Several interesting fights were seen in the preliminary part of the huge UFC 273 event.
Alexey Oleinik (60-16-1) has been anticipating victory since the fifth month of 2020. The legendary Russian heavyweight won over Fabricio Werdum and was on the verge of achieving his 60th MMA victory.
After suffering three losses (Derrick Lewis, Chris Daukaus, and Sergey Spivak), it appeared that the veteran had come to an end. Despite the losing streak, the promotion did not fire him, and Oleinik finally received his 60th victory.
45-year-old Oleinik pulled down “Scarf-hold” aka “Chest Choke” on Jared Vanderaa (12-8-0, 1-4 UFC). In his career, he amassed 47 victories by “submission.” Vanderaa was defeated by the same approach as Oleinik beat Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović in 2013.
Oleinik wins by submission for the 47th time in 60 career wins 🤯
Stream #UFC273 on @ESPNPlus 🔜 https://t.co/Lvgzb6BYhZ pic.twitter.com/0U0tWVohtA
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 9, 2022
It was also the seventh “submission” win for Oleinik under the UFC’s supervision, and it came just one short of Frank Mir’s heavyweight record. When asked whether he planned to fight for another five or ten years after the bout, Oleinik responded that he was joking. However, Oleinik maintains that his career is not yet over, implying that we will continue to follow him.
Jared Vanderaa suffered his third consecutive defeat and fourth in his last four UFC fights. Justin Tafu is the lone American to beat him, while he lost to Spivak, Romanov, Arlovski, and Oleinik. It’s possible that this may be the end of his UFC career.
After his second UFC bout, Conor McGregor’s potential replacement, Ian Garry (9-0-0), maintained his undefeated record. The 24-year-old Irishman known as “The Future” made his UFC debut in November 2017. Now he’s back at the big show, where he knocked out Jordan Williams at a PPV event at Madison Square Garden. His fight against Darian Weeks (5-2-0, 0-2 UFC) wasn’t good, but it was enough to earn him a unanimous decision victory (29-28 , 30-27, 30-27).
The youngster was not pleased and has a long road ahead of him before facing the world’s best welters. Still, after the bout, Garry stated that he is not perfect but is on his way to becoming so. He recognizes his room for improvement, and with such a positive attitude, we believe there will be progress.
Mike Malott (8-1-1) proved to be an insuperable barrier, as Mickey Gall (7-5-0, 6-5 UFC) mentioned that he would definitely defeat Bruce Lee. In his UFC debut, the Canadian welterweight cruelly KO’d Mickey Gall in the first round.
The preliminary portion of the event featured seven fights. On Friday, March 24, the bout between Marcin Tybura and Jairzinho Rozenstruik was called off due to sickness. The entire results of the introductory portion of the fight can be found at the bottom of this page.
UFC 273 – preliminary part of the event:
Ian Garry def. Darian Weeks via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2)
Anthony Hernandez def. Josh Fremd via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Raquel Pennington def. Aspen Ladd via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Mike Malott def. Mickey Gall via KO – R1, 03:41
Aleksei Oleinik def. Jared Vanderaa via sub (scarf hold) – R1, 03:39
Piera Rodriguez def. Kay Hansen via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Julio Arce def. Daniel Santos via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
