Six preliminary bouts will take place prior to the main card tonight at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore.
For years, talents in the Asian MMA circles have toiled hard to make a name for themselves. Tonight, they will finally get the opportunity to impress the masses.
UFC Fight Night 34 Preliminary Report
Headlining the prelims will be an intriguing match-up between Max Holloway, a UFC vet, and promotional newcomer, Will Chope.
But all eyes will be on Singapore’s own Royston Wee, as he looks to prove a point to the world that he belongs in the octagon. He’ll contest Team Lakay’s Dave Galera, who’ll be making history in his own right as the first Filipino national to compete in the American outfit.
Another featured match-up sees PXC vet Russell Doane in a collision course with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champ Leandro Issa.
Follow MMASucka.com throughout tonight’s proceedings in Singapore as we bring you play-by-plays, results and updates of the preliminary match-ups below:
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PRELIMS (UFC Fight Pass, 6:30 a.m. ET)
Max Holloway (7-3) vs. Will Chope (19-5)
Report: Chope pushes the pace earlier on with Holloway going for a few spinning back kicks. Striking exchanges ensue between both men and Chope looks to be overwhelming Holloway with his height and reach. Chope doing well with his Boxing as he lands a couple of nice combinations. Holloway hurts Chope with a spinning back kick forcing Chope to back up, allowing Holloway to swarm on him with a couple of punches. Holloway now pushing the pace and he ends the round spectacularly, as the bell saves Chope from the end of a barrage of punches.
Holloway hurts Chope once again in the opening stages, swarming the American with punches and kicks. It looks as though the Hawaiian has found a way to counter his opponent reach and height. But Chope is showing lots of heart as he weathers the storm, soon putting Holloway up against the cage, working for a takedown. But as they separate, Holloway swarms in for another round of punches, this time forcing Chope to cover up thus prompting a referee’s intervention.
Result: Max Holloway def. Will Chope via TKO (Punches) at 2:27 of Round 2
Katsunori Kikuno (21-5-2) vs. Quinn Mulhern (18-3)
Report: Kikuno comes out with his classic karate stance but Mulhern has none of it and tags the Japanese vet a couple of times. On the mat, Mulhern works for an Armbar, bails on it, and tries working for a Triangle choke. Doesn’t work out though. Back on their feet, Kikuno lands a nice uppercut. Mulhern is with a massive height and reach advantage here. As the fight hits the canvas again, Mulhern works for aTriangle choke but Kikuno gets out of it, and they both recover to their feet. The American shoots for a takedown but it gets easily reversed by Kikuno, who ends the round in top position.
Round 2 and Kikuno lands a left hook that drops Mulhern, but the Japanese backs away from the ground exchanges. As Mulhern recovers to his feet, the fight hits the mats once more, but again, Kikuno backs off allowing Mulhern to recover to his feet. Kikuno soon gets a takedown. Mulhern is using his long limbs to work a submissoin maneuver but Kikuno is defending the attempts well. As they get back to their feet, Mulhern looks to be still struggling to solve Kikuno’s unorthodox style. The fight hits the mat yet again and the round concludes with Kikuno showcasing just a dominant performance.
Mulhern starts round 3 with jabs but before you know it, Kikuno lands a takedown. In side control, Kikuno tries to make transitions but Mulhern displays good ground defense. As they seperate, Kikuno lunges forward with strikes forcing Mulhern to counter with a takedown attempt, but Kikuno defends that well and finds himself in half guard. The referee stands both men due to a lack of action and Kikuno continues to control the striking exchanges. Kikuno seems to be getting takedowns at will as he lands another one towards the end of the round, before the final horn sounds.
Result: Katsunori Kikuno def. Quinn Mulhern via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Royston Wee (2-0) vs. Dave Galera (5-0)
Report: Wee immediately gets a takedown and starts working in full guard. Galera looking to transition for submissions but Wee is showing a good top control game. Galera momentarily goes for a reversal but Wee puts him on his back almost instantaneously. The Singaporean though, isn’t landing a lot of ground-and-pound as one would expect. Galera doing his best to get up, but once again, Wee shows excellent top control. The round ends with very limited action on the canvas.
