Viacheslav Borshchev Wallops Maheshate Hayisaer

“Slava Claus” delivered an emphatic technical knockout victory to
the UFC Apex on Saturday evening.

Viacheslav
Borshchev snapped at two-bout skid at
UFC Fight Night 223, as he defeated Maheshate
Hayisaer via technical knockout in their preliminary
lightweight showdown. Borschev (7-3, 2-2 UFC) dropped Hayisaer
(9-3, 1-2 UFC) with a clean right hook to the chin and sealed the
victory with about six standing-to-ground strikes at the 2:37 mark
of Round 2.

Borschev flashed his power on multiple occasions. After a
competitive striking battle for the majority of the opening frame,
the Team Alpha Male product dropped Hayisaer with a short right
near the end of the period. The show continued in the second frame.
Borschev sat his Chinese foe down with another right early in the
period before putting Hayisaer away with the finishing sequence
moments later. Borschev has finished six of his seven professional
triumphs via KO or TKO.

Kowalkiewicz Stymies Demopoulos

Former strawweight title challenger Karolina
Kowalkiewicz earned her third straight promotional triumph,
taking a three-round verdict over Vanessa
Demopoulos in a 115-pound pairing. The Pole received a trio of
30-27 scorecards from the cageside judges. Demopoulos, who missed
weight by 1.5 pounds, sees a three-bout winning streak snapped in
defeat.

Kowalkiewicz (15-7, 8-7 UFC) dictated the terms of engagement for
the majority of the fight, tagging her adversary with crisp, clean
punching combinations to the head. As the bout progressed,
Demopoulos (9-5, 3-2 UFC) face was bloodied and battered from the
assault. Demopoulos’ best offense occurred early in the fight, when
she briefly stunned Kowalkiewicz with a left hook. Moments like
that were few and far between, however, as Kowalkiewicz displayed
superior volume and accuracy during exchanges.

Urbina Crumbles Cosce

“The Ultimate Fighter 29” cast member Gilbert
Urbina battered the body of opponent Orion
Cosce, paving the way for a second-round technical knockout
victory in a welterweight bout. Urbina put his adversary away at
the 2:55 mark of Round 2 for his first TKO win since 2014. Cosce
(8-2, 1-2 UFC) missed weight by 1.5 pounds on Friday.

Urbina (7-2, 1-1 UFC) dominated the opening stanza, as he assumed
full mount and attacked Cosce with elbows and punches from above.
He hammered at Cosce right up until the final horn, but his
adversary was able to survive. The break in rounds was only a brief
respite, however. An early second-round front kick drew a grimace
from Cosce, and Urbina capitalized by landing the maneuver again
shortly thereafter.
With Cosce doubled over in pain, Urbina followed up with a pair of
knees before the Dana White’s Contender Series alum crumbled to the
mat, bringing an end to the contest.

Nascimento Edges Latifi

American Top Team product Rodrigo
Nascimento earned his second consecutive promotional triumph,
as he took a split decision over former 205-pound competitor
Ilir
Latifi in a heavyweight scrap. Derek Cleary and Sal D’Amato
scored the contest 29-28 for Nascimento (10-1, 3-1, 1 NC UFC),
while Jacob Montalvo saw it 29-28 in favor of Latifi (16-9, 1 NC,
9-7 UFC).

Nascimento’s takedown defense held up well for the majority of the
bout, as Latifi was only able to ground the Brazilian for a
significant period of time in the last half of Round 2. When the
fight was at range, Nascimento enjoyed success with forward
movement and short counters — including a left hook that landed
consistently. Latifi had one final moment of aggression in the
final stanza, but it wasn’t enough to sway the scorecards in his
favor.

Hooper Outstrikes Fiore

Showcasing an improved standup game, Dana White’s Contender Series
alum Chase
Hooper outdueled New England Cartel product Nick Fiore
en route to a unanimous decision triumph at lightweight. The
23-year-old Combat Sport & Fitness export earned tallies of 30-26,
30-27 and 30-27 from the judges to win his 155-pound debut
following a five-bout promotional stint at featherweight.

While Hooper (12-3-1, 4-3 UFC) scrambled and threatened with
submissions thoughout the bout, his ability to land offense on the
feet proved to be the difference against a fellow grappler. “The
Dream” willingly attacked his foe with long punches, a variety of
kicks and elbows and knees in close quarters. Hooper nearly secured
a finish when he rocked Fiore (6-2, 0-2 UFC)with an elbow laterin
Round 1 and flurried with punches before his foe was saved by the
horn.

Silva Runs Through Leonardo


 Ex-Jungle Fight champion Natalia
Silva extended her winning streak to nine with a technical
knockout victory over Victoria
Leonardo in a flyweight affair. Silva (15-5-1, 3-0 UFC) ended
the contest 2:58 into Round 1, her second consecutive finish within
the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Silva was visibly quicker to the punch than Leonardo (9-5, 1-3 UFC)
from the start, and she set the stage for the stoppage by sitting
her adversary down with a left hook about halfway through Round 1.
Leonardo’s ensuing desperation shot failed, and Silva

rocked her feeling foe with a right hand and high kick shortly
thereafter. Leonardo could do nothing more than cover up against
the fence from there, which prompted referee Kerry Hatley to step
in on her behalf.

Gorimbo Hands Sato Fourth Straight Defeat

South Africa’s Themba
Gorimbo relied on takedowns and positional control to capture a
unanimous decision triumph against Pacrase veteran Takashi
Sato in a welterweight encounter. All three judges submitted
scorecards in favor of the former Extreme Fighting Championship
title holder: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-27. Sato (15-7, 2-5 UFC) has lost
his last four Octagon appearances.

Gorimbo (11-4, 1-1 UFC) was relentless in his pursuit of the
takedown, and he authored nearly all of the fight’s most memorable
moments in the process. In addition to logging significant amounts
of control time, Gorimbo took his opponent’s back in both the first
and third frames while dropping Sato with a massive overhand right
in Round 2. Gorimbo did his best to put Sato away with
ground-and-pound following the knockdown, but the Kill Cliff FC
representative was able to survive the onslaught.