The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC on ESPN 23: “Reyes vs Procházka.” The card was headlined by a pivotal light heavyweight matchup between top-ranked contenders Dominick “The Devastator” Reyes and Jiří “Denisa” Procházka.
In the featherweight co-feature, Giga “Ninja” Chikadze took on long-time UFC veteran “Killer” Cub Swanson. Elsewhere on the main card tonight, Ion “The Hulk” Cutelaba squared off against Dustin “The Hanyak” Jacoby at 205 pounds. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for UFC on ESPN 23.
Jiří “Denisa” Procházka vs Dominick “The Devastator” Reyes
Round 1:
Procházka struck first with a right hand and Reyes fired right back with a body kick. He landed another kick and an overhand left, which prompted Procházka to step in with a lunging uppercut. Reyes landed a straight left, but Procházka rocked him with a right hook. Reyes recovered quickly and he took Procházka down into half-guard. When Reyes tried to pass to mount, Procházka exploded out from the bottom and got back to his feet. He hurt Reyes again with another right hook and chased after him with more right hands. As Reyes recovered, he countered with a hard one-two, but that did not slow Procházka down. Big punches were exchanged and Reyes landed some powerful left hooks. He began to bleed from his nose, however, and Procházka landed a hard flurry before the bell. Excellent round. 10-9 Procházka.
Round 2:
Reyes got off to a good start in the second round by mixing up his strikes with body kicks and left hands. Procházka finally charged forward with a barrage of punches as Reyes’s damaged nose began to bleed heavily. Reyes circled away and landed counterpunches, then hurt Procházka with a straight left hand. Procházka tried for a takedown and Reyes trapped him in a guillotine choke on the way down. Procházka escaped into half-guard and Reyes got back to full guard. He threw elbows from the bottom and Procházka passed to half-guard again. He landed punches to the side of Reyes’s face as Reyes scrambled up to his feet. Procházka closed in with a lead elbow strike, then followed with a vicious spinning back elbow that dropped Reyes face-first to the canvas.
Winner: Jiří Procházka by KO (Spinning Back Elbow) at 4:29 of round two. He improves to 28-3-1.
Giga “Ninja” Chikadze vs “Killer” Cub Swanson
Round 1:
Chikadze started quickly with kicks to Swanson’s lead leg and body. Swanson closed in with punches, but Chikadze countered with a combination and a body kick. Seconds later, he landed a brutal kick to Swanson’s liver and Swanson winced in pain as he retreated and fell to the mat. Chikadze followed with punches as Swanson turtled on the ground and the fight was stopped.
Winner: Giga Chikadze by TKO (Kick To The Body & Punches) at 1:03 of round one. He improves to 13-2-0.
Ion “The Hulk” Cutelaba vs Dustin “The Hanyak” Jacoby
Round 1:
Jacoby landed two hard leg kicks and three jabs in the opening minute. Cutelaba charged at him with punches and took Jacoby down to a knee. Jacoby stood and Cutelaba took him back down multiple times. Cutelaba landed right hands each time Jacoby worked back to his feet. This process continued to happen and Cutelaba battered Jacoby with elbows to his jaw as Jacoby tried to stand against the cage. Cutelaba was relentless with his pressure and he continued to score with elbows and right hands. The fighters separated with 15 seconds remaining and Jacoby landed a jab-cross combination. 10-8 Cutelaba.
Round 2:
Cutelaba ducked into a head kick to begin the second round, but he was still able to drag Jacoby down and he resumed battering him against the cage. Jacoby managed to break free from the clinch and he landed a leg kick and a knee. Cutelaba landed a right hand and ate a series of jabs in return. Jacoby reversed a clinch and he landed a nice uppercut that forced a fatiguing Cutelaba to dive for his leg. Jacoby prevented him from scoring a takedown and he landed two leg kicks. Cutelaba replied with a pair of right hands and a one-two, but Jacoby backed him up with jabs. He landed more jabs and a leg kick, then hurt Cutelaba with a combination. Cutelaba tried in vain for a takedown and Jacoby kept him on the defensive in the final seconds. 10-9 Jacoby.
Round 3:
Jacoby landed a hard kick to the body early in round three and he remained effective with long jabs. Jacoby connected with a jab-hook combo and Cutelaba answered with a right hand. An overhand right snapped Cutelaba’s head back, and both of his eyes continued to swell up, but he continued to trade punches with Jacoby. A right hook and a flying switch knee scored for Jacoby, who held Cutelaba against the fence. Jacoby threw a knee to the body and then tried to take Cutelaba down, but Cutelaba pulled his leg free and he landed a quick right hook. Jacoby clinched once more and he dragged Cutelaba down shortly before the bell. 10-9 Jacoby.
