Renato Moicano returned to the win column with a dominant second-round stoppage win over Chris Duncan. The fight closed out Saturday’s fight card.
Moicano’s Dominant Performance
The Brazilian veteran was the sharper, more effective of the two from the outset. He was sniping at Duncan throughout the first round, getting into a rhythm. Early in the second, Moicano sat the the Scotsman down before swarming and dragging the fight to the ground. From there, it was only a matter of time before Moicano took the back and found the next, squeezing out the tap.
It was described as a blistering performance from the tenured lightweight and Top 15 mainstay. After suffering a pair of setbacks last year, this was a punishing bounce-back performance for the fired up Moicano.
Jandiroba Victorious in Co-Main Event
Virna Jandiroba successfully turned back to the challenge of Tabatha Ricci, leaning on her outstanding grappling to secure a unanimous decision win in the co-main event.
The recent title challenger salted away the first two rounds with a mix of heavy strikes and timely takedowns. She dragged Ricci to the canvas multiple times, grinding time off the clock while chipping away from top position. Ricci capitalised on Jandiroba tiring in the third, turning in her most effective frame of the fight, but it was a case of too little, too late.
All three judges scored the fight for Jandiroba, who made an immediate return to the win column after coming up short in her bid to claim the vacant strawweight title last October. That’s now six wins in seven starts for “Carcara,” who showed she’s still amongst the division’s elite with a win in Saturday’s co-main event.
Yakhyaev Extends Unbeaten Streak
Abdul Rakhman Yahkyaev had to deal with a little bit of adversity, but the unbeaten light heavyweight stayed calm and maintained his unblemished record with a first-round submission win over Brendson Ribeiro.
Ribeiro landed a couple stiff shots straight out of the gate and had Yahkyaev looking to wrestle early and forced him to defend against a kimura early in the first grappling entanglement. But once he settled in and started to control Ribeiro, it was all Yakhyaev from there, patiently chipping away with short shots before working to the back, lacing up the choke, and securing the finish.
Now 9-0 overall and quickly 2-0 in the UFC, Yakhyaev is without question one of the top
Following an all-action collection of preliminary card fights, the shift to the main card upped the stakes and elevated the intensity, with the impressive results continuing to pile up inside the Octagon.