Read on for Fight Night Stockholm prelim results...
Sweden’s Magnus Cedenblad rose from a second round knockdown to control his middleweight bout against Scott Askham on the mat and win a close, but unanimous, decision over the previously unbeaten Brit in UFC Fight Night prelim action Saturday at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm.
Scores were 29-28 across the board.
Askham and Cedenblad took the fight to each other from the start, with a couple hard shots from the Brit prompting Cedenblad to take matters to the mat in the second minute. Askham stayed busy from the bottom, keeping the Swede from improving his position, but he was unable to get off the ground before the end of the first stanza.
Cedenblad wasted no time returning the bout to the mat in round two, but with two minutes gone, referee Marc Goddard restarted the fight due to a lack of action. Cedenblad flurried before locking Askham up against the fence, but Askham reversed position. After another stall, Askham woke up the crowd with a kick to the face that dropped Cedenblad. “Jycken” got back to his feet, but he was still wobbly as Askham went on the offensive, mainly with knees to the midsection.
With the fight on the line, Cedenblad went right after Askham to begin the final round and in the second minute he got the fight where he wanted it on the ground. There, Cedenblad again controlled the fight, but a restart from Goddard in the final minute gave Askham one last chance to turn things around. He was unable to though, with Cedenblad making it through the round and securing the victory.
With the win, Cedenblad improves to 13-4; Doncaster’s Askham falls to 12-1.
MUSOKE vs. YAKOVLEV
Stockholm’s Nico Musoke put another win on his record and kept his hometown fans happy in the process as he took a three-round unanimous decision over Russia’s Alexander Yakovlev.
All three judges saw it 30-27.
It was a slow start to the fight, but progressively the action heated up, with Musoke countering well and Yakovlev swinging haymakers with reckless abandon, cutting the Swede on top of the head.
Both fighters made the effort to get the fight to the ground in round two, but as the takedowns failed, they looked more like an attempt to catch a breath against the fence between the series of heated stand-up exchanges that got the fans into the bout.
The third was as closely contested as the previous two, but Musoke’s control against the fence and his more accurate strikes won him the round and the fight despite a furious late-round charge by the Russian.
With the win, Musoke improves to 13-3 with 1 NC; Yakovlev falls to 21-6-1.
SIVER vs. ROSA
On less than a week’s notice, American newcomer Charles Rosa gave top 15 featherweight contender Dennis Siver all he could handle, with the two 145-pounders putting on an exciting 15-minute scrap before Siver emerged with the unanimous decision win.
Scores were 30-27 for Siver in a fight that wasn’t nearly as lopsided as those scores would indicate.
Rosa showed no nerves in his Octagon debut, firing off kicks from all angles at Siver and prompting the Germany resident to seek – and get – the takedown. Working from side control, Siver locked in an arm triangle and though it looked like the end was near, Rosa escaped and then tried to finish Siver with a kneebar and then a triangle choke. Siver powered out of both and the two stood, with the crowd appreciating the effort of both men.
The opening minute of the second round saw some solid striking action from both before Siver got the bout to the mat. Siver briefly took Rosa’s back, but the New England native scrambled out of trouble and to his feet, cracking Siver with a kick and a right hand before getting the bout to the canvas. Siver reversed position and got into the mount with two minutes left. The two kept switching positions on the mat though, thrilling fans with the high-level technical work.
The momentum of the fight continued to switch from second to second as Siver and Rosa traded techniques on the mat in round three. After a stalemate that was anything but stale in terms of action, the two stood with less than two minutes left, and Siver finally landed the move that pushed him into the lead, as he scored with his trademark spinning back kick. Rosa acknowledged the shot with a nod, but it was clear that he was hurt as Siver followed up and got him back to the canvas just before the final horn. When it was over, the crowd roared, and rightfully so.
With the win, Siver, who was returning from a nine-month suspension for a failed drug test, improves to 22-9 with 1 NC; Rosa, who was replacing Taylor Lapilus, falls to 9-1.
PENDRED vs. UMALATOV
Cathal Pendred didn’t put together a come from behind classic in his return to welterweight against Gasan Umalatov, but he did make it 2-0 in the Octagon with a close, split-decision victory.
Scores were 29-28 twice, and 28-29 for Pendred, now 15-3-1; Umalatov falls to 15-4-1.
Pendred put in a solid round of work in the first, and “work” was the key word, as he simply did more than Umalatov. The Russian did jar Pendred a couple times with his strikes, but his work rate just wasn’t high enough to earn him the round.
Umalatov began pressuring Pendred in the second, drawing an even higher work rate from the Irishman, but midway through the round, Umalatov dropped Pendred with a right hand. It looked like lights out, but the resilient former Ultimate Fighter competitor shook the cobwebs off, got back to his feet and went back to work.
The third was a war of nerves, with neither able to pull ahead decisively, leaving the fight in the hands of the judges.
JOTKO vs. TROENG
Polish middleweight prospect Krzysztof Jotko bounced back from the lone loss of his career, drilling out an impressive three-round shutout victory over Sweden’s Tor Troeng.
Scores were 30-27 twice, and 30-26.
Jotko’s anti-grappling kept Troeng from getting the bout to the mat in the first round, outside of a brief early takedown, and on the feet, the Orneta native dominated the action against the popular Swede.
Matters only got worse for Troeng in the second, as Jotko bloodied his face and pounded away with a full arsenal of strikes, all the while avoiding the takedown attempts of “The Hammer.”
Troeng continued to gamely go after Jotko in the final frame in an attempt to put the fight on the canvas, but Jotko refused to play that game, even scoring his own takedown in the final minute to put an exclamation mark on his hard-earned victory.
With the win, Jotko upped his record to 15-1; Umea’s Troeng falls to 16-7-1.
TAISUMOV vs. BANDEL
Lightweight prospect Mairbek Taisumov picked up another win for the Tiger Muay Thai crew, joining Zubaira Tukhugov in the winner’s circle with a first-round finish of newcomer Marcin Bandel.
Bandel (13-3), a Polish submission artist, looked good on the feet as the bout began, but Taisumov (22-5) took his time, and after a lightning-fast right hand caught Bandel flush and dropped him, the end came seconds later, with referee Kristian Hacklou calling a stop to the fight at 1:01 of the opening frame.
TUKHUGOV vs. CHAVEZ
Grozny’s Zubaira Tukhugov made it two for two in the Octagon, winning the featherweight opener over Ernest Chavez via first-round TKO
After a tentative start, Tukhugov cut Chavez over the right eye and began pecking away with sharp counters. The right hand was a particularly effective weapon, and eventually, the American was dropped to the mat. Tukhugov pounced, and while Chavez was able to rise, another barrage of shots put Chavez down a second time, with referee Bobby Rehman halting the bout at the 4:21 mark.
With the win, Tukhugov improved to 17-3; Chavez, who was making his featherweight debut, falls to 8-2.
