Ramsey Nijem ended the UFC Fight Night 35 preliminary card by doing something he didn’t do in 2013. Win a fight. In a lightweight encounter, Nijem defeated Justin Edwards with a unanimous decision in a fun, back-and-forth fight.
The first round of the bout played out close as Nijem did some work with leg kicks while Edwards found a home for a few punishing combinations. The fighters traded leg submissions to close out a period that could’ve been scored a 10-10 draw.
Nijem made it easier for the judges in the second frame as he introduced his wrestling to take down Edwards a few times. Edwards threatened with submissions off of his back, but the most significant submission attempt was a grueling rear-naked choke attempt by Nijem late in the round.
Edwards did a better job of fending off Nijem’s takedowns in the third frame, although he didn’t produce enough offense to steal the round from Nijem.
Nijem’s (8-4) UFC record has now surpassed .500 once again as it currently stands at 4-3. Edwards (8-4) has now lost three of his last four.
Silverio dominates Vallie-Flagg en route to decision win
A point deduction in the second round didn’t affect Elias Silverio who looked stellar as he earned a unanimous decision victory over Isaac Vallie-Flagg in a lightweight contest.
Silverio had a point taken away in the second round by referee Blake Grice due to an illegal knee that grazed the chin of Vallie-Flagg. Other than the rules infraction, Silverio was in complete control of the bout.
Silverio’s improvement in the striking department became evident in the first round as he beat up Vallie-Flagg with his right hand early and often. In the latter two rounds, Silverio decided to put his grappling to work as he took down Vallie-Flagg, attempted submissions, and landed damaging ground and pound.
The decision marks the fourth straight fight going the distance for Silverio (10-0). Vallie-Flagg (14-4-1)’s joint record inside the UFC and Strikeforce drops to 3-1 with the loss.
Smith beats Houston in decision fashion
In a fight where both fighters were tired half-way through, Trevor Smith took home a unanimous decision over Brian Houston in a middleweight affair.
Wrestling was the focus in the first round as Smith offset Houston’s lone takedown by controlling the majority of the frame by putting him on his back and advancing to dominant positions. Houston did a nice job of keeping the fight on the feet in the second frame, and meticulously out-struck Smith to win the round.
In the third period, Houston’s aggression was anemic. He allowed Smith to be the aggressor and victor of the frame as he was outpointed on the feet by his opponent.
The win was Smith’s (11-4) first in the UFC or Strikeforce since November 18th, 2011. While his second UFC outing lasted 30 times as long as his first, Houston (4-2) failed to secure his first UFC win.
Smolka upsets Ozkilic in UFC debut
After dropping a close first round, Louis Smolka was able to take him the latter two with an impressive display of striking against Alptekin Ozkilic en route to winning a unanimous decision.
Ozkilic was able to neutralize an effective striking output from Smolka in the first frame by using his wrestling to score takedowns and control a significant portion of the period.
The fight swayed in Smolka’s favor in the second as he was able to do a better job of defending Ozkilic’s takedowns and landing strikes, especially with a flurry of knees inside the clinch. The third round played out like the second, but Smolka ended the round in dominate fashion with a brabo choke attempt and a multitude of ground and pound punches from full mount.
Smolka’s (7-0) win was his first fight in the UFC and the first time one of his fights went all three rounds. Ozkilic (9-2) will now have to return to the drawing board as his streak of four wins has been interrupted.
Pichel earns decision thanks to wrestling
TUF alumn Vinc Pichel put his wrestling on display in a lightweight fight against Garrett Whiteley that saw him earn a unanimous decision.
All three judges gave each round to Pichel. Throughout the entire fight, Pichel did a fantastic job of controlling where the fight took place with several takedowns. While Whiteley did manage to be a bit productive off of his back – most notable a brabo choke submission attempt in the first frame, the clear victor of the bout was Vinc Pichel.
A lay-off that lasted over a year didn’t seem to affect Pichel (8-1), who last fought on December 15th, 2012. The loss regresses Whiteley’s (7-2) UFC record to 0-2, placing him in jeopardy of being cut.
Dariush impresses in UFC debut
24 year-old lightweight prospect Beneil Dariush wasted little time in his UFC debut against Charlie Brenneman as he submitted Brenneman with a rear-naked choke in under two minutes.
The finishing sequence began when Dariush rocked his opponent with a vicious left that put Brenneman on all fours. As Brenneman attempted to recover with a takedown attempt, Dariush took the back of Brenneman and locked on the fight-concluding choke.
The submission win was the fourth in the Dariush’s (7-0) career and his sixth consecutive finish. Brenneman’s (19-6) four fight win streak that earned him another shot in the UFC was snapped with the loss.
UFC Fight Nigh 35 Preliminary Card Results
Ramsey Nijem def. Justin Edwards via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Elias Silverio def. Isaac Vallie-Flagg via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Trevor Smith def. Brian Houston via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Louis Smolka def. Alptekin Ozkilic via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Vinc Pichel def. Garett Whiteley via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Beneil Dariush def. Charlie Brenneman via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:45