UFC News & FeaturesUFC on ESPN 42 Prelims: Angela Hill Outclasses Emily Ducote to Unanimous Decision
Angela
Hill has rarely looked better under
Ultimate Fighting Championship employ.
Non-stop output from distance and a destructive clinch spurred “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 20 alum to a unanimous decision over fellow former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder Emily Ducote in the featured UFC on ESPN 42 prelim on Saturday at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Hill (15-12, 10-12 UFC) drew 30-27 nods from all three judges.
Ducote (12-7, 1-1 UFC) struggled and ultimately failed to make necessary adjustments. Hill piled up points with jabs, leg kicks and combination punching, all while crowding her counterpart with pressure from the center of the cage. She consolidated those efforts with stellar attacks from close-range, burying knees into Ducote’s midsection and firing elbows upstairs.
The setback was Ducote’s first since Nov. 1, 2019.
Former Strikeforce champion Clay Guida rebounded from his April 23 submission defeat to Claudio Puelles, as he eked out a split decision over the retiring Scott Holtzman in a three-round lightweight scrap. All three cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards, two of them siding with Guida (38-22, 18-16 UFC).
Holtzman (14-6, 7-6 UFC) enjoyed success in the first round with crackling leg kicks, dogged forward pressure and occasional right hands. None of it gave Guida pause. The Team Alpha Male representative executed multiple takedowns in the middle stanza and slowly but surely lured Holtzman into his kind of fight. It was another well-set trap from Guida. Holtzman shook the Illinois native with a chopping right hand in Round 3 but failed to maintain a manageable distance and conceded two more takedowns, along with valuable control time.
Guida, who turns 41 on Dec. 8, has posted three victories over his past five appearances.
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 12 finalist Michael Johnson won for the second time in three outings, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision over former British Association of Mixed Martial Arts champion Marc Diakiese in a three-round lightweight tilt. Scores were 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.
Diakiese (16-6, 7-6 UFC) kept the Sanford MMA mainstay guessing with a steady diet of left hands and kicks to the body and legs throughout the first round. However, he lost his way across the final 10 minutes. Johnson (21-18, 13-14 UFC) was busier and more consistent with his punches, connecting often to the body while commanding the center of the cage. Diakiese seemed more preoccupied with playing to the crowd and taunting his opponent than he did with getting something tangible going.
The loss snapped a two-fight winning streak for Diakiese.
Fight Ready representative Jonathan Pearce sliced and diced Darren Elkins to a unanimous decision in their three-round battle at 145 pounds. Pearce (14-4, 5-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 marks from the judiciary.
Elkins (27-11, 17-10 UFC) was his usual unrecognizable self by the time it was over, blood streaming from multiple cuts. Pearce tore into him with front kicks, standing elbows and a persistent jab but did real damage when the action spilled onto the floor. Ferocious ground-and-pound often punctuated by sharp elbows was his tool of choice. He opened a gnarly gash near Elkins’ left eye with a short elbow strike in the third round, and the wound was deep enough to warrant an examination from the cageside physician. While Pearce failed to net the stoppage he desired, his status as the better man was never in doubt.
Pearce has rattled off five consecutive wins.
A multi-pronged standup assault and tactical takedowns carried Syndicate MMA’s Natan Levy to a unanimous decision over Genaro Valdez in a three-round lightweight encounter. All three cageside judges scored it for Levy (8-1, 2-1 UFC): 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.
Valdez (10-2, 0-2 UFC) leaned on his durability and occasional punching combinations but suffered significant damage to his right foot on a checked kick, curbing some of his enthusiasm. Levy did his best work in the first round, where he landed a pair of knockdowns with a searing right hand and a well-hidden hook kick. The 2020 Dana White’s Contender Series graduate then secured multiple takedowns in Round 3, silencing any thought of a Valdez comeback.
Levy will enter his next assignment on the strength of back-to-back victories.
Pellegrino MMA product Francis Marshall took care of Marcelo Rojo with punches in the second round of their featherweight confrontation. Still winless inside the Octagon, the 34-year-old Rojo (16-9, 0-3 UFC) bowed out 1:14 into Round 2.
Marshall (7-0, 1-0 UFC) held his own in the standup for much of the first round, then turned the tide with a takedown. He floated from half guard to side control, elbowed the body and established his superiority. Early in the middle stanza, he touched off an exchange at close range and decked Rojo with a clean right hook. Marshall pounced with follow-up punches, showed no mercy and pounded the Rio Cuarto, Argentina, native unconscious.
The knockout was the first of Marshall’s seven-fight career.
Entram Gym prospect Yazmin Jauregui put away Istela Nunes with punches in the second round of their action-packed women’s strawweight pairing. The undefeated Jauregui (10-0, 2-0 UFC) brought it to a close with an accumulation of damage 4:06 into Round 2, recording her third finish in four appearances.
Nunes (6-4, 0-3 UFC) sat down the Combate Global veteran with a counter right hand inside the first minute, but her follow-up attacks proved unsuccessful. Jauregui recovered and rallied, backing down her opponent with unquenchable aggression. She had Nunes reeling more than once in the second round and eventually drove her to the canvas with a thudding right hand to the temple. Jauregui hovered over the American Top Team rep in a position of dominance and cut loose with a sustained barrage of elbows and punches until referee Keith Peterson had seen enough.
The 30-year-old Nunes has lost three bouts in a row.
