UFC Fight Night Utica opened with quite some promising moves; however, the card was soon devoid of sensational action making it synonymous to previous two UFC fight nights. Suddenly the fight revved up, stirring excitement among the fans as they were entertained with an unexpected KO at 33 seconds into the fight. Marlon Moraes (21-5-1) put a KO to Jimmie Rivera’s (21-2-0) whopping 20-fight winning legacy with destructive head kicks and lethal punches, capturing a slot for bantamweight title. Magic will next take on the winner of T.J Dillashaw vs. Cody Garbrandt 2 to ace for the title.
Though there were many predications regarding Moraes potential to end up Rivera’s legacy with his lethal striking ability, a KO in the opening round wasn’t what most of the fans were anticipating. Though the Brazilian had been gaining popularity owing to his impressive performance in World Series Of Fighting, his premiere two fights in UFC had been quite sluggish, he managed to notch up his performance by levelling Rivera and Aljamain Sterling combined in 1 minute and 40 seconds.
A rival that Moraes needs to look out for whilst contending for his title is Raphael Assuncao who previously trounced Moraes in his debut Octagon performance. However, he is quite tied up with his busy schedule and will be taking on Rob Font on UFC 226, and UFC probably isn’t too eager to provide him an opportunity to take on Magic in the title shot.
Irrespective of whom Moraes would face off in his attempt to bag bantamweight title, one thing is certain that Magic has delivered far beyond what was expected of him and seems to be headed towards the summit of 135-pound division.
Results For Other Fights For The Night
Following are the results for the other fights at UFC Utica.
Main Card
Gregor Gillespie vs. Vinc Pichel – Gillespie via arm-triangle choke at R2
Walt Harris vs. Daniel Spitz – Harris wins by TKO at R2
Ben Saunders vs. Jake Ellenberger – Saunders wins by TKO at R1
Julio Arce vs. Daniel Teymur – Arce defeats Teymur via rear-naked choke at R3
Sam Alvey vs. Gian Villante – Alvey beats Villante by Split Decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
Undercard
Sijara Eubanks vs. Lauren Murphy – Eubanks wins by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
David Teymur vs. Nik Lentz – Teymur wins by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
Belal Muhammad vs. Chance Recountre – Belal wins via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x 3)
Desmond Green vs. Gleison Tibau – Green via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x 2, 29-27)
Nathaniel Wood vs. Johnny Eduardo – Wood defeats Eduardo by D’arce choke at R2
Jose Torres vs. Jarred Brooks – Torres wins via TKO at R2
Aguilar vs. Esquibel – Fight cancelled due to health concerns related to Aguilar
