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 preliminary card in Kansas’ largest city featured the likes of Anthony Rocco Martin vs. Sergio Moraes in a welterweight fight and Yana Kunitskaya (11-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) vs. Marion Reneau (9-4-1 MMA, 5-3-1 UFC) in the lone women’s bout on the card. It also featured a pair of bouts that were rematches of fights that took place on AXS TV for regional promotions: Maurice Greene vs. Jeff Hughes in a heavyweight rematch and Alex Morono vs. Zak Ottow at welterweight.
Check out recaps for the seven fights on the prelims:
Alex White survives cut, Dan Moret’s grinding pace for decision win
In a grinding fight that had intermittent moments of fists flying, Alex White took a unanimous decision from Dan Moret to open UFC on ESPN+ 4.
White (13-5 MMA, 4-5 UFC) was cut open in the first round by a big elbow from Moret (13-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC), but picked up some steam in the second round and outstruck Moret throughout the fight when the two exchanged on the feet. White picked up the win with a trio of 29-28 scores from the judges.
Moret landed a hard punch right out of the chute, but when White survived it the two tied each other up. Moret worked for a takedown for a while, then finally got one with around two minutes left. Moret threw a slicing left elbow on the canvas and cut White’s forehead open late in the first, so blood was flowing on the octagon canvas early.
White worked for a guillotine choke 90 seconds into the second round and squeezed hard. But Moret was able to slip out and level changed to work for another takedown. Late in the round, White started swinging for the fences and landed some nice combinations with blood all over his face.
The grinding continued in the third, but it was Moret controlling things with his wrestling, which kept White’s striking at bay. They again swung for the fences in the final 10 seconds, giving the fans in Wichita something they probably would’ve liked to have seen for more than just a few seconds each round.
“The first round, I was just a slow starter,” White said. “It took a bad elbow to the head for me to wake up. In the second round, it was all about applying more pressure. I hesitated in the first round. That’s one of my bad habits. So I just needed to apply more pressure, focus on my defense against the cage and then flip it around. I think I’m just going to leave my next fight up to my manager.”
Next: Alex Morono vs. Zak Ottow
Alex Morono pounds out Zak Ottow with heavy elbows
For the first time since 2016, Alex Morono has a UFC winning streak – and once again, Zak Ottow was unable to get to two in a row in the promotion.
Morono (16-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) pounded out Ottow (17-7 MMA, 4-4 UFC) with vicious elbows for a first-round verbal submission win. The stoppage came at the 3:34 mark of the opening frame. The fight was a matchup that Ottow reportedly requested twice.
Morono landed a spinning back kick midway through the first after landing some solid punches earlier in the frame. Ottow shot for a takedown, but Morono was able to briefly threaten with a guillotine. Ottow slipped out, but Morono was able to jump to full mount and started raining down punches and elbows while Ottow covered up. After warnings from the referee, Morono eventually landed big enough elbows that Ottow called it quits.
“Every time, I try to get a knockout,” Morono said. “My last fight in China, the plan was to do damage. Same thing for this fight. I knew with that mindset and pacing, I was likely to get a finish. I trained a good, hard and healthy six weeks. I’ve finally found the perfect amount of training. I peaked at the right time.
“I was so incredibly happy to see Diego Sanchez beat up Mickey Gall. He’s like the last OG. If I could share the octagon with him, that would be a dream come true. Everyone knows who he is. That would be such an awesome fight. Win, lose or draw, it’s the honor of fighting him that I’m going for. It would be amazing to get that fight. If not, I can’t wait to see him fight again.”
Next: Matt Schnell vs. Louis Smolka
Matt Schnell wins third straight, taps Louis Smolka in first
After an eight-month layoff, Matt Schnell picked up his third straight win – and did so in impressive fashion.
Schnell (12-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) worked hard for a guillotine choke against Louis Smolka (15-6 MMA, 5-6 UFC), and when that wasn’t working, he transitioned to a triangle choke and forced Smolka to tap at the 3:18 mark of the first round.
Schnell started landing solid punches early, and not long after Smolka tried to answer back, Schnell scooped him up for a dumping takedown 90 seconds into the round. Schnell tried to go to work from side control, and when Smolka tried to roll out of it Schnell latched on to a solid guillotine choke. Smolka looked like he might want to tap, but gave the OK sign when the referee checked his arm. Smolka worked out with two minutes left, but Schnell went to work on a triangle choke. It was tight, and Smolka was forced to tap.
Next: Maurice Greene vs. Jeff Hughes
Maurice Greene avenges loss to Jeff Hughes
It wasn’t exactly a thriller, but Maurice Greene avenged a loss to Jeff Hughes from less than a year ago.
Greene (7-2 MMA, 2-0) stayed perfect in the UFC with a split decision win over Hughes (10-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Greene picked up a pair of 29-28 scores; Hughes had a dissenting 29-28 score from one judge.
Greene and Hughes first fought for Hughes’ heavyweight title at LFA 53 in April 2018. Hughes took unanimous decision in that bout to retain his belt.
This time around, Hughes and Greene had a fairly slow opening round, which may have been owed a little to some first-time UFC jitters for Hughes. Three minutes into the second, though, the much taller Greene landed a big jab that put Hughes to one knee. He was back up quickly, though, and wasn’t afraid to throw some bombs. But the pace slowed, and there were a few moments of potential explosion from each fighter the rest of the way, making it potentially tough to score. But in the end, it was Greene who picked up the split call.
