UFC 316 Prelims: Joshua Van Wrecks Bruno Silva Late

Joshua Van keeps claiming he wants to take a patient approach to his career, but he fights like a character in an action movie who was just told he has a year to live.

In the top preliminary bout of UFC 316 on Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, the 23-year-old flyweight phenom picked up his fourth win in 11 months, burying Bruno “Bulldog” Silva under an avalanche of punches in the final round. To begin things, Van belied his reputation as a slow starter, forcing engagement on the feet from the very start and dropping Silva with punches midway through the round. “Bulldog” recovered his wits and his feet but was clearly in survival mode. He survived, then got some of the momentum back with a low kick that took Van off of his feet. Silva came out for Round 2 with more hard leg kicks but was forced to think better of it after catching some hard counter punches. A tense second frame broke wide open just after the midpoint when Van dropped Silva with a gorgeous pull counter right. Silva popped back to his feet and scored a takedown, which did not lead to much offense but blunted Van’s boxing assault momentarily. Once they returned to their feet, Van caught the onrushing Brazilian yet again, this time with a well-timed knee up the middle, and swarmed with punches as Silva covered up. With referee “Shaolin” Ribeiro looking on closely, Silva recovered, and Van let him up before the horn.

Round 3 was another mini-war: Silva showed no inclination to give an inch, let alone quit, and continued to get in his share of shots even while he struggled with Van’s speed and power. Finally, the accumulation of damage caught up with Silva, as a right hand near the fence sent him staggering back, where he sank to the canvas in pain. Van stepped in and delivered a few standing-to-ground punches, but with Silva making no move but to cover up, Ribeiro moved in for the stoppage at 4:01 of Round 3. With the resounding win, “Fearless” elevated his record to 14-2 overall, 7-1 in the UFC, and is has more than regained the momentum lost in his knockout loss to Charles Johnson less than a year ago. Silva, who had a four-fight streak of his own snapped on Saturday, fell to 14-7-2 with one no contest, 4-4 with one no contest in the UFC.

Related » UFC 316 Round-by-Round Scoring

Murzakanov Steamrolls Ribeiro

Long one of the most unsung, under-the-radar undefeated fighters in the UFC, Azamat Murzakanov may not be able to sneak up on his division for much longer after blasting Brendson Ribeiro in the first round of their light heavyweight undercard attraction. Murzakanov (15-0, 5-0 UFC) gave Ribeiro, who stepped up in place of the ailing Johnny Walker, no room to breathe, let alone work. After parrying a kick or two at range from the taller, rangier Brazilian, “The Professional” stepped into the pocket and dropped him with a pair of left hands. He jumped into side control and delivered a stream of deliberate, accurate follow-up strikes and Ribeiro tried to cover up. Referee Mike Beltran gave Ribeiro every chance to recover and defend himself, but he instead tapped out to halt the punishment. Beltran moved in for the rescue at 3:25 of Round 1, another resounding win for the 36-year-old Russian by way of New Jersey. In the wake of the one-sided win, Murzakanov called for a ranked opponent and/or a five-round fight, and he may get both in his next outing.

Cortes-Acosta Gets Nod over Spivac

It may not have been pretty, and the verdict among media and fan observers was far from a consensus, but Waldo Cortes-Acosta did enough to earn the nod over Serghei Spivac in their heavyweight tilt. The fight played out much as expected between massive but surprisingly nimble boxer “Salsa Boy” and the more compact “Polar Bear,” who brought his customary relentless wrestling assault. Spivac marched forward, looking for opportunities to shoot takedowns in space or corral his foe against the cage, while Cortes-Acosta gave ground, used lateral movement and tried to keep the Moldovan on the end of his long, sharp jab. All three rounds were competitive, with Round 3 being the hardest to score, but all three judges saw the fight in favor of the Dominican, including one mystifying 30-27 tally. The win brought Cortes-Acosta’s record to 15-1, 7-1 in the UFC, and with his fifth straight victory, the Dana White’s Contender Series product is quietly rising to contender status. Meanwhile, Spivac has suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time in his career, and fell to 17-7, 8-6 in the Octagon.

