Alexa Grasso Holds Off Viviane Araujo in UFC Fight Night 212 Headliner

Alexa Grasso just took another significant step toward contention in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s flyweight division.

The Lobo Gym MMA took a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Viviane Araujo in the UFC Fight Night 212 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. All three judges saw the fight in favor of Grasso: 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46. Grasso has won four straight bouts since moving up from 115 pounds.

In most instances, Grasso (15-3, 7-3 UFC) was quicker to the punch than her Brazilian opponent, as she countered effectively and connected with crisp punching combinations to the head while mixing in kicks and the occasional body attack. Araujo (11-4, 5-3 UFC) kept the pressure on and enjoyed some success of her own on the feet, but she couldn’t match Grasso’s overall volume and accuracy. The 35-year-old Brazilian was also unable to ground her opponent for any significant period of time, and when she did land a takedown, Grasso usually returned to her feet in short order.

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Martinez Leg Kicks Stop Swanson

Cub Swanson won’t soon forget the powerful left kicks of Jonathan Martinez.

The Factory X product battered his opponent’s leg with several heavy low kicks en route to a stoppage victory 4:19 into Round 2, spoiling Swanson’s bantamweight debut. Martinez (17-4, 8-3 UFC) has won four straight fights within the Las Vegas-based promotion.

The 28-year-old known as “Dragon” punished Swanson (28-13, 13-9 UFC) with a vicious arsenal of left kicks to the legs and body, short elbows and knees in a statement-making performance. Martinez sat his opponent down with a knee to the head late in the opening period, and he nearly earned a finish with a follow-up shot to the body and a barrage of punches on a turtled Swanson prior to the horn.

The second frame saw Martinez hurt Swanson with a series of short elbow strikes against the fence before spending some time in top position on the canvas. When the combatants returned to their feet, Swanson displayed an increased sense of urgency in his attacks, but he simply couldn’t hold up to the onslaught of Martinez leg kicks that followed. The last of those forced the WEC veteran to roll to the canvas in agony, and Martinez dove in with follow-up ground strikes to punctuate his victory

Todorovic Batters Wright

Dusko Todorovic survived some early adversity and rallied for a second-round technical knockout victory against Jordan Wright in a matchup of former Dana White’s Contender Series competitors. The 28-year-old Serbian ended the middleweight contest with ground-and-pound from top position 3:12 into the second round. Todorovic (13-3, 3-3 UFC) has finished all but one of his professional victories inside the distance.

The opening period belonged to Wright, as “The Beverly Hills Ninja” landed a trio of takedowns, defended multiple submissions and punished Todorovic with ground-and-pound. Wright (13-4, 1 NC, 2-4 UFC) was gassed when the second round began, however, and an aggressive Todorovic took advantage. He rocked his opponent on the feet before powering his way into full mount, where he unleashed an unanswered barrage of elbows and punches that forced referee Chris Tognoni to intervene on Wright’s behalf.

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Assuncao Snaps Four-Fight Skid

Raphael Assuncao showed he still has something left in the tank, as he captured a unanimous decision triumph against well-traveled veteran Victor Henry at bantamweight. All three judges scored the bout for the 40-year-old Brazilian: 30-27, 30-27, 30-27. Assuncao (28-9, 12-6 UFC) snaps a four-fight skid in victory.

Though he entered the contest as an underdog, Assuncao controlled the tempo with solid counterpunching while blending takedowns and top control when necessary. Henry (22-6, 1-1 UFC) kept the pressure on with a varied striking arsenal, but his aggression was limited due to the threat of his opponent’s countering — including a couple of occasions where Assuncao caught a kick and teed off with a series of heavy punches in return.

Menifield Wallops Cirkunov

Alonzo Menifield scored an emphatic victory against Misha Cirkunov, finishing his opponent in the opening round of their light heavyweight scrap. A salvo of power punches ended the fight 1:28 into the period, sending Cirkunov (15-9, 6-7 UFC) to his fourth consecutive defeat. Menifield (13-3, 6-3 UFC), meanwhile, has won four of his last five UFC appearances.

Cirkunov, who was returning to 205 pounds following an 0-2 stint at middleweight, was unable to get his opponent to the canvas and ultimately paid the price. Menifield moved forward, hurt his adversary with a massive left hook and then dropped the Latvian with a right uppercut. A couple follow-up hammerfists on the canvas finished the job from there. Menifield has stopped 10 of his opponents inside of a round.

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