Non-stop output from distance and a destructive clinch spurred “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 20 alum to a unanimous decision over fellow former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder Emily Ducote in the featured UFC on ESPN 42 prelim on Saturday at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Hill (15-12, 10-12 UFC) drew 30-27 nods from all three judges.
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Ducote (12-7, 1-1 UFC) struggled and ultimately failed to make necessary adjustments. Hill piled up points with jabs, leg kicks and combination punching, all while crowding her counterpart with pressure from the center of the cage. She consolidated those efforts with stellar attacks from close-range, burying knees into Ducote’s midsection and firing elbows upstairs.
The setback was Ducote’s first since Nov. 1, 2019.
Guida Stymies Retiring Holtzman
Former Strikeforce champion Clay Guida rebounded from his April 23 submission defeat to Claudio Puelles, as he eked out a split decision over the retiring Scott Holtzman in a three-round lightweight scrap. All three cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards, two of them siding with Guida (38-22, 18-16 UFC).
Holtzman (14-6, 7-6 UFC) enjoyed success in the first round with crackling leg kicks, dogged forward pressure and occasional right hands. None of it gave Guida pause. The Team Alpha Male representative executed multiple takedowns in the middle stanza and slowly but surely lured Holtzman into his kind of fight. It was another well-set trap from Guida. Holtzman shook the Illinois native with a chopping right hand in Round 3 but failed to maintain a manageable distance and conceded two more takedowns, along with valuable control time.
Guida, who turns 41 on Dec. 8, has posted three victories over his past five appearances.
Focused Johnson Outduels Diakiese
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 12 finalist Michael Johnson won for the second time in three outings, as he laid claim to a unanimous decision over former British Association of Mixed Martial Arts champion Marc Diakiese in a three-round lightweight tilt. Scores were 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.
Diakiese (16-6, 7-6 UFC) kept the Sanford MMA mainstay guessing with a steady diet of left hands and kicks to the body and legs throughout the first round. However, he lost his way across the final 10 minutes. Johnson (21-18, 13-14 UFC) was busier and more consistent with his punches, connecting often to the body while commanding the center of the cage. Diakiese seemed more preoccupied with playing to the crowd and taunting his opponent than he did with getting something tangible going.
The loss snapped a two-fight winning streak for Diakiese.
Surging Pearce Shreds Elkins
Fight Ready representative Jonathan Pearce sliced and diced Darren Elkins to a unanimous decision in their three-round battle at 145 pounds. Pearce (14-4, 5-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 marks from the judiciary.
Elkins (27-11, 17-10 UFC) was his usual unrecognizable self by the time it was over, blood streaming from multiple cuts. Pearce tore into him with front kicks, standing elbows and a persistent jab but did real damage when the action spilled onto the floor. Ferocious ground-and-pound often punctuated by sharp elbows was his tool of choice. He opened a gnarly gash near Elkins’ left eye with a short elbow strike in the third round, and the wound was deep enough to warrant an examination from the cageside physician. While Pearce failed to net the stoppage he desired, his status as the better man was never in doubt.
Pearce has rattled off five consecutive wins.
Levy Downs Game Valdez
A multi-pronged standup assault and tactical takedowns carried Syndicate MMA’s Natan Levy to a unanimous decision over Genaro Valdez in a three-round lightweight encounter. All three cageside judges scored it for Levy (8-1, 2-1 UFC): 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.
Valdez (10-2, 0-2 UFC) leaned on his durability and occasional punching combinations but suffered significant damage to his right foot on a checked kick, curbing some of his enthusiasm. Levy did his best work in the first round, where he landed a pair of knockdowns with a searing right hand and a well-hidden hook kick. The 2020 Dana White’s Contender Series graduate then secured multiple takedowns in Round 3, silencing any thought of a Valdez comeback.
Levy will enter his next assignment on the strength of back-to-back victories.
Promising Marshall Buries Rojo
Pellegrino MMA product Francis Marshall took care of Marcelo Rojo with punches in the second round of their featherweight confrontation. Still winless inside the Octagon, the 34-year-old Rojo (16-9, 0-3 UFC) bowed out 1:14 into Round 2.
Marshall (7-0, 1-0 UFC) held his own in the standup for much of the first round, then turned the tide with a takedown. He floated from half guard to side control, elbowed the body and established his superiority. Early in the middle stanza, he touched off an exchange at close range and decked Rojo with a clean right hook. Marshall pounced with follow-up punches, showed no mercy and pounded the Rio Cuarto, Argentina, native unconscious.
The knockout was the first of Marshall’s seven-fight career.
Unbeaten Jauregui Stops Nunes
Entram Gym prospect Yazmin Jauregui put away Istela Nunes with punches in the second round of their action-packed women’s strawweight pairing. The undefeated Jauregui (10-0, 2-0 UFC) brought it to a close with an accumulation of damage 4:06 into Round 2, recording her third finish in four appearances.
Nunes (6-4, 0-3 UFC) sat down the Combate Global veteran with a counter right hand inside the first minute, but her follow-up attacks proved unsuccessful. Jauregui recovered and rallied, backing down her opponent with unquenchable aggression. She had Nunes reeling more than once in the second round and eventually drove her to the canvas with a thudding right hand to the temple. Jauregui hovered over the American Top Team rep in a position of dominance and cut loose with a sustained barrage of elbows and punches until referee Keith Peterson had seen enough.
The 30-year-old Nunes has lost three bouts in a row.
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