The UFC Long Island prelims were pretty entertaining with four finishes across six matches, including two knockouts, one club and sub, and a TKO due to a fighter refusing to stand up.
Closing out this portion of the event, Punahele Soriano pulled off a sensational second round knockout of Dalcha Lungiambula. The finish came in round two when he delivered a nasty left hand that dropped Dalcha to one knee, and then proceeded to followup with more punches to get the KO. Not a bad way to bust a two-fight losing skid!
Before that, the UFC’s #13 ranked bantamweight, Ricky Simon, club and sub’d the #14 ranked, Jack Shore, with a right hand followed by an arm triangle in the second round. Simon was pressuring the whole time, but it was in the second round that he landed a right hand that dropped Shore, and then quickly jumped on an arm triangle to get the finish. Shore was undefeated coming into this one, but Simon took his O with authority. This makes five wins in a row for Simon, who called out “Sugar” Sean O’Malley in his post-fight interview.
Bill Algeo overcame an early triangle attempt in the first to rally and batter Herbert Burns to ultimately get a second round TKO. Burns locked up his sub attempt early in the fight, but Algeo made all the right moves to escape. From there, it seemed as though the soul of Burns had left him, and Algeo dropped plenty of ground strikes. The doctor actually came in to check on Burns before the start of round-two, and it wasn’t long into the second round where Herbert refused to stand up and lost the fight.
The first finish of the day came at the hands of the UFC’s #15 ranked middleweight, Dustin Jacoby. In the opening round, he cracked Da Un Jung with a blistering right cross that sent Jung flying backwards to the floor. Jung was dazed and confused, and the referee stepped in to prevent any further damage from being dished out. Dustin has not lost an MMA fight since 2015, and extends his unbeaten streak to a highly impressive nine straight.
Dustin Stoltzfus leaned on his ground game to earn a unanimous nod over Dwight Grant. After dropping the opening round, Stoltzfus was able to get the fight down to the mat and do enough damage to take the second and third rounds. This dub breaks up a three-fight losing skid for Dustin.
Opening up the show, Emily Ducote made good on her UFC debut with a unanimous decision over the veteran in Jessica Penne. Emily battered the lead leg of Jessica with calf kicks, consistently inflicting damage and reducing mobility throughout the fight. This was a pretty clean win for Ducote, who looks to make a splash in the UFC’s strawweight division.
**See complete results below
Prelims:
Punahele Soriano def. Dalcha Lungiambula by KO at :28 of round 2: Middleweight
Soriano came forward behind his punches right away, and even threatened with a takedown attempt. Lungiambula was backing up to the cage in a straight line, and would then attack once he got there. Lungiambula kicked out the leg of Soriano, and briefly took a front headlock position, but then broke back into open space. Soriano started to connect with his southpaw left hand, and Lungiambula responded with a takedown. He stayed attached to Soriano until the bell. Soriano connected with a massive left hand early in the second round that brought Lungiambula to one knee. Punahele followed up with a right hand that made Lungiambula go face down, and after a few followups that was a wrap.
Ricky Simon def. Jack Shore by submission (Arm triangle) at 3:28 of round 2: Bantamweight
Simon opened the match by attacking the calf, and then quickly closed the distance. He pressed Shore against the cage, but Shore did a great job of not hitting the deck. They broke off into open space, but it wasn’t very long before Simon shot back in. Shore was defending well, but Simon was the one being offensive. At the end of the round, Shore started to connect with his strikes from range.
The second round began and Simon went back to closing the distance. When he was on the inside, he was sneaking in body shots, while also hunting for takedown opportunities. He was able to get Shore down, but it lasted for all of about two-seconds. Shore went right back to his feet, but then Simon hit a beautiful level change to scoop up Jack and then carry him across the cage to slam him down. Shore got up quickly, but Simon landed a fierce right hand that wobbled him and sat him down. Simon then pounced on him and attacked with an arm triangle to get the tap.
Bill Algeo def. Herbert Burns by TKO at 1:50 of round 2: Featherweight
The fighters clinched up right away. Algeo went for the takedown, Burns ended up on top. Burns quickly locked up a triangle, but Algeo worked hard to defend every adjustment and escaped. From the top of full guard, Algeo started to punch away, clubbing Burns with damaging shots. Algeo opted to stand up, and Burns was extremely slow to get back to his feet. Algeo successfully hit a takedown, and finished up the round on top.
The doctor came in to check on Burns before the start of the second, and deemed Herbert fit to continue. The round started and Burns clinched up, but ended up on the bottom, nonetheless. Algeo stood above his opponent, and Burns started to look for a leg lock. Algeo escaped, and decided to stand back up, but Burns would not stand up and the referee called it off.
Dustin Jacoby def. Da Un Jung by KO at 3:13 of round 1: Light Heavyweight
Jacoby pressed the action right away, followed by both fighters exchanging leg kicks. Jung started to lead the dance, pushing Jacoby backwards behind a bunch of feints. Then out of nowhere, Jacoby unloaded a massive right cross behind a jab that flattened Jung. Jung sat up and the referee jumped in and stopped it before any followup strikes were allowed.
Dustin Stoltzfus def. Dwight Grant by unanimous decision (29-28 x3): Middleweight
Stoltzfus pressed forward right away, with Grant looking to counter with hefty punches. Grant was able to stuff the first takedown attempt from Stoltzfus, and got right back to scoring with powerful single punches. It was a solid round for Grant.
The second round saw Stoltzfus do much better on the feet. He began to deploy some strikes of his own, but Grant was still the heavier hitter. Stoltzfus was able to close the distance this round, and managed to snag a takedown against the cage. With just over a minute to work, Stoltzfus moved to the back. He threatened with an RNC, and when that wasn’t there he opted to drop some punches. He even scored a couple of slams from the mount.
Stoltzfus took the center in the final frame, applying pressure to Grant. The first half of the round saw some back and forth on the feet, but around the midpoint Stoltzfus picked up Grant and scored a gorgeous slamming takedown. He maintained control, and then took full mount with low time to land a few elbows before the bell.
Emily Ducote def. Jessica Penne by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-29 x2): Strawweight
Ducote commanded the cage right away. She was attacking the calf of Penne with leg kicks, which were going unchecked. When it came to the boxing, Penne was pumping out here jab, but Ducote was landing with the more meaningful blows. The calf kicks continued to fly in the second act, prompting Penne to try and close the distance, but Ducote was wise to it. Ducote continued to pressure Penne, remaining in control and not really giving an inch.
The calf of Penne was really bothering her in the third round. She was starting to hobble around, and the swelling getting pretty bad. Ducote aggressively went after it some more, and started to bring her right hand over the top. Credit to Penne for hanging tough on one leg, and continuing to fire back, but this was all Ducote.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism