Moreno stuns Smolka on main card

OLIVEIRA vs BROOKS

Brazil’s Alex Oliveira didn’t make weight for his lightweight bout against Will Brooks on Saturday, but in the UFC Fight Night co-main event at Moda Center in Portland, but he did pick up an important victory, taking advantage of a Brooks rib injury to punish his foe and score a third round TKO victory.

Much of the first three minutes of the fight were fought to a deadlock against the fence, with Brooks breaking that tie with a takedown. Oliveira got up quickly and the two resumed their clinch battle, much to the dismay of the crowd. Oliveira did get on the board in the closing moments of the round though, with some hard elbows and a guillotine choke attempt.

Early in round two, Brooks got another takedown and landed right in the mount, allowing him to get to work from a favorable position. Oliveira fired out of trouble and up to his feet, but Brooks took his back while they stood, nearly getting a choke before they broke and Oliveira delivered a takedown of his own. Brooks rose immediately but was put back down with under two minutes left. Brooks soon regained control when he took Oliveira’s back, but the round ended with the two locked in a stalemate against the fence.

Brooks’ ribs were obviously bothering him as round two ended, and early in the third, Oliveira went up high, scoring a flash knockdown with a right hand. After Brooks rose, the clinchwork continued, Oliveira working for a takedown which he got in the second minute. Brooks got up, but was grounded moments later, and this time, Oliveira closed the show with a series of unanswered strikes, prompting referee Herb Dean to intervene at the 3:30 mark.

With the win, Oliveira, who came into the fight overweight at 161.5 pounds, moves to 15-3-1 with 1 NC; Brooks falls to 18-2.
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OTTOW vs BURKMAN

Late replacement Zak Ottow made the most of his big opportunity in the Octagon, upsetting veteran Josh Burkman via split decision in their welterweight bout.

29-28 twice and 28-29 for Milwaukee’s Ottow, 14-3, who replaced Bobby Green; Utah’s Burkman falls to 29-14 with 1 NC.

Ottow had a good first round, as he mixed up his strikes nicely and refused to let Burkman get into a rhythm offensively. “The People’s Warrior” had a better round in the second, but the pace of the bout remained measured.

Burkman pushed off Ottow’s first takedown attempt in the third, but he wasn’t able to parlay that into anything significant until he scored a takedown with under two minutes left. Ottow got up fairly quickly and got his own takedown, nearly sinking in a choke just before the final horn.

MORENO vs SMOLKA

Mexico’s Brandon Moreno took a big chance by following up his brief stint on The Ultimate Fighter 24 with a short notice bout against No. 9-ranked flyweight contender Louis Smolka, but in less than a round, the 22-year-old Moreno made his mark, submitting Smolka and announcing his arrival to the UFC in style.

As the bout began, an early kick to the head by Smolka led to a takedown by Moreno, but Smolka stayed busy from his back until he was able to get back to his feet. Once up, Smolka sought his own takedown, but as he did, he got caught in a tight guillotine that produced the tap out and capped off one of the biggest upsets of 2016. 2:23

With the win, Tijuana’s Moreno improves to 12-3; Kapolei’s Smolka falls to 11-2.