UFC on ESPN 30 Prelims: Abdul Razak Alhassan Kick Folds Alessio Di Chirico in 17 Seconds

ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT KO FOR @JudoRazak!

Less than 30 seconds in #UFCVegas35 pic.twitter.com/1boiMBLTfB

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) August 29, 2021

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Abdul Razak Alhassan needed no time to warm up.

Now operating out of the Elevation Fight Team camp, Alhassan brought down Alessio Di Chirico with a head kick in the first round of their UFC on ESPN 30 featured prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Di Chirico (13-6, 4-6 UFC) melted 17 seconds into Round 1, the unwitting victim in one of the most memorable finishes of 2021.

Seeking his first victory in nearly three years, Alhassan (11-4, 5-4 UFC) backed the Italian into the fence and caught him ducking. Shin met skull, Di Chirico hit the deck in a semi-conscious state and referee Herb Dean called for the stoppage. No follow-up shots were necessary.

The win closed the book on Alhassan’s three-fight losing streak inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s middleweight division. It was the seventh sub-minute finish of his career.

Turman Edges Reeling Alvey

Wellington Turman fought through two separate point deductions for eye pokes and eked out a split decision over former Maximum Fighting Championship titleholder Sam Alvey in a three-round middleweight affair. All three cageside judges struck 28-27 scorecards: Derek Cleary and Ron McCarthy for Turman, Adalaide Byrd for Alvey.

Turman (17-5, 2-3 UFC) landed the most significant blow of the match in the first round, where he opened a horrendous gash under the Team Quest product’s left eye with a spinning back elbow. Alvey (33-16-1, 10-11-1 UFC) shut down the Brazilian’s bid for takedowns and scored in two-punch bursts but spent too much time moving backward and hunting for counters. Turman’s inability to maintain a closed fist made it closer on the scorecards, but he nevertheless skated through by a razor-thin margin.

Alvey remains winless since June 1, 2018.

Related » UFC on ESPN 30 Round-by-Round Scoring

Jacoby Buries Replacement Stewart

Factory X export Dustin Jacoby put away Darren Stewart with punches in the first round of their light heavyweight confrontation. A short-notice substitution for Askar Mozharov, Stewart (12-8, 5-7 UFC) succumbed to blows 3:04 into Round 3.

Jacoby (15-5-1, 3-2-1 UFC) conceded two early takedowns from “The Dentist” but managed to negate them and ultimately moved into open space. He backed Stewart to the fence with punches, mixed in a knee strike and cut loose with both hands at close range, drawing the interest of referee Jason Herzog. One final left from Jacoby buckled the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship veteran and resulted in a standing TKO.

Unbeaten across his last six outings, Jacoby has not tasted defeat since Jan. 16, 2015.

Aldrich Sinks Debuting Demopoulos

Well-timed takedowns and effective ground-and-pound carried Elevation Fight Team’s J.J. Aldrich to a unanimous decision over former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Vanessa Demopoulos in a three-round women’s flyweight encounter. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Aldrich (9-5, 5-4 UFC).

Demopoulos (6-4, 0-1 UFC) fought at a deficit, on the feet and on the mat. Aldrich took top position in the first and third rounds, where she chipped away at the promotional newcomer with elbows and short punches. She also shined in the standup exchanges and especially so in the middle stanza, where shut cut off Demopoulos’ advances, doubled over the Black House product with a body kick and flurried with punches.

Aldrich has won six of her past eight bouts.

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Sabatini Heel Hook Dismisses Emmers

Former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder Pat Sabatini submitted Jamall Emmers with a heel hook in the first round of their featherweight pairing. Emmers (18-6, 1-2 UFC) conceded defeat 1:53 into Round 1, albeit too late to save his left knee from significant damage.

Initially, the situation did not look promising for Sabatini (15-3, 2-0 UFC). Emmers clipped him with a right cross, followed with an uppercut and powered into mount before advancing to the back and threatening with a rear-naked choke. Sabatini handled the adversity and settled for a ground exchange in which the two men turned to dueling leg locks. Emmers went with a toe hold, while Sabatini answered with the fight-ending heel hook.

Sabatini will carry a four-fight winning streak into his next assignment.

Emotional Martinez Downs Cannetti

Less than two weeks after the death of longtime coach Saul Soliz, Metro Fight Club standout Leomana Martinez overcame a sluggish start to claim a split decision over “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America” semifinalist Guido Cannetti in a three-round bantamweight clash. All three judges scored it 29-28: Derek Cleary and Junichiro Kamijo for Martinez, Adalaide Byrd for Cannetti.

Cannetti (8-6, 2-5 UFC) enjoyed success with crushing inside leg kicks and a sneaky jab but lacked the firepower necessary to keep the promotional newcomer at bay. Martinez (9-2, 1-0 UFC) walked him down with pressure, flurried with clean body-head combinations and scored with kicks of his own, some directed at the body, others to the legs. He punctuated his performance with a takedown in the final minute of the fight, pairing it with positional control and robust ground-and-pound.

Martinez, 25, has rattled off three straight victories.