UFC 251 Early Prelims Results and Analysis

UFC 251 Early Prelims results from Fight Island in Yas, Abu Dhabi saw eight competitors battle for higher placement and employment.

Bantamweights: Martin Day vs. Davey Grant

Round one began with Davey Grant circling and landing the more effective strikes before Martin Day scored a right hand knockdown. Shaking off ring rust, Day worked from a tighter stance until Grant hoisted and grounded his opponent as the first stanza concluded.

Round two saw Grant load and land exaggerated bolo punches before again depositing Day to the canvass. A spinning back kick put Grant down with one second remaining after the TUF 18 winner leapt with no clear intent.

After trading looping shots, the volume work of Davey Grant paid fight-ending dividends at (2:40) of round three. The Brit collected his first UFC finish in a matchup he mostly controlled. Martin Day (8-4) suffered his second career TKO loss and is winless in UFC contests.

Winner: Davey Grant by knockout

Bantamweights: Vanessa Melo (10-8) vs. Karol Rosa (13-3)

The longer Rosa used volume kicks, punches and wrestling to exhibit early class over Melo. Round two saw more of the same, but with Rosa landing her takedown earlier and then dropping relentless work from side control to highlight another dominant frame. Round three brought continued Rosa striking disparity, though Vanessa Melo showed a bit more aggression and held off Rosa’s earnest takedown attempts. Overall, Karol Rosa outlanded Vanessa Melo 159 to 85 while earning unanimous decision victory. Rosa is 2-0 within Octagon walls while Melo has dropped three straight.

Winner: Karol Rosa by Unanimous Decision

Flyweights: Zhalgas Zhumagulov (13-4) vs. Raulian Paiva (20-3)

Coming in well over the Flyweight limit, the bigger and longer Paiva controlled range while landing hard kicks to punctuate round one. Zhumagulov did end the first frame with two takedowns, but overall Paiva’s work looked superior.

Round two of their tense battle saw the Zhazak land repeated leg kicks as Paiva moved forward. Nearly even in significant strikes, Zhumagulov landed a takedown late that drew the round close.

After absorbing repeated third frame low blows from Paiva, debuting Zhumagulov took a surprising loss after outlanding his opponent 73-56 and scoring two takedowns while remaining upright all fight. With the disputed victory, Raulian Paiva has won two straight. Forward pressure and aggression impressed the judges more than takedowns and lands in this 125 pound encounter.

Winner: Raulian Paiva by Unanimous Decision

Heavyweights: Marcin Tybura (19-6) vs. Maxim Grishin (30-8-2)

Without much happening at range, decidedly larger Tybura pressed matters cageside. From there, the true heavyweight drug Grishin down after minutes of pummeling. That takedown was the opening frame’s brightest work.

Round two action underwhelmed as Tybura smothered his man against the fence before hitting another last-second takedown. However methodical, the Poland native’s strategy added another tally to his scorecard.

Tybura shed his plodding manner during the final five minutes while bodylocking and pounding “Maximus” for three solid minutes until the bell.

With the win, Marcin Tybura established consecutive wins for the first time since mid 2017. Grishin took his first loss in ten fights.

Winner: Marcin Tybura by Decision