Read on for UFC 210 early prelim results...
GILLESPIE vs HOLBROOK
An hour away from his native Rochester, unbeaten lightweight prospect Gregor Gillespie ignited the crowd at KeyBank Center in Buffalo Saturday night, knocking out Andrew Holbrook 21 seconds into their UFC 210 prelim bout.
A former Division I national wrestling champion, Gillespie showed off his striking immediately, dropping Indiana’s Holbrook with a left hook. A series of hammerfists followed, putting Holbrook out and forcing a halt to the bout by referee Dan Miragliotta.
The Long Island-based Gillespie moves to 9-0 with the win; Holbrook falls to 12-2.
GREEN vs EMMETT
Rochester lightweight Desmond Green thrilled his upstate New York fans in his Octagon debut, winning a three round split decision over Josh Emmett, handing his opponent his first pro loss in the process.
Emmett (11-1) was aggressive throughout the first frame, but Green was right there with him, and with a minute left he rocked the Californian briefly, likely allowing him to eke out the round.
Cool and collected, Green began to pull ahead in round two as he mixed kicks to the body with quick counters to keep Emmett off balance.
Green (20-5) opened the third with a takedown, igniting the crowd, and once the two were back standing, “The Predator” staggered the bloodied Emmett with an uppercut. There was little significant scoring throughout the rest of the final frame, but Green’s work was enough to earn him his first UFC victory.
CHOOKAGIAN vs ALDANA
In an exciting three-rounder that lived up to the pre-fight hype, Katlyn Chookagian picked up her second UFC win with a razor-thin split decision over Irene Aldana in women’s bantamweight action.
Both fighters got after it in a busy first round, with each fighter taking turns leading the exchanges. Aldana’s pressure allowed her to surge ahead late, but a brief takedown by Chookagian evened the score in a hurry.
The second was a carbon copy of the first with the exception of the previous round’s takedown, both going back and forth with each other in the pocket as expected while refusing to give up a lead.
In the third, Aldana appeared to finally break open a close bout with a surge of right hands in the final minute, but two of the three judges disagreed, with the final verdict going to New Jersey’s Chookagian by scores of 29-28 twice and 28-29.
With the win, Chookagian moves to 9-1; Guadalajara’s Aldana falls to 7-4.
BIBULATOV vs LAUSA
Highly-touted Russian flyweight Magomed Bibulatov improved to 14-0 in his UFC debut, winning a clear-cut unanimous decision over the Philippines’ Jenel Lausa.
Bibulatov showed off a varied and busy attack in the opening frame, and though he didn’t score with much, he was pushing the pace.
In the second round, Bibulatov’s second low kick earned him a point deduction from referee John McCarthy, and he immediately went after a takedown and got it once the action resumed, keeping the bout grounded until the horn sounded.
Dumping Lausa (7-3) to the canvas once more to open the third, Bibulatov got into the mount midway through the round, and though he didn’t finish, his dominant effort was rewarded by a unanimous verdict of 29-26 across the board.