Yair Rodriguez and Jeremy Stephens on Saturday carried the Ultimate Fighting Championship banner into Mexico, as they headlined UFC Fight Night 159 before a crowd of 10,112 inside Mexico City Arena. While there were a number of noteworthy performances at the event, five stood out.
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UFC Fight Night 159
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1. Steven Peterson
The Fortis MMA export cut down The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 winner Martin Bravo with a spinning backfist in the second round of their featherweight showcase. Peterson drew the curtain 91 seconds into Round 2. Bravo pushed a breakneck pace and controlled a majority of the standup exchanges in the first round, incorporating a pair of takedowns for good measure. Peterson waited for a mistake and capitalized to the fullest extent. He countered a spinning backfist from his adversary with one of his own, the punch impacting on Bravo’s exposed chin. The Entram Gym representative froze, collapsed and hit the canvas supine and unconscious.
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2. Kyle Nelson
Nelson disposed of The Ultimate Fighter Latin America season two semifinalist Marco Polo Reyes with a powerful standing elbow, an overhand right and follow-up punches in the first round of their undercard clash at 145 pounds. A still upright Reyes succumbed to blows 1:36 into Round 1, losing for the third time in as many appearances. Nelson drew the Entram Gym representative into the clinch, pushed him to the fence and created enough space to land the elbow. The sudden strike stunned “El Toro” and opened a significant cut on his left eyelid. Nelson then fired the overhand right, which appeared to have Reyes out on his feet and in no condition to adequately defend himself. After a few more sweeping punches, the job was done.
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3. Angela Hill
The former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder took care of promotional newcomer Ariane Carnelossi with a surgical elbow strike in the third round of their preliminary women’s strawweight battle. Carnelossi bowed out 1:56 into Round 3. Hill met aggression with precision, as she greeted the muscular Brazilian with knees, elbows and clean counterpunches. Carnelossi turned up the heat in the middle stanza, backed up the Alliance MMA rep with power punches and gained some traction. However, in the third round, Hill unleashed a downward elbow along the cage that resulted in a diagonal gash above her counterpart’s right eyebrow. Soon after, the cageside physician examined the cut and deemed Carnelossi unfit to continue.
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4. Paul Craig
The onetime British Association of Mixed Martial Arts champion submitted Vinicius Moreira Castro with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their undercard confrontation at 205 pounds. Castro conceded defeat 3:19 into Round 1. Craig brushed aside a loose single-leg takedown attempt from the Brazilian, slammed two knee strikes into his face on the break and then flurried with punches. Soon after, Castro surrendered his back and yielded to the choke. The submission was the 11th of Craig’s career but his first by rear-naked choke.
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5. Sergio Pettis
The Roufusport standout made a triumphant return to the UFC’s resurrected flyweight division and captured a unanimous decision over Tyson Nam in the featured prelim. All three judges scored it 30-27 for Pettis. Nam landed at times but too often operated from a single-strike approach. Pettis answered with jabs, inside leg kicks and even a side kick to the face, all while minimizing danger against the heavy-handed Hawaiian. In the third round, he exploited Nam’s increasing desperation, countered effectively and snuck in a front kick to the face.
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