Result: Split Draw (29-28 [Cutelaba], 29-28 [Jacoby], 28-28) after three rounds. Cutelaba moves to 15-6-1, 1 NC, while Jacoby is now 14-5-1.
Sean “Tarzan” Strickland vs Krzysztof Jotko
Round 1:
Jotko opened the action with an overhand left and both men landed leg kicks. The fighters traded kick-punch combos and Jotko landed another overhand left. He followed with a combination and a lead right hook. Strickland staggered Jotko momentarily with a right hand, then closed in with more power punches. A wounded Jotko shot in for a takedown and then circled away to his right. Strickland landed two more straight right hands and a long jab. Strickland remained the aggressor and he used his jab to set up a body kick, right hook combo. Late in the round, Strickland jumped forward and landed a Superman Punch that backed Jotko up once more. 10-9 Strickland.
Round 2:
Early in the second round, Jotko landed a right-left combo and he countered Strickland’s forward pressure with an overhand left. Strickland landed a straight right hand and two jabs. Jotko missed with a spinning attack and Strickland landed three punches while Jotko was facing away from him. Strickland snapped Jotko’s head back with a stiff jab, but Jotko responded with an overhand left and a body kick. Strickland ducked under a looping right hand from Jotko and he chopped away at Jotko’s right leg with kicks. Closer round. Still 10-9 Strickland.
Round 3:
Both fighters jumped in and out with kick-punch combos in the final round and Strickland continued to target Jotko’s lead leg with kicks. Jotko landed a solid overhand left and a lead right hook. Strickland jabbed and landed a front kick to the body. Both men landed right hooks at the same time and Jotko circled to his right. Strickland scored with a nice one-two and he snapped Jotko’s head back with a straight right. Body kicks were exchanged and Jotko attempted a spinning back elbow before the bell. 10-9 Strickland.
Winner: Sean Strickland by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 23-3-0.
Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili vs Cody “The Spartan” Stamann
Round 1:
Dvalishvili landed a nice combination and an uppercut early in the fight, then took Stamann down near the cage. The fighters returned to their feet and Dvalishvili countered a Stamann takedown attempt with an uppercut. Stamann continued to look for a takedown and Dvalishvili stayed on his feet. He tried for a takedown of his own, but Stamann took Dvalishvili’s back and Dvalishvili stood up. A hard jab scored for Stamann and Dvalishvili answered with a one-two. An overhand right landed for Dvalishvili and he circled side to side. Stamann landed a leg kick and he countered a late takedown from Dvalishvili with a guillotine choke. 10-9 Dvalishvili.
Round 2:
Stamann took Dvalishvili down right away in the second round and he landed punches to his kidneys as Dvalishvili worked back to his feet. After a brief Dvalishvili takedown, Stamann scored with a quick combination on the feet. Dvalishvili pulled guard with a tight guillotine choke, but Stamann freed his head and struck from the top. Dvalishvili scrambled up and he landed an overhand right. Stamann fought off two takedown attempts and he landed a right hand to the body. Dvalishvili picked him up and slammed him down into side control. Stamann exploded out from the bottom and stood up. Both men landed jabs and Dvalishvili took Stamann down with a headlock throw. He attempted a late guillotine choke as Stamann reversed into top position before the bell. Close, back-and-forth round. 10-9 Dvalishvili.
Round 3:
Quick punching combinations were exchanged in the second round and Dvalishvili avoided a spinning wheel kick attempt from Stamann. He grabbed on to Stamann’s leg and tried to push him down to the mat, but Stamann maintained his balance and he scored with a hard right hand. Dvalishvili missed badly with two wild hooks, but he landed an uppercut-hook combo as Stamann closed the distance. Stamann reversed a takedown into top position and he landed occasional punches, but Dvalishvili was much more active off of his back and he peppered Stamann with punches and hammerfists. Stamann stood up to escape from a leglock attempt and he was able to take Dvalishvili’s back in a scramble. Dvalishvili returned to his feet in the final seconds and threw punches to Stamann’s body. 10-9 Stamann, barely.
Winner: Merab Dvalishvili by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 13-4-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)