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Salkilld shocks Dariush

In the lightweight co-main event, hometown star Quillan Salkilld (12-1, 5-0 UFC) weathered an early storm from Beneil Dariush (23-8-1, 17-8-1 UFC) and finished the veteran with punches in the first round. Dariush rocked Salkilld with a lead left hand early in the fight and he maintained a standing back clinch until Salkilld eventually broke free. Seconds later, Salkilld charged at Dariush with looping lefts and rights. He dropped Dariush and landed two more punches on the ground for an impressive TKO stoppage at the 3:29 mark of Round 1. With the key win, Salkilld should now crack the top 15 in the competitive lightweight rankings. He has not lost a fight since his February 2021 pro debut.

Erceg outstrikes Elliott

Former flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg (14-4, 5-3 UFC) moved closer to championship contention with a well-deserved unanimous decision victory over Tim Elliott (21-14-1, 10-12) in a spirited bout. Erceg employed a similar strategy in all three rounds and he used crisp jabs to set up right hands that repeatedly landed on Elliott’s jaw. For his part, Elliott used stance switches to land left hooks and he got a takedown into side control in the opening round. From then on, Erceg’s boxing was too much for the veteran "The Ultimate Fighter" winner, and he even took Elliott down into back control at one point. Erceg’s technical boxing gave him an advantage in the striking exchanges during the final round and all three judges scored the bout 29-28 in his favor. He has won back-to-back UFC bouts since suffering a three-fight losing skid that dropped him out of the title hunt.

Rahiki steamrolls Schmid

As expected, Marwan Rahiki (9-0, 2-0 UFC) faced very little resistance in his first-round TKO victory over late replacement Oliver Schmid (4-3, 0-1 UFC) at featherweight. Rahiki opened the action with front kicks to Schmid’s body early on and then established his boxing. He backed Schmid up with a combination and then floored him with an uppercut. As a dazed Schmid covered up, Rahiki landed more punches until the bout was stopped at the 2:47 mark of the opening round.

Pericic punishes Gaziev

Unlike the heavyweight bout that preceded it, the battle between Brando Pericic (7-1, 3-0 UFC) and Shamil Gaziev (14-3, 3-3 UFC) was a thrilling one for as long as it lasted. Pericic rocked Gaziev with punches in the first round, but Gaziev tied him up in a clinch and recovered. The fighters were separated and Gaziev hurt Pericic with an uppercut and a right hook. In the second round, Pericic snapped Gaziev’s head back with a pair of left-right combos and both men unloaded with big shots as they sought a finish. Pericic connected with a right hand that left Gaziev dazed, and he sent him crashing to the mat with a final uppercut for a knockout win at the 3:44 mark of Round 2. Pericic has knocked out five opponents in a row.

Sutherland smothers Tuivasa

Opening up the main card, Louie Sutherland (11-5, 1-2 UFC) made the most of a short-notice opportunity and easily won his heavyweight duel against Tai Tuivasa (14-10, 8-10 UFC), who has now dropped seven straight fights and mounted almost no offense at all tonight. Sutherland wisely took the fight to the ground in all three rounds, where he struck from the top in Tuivasa’s half-guard, in side control and in mount. Tuivasa did defend well by limiting the damage that Sutherland could inflict, but he didn’t do much else. Late in the final round, Tuivasa was gifted with a standup from referee Rich Mitchell. However, that did not help him, as Sutherland got Tuivasa down again and Tuivasa lost a point for an illegal knee. All three judges scored the fight 30-26 in favor of Sutherland for a unanimous decision victory that would seemingly, finally, spell the end of Tuivasa’s UFC career. For his part, Sutherland fought well on two weeks’ notice.

Rowston dominates Bryczek

Capping off the preliminary card, Cameron Rowston (15-3, 3-0 UFC) dominated Robert Bryczek (18-7, 1-2 UFC) on the ground for three rounds and cruised to an easy unanimous decision win at middleweight. Bryczek’s lone moment of success came in the first round when he landed a hard flurry of punches to Rowston’s midsection, but Rowston immediately took him down and battered him with punches and elbows. He put Bryczek on the mat and landed more strikes in the second round. After being taken down again in round three, Bryczek rolled for a kneebar attempt, but that allowed Rowston to take top position in side control and later in mount. He bloodied Bryczek with elbows just before the final bell, and all three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Rowston.

Tafa KOs Christian

Facing a must-win situation, Junior Tafa (7-5, 3-5 UFC) ended a two-fight losing skid in a big way by brutally knocking out Kevin Christian (9-4, 0-2 UFC) in the first round of their light heavyweight bout. Tafa went headhunting right away with punches, but Christian hurt him with a hard calf kick. Tafa recovered and he stunned Christian with a combination. Christian fell to the mat and Tafa pounced on him with vicious elbows that dribbled Christian’s head off of the canvas and rendered him unconscious at the 2:42 mark of Round 1.

Malkoun defeats overweight Meerschaert

In a would-be middleweight bout that became a 190-pound catchweight contest, Jacob Malkoun (10-3, 6-3 UFC) overcame submission attempts from an overweight Gerald Meerschaert (37-22, 12-14 UFC) and escaped with a unanimous decision win. Meerschaert pulled half-guard with a guillotine choke and used it to sweep into top position in the first round, where he stayed throughout. The second round was mostly uneventful and saw neither man commit to any sustained offense on the feet. Malkoun jabbed and landed a few right hooks in the final round, but Meerschaert pulled guard and swept into a mounted guillotine choke. Malkoun held on until the bell and all three judges scored the lackluster fight 29-28 in his favor.

Thicknesse decisions Morales

Colby Thicknesse (9-1, 2-1 UFC) survived a scare late in his bantamweight fight against veteran Vince Morales (16-11, 3-9 UFC) and eked out a unanimous decision victory. Thicknesse had Morales in all sorts of trouble in the first round by chaining together a guillotine choke, triangle choke and armbar, but Morales escaped each time and he kept the fight on the feet in the second round. Morales jabbed and Thicknesse answered back with body kicks. The final round was dominated by Morales, who badly hurt Thicknesse with a right hook and uppercut combo. Thicknesse dove at Morales’s legs and Morales held back control as time ticked down. The fight went to the scorecards and all three judges had it 29-28 for Thicknesse.

Schultz guillotines Johnston

Persistence paid off for Wesley Schultz (9-3, 1-1 UFC) in his middleweight duel against Ben Johnston (5-2, 0-1 UFC). After multiple failed takedown attempts in the opening two rounds, Schultz was punished with elbows to his face as Johnston racked up control time on top. Schultz pulled guard with a tight guillotine choke in the final round and Johnston escaped once. He could not escape from a second guillotine, however, and Schultz finally forced Johnston to tap out at the 1:50 mark of Round 3 for a comeback win.

Micallef edges Gorimbo

Welterweight prospect Jonathan Micallef (10-1, 3-0 UFC) extended his winning streak to five with a hard-fought split decision victory over Themba Gorimbo (14-7, 4-4 UFC), who faded after a strong start. Following a back-and-forth opening round, Gorimbo took Micallef’s back and trapped him in a body triangle during the second stanza. Micallef dominated the final round, however, and he scored with numerous body kicks and a spinning backfist. One judge scored the bout 29-28 in favor of Gorimbo, while the remaining two both had it 29-28 for Micallef.

Steele heel hooks Mar Fan

Opening up the card, Kody Steele (8-1, 1-1 UFC) spoiled the official UFC debut of RTU Season 4 winner Dom Mar Fan (9-3, 0-1 UFC) at lightweight. Steele took Mar Fan down in the opening minute and briefly held mount before a scramble led to Steele locking on an inverted heel hook for the tap at the 3:56 mark of Round 1.