22 year-old Max Holloway closed off the preliminary portion of the UFC Fight Night 34 card on Saturday night with a stoppage over Will Chope.
The event was held at the Marina Bay Sands in Marina Bay, Singapore and broadcast via UFC Fight Pass.
Holloway (pictured right) went into the fight on the back of two losses in 2013 and was keen to get his UFC career back on track in this, his seventh outing in the Octagon. Chope though was able to cause Holloway some early problems by utilising his superior reach advantage before the Hawaiian Holloway was able to adjust and start finding his marks with punches. Holloway came close to finishing the fight late in the first round. As the second round began though, Holloway took off where he ended the first and swarmed on Chope, ultimately dropping him with hooks before ending the contest with punches on the ground. Referee stopped the action 2:27 into the second round. Holloway moves his professional record to 8-3 (UFC 4-3), while Chope’s 14 fight win streak came to an end in what was his UFC debut.
Also on the preliminary card, Quinn Mulhern (18-3) dropped his second UFC bout in as many attempts, with a lacklustre performance against Kenpo-Karate practitioner Katsunor Kukuno (21-5, 2 draws). Mulhern attempted numerous takedowns, but chose to drop back and attempt to pull guard, allowing the Japanese fighter Kukuno to control the fight from the bottom, while defending the submission attempts from Mulhern. The top position paid of for Kikuno, as Mulhern struggled to find an answer. All three judged awarded the decision to Kikuno 30-27. With the debut UFC win, Kikuno wins his sixth straight career fight.
A 2-0 record would not usually cut it to make it in the UFC, however the promotion needed a local town favourite and Royston Wee got the call to face Dave Galera (5-0). Wee made his intentions clear and immediately was able to secure an early takedown in the first two rounds where he was able to control the fight and in the process opening up a cut over the right eye of Galera. Filipino Galera came out aggressive in the third but his aggressiveness worked against him as he was again taken down. On the ground, Galera landed an up-kick to a grounded opponent and was penalised a points deduction. In the end all three judges awarded the fight to Wee, 30-26 who takes his professional record to 3-0.
In his UFC debut, Austrian fighter Mairbek Taisumov put on a dominant performance against fellow UFC debutant Tae Hyun Bang. Throughout the fight, Bang took centre of the octagon, however Taisumov stayed composed, landing the more significant shots from the outside and controlling the action when it did go to the ground. In the end, all three judges scored it to Taisumov 30-27. Mairbek has spent time training at Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand recently and with the win moves his professional record to 21-4. Bang loses his fourth fight in his last six to drop to 16-7.
Dustin Kimura was stumbled with a straight jab, however the Hawaiian was able to take the fight to the ground, where he locked up the armbar submission to force his opponent Jon delos Reyes to tap. The end came only 2:13 into the fight. Kimura takes his professional record to 11-1 (UFC 2-1), while Reyes drops to 7-3 (UFC 0-1). It was Kimura’s 8th career win by submission.
In the opening fight of the night, Hawaiian fighter Russell Doane defended a triangle for the majority of the first round before rocking his opponent in the second round and ultimately submitting the BJJ Black Belt with a triangle choke in the dying seconds of the round. Issa went out cold at 4:59 of round two. With the win, Doane moves his professional record to 12-3, while Leandro Issa drops to 11-4. Both were making their UFC debut.
Preliminary Card Results
- Max Holloway def Will Chope via TKO (Punches), Rd 2, 2:27
- Katsunori Kikuno def Quinn Mulhern via Decision (Unanimous – 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Royston Wee def Dave Galera via Decision (Unanimous – 30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
- Mairbek Taisumov def Tae Hyun Bang via Decision (Unanimous – 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Dustin Kimura def Jon delos Reyes via Submission (Armbar), Rd 1, 2:13
- Russell Doane def Leandro Issa via Technical Submission (Triangle Choke), Rd 2, 4:59
