The UFC visited Kansas for the first time in its long history and brought a lineup mixed with company veterans, as well as up-and-comers.
UFC on ESPN+ 4 took place Saturday at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kan. The event streamed on ESPN+.
The main card in Kansas’ largest city included a welterweight fight between Tim Means and Niko Price; the return of heavyweight Ben Rothwell after nearly three years against Blagoy Ivanov; veteran welterweights Beneil Dariush vs. Drew Dober; and longtime UFC middleweight Tim Boetsch vs. Omari Akhmedov.
Check out recaps for the first four fights on the main card:
Omari Akhmedov busts up Tim Boetsch in scorecard sweep
Omari Akhmedov (18-4-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) used a patient and methodical strategy to outpoint Tim Boetsch (21-13 MMA, 12-12 UFC) to a unanimous decision in the middleweight main-card opener. The entire 15-minute fight consisted of striking and clinch work against the fence, but nothing was more notable than the straight punch from Akhmedov that appeared to break Boetsch’s nose in the second round.
Boetsch delivered a gutsy effort in the latter half of the fight, trying to push his offense on Akhmedov and alter the course of the fight. He couldn’t catch the Russian fighter, though, and Akhmedov was effective enough to find his way to the final bell for three 30-27 scores to improve to 2-0-1 in the UFC’s middleweight division.
“The plan was to take him down and wear him out, but he defended well and I had to use Plan B,” Akhmedov said. “I felt I was quicker on my feet and stuck to Plan B. I had to move a lot and avoid big shots. Sometimes I got too excited and exchanged, but I kept moving around and landing my strikes. I want anybody in the top 15 next.”
Boetsch had talked about retirement in his pre-fight interview with MMA Junkie, but it remains to be seen how the loss will impact that potential decision.
Beneil Dariush nets violent tap from Drew Dober
Beneil Dariush (16-4-1 MMA, 10-4-1 UFC) got ahold of Drew Dober’s (20-9 MMA, 6-5 UFC) arm and wasn’t going home without it until he forced the second-round submission victory in the lightweight bout.
After a first round that saw Dober come out strong and lull Dariush into some dangerous exchanges, the tide turned in Dariush’s favor going into the second round. It was Dariush who lulled Dober into the exchanges, but instead on the ground, which is his world.
Dariush threatened Dober with multiple submission attempts until he finally isolated the arm. It seemed like Dober was going to slip away, but Dariush found the perfect angle to torque and forced Dober to give up at the 4:41 mark of Round 2.
With the win, Dariush has put together consecutive victories inside the octagon for the first time since 2016.
“What a fight, what an opponent,” Dariush said. “He hit me with some good shots in the first and thank God I didn’t go out. I felt like he did get a bit tired in the first. I wasn’t moving like I was supposed to in the first. I switched it up to a Thai clinch and from there the body lock came in.
“Some people like to hold position and really hurt the guy. I like to give them space to recover and then go back to the same position. The more you do that, the more they use energy. So instead of just attempting submissions, I keep moving to wear them out. I felt his energy drain. He was a completely different guy.
“I need to prove to myself that I’m top dog. I was on such a bad streak. I had to overcome that doubt in my head. I’ve got to conquer that doubt. That’s the hardest part.”
Blagoy Ivanov outworks Ben Rothwell to a decision
Blagoy Ivanov (17-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) earned his first octagon victory and spoiled the return of Ben Rothwell (36-11 MMA, 6-5 UFC) when he earned a hard-fought and closely contested unanimous decision, much to the dismay of the crowd.
Former WSOF champ Ivanov struggled to work his way around Rothwell’s size and pressure for most of the bout. He broke through on multiple occasions, but Rothwell consistently found a way to walk through it all and connect with heavy shots of his own. According to the statistics, the numbers were quite evenly matched over the course of 15 minutes. The judges decided Ivanov did the better work, though, and he got 29-28 scorecards across the board.
Rothwell put on a solid performance after a nearly three-year layoff, most of which was the result of a U.S. Anti-Doping Association (USADA) suspension. He remains winless since January 2016.
Niko Price scores highlight-reel KO of Tim Means
Niko Price’s (13-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) right hand produced yet another highlight for his growing UFC highlight reel when he put out Tim Means (28-11-1 MMA, 10-8 UFC) in devastating fashion in the opening round of their welterweight matchup.
Coming in to the card, most had Price vs. Means circled as a bout that could produced a violent finish. Those predictions were proven correct.
From the opening bell, Price went after Means and stunned him with a hard shot. Means survived and got a takedown that allowed him to somewhat recover. The fight eventually returned to the feet and turned into a firefight. Means seemingly hurt Price with a punch, but right when he closed the distance he was met right a huge right hook that put him down. Price pounced with some ground shots and the fight was waved off at the 4:50 mark of Round 1.
The fight marked Price’s eighth UFC appearance, all of which have ended in some form of stoppage.
For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 141, visit the UFC Events section of the site.