“It feels awesome to get one back on him,” Greene said. “I came in on short notice and was a little out of shape. We had a game plan and I stuck to it. I wish I could have finished the fight when I had the opportunity. At the end of the day, I came out here to get a win on short notice, and that’s what I did. I wish a did a little bit more, because my jab actually hurt him. I was too slow to react. I didn’t get the finish, but I got the ‘W.’
“I want on the Minneapolis card, 100 percent. You can’t come to my town and not let me fight. I have two wins now in the UFC and promise to be one of the best heavyweights in time.”
Next: Grant Dawson vs. Julian Erosa
Grant Dawson wins debut, grinds out Julian Erosa
Grant Dawson was a takedown machine against Julian Erosa, and when he wasn’t controlling things on the ground he looked pretty good on the feet, too.
Dawson (13-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) picked up a big win in his UFC debut with a unanimous decision over Erosa (22-7 MMA, 0-2 UFC). Dawson got the win with scores of 30-26, 30-27 and 29-27 in a fight that saw him land six takedowns.
Erosa caught Dawson in a triangle choke quickly, but Dawson was able to slip out despite taking some elbows to the head. With 90 seconds left, Dawson was able to pick Erosa up and land a solid slam takedown in the middle of the cage – his fourth of the round.
With a minute or so left in the second round, both fighters started swinging for the fences, and Dawson staggered Erosa several times. Then he landed and took Erosa off his feet. A spinning elbow landed, but Erosa started landing exhausted-looking haymakers in the closing 15 seconds. In the final round, he was controlling on the ground and kept looking for the finish down the stretch with ground-and-pound, though Erosa survived to hear the final horn.
“I knew it was going to be a tough fight,” Dawson said. “I wanted to do a little bit more, but I got the win. That’s all that matters. My game plan always stays the same. I put the pace on guys, land as many punches in the face as I can, get the takedown and look for the finish. I didn’t get it tonight, but I’ll get it next time. I’ll beat you up for 15 minutes or until you give up. He didn’t give up, so props to him on that. I’m going to go back to the drawing board and see what’s next.”
Next: Yana Kunitskaya vs. Marion Reneau
Bloodied-up Yana Kunitskaya outworks Marion Reneau
Yana Kunitskaya looked a bloody mess after her fight with Marion Reneau, but survived for a unanimous decision win.
Kunitskaya (12-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) beat Reneau (9-5-1 MMA, 5-4-1 UFC) with a trio of 29-28 scores from the judges in their women’s bantamweight bout.
Kunitskaya landed a jab in the first 45 seconds and Reneau was caught off balance. She went to her back along the fence, and Kunitskaya tried to go to work on top. Reneau got back to her feet, but Kunitskaya kept the pressure on a couple minutes in. Reneau took the fight to the canvas with about 20 seconds left, but it may not have been enough to steal the frame.
Reneau took over in the third round, but it was a question of whether she was able to steal away the middle frame. Kunitskaya looked way worse for the wear from one of Reneau’s punches, which busted up her nose badly. By the end of the fight, Kunitskaya’s face was a bloody mess – and Reneau’s was painted up, too, from her opponent.
Kunitskaya landed twice as many significant strikes, though, and walked away with the unanimous decision despite the damage she took.
Next: Anthony Rocco Martin vs. Sergio Moraes
Anthony Rocco Martin blanks Sergio Moraes on scorecards
Anthony Rocco Martin had to get past an annoying early choke and stall from Sergio Moraes, but then went on to dominate.
Martin (16-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) won for the fourth straight time and blanked Moraes (14-4-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) with a trio of 30-27 scores in their welterweight fight to close out the prelims.
Only about 30 seconds in, the fight hit the canvas. Moraes quickly tried to work for a guillotine choke, but Martin worked mostly out of danger. Martin tried to soften Moraes up with short punches to free his neck while Moraes stalled on his back with the one-arm choke. Midway through the round, referee Rob Hinds stood them up, and after that it was pretty much all Martin.
Things were much more methodical in the second and third rounds, especially for Martin. He was able to avoid the biggest punches from Moraes by backing away just in time, and his jab and footwork were on point often enough to keep Moraes frustrated. Moraes landed just one takedown in the final 10 minutes, and it came late. Martin worked heavy kicks to the leg often enough to make the difference.
“I’ve been beating guys that are not big names,” Martin said. “That’s the problem I’ve been running into. I’ve been fighting the killers with no name. That’s tough, because if you lose those fights you drop down major spots. You beat those guys, you never know if you’re getting a ranked guy next. I just handle my business. I’m 4-0 at welterweight and I feel phenomenal. I think I’m just now taping into my potential. This is just the beginning.
“There’s no way the UFC can go to Minneapolis and not have me on that card. I want the toughest guy in the world. It seems like those guys in the top 10 and 15 keep switching spots. I think my body of work has proven I should be in the rankings. I should be fighting a ranked fighter. I started in Minneapolis and I’m the biggest star in Minneapolis. It just seems like it’s all lined up perfectly for me.”
For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 141, visit the UFC Events section of the site.
