Karolina Kowalkiewicz is back in the win column for the first time in four years.
The former strawweight title challenger snapped a five-bout skid at UFC Fight Night 207, as she submitted Felice Herrig with a rear-naked choke 4:01 into Round 2 of their preliminary clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. Herrig has lost four straight fights and falls to 0-2 against Kowalkiewicz.
Looking sharper than she has in years, Kowalkiewicz (13-7, 6-7 UFC) attacked her foe with crisp punching combinations, close quarter elbows and knees in an impressive opening stanza. She shifted gears in Round 2, when she stuffed a Herrig (14-9, 5-5 UFC) takedown, assumed top position and transitioned to her opponent’s back. From there, the former KSW champion alternated between ground-and-pound and choke attempts before finally creating an opening to slide her right arm under Herrig’s chin for the finish. Herrig left her gloves in the cage after the defeat and confirmed her decision to retire in a post-fight interview.
Solecki Earns Majority Decision Over Coelho
Superior grappling acumen and a key point deduction carried Dana White’s Contender Series alum Joe Solecki to a majority decision triumph over Alex da Silva Coelho in a lightweight clash. Solecki earned scorecards of 28-27 and 29-27 from the cageside judges, while a third scored it a 28-28 draw.
The second round proved to be extremely costly for Coelho (21-4, 1-3 UFC). Solecki (12-3, 4-1 UFC) grounded the Brazilian early and spent the majority of the period attached to his foe’s back while threatening with rear-naked choke attempts. During that time, Coelho was penalized a point for repeatedly putting his toes into the fence, making it a potential 10-7 round in his favor.
The rest of the fight went well for the Astra Fight Team representative. He floored Solecki during an initial exchange in Round 1 before spending much of the frame on top. He also enjoyed success l in the final stanza, landing solid shots at range and some heavy elbows from top position after securing a takedown. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough to undo the damage from a pivotal Round 2.
Jackson Outgrapples Argueta
Fortis MMA member Damon Jackson used crafty scrambling and grappling to capture a unanimous decision triumph over short-notice opponent Dan Argueta in a bantamweight showdown. All three cageside judges scored the fight in favor of “The Leech:” 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. Jackson has won three straight in UFC competition.
Jackson (21-4-1, 4-2-1, 1 NC UFC) spent much of the first 10 minutes attached to his opponent’s back, where he threatened with rear-naked chokes and generally neutralized any offense from Argueta (8-1, 1-1 UFC), save for some short, no-look punches that did cause some swelling under Jackson’s eye. Argueta fought with a sense of urgency at the outset of Round 3, pressing the action and landing short punches and elbows. However, an ill-advised attempt at grappling ended with Jackson back in top position to seal his victory.
St. Denis Submits Stolze
Frenchman Benoit St. Denis rebounded from a difficult Octagon debut last year, as he submitted Germany’s Niklas Stolze in a lightweight clash. The 26-year-old Paris native forced Stolze (12-6, 0-3 UFC) to tap to a rear-naked choke 1:32 into Round 2. St. Denis (9-1, 1-1 UFC) absorbed a hellacious beating from Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos in his first promotional foray at UFC 267 last October.
It’s safe to say St. Denis’ sophomore outing went much better. St. Denis absorbed a knee from Stolze early that opened a significant gash on his left cheek, but from there it was all “God of War.” He grounded Stolze repeatedly and threatened with a tight rear-naked choke late in Round 1 before taking his foe down again in the second frame and securing the finish. It was the first submission defeat of Stolze’s professional tenure.
Gravely Rocks Munoz Jr.
Former CES MMA title holder Tony Gravely made short work of ex-King of the Cage champ Johnny Munoz Jr. in a bantamweight encounter. The 30-year-old American Top Team product put his foe away with punches on the canvas just 68 seconds into Round 1 for his fourth win in five outings within the Las Vegas-based promotion.
Gravely (23-7, 4-2 UFC) rocked Munoz Jr. (11-2, 1-2 UFC) with a short uppercut to the jaw just as his adversary was attempting a level change — and from there it was academic. Munoz crumbled to the canvas immediately, and Gravely put the finishing touches on his victory with a series of follow-up shots before referee Chris Tognoni stepped in to wave off the bout.
Molina Edges Zhumagulov
Glory MMA & Fitness representative Jeff Molina continued his ascent through the flyweight division, earning a hard-fought split-decision triumph against ex-Fight Nights Global champion Zhalgas Zhumagulov. Sal D’Amato saw it 29-28 and Anthony Maness had it 30-27 — both for Molina — while Michael Bell submitted a 29-28 tally in favor of Zhumagulov. Molina (11-2, 3-0 UFC) has won his last 10 professional fights.
Zhumagulov (14-7, 1-4 UFC) spent significant portions of the fight forcing Molina to defend takedowns and body locks, which allowed the Kazakhstan native to log plenty of control time. However, Molina was the slicker fighter at range, and he stayed busy landing short strikes while defending his opponent’s grappling attempts. Zhumagulov landed what was arguably the most significant blow of the bout when he buckled Molina with a left hook in Round 2, but it wasn’t enough to sway the scorecards in his favor.
Fakhretdinov Wears Out Michailidis
Takedowns, unrelenting pressure and ground-and-pound carried promotional newcomer Rinat Fakhretdinov to a clear-cut unanimous decision triumph over Andreas Michailidis in a welterweight affair. The Russian received scorecards of 30-26, 30-26 and 30-27 for his 18th consecutive professional triumph.
Michailidis, who was making his 170-pound debut after a 1-2 UFC stint at middleweight, gradually wilted against his hard-charging adversary. Fakhretdinov (19-1, 1-0 UFC) quickly closed the distance in each frame, landed multiple takedowns and controlled positioning for the majority of the bout. The American Top Team representative landed increasingly more forceful offense from above as the fight progressed, including an elbow that had Michailidis (13-6, 1-3 UFC) bleeding profusely in Round 3. Only toughness allowed Michailidis to make it to the final horn.
Blanchfield Chokes Out Aldrich
Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu export Erin Blanchfield won her sixth consecutive professional outing, taking a submission victory over fellow Invicta veteran J.J. Aldrich at flyweight. Blanchfield used a standing guillotine to bring the show to a close at the 2:38 mark of Round 2. Aldrich sees a three-fight winning streak come to an end in defeat.
The southpaw Aldrich (11-5, 7-4 UFC) did well early, working behind a crisp right hand while keeping her opponent off balance with occasional takedowns — though Blanchfield was never down for long. The stage for the finishing sequence was set when Aldrich was knocked off balance during an exchange, allowing Blanchfield (9-1, 3-0 UFC) to secure her foe’s neck as she attempted to scramble to her feet. From there, “Cold Blooded” cranked the maneuver and Aldrich had no choice but to tap.
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