UFC made its second appearance in Russia this weekend, showcasing the power of veteran Heavyweights Aleksei Oleinik and Alistair Overeem. The card was very much a Russia versus The World theme but also had a newcomer spin to it, as six fighters on the card were making their UFC debut.
Preliminary Card
Bout 1: Rafael Fiziev (6-0) vs. Magomed Mustafaev (13-2) (Lightweight)
The first bout to open the show was in the Lightweight division, with Rafael Fiziev facing Magomed Mustafaev. In the first minute of the fight, Mustafaev landed a spinning back kick that looked like it hit him but could have gotten him much harder. A minute later he landed another spinning back kick, except this time it dropped Fiziev. After some more punches on the ground the referee intervened to end it.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Fiziev | ||||
| Mustafaev |
Bout 2: Michal Oleksiejczuk (13-2-1) vs. Gadzhimurad Antigulov (20-5) (Light Heavyweight)
After one fight that didn’t make it through the first round, we saw another one like that. Antigulov landed punches in the first 10 seconds, fighting very aggressively. While advancing he was hit with a left hook that dropped him. He landed an uppercut that dropped him a second time. Another uppercut made the light heavyweight fall again, and the fight ended.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Oleksiejczuk | ||||
| Antigulov |
Bout 3: Shamil Abdurakhimov (19-4) (#13) vs. Marcin Tybura (17-4) (#10) (Heavyweight)
Moving up a weight class from the previous bout, we saw a Heavyweight clash between Shamil Abdurakhimov and Marcin Tybura. The first round was purely kickboxing, with Abdurakhimov out-striking Tybura. The second round was much of the same, with Abdurakhimov landing a spinning back fist at one point. With under two minutes left, Tybura was hit with a left hook that made is legs nearly collapse under him. Retreating, he got hit a few more times up against the cage before referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop it.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Abdurakhimov (#13) | 10 | |||
| Tybura (#10) | 9 |
Bout 4: Alex Da Silva (20-1) vs. Alexander Yakovlev (23-8-1) (Lightweight)
The next fight had Brazilian Alex Da Silva face Russia’s Alexander Yakovlev. Da Silva showcased good wrestling in the first round, slamming Yakovlev after holding him up against the cage. At the start of round two the fight went to the ground after Yakovlev slipped while throwing a kick. After clinching for a while, Yakovlev landed a hard slam of his own. On the ground, Yakovlev put in a guillotine that made Da Silva tap out.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Da Silva | 10 | |||
| Yakovlev | 9 |
Bout 5: Keita Nakamura (34-9-2) vs. Sultan Aliev (14-3) (Welterweight)
In the final hour of prelims, Keita Nakamura faced Sultan Aliev in a Welterweight fight. Nakamura’s mouthpiece fell off in the first few seconds, and he put it right back in, no wash needed. Both fighters were landing punches in the first round. Although Aliev was landing more than Nakamura. In the second half of the second round, Aliev landed a takedown. In the final round, Aliev was trying for a rear naked choke but couldn’t find it. Aliev continued his dominant striking throughout the fight. The contest went it’s scheduled three rounds. The scorecards were all in favour of Sultan Aliev (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Nakamura | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
| Aliev | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
Bout 6: Seungwoo Choi (7-1) vs. Movsar Evloev (10-0) (Featherweight)
In a double debut fight, Seungwoo Choi and Movsar Evloev ended off the preliminary part of the card. Evloev landed a hard sounding uppercut in the first round. Shortly after landing a nice overhead strike, Evloev brought the fight to the ground. He landed shots on the ground more than he tried to do submission moves. Evloev landed an illegal knee in the second round, which made the referee take away a point. Right out the gates of the final round, Evloev landed a takedown. He was successful in wrestling for the whole round. The fight went the distance, with the judges giving Movsar Evloev the victory (29-27, 29-27 & 29-26).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Choi | 9 | 9 | 9 | 28 |
| Evloev | 10 | 9 | 10 | 29 |
Main Card
Bout 7: Krzysztof Jotko (19-4) vs. Alen Amedovski (8-0) (Middleweight)
The first fight on the main card was a Middleweight battle between Krzysztof Jotko versus Alen Amedovski. Amedovski wagered his undefeated streak in this fight, which was also his UFC debut. The first two minutes of the fight had close striking. After a trip, the fight went to the ground. Jotko tried for a rear naked choke, but Amedovski escaped and landed some strikes before going back to stand-up. Jokto landed a spinning elbow that brought Amedovski onto one knee for a moment. He landed a takedown and stayed in top position for the rest of the round.
