UFC News & FeaturesUFC Fight Night 175 Prelims: Undefeated Impa Kasanganay Outclasses Maki Pitolo in Debut
WATCH OUT @KingImpa showing no Octagon jitters in his debut. #UFCVegas8 pic.twitter.com/Z4HsaxG0Uo
— UFC (@ufc) August 30, 2020
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The still-green Gym-O prospect kept his perfect professional record intact and impressed in his promotional debut, as he captured a unanimous decision over fellow Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Maki Pitolo in the featured UFC Fight Night 175 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Kasanganay (8-0, 1-0 UFC) swept the scorecards with identical 30-27 marks from the judges.
It boiled down to horsepower, and Kasanganay had more of it. He
moved Pitolo backward and sent spit flying with chopping right
hands, mixed in a few leg kicks and ripped the body and head with
left hooks. Kasanganay took a round to get up to full throttle, but
once he was there, the outcome became more and more of an
inevitability. Bleeding from a cut near his left eye, Pitolo (13-7,
1-3 UFC) did his best to return fire but could not make any real
headway.
Cummings Upends Reeling Di Chirico
Glory MMA and Factory X export Zak Cummings recorded his third win in four appearances, as he took a unanimous decision from Alessio Di Chirico in a three-round undercard confrontation at 185 pounds. All three cageside judges scored it for Cummings (24-7, 9-4 UFC): 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.
Di Chirico (12-5, 3-5 UFC) found a home for his right hand during their initial exchanges but offered little else in what was a tepid start for both men. Cummings slowly took control in the second and third rounds with cracking lefts and inside leg kicks, using his veteran guile and iron chin in concert. He put a punctuation mark on his performance in the waning seconds of Round 3, where he floored Di Chirico with a clean head kick at the buzzer. The Italian stumbled back to his corner in a dazed state and managed to avoid the stoppage, but his fate on the scorecards was sealed.
The 30-year-old Di Chirico has lost three fights in a row.
Related » UFC Fight Night 175 Round-by-Round Scoring
Caceres Throttles Replacement Springer
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 12 quarterfinalist Alex Caceres submitted Austin Springer with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their featherweight encounter. A short-notice substitution for Giga Chikadze and Kevin Croom, Springer (12-4, 0-1 UFC) bowed out 3:38 into Round 1.
Caceres (17-12, 12-10 UFC) utilized his length, connected with punches from both hands and integrated leg kicks at opportune times. He then sprawled out of an attempted takedown from Springer, transitioned to the back and secured the choke, cutting off avenues of escape with a body triangle.
The resurgent Caceres has rattled off three straight wins.
Brady Guillotine Sedates Aguilera
Former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder Sean Brady choked Christian Aguilera unconscious with a guillotine in the second round of their welterweight scrap. The unbeaten Brady (13-0, 3-0 UFC) drew it to a close 1:47 into Round 2, as the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt executed his first submission since October 2017.
Aguilera (14-7, 1-1 UFC) held his own in the standup exchanges but conceded a takedown with roughly a minute remaining in the first round. Brady exploited his clear advantage on the mat, applied his ground-and-pound and set the stage for what was to come. The 27-year-old Philadelphian struck for another takedown inside the first minute of Round 2, locked in the guillotine choke, moved to a mounted position after readjusting his grip and waited for Aguilera to lose consciousness.
The setback stopped Aguilera’s run of consecutive victories at three.
Related » UFC Fight Night 175 Discussion
Viana Armbar Dismisses Whitmire
Former Jungle Fight champion Polyana Viana submitted “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 26 quarterfinalist Emily Whitmire with an armbar in the first round of their undercard tilt at 115 pounds. Viana (11-4, 2-3 UFC) tied the bow on her first victory in more than two years 1:53 into Round 1.
Whitmire (4-4, 2-3 UFC) reversed a takedown into side control but squandered position and allowed the Brazilian to reclaim guard. Viana stayed busy from the bottom, battered the Xtreme Couture product with slashing elbows to the side of the head and executed a textbook armbar for the finish.
The win put a stop to Viana’s three-fight losing streak.
Martin Choke Submits Cifers
Elevation Fight Team’s Mallory Martin stormed back from the brink of defeat to submit Hannah Cifers with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their strawweight pairing. Martin (7-3, 1-1 UFC) brought it to a close 1:33 into Round 2, then let out a few primal screams.
Cifers (10-7, 2-5 UFC) nearly finished it in the first round, where she floored the DWCS graduate with an overhand right and swarmed with follow-up punches. Martin regained her footing but remained in danger for several tense moments, referee Chris Tognoni lurking close by as she absorbed a number of power punches. However, she withstood the assault, pushed the fight to a second round and seized control. Martin tripped her counterpart to the floor, cut loose with elbow-laced ground-and-pound, achieved full mount and advanced to the back before cinching a palm-to-palm choke. Cifers had no choice but to tap out.
Martin, 26, has won six of her last seven bouts.
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