Prelim Results | UFC 298: Volkanovski vs Topuria

While Lee hit a lovely suplex in the early part of the opening round, it was the only truly significant offence she managed until a spinning backfist and late triangle choke attempt in the third. Maverick settled in, landing heavy left hands over the back half of the first, mixed in her grappling in the second, and kept “KGB” at bay with timely striking for the majority of the final round until things got a little nervy in the final moments.

The judges were tasked with rendering the final verdict, and all three had Maverick coming out ahead. That’s now consecutive victories and wins in four of five for the talented 26-year-old, who should find herself facing another ranked opponent next time out.

“The Welsh Gangster” had to shake out some cobwebs early in the first after eating some big shots, but from that point forward, he was in complete control. Elliott leaned on his grappling throughout, dragging Woodburn to the canvas and controlling him there for long stretches in each round, landing shots and looking for submissions.

Although the scorecards were needed, the outcome was never in doubt, as Elliott earned the nod from all three officials, registering his first UFV victory and the 10th win of his professional career.

Working behind his superior length and considerable speed advantage, Barlow was the more active and more effective of the two for much of the first two rounds. In the third, the UFC rookie came out hunting and then clipped Quinlan as he came forward, beginning the extended finishing sequence that culminated in a standing stoppage for the newcomer.

That’s now eight wins in as many appearances for the Memphis native, who has earned stoppages in six of victories to date. Get ready to see a lot of entertaining performances from Barlow going forward.

The light heavyweights wasted little time getting started, throwing long power shots from the outset, with each man finding a home for quality shots. As they come together in the pocket and traded, Zhang rocked Ribeiro with a right hand and put him down with a quick left behind it.

“Mountain Tiger” has earned 17 wins and garnered stoppages in every one of them, and looks to be a fu addition to the 205-pound ranks going forward. Just 25 years old, Zhang is one to keep an eye on as he continues to develop and improve.

The bantamweight spent the first round in a cat-and-mouse battle on the canvas, with Vera hunting for leg locks and Nakamura defending, countering, and looking to land shots in between. Over the next two rounds, the 28-year-old Road to UFC winner was able to shut down Vera’s game a little more easily, extracting himself from submission looks and trying to score as best as possible against the sticky, tricky TUF alum.

For the second straight fight, Nakamura garnered the win on the scorecards, getting the nod in all three rounds from all three officials to elevate his record to 9-0. A pro for less than three years, “Hybrid” remains one of the more intriguing ascending talents on the roster.

A late switch from elder brother Justin to younger brother Junior made no difference to the Brazilian veteran, who chopped out the lead leg of the Australian heavyweight in the opening half of the first round. It took until early in the second round for De Lima to finally put him away, but this was a punishing performance and devastating reminder of the value of investing in low kicks.

This was an excellent bounce-back win for “Pezao,” who has won five of his last seven inside the Octagon, and solidified his place in the Top 15 in the process.

The Brazilian attacked her opponent’s lead leg in the opening half of the first round, cutting her down with a series of heavy kicks before getting taken down and control on the canvas. In the second, she had Dern on the ropes after a counter left hand kicked off a flurry of heavy shots that left the former BJJ world champion busted up.

Dern came out aggressively in the third, controlling much of the frame by forcing Lemos to defend submission looks, but it wasn’t enough to swing the fight in her favor. With the win, the recent title challenger Lemos moves to 8-2 in the division and kicks off her 2024 campaign with a crucial victory to close out the prelims.