Early in the second round, Jotko landed another takedown. Jotko was dominant on the ground, landing punches and elbows near the end. While Amedovski resisted more in the next takedown, Jotko still landed it. Jokto continued his dominant ground performance until the final round ended. The judges gave Krzysztof Jotko the win unanimously (30-25, 30-26 & 30-26).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Jotko | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| Amedovski | 9 | 8 | 8 | 25 |
Bout 8: Antonina Shevchenko (7-0) vs. Roxanne Modafferi (22-15) (Flyweight)
Antonina Shevchenko, the sister of Valentina Shevchenko fought against Roxanne Modafferi in the next bout. In the first round, Modafferi was aggressive, consistently being the fighter that was advancing. Modafferi was successful when wrestling. In the second round, Shevchenko’s kickboxing skills started to really show. Modafferi was able to land a takedown against the cage around halfway through the round. On the ground, Shevchenko landed some hammer strikes on the ground. Similar to the second round, in the third Shevchenko had great striking in stand-up. She also seemed to be less useless on the ground, bringing the fight back to stand-up at the end. The fight went the distance, with the judges favouring Roxanne Modafferi via split decision (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Shevchenko | 9 | 9 | 10 | 28 |
| Modafferi | 10 | 10 | 9 | 29 |
Bout 9: Sergey Pavlovich (12-1) vs. Marcelo Golm (6-2) (Heavyweight)
Heading up to the Heavyweight division, Sergey Pavlovich fought Marcelo Golm. From the very start of the fight, both guys were swinging. Pavlovich landed a flurry a minute into the bout ending with an uppercut that put Golm to sleep.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Pavlovich | ||||
| Golm |
Bout 10: Islam Makhachev (16-1) vs. Arman Tsarukyan (13-1) (Lightweight)
In the co-main event slot this evening was Islam Makhachev versus Arman Tsarukyan. Tsarukyan was taken to the cage in the first minute after tripping. Makhachev landed a great takedown after being in a standing clinch. Tsarukyan had a standing guillotine on Makhachev after he found himself in the move seconds before. This round was some real high-level wrestling from both fighters. The crowd was behind Makhachev, cheering on all of his moves. Makhachev was controlling with the wrestling throughout the second. Tsarukyan broke out more kickboxing at the start of the third. The fight went all 15 minutes, with Islam Makhachev winning unanimously (30-27, 30-27 & 29-28).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Makhachev | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| Tsarukyan | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
Bout 11: Aleksei Oleinik (57-11-1) (#9) vs. Alistair Overeem (44-17) (#7) (Heavyweight)
The main event in St. Petersburg was Aleksei Oleinik and Alistair Overeem. Oleinik took the fight to the ground immediately. When back on their feet, Oleinik clipped Overeem with an overhand. He was hit more when shelled up against the cage, but made it out of the exchange. For the first few minutes of the fight, Overeem landed knees but Oleinik was dominating overall with his fists. In the final minute, Oleinik was dropped from knees and covered up. Overeem landed more punches until the referee came in and stopped it.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Total |
| Oleinik (#9) | ||||||
| Overeem (#7) |
UFC will be back on ESPN+ next week, live from Sunrise, Florida when Jacare Souza faces Jack Hermansson. The next PPV from the promotion is under a month away, with Rose Namajunas facing Jessica Andrade on May 11 from Jeunesse Arena in Brazil.
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