An MMA veteran threw 25 strikes in one unmissable UFC sequence but his opponent recovered, then reacted by nailing low blows
- Leonardo Santos defeated Roman Bogatov in a UFC 251 preliminary bout Saturday.
- But the 40-year-old Brazilian by no means had it easy, as he was seemingly exhausted after throwing more than 103 strikes in the second round.
- At one point midway through the fight, Santos threw 25 unanswered strikes — a fight highlight which you can watch below.
- Perhaps knowing he was behind on the scorecards, and tired himself, Bogatov began fouling in the third round and was eventually deducted two points by the referee.
FIGHT ISLAND — A 40-year-old mixed martial artist called Leonardo Santos threw 25 strikes in one sequence during his lightweight match against Roman Bogatov at UFC 251 on Saturday, July 11.
The sequence included overhand rights which kept smacking the jaw, hook shots, knees for good measure, and a head kick which could be heard from press row at the Flash Forum in "Fight Island," Abu Dhabi.
There was no let-up from the Brazilian and so all Bogatov could do was turn his back on the man attacking him, before wilting to the floor — a position from which he eventually recovered.
In the second round alone, Santos threw 103 strikes in five minutes, landing 75, with 43 of those considered significant.
He considerably out-worked Bogatov who landed only 13 significant strikes in return, was slapped in the face by his corner in between rounds, and then started committing flagrant fouls in the third.
Though neither fighter appeared high on energy in the final round, there may be little justification for groin shots, as Bogatov sent a kneecap to Santos' cup, leaving him grimacing and needing four of the five recovery minutes granted.
Moments later, Bogatov fouled again — an illegal knee.
A theme for "Fight Island" had perhaps taken hold as an earlier fighter, Zhalgas Zhumagulov, also felt what it was like to get fouled as he was kicked in the crotch by his opponent Raulian Paiva.
Though Paiva escaped punishment, the referee in the Santos vs. Bogatov lightweight match, Marc Goddard, was not as leniant and he deducted two points from Bogatov's score.
"What are you doing?" Goddard said to the fouling fighter.
At the fight's finish, a unanimous decision with scores of 29-26 across the board from the Octagonside judges was awarded to Santos.
Watch the 25-strike sequence here:
Or here if you're in a different region:
With the win, his sixth in a row, Santos advanced his record to 18 wins (three knockouts, nine submissions, five decisions, and one disqualification), against three losses.
Earlier in the card, a British fighter called Davey Grant opened "Fight Island," which is a two week and four-event residency inside a quarantined area of Yas Island, with a left hook knockout so horrific it left his opponent motionless on the canvas.
After Grant's highlight-reel KO, Karol Rosa out-pointed Vanessa Melo in a bantamweight bout, Paiva defeated Zhumagulov in a close fight, and Marcin Tybura decisioned Maxim Grishin.
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