Gustafsson Mauls Williams

It took nearly a year, but Andreas Gustafsson’s long-delayed UFC debut did not disappoint, as he put an absolute mauling on Kalinn Williams in their welterweight clash. Gustafsson, who had had four matchups fall through across three different dates—including a scrapped 180-pound tilt last week—showed up and made weight without incident, then proceeded to stifle the potent offense of “Khaos” for 15 full minutes while delivering increasing amounts of punishment as the fight wore on. Williams, who is generally one of most dangerous snipers in the division, found next to no opportunity to aim and fire, as “Bane” slugged his way into the pocket, ran him to the cage, and either punished him in the clinch or hurled him to the ground over and over. Despite Gustafsson’s obvious musculature and the short turnaround, he did not flag in the later stages of the fight; in fact, he poured it on in the final round to such an extent that a finish seemed to be coming. It did not come, but Gustafsson was pummeling Williams with punches from back control as the final horn sounded and picked up the well deserved victory by scores of 30-26, 30-26 and 30-27. Gustafsson (12-2, 1-0 UFC) figures to be appointment watching going forward, while Williams (15-5, 6-4 UFC) will draw on the considerable reservoir of goodwill he has accumulated as one of the UFC’s most reliable action fighters and knockout artists over the last five years.

Wang Dominates Lipski da Silva

Cong Wang entered the Octagon already a winner in some regards, as she was guaranteed a hearty slice of her foe’s purse after Ariane Lipski da Silva missed the flyweight limit badly on Friday, forcing a 132-pound catchweight contest. The extra ballast did the “Queen” no favors, as Wang outstruck da Silva in all three rounds, seeming to be quicker, sharper and more accurate throughout. Da Silva had her moments, landing clean punches in Round 1, a high kick in Round 2 and a body kick in Round 3 that backed Wang up, but they were isolated bright spots in what was otherwise a straightforward 30-27 washing by the former wushu sanda world champ. The cageside judges saw it that way as well, and the verdict was blessedly free of controversy. With the decision win, Wang elevated her professional record to 9-1, including a 3-1 mark in the UFC; da Silva went to 17-11, with her tally a disappointing 7-7 since joining the UFC to considerable expectations as the outgoing KSW flyweight champion.

Yoo One-Shots Saragih

UFC 316 may go down as the moment a star was born, as Joo Sang Yoo (9-0, 1-0 UFC) needed just 24 seconds and one left hook to obliterate Jeka Saragih in their featherweight undercard scrap. Yoo, a protégé of former Octagon superstar Chan Sung Jung, “The Korean Zombie” tried a spinning wheel kick in the opening seconds. That came up short, but Yoo sussed out the Indonesian slugger’s headlong charge and timed him for the fight-ending blow. Saragih went facedown instantly, motionless on the canvas as referee Keith Peterson dove in to stave off any unnecessary follow-up strikes. Yoo basked in the glow of the quick finish, delivering a joyous and ambitious post-fight interview, while Saragih fell to 14-5 overall, 1-3 since joining the promotion as part of the Road to UFC television series.

Salkilld Ragdolls Ashmouz

After entering the cage as one of the biggest betting favorites on a night full of them, Quillan Salkilld (9-1) largely justified the line in his lightweight prelim against Yanal Ashmouz (8-2). Perhaps most surprising was the ease with which the lanky Salkilld outwrestled the burly Israeli judoka. Salkilld secured multiple takedowns in Rounds 1 and 2, including several in which he elevated his opponent for emphatic slams and easy mat returns. Ashmouz seemed largely overwhelmed for the first 10 minutes of the fight, but came on strong in Round 3, hurting the Aussie with a punch early in the round, grounding him and chipping away with strikes while trying to take more dominant positions. With Salkilld looking suddenly fatigued, a finish seemed plausible, but he held on to the final horn, after which he was rewarded with the win via scores of 29-28, 29-28 and a somewhat mystifying 30-27. Salkilld’s second straight win since joining the UFC out of the Contender Series reaffirmed his status as a man to watch at 155 pounds, while Ashmouz’s stock likely did not fall far in the valiant defeat, though he fell to 2-2 in the Octagon.

Mederos Hobbles Choinski

In the opening bout of the night, lightweight up-and-comer MarQuel Mederos proved to be more than up to the task against short-notice opponent Mark Choinski. Mederos (11-1) made his mark quickly with a steady stream of kicks to Choinski’s left calf, which had the newcomer visibly limping by late in the first round, hobbling by the second, and falling to the ground any time the limb was kicked by Round 3. The vicious calf kick assault made Mederos’ matador routine easier and easier as the fight wore on, as he gave ground, slid out of the way of the headlong charges of “The Shark” and generally controlled the range and tempo of the fight. That is not to say that Choinski did not have his bright moments, as he completed enough of those headlong charges to take Mederos’ back in each of the first two rounds, and even landed in full mount late in the final frame. While he worked to do damage or pursue a submission each time, it was not enough to sway the judges, and Mederos prevailed by unanimous 30-27 scores. With the win, the MMA Lab product moved to 3-0 in the UFC, while Choinski fell to 8-1 overall, 0-1 in the Octagon.