Road To UFC Results | Season 5 Opening Rounds: Day 2

Just a dominant showing in the grappling department from “Dr. Sleep,” who becomes the latest Road to UFC tournament winner to claim a victory inside the Octagon. This was a perfect way to close out two days of exciting action to open Season 5 and an emotional win for the popular Chinese strawweight.

The duo came out slinging big shots at one another before engaging in a scramble that left in a precarious position along the fence. With Yin’s left leg elevated and the Chinese fighter standing on his right foot with his left hand posted on the canvas, Batbayar blasted him with a legal knee to the face that landed flush and sent Yin to the canvas. From there, the follow up blows came quickly and referee Jason Herzog stepped in.

Just a brilliant understanding of the position and rules from Batbayar, who recognized Yin wasn’t down and took full advantage. He becomes the first Mongolian fighter to earn a Road to UFC tournament win and couldn’t have launched himself onto the roster with a more impressive victory.

Jiniushiyue, who made it to the finals in Season 2 before dropping a split decision loss to eventual tournament winner DongHun Choi in the opening round of Season 3, was able to edge out his Japanese foe in various key spots throughout the contest, landing the more telling blows in space, hitting timely reversals and winning key scrambles when the two hit the canvas, sealing things with a cutting elbow late in the contest. Oda was game from start to finish, working diligently to topple the veteran, but struggled to generate real impact on the feet or find real purchase on a submission attempt.

When the scorecards were collected and totalled, it was Jinuishiyue who landed on the happy side of the verdict. This was a tremendously entertaining clash the whole way through, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Oda garner another opportunity of some kind in the future after this kind of effort.

Moments into the opening round, the fight between Farida Abdueva and Feng Xiaocan was paused when the Chinese fighter complained about being poked in the right eye. Replays appeared to show Abdueva connecting with a clean punch, her knuckles causing the discomfort for Feng, who was deemed unable to continue, resulting in the contest being waved off.

The bout was declared a no contest, and it will be interesting to see how things are handled going forward. A rematch feels like the most prudent decision, but you have to feel for Abdueva, who seemingly should have advanced with a TKO win.

Update: Per the rules of the tournament, in the result of a No Contest, officials are able to determine which competitor should advance and Abdueva was selected to move forward, as UFC officials believed the punch that paused the action was legal and the bout should have been ruled a TKO. Abdueva will now face BoHyun Park in the semifinals.

Late in the broadcast, it was announced that upon review, the result had been changed from a No Contest to a first-round TKO win for Abdueva.

Larcinese got the better of things in the opening round, stinging Arimoto with a couple clean strikes, using his movement and pace to open an early lead. But his Japanese counterpart seemed to find his reads and rhythm from then on, having more success and turning into the aggressor, forcing Larcinese to work while moving backwards much more, making things difficult to score.

When the tens and nines were added up, it was Larcinese that came out on the happy side of the split decision victory, his ability to mix things up and win the close moments in the second round earning him the win. With the victory, Larcinese remains undefeated and advances to face Takaya Suzuki in the next round.

The 30-year-old, who defeated two-time UFC champ Zhang Weili in their shared MMA debuts more than a dozen years ago, was able to prevent Matsuda was using her movement and wrestling throughout, cutting off the cage and battering the former baseball player with a diverse array of shots to all targets. While Matsuda continued looking for opportunities, Meng continued to dictate the terms of engagement and control the action.

When the scorecards were collected and totaled, it was Meng that came out ahead, earning a clean sweep of the scorecards to secure a return to the win column and passage to the next round of the competition. With the victory, the 3o-year-old veteran will face off with Japanese prospect Machi Fukuda in the semis later this year.

The talented duo went toe-to-toe for the opening four minutes and change of the contest, with Suzuki wobbling Boldbaatar with a left hook midway through before getting stung in return. Late in the contest, the Japanese fighter dropped his Mongolian opponent with a left to the body, chasing him to the canvas and pounding out the finish.

The former Fury FC champ is looking to follow in the footsteps of teammates Rinya and Keiichiro Nakamura and is one step closer to doing so after this one. Just 21 years old, Suzuki profiles as someone we’ll hear from in the future one way or another.

The judges were called upon to determine the victor, and two of the three officials saw in the same, awarding Park the split decision win and a trip to the semifinals later this year. That’s now five straight wins for “The Rush,” who advanced to 9-3 overall with the victory.

The Japanese flyweight, who earned a non-tournament win as a 19-year-old during Season 1, took Baluyot to the canvas straight away, and while the Filipino fighter tried to re-guard while holding onto an ill-advised guillotine attempt, Uchida continued flowing and found the back. From there, it was academic.

Just a brilliant effort from the 23-year-old, who trains alongside former flyweight tournament winner Rei Tsuruya. That’s now three straight wins and 10 submissions in 10 victories overall for the BLACKBELT JAPAN representative.

The former judoka was the clearly superior fighter from the outset, striking just enough early to set up opportunities to shift into her grappling, where she was in complete control. After taking Toktogonova to the canvas straight away to start the second, Fukuda unloaded a torrent of strikes, continuing to bash away until referee Vitor Ribeiro stepped in to halt the action.

This was an outstanding performance for the former Deep Jewels champ, who pushed her winning streak to seven with the victory. A bundle of personality in addition to being a clear prospect to watch, the 22-year-old “Kakutou Komachi” definitely has star potential.