Damir Hadzovic needed a few minutes to get his footing against Marco Polo Reyes, but once he found it on the canvas it was smooth sailing.
Hadzovic (13-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) finished Reyes (8-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) with a second-round TKO that came at the 2:03 mark of the frame.
The lightweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC on ESPN+ 3 event at O2 arena in Prague, Czech Republic. It aired on ESPN 2 ahead of the main card on ESPN+.
The first three and a half minutes largely was a feeling-out process for both fighters. But after a clinch, Hadzovic landed a solid left hand that got Reyes’ attention. After a few punches, he shot for a takedown with 50 seconds left and got it. Reyes worked back to his feet with 30 seconds left, but had to defend against Hadzovic’s back-take effort. In the final few seconds, Hadzovic again took Reyes down to close the frame.
Hadzovic worked quickly to get a takedown in the second round and it came 45 seconds in. He swiftly moved to full mount while Reyes defended on the canvas. Reyes turned around a couple times, then had to eat a few big punches from Hadzovic on top. Reyes gave his back and Hadzovic worked for a choke. When it wasn’t coming, Hadzovic went back to softening Reyes up with punches. When Reyes wasn’t answering repeated warnings, the end came just a couple minutes into the middle frame.
“He hits so hard – they call him ‘El Toro,’ so this fight I had to be the matador,” Hadzovic said after the fight.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 3 results include:
- Damir Hadzovic def. Marco Polo Reyes via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:03
- Ismail Naurdiev def. Michel Prazeres via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Diego Ferreira def. Rustam Khabilov via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Damir Ismagulov def. Joel Alvarez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN+ 3, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