Wee lands a takedown straight off the bell once again but this time finds himself in side control. Very limited action from both fighters though but Wee is putting on a good game plan of playing it safe. Now in full guard, Galera tries working some strikes from the bottom but can’t do anything effective. Galera finally manages to get back to his feet but Wee takes him down once again. The round ends with both fighters, on the canvas, up against the cage.
Galera comes out landing strikes in the third round but Wee lands a takedown. Wee continues to impose his quality top control game, before the bout halts because of an illegal kick by Galera on Wee. A point is deducted from Galera. Proceedings continue on the canvas before Galera works his way up to his feet. But Wee, once again, lands a beautiful takedown. Galera works for a Kimura but Wee shrugs it off. The round concludes with the Singaporean landing some ground-and-pound.
Result: Royston Wee def. Dave Galera via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Mairbek Taisumov (20-4) vs. Tae Hyun Bang (16-7)
Report: Stinging leg kicks by Taisumov to get us going. Bang seems to be really unorthodix with his hands and movement, but he’s pushing the pace. As the round progresses, Bang looks to be getting into the bout more. Taisumov lands a nice right hand off catching Bang’s leg, but is unable to do any more damage. Bang goes for a flying knee which misses. A straight right lands for Taisumov with Bang coming in against the cage, but the South Korean eats like it was nothing. The round ends with Taisumov just implementing his kicking game and Bang pushing the pace.
Round 2 and Bang continues to surge forward, with Taisumov looking to counter. Taisumov shoots for a takedown and gets it, but is unable to do any substantial damage. Both fighters with calculated strikes but it’s Taisumov who looks to be landing the harder punches. Taisumov makes a limp effort for a takedown to which Bang defends well. A pretty lackluster round from both guys. The crowd reacts with boos and jeers.
Round 3 and Taisumov lands a textbook double leg takedown in the opening stages. Up against the cage, Bang recovers well and both fighters start exchanging some knees. Taisumov lands his second takedown of the stanza by dragging Bang to the canvas. At this moment, both fighters look fatigued and tired. As the bout restarts on their feet, a tactical striking game continues to take place. With 30 seconds to go, Taisumov lands a beautiful hip toss that elevates him to full guard, but there isn’t anytime for the fighter to land any damage.
Result: Mairbek Taisumov def. Tae Hyun Bang via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Dustin Kimura (10-1) vs. Jon delos Reyes (7-2)
Report: As the striking exchanges ensue, Reyes lands a hard punch which brings the bout to the canvas. Kimura plays an active guard though and tries to locks his opponent’s arm, but Reyes defends it well by stepping over. With Reyes now in full guard, Kimura locks in another Armbar and this time finishes it.
Result: Dustin Kimura def. Jon delos Reyes via Submission (Armbar) at 2:13 of Round 1
Leandro Issa (11-3) vs. Russell Doane (12-3)
Report: Issa lands a takedown early and finds himself in half guard. But Doane fights back and gets to his feet. Doane seems to be swinging some hard punches in the early goings here, pressurizing Issa. Issa shoots for a takedown which gets stuffed, but completes it soon after. Doane though reverses positions, and gets Issa’s back. But the Brazilian scrambles out of the way. Doane is now in top control, but Issa locks in a Triangle choke. Doane tries slamming him but to no avail. The round ends with Issa’s submission attempt.
Round 2 commences with a couple of striking exchanges and Doane puts Issa up against the cage. As they separate, Issa throws a hard kick. Doane working his Boxing with nice combinations but hasn’t quite connected yet. The right hand though seems to be finding its mark. Doane catches Issa with a hard right that momentarily rocks him but the Brazilian somehow manages to recover. Doane is now moving forward landing punches at will with Issa scrambling for a takedown. Doane finds himself in half guard before transitioning beautifully to a Triangle choke. He forces the Brazilian to tap, and the fight is stopped. What a victory!
Result: Russell Doane def. Leandro Issa via Submission (Triangle Choke) at 4:59 of Round 2
*Keep it locked to MMASucka.com as we provide you with fight break downs and LIVE results of the main card.