with a heavy salvo of ground-and-pound 2:45 into the
opening stanza of their featherweight encounter. Wilson (16-8, 0-1
UFC), a replacement for Khusein
Askhabov, hasn’t seen the second round of a fight in his last
12 professional outings.

Brito countered a Wilson kick with a slew of power punches during
an initial exchange before taking his adversary down. From there,
Wilson transitioned to a kneebar and briefly appeared to have Brito
in danger with the submission. However, his reluctance to
relinquish the maneuver allowed “Tubarao” to unleash a barrage of
heavy punches that eventually rendered Wilson unconscious.

Rosa Takes Split Verdict Over Santos

Karol
Rosa took a significant step forward in a now wide-open female
featherweight division with a split-decision triumph over former
Invicta FC champ Yana Santos.
Judges Ron McCarthy and Chris Lee
scored the contest 29-28 for Rosa (17-5, 6-2 UFC), while Sal
D’Amato saw it 29-28 in favor of Santos (14-8, 4-5 UFC).

Though she struggled at times to track down Santos, Rosa got better
as the bout progressed. By Round 3, the Brazilian was walking her
foe down and landing with superior power in exchanges. While Santos
had the edge in volume and speed, her offense wasn’t impactful
enough to get the nod on the scorecards.

Brener Rallies, Stuns Kutateladze

Chute Boxe Diego Lima representative Elves
Brener survived some early adversity before rallying for a
technical knockout victory over Allstars Training Center
representative Guram
Kutateladze at lightweight. Brener (15-3, 2-0 UFC) put his
Georgian foe away for good at the 3:17 mark of Round 3. It marks
the first time Kutateladze (12-4, 1-2 UFC) has been finished by
strikes in his professional tenure.

Brener made his foe work by landing multiple takedowns early, but
the momentum shifted when Kutateladze wobbled him with an elbow in
close quarters. The “Georgian Viking” flurried with punches and
elbows in hopes of a finish, but Brener survived the onslaught. The
second stanza brought more of the same, when Kutateladze hurt his
adversary with a knee to the body then denied a takedown, powered
his way into top position and opened a significant gash on Brener’s
forehead with an elbow from above. Once again, Brener was able to
keep his composure and make it to the horn.

With Kutateladze slowing down, Brener took control in the final
frame, consistently pushing the pace with multi-punch volleys to
the head.

Carolina Tops Newcomer Petrovic

Dana White’s Contender Series Brazil alum Luana
Carolina earned a three-round verdict against former Ares FC
queen Ivana
Siric Petrovic in a flyweight contest. The Brazilian known as
“Dread” received a trio of 29-28 tallies from the cageside judges
to end a two-fight skid.

Carolina (9-4, 4-3 UFC) landed the more damaging offense on the
feet, attacking with punching combinations and the occasional high
kick, and she was also able to rack up valuable control time in the
clinch and on the mat. The only recourse for Petrovic (6-1, 0-1
UFC) was to repeatedly roll for leglocks during grappling
exchanges, an approach that ultimately proved to be
ineffective.

Romanov Pulls Away from Ivanov

Moldova native Alexander
Romanov snapped a two-bout losing streak, as he outpointed
former World Series of Fighting title holder Blagoy
Ivanov in a heavyweight affair. All three judges scored the
contest 30-27 in favor of “King Kong.” Ivanov (19-6, 3-5 UFC) has
lost four of his last five Octagon appearances — all via
decision.

Showcasing improved stamina from recent outings, Romanov (17-2,
6-2) got stronger as the fight progressed. He blended jabs and
overhand lefts with kicks to the legs and body on the feet while
also landing takedowns in the second and third stanzas. Meanwhile,
effective ground-and-pound from Romanov in Round 2 opened a cut
near Ivanov’s eye. Ivanov countered effectively in spurts, but he
simply couldn’t match the volume of his opponent.





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Fakhretdinov Spoils Lee’s Return, Wins 20th Straight Fight