#4. Alonzo Menifield crushes UFC debutant Askar Mozharov with some brutal elbows
Prior to last night’s event, there was a lot of discussion around UFC debutant Askar Mozharov. In a strange turn of events, his MMA record was downgraded from 25-7 to 19-12 due to him changing his name a few years back.
This meant that there was more pressure on him to perform well in his UFC light heavyweight bout with Alonzo Menifield. Unfortunately for him, it was ‘Atomic’ who delivered the goods with a pretty brutal first round stoppage.
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Menifield, who had shown issues on the ground in his previous UFC outings, actually shot in early and slammed the newcomer to the ground. From there, he began to work from the top with a steady series of punches and elbows.
When Mozharov managed to reverse position and escape to his feet, Menifield wasted no time in quickly taking him back down, and this time, he really went to work. Securing a mounted crucifix, ‘Atomic’ began to open up with some thudding elbows that damaged the newcomer’s face, forcing referee Herb Dean to quickly bring a halt to proceedings.
This was a brutal showing from Menifield, who was reportedly angered by the controversy around Mozharov’s record. While it seems unlikely that we’ll see Mozharov in the octagon again, it should be interesting to see what Menifield can do next time out.
#3. Ode' Osbourne wastes no time in taking out Zarrukh Adashev
Prior to last night’s event, Jamaican flyweight Ode' Osbourne had seen an up-and-down UFC career, going 2-2 over a period of two years and competing in three different weight classes in the process.
However, he looked more focused and intense than he’d ever done before coming into his clash with Zarrukh Adashev last night, and was able to pick up an explosive win, giving him two octagon victories in a row for the first time, as well as a $50k performance bonus.
It didn’t take ‘The Jamaican Sensation’ long at all to deliver the goods when the fight began. Both men looked happy to exchange, but Adashev not only looked a little stiff on the feet, he also looked reckless – and ended up paying the price.
He threw a glancing right hand at Osbourne, only for the Jamaican to quickly counter with a short right hand that turned his lights out in an instant. Adashev was clearly done, but Osbourne didn’t want to risk anything and finished him off with a series of nasty shots on the ground.
This was an excellent showing from Osbourne, and with him now competing at a more natural 125 pounds, we could well see him make some noise in the future. If nothing else, he’s clearly got the potential and explosive ability to do so.