UFC Fight Night 89 Prelims Results: Saggo Edges Out Silva

It’s once again fight day here at LowKickMMA, and the talent on display tonight (Saturday, June 18th, 2016) will come in the form of UFC Fight Night 89. Headlining the card are Rory MacDonald vs. Stephen Thompson, but there’s a whole bunch of great fights also taking place on the preliminary section of the card.

Jason Saggo (11-2) vs. Leandro Silva (19-2-1 1NC) in a lightweight bout closed the UFC Fight Night 89 preliminary card on Fox Sports 1. In round 1, Saggo took him down and got on top in half guard. Saggo worked him over with strikes until Silva got back to his feet and they exchanged shots. In round 2, they kept the fight on the feet. Silva can’t seem to trust himself to throw a combo and get back out. Throws three punches and just drops for the clinch. This was a better round for Silva, but Saggo was staying flat footed and slowed down in this round. A back and forth round that saw Saggo dominate in the third round. Saggo won by split decision.

Misha Cirkunov (12-2) and Ion Cutelaba (11-2) met in a light heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night 89. In round 1, Cutelaba came out and was looking for the KO. Cutelaba dropped him within a minute of the round, but Cirkunov got back to his feet. Cirkunov fired back, and they had a wild exchange to end the round. In round 2, both guys mixed up their strikes nicely, but this was a close round, to say the least. Cutelaba throwing wild shots, Cirkunov picking his spots to attack better. In round 3, Cirkunov took him down and locked in the arm triangle to finish and win the fight.

Tamdan McCrory (14-4) and Krzysztof Jotko (18-1) met in a middleweight bout at UFC Fight Night 89. This one did not last long at all. Jotko caught him with a left hook that dropped McCrory and then finished him on the ground with strikes in the first round. 58-seconds to be exact.

Chris Beal (10-3) vs. Joe Soto (16-5) opened the Fox Sports 1 preliminary bouts in a bantamweight bout at UFC Fight Night 89. In round 1, Beal was moving forward nicely and making some his combos work. Beal just shut down Soto’s shot forced Soto to pull guard. Soto just may not have the athletic tools to compete if this keeps up. In round 2, Soto clipped him midway through the round and just unloaded on Beal. Beal was trying stay in the fight but Soto grabbed his neck and went for a guillotine choke but Beal got out of it and stood up. Soto stayed on him, got his back and took him down. Soto worked for a rear-naked choke. In round 3, Beal came out like a house on fire and was throwing bombs. Soto was landing his shots when he picked them. Soto took him down and got his back. He landed a series of strikes then locked in the rear-naked choke for the win.

Elias Theodorou (12-1) vs. Sam Alvey (25-8 1NC) in a middleweight bout finished off the UFC Fight Pass preliminary card. In round 1, not a ton of action in this round. Theodorou was using a lot of movement and kicks while Alvey was picking his shots but didn’t have his range down which hurt him. A very uneventful round. In round 2, Theodorou clinched with him early but didn’t get a lot done so he separated and started throwing back kicks, which were missing by a country mile. Alvey clinches with him and works him over with strikes. Lots of body strikes from both men. In round 3, Alvey picked up the pace in this round and was trying to get some big offensive going. Theodorou would slow him down by clinching and Alvey was struggling with this. Theodorou won the fight by decision.

Randa Markos (6-3) and Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger (6-4) met in a women’s strawweight bout at UFC Fight Night 89. In round 1, they exchange early before Markos clinched and landed a series of strikes up against the fence. Markos dropped her and landed a series of big strikes to end the round. Markos dominates in the early going. In round 2, they kept the fight on the feet and had some good exchanges. Markos was landing more and had her range down. In round 2, Jones-Lybarger was landing some good straight jabs, but Markos clinched with her and beat her up while on the fence. Jones-Lybarger tried to turn it up in this round, but Markos had the range and just got the better of her. A gritty fight. Markos won it by decision.

Colby Covington (9-1) and Jonathan Meunier (7-1) met in a welterweight bout at UFC Fight Night 89. Covington was dominant, to say the least. In round 1, Covington comes out and takes him down. Meunier got up but Covington clinches with him up against the fence. Covington got him back down with two minutes to go and landed in guard. He worked him over with strikes to close the round. In round 2, Covington scored an early takedown and got guard. Meunier went for a heel hook but couldn’t get it. Covington stayed on top and landed some strikes. Covington then got his back and kept the pace of strikes up. In round 3, Covington dropped him within the first minute of this round and got his back. Covington locked in the rear-naked choke for the win.

Opening the UFC Fight Night 89 Fight Pass prelims was Ali Bagautinov (13-4) vs. Geane Herrera (9-1) in a flyweight bout. In round 1, Bagautinov found his range early and tagged him a few times. Herrera was still pressing forward. Bagautinov landed a big left hook midway through the round. Bagautinov landed a wheel kick and scored a takedown. In round 2, Herrera started to find himself and did some impressive stuff on the ground but Bagautinov was still dominant. In round 3, Bagautinov worked over him strikes in the early. Bagautinov took him down but almost got caught in a submission. Bagautinov got out of it and ended up on top. Herrera got up and stunned Bagautinov. Bagautinov went for a takedown and got it to end the round. Bagautinov scored the decision victory.

Here are the results:

Preliminary Card: (FS2 – 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT)

Jason Saggo def. Leandro Silva via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Light Heavyweight bout: Misha Cirkunov (11-2) vs. Ion Cutelaba (11-1)

Krzysztof Jotko def. Tamdan McCrory by knockout (punch) at :59 of Round 1

Joe Soto def. Chris Beal via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) R3, 3:39

Preliminary Card: (UFC Fight Pass – 6:45 p.m. ET/3:45 p.m. PT)

Elias Theodorou def. Sam Alvey by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Randa Markos def. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Colby Covington def. Jonathan Meunier via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 0:54

Ali Bagautinov def. Geane Herrera via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)