UFC 267 prelims results & video: Oleksiejczuk TKO’s Gamzatov, Murphy badly KO’s Amirkhani with knee

The UFC 267 early prelims saw some sensational performances, including an oh-so-clean counter knee to zzzz. Closing out this portion of the preliminary card, Michal Oleksiejczuk rushed Shamil Gamzatov with a swarm of offense to pull out a first-round TKO. Oleksiejczuk was pressuring hard, keeping Gamzatov backing up as he tried to overwhelm him. It was an uppercut that sent Gamzatov to the floor, and classic ground and pound put him away. This makes two wins in row for Michal.

We got a wicked knockout in the featherweight division when Lerone Murphy, brutally knocked out Makwan Amirkhani in the second-round. It was a perfectly timed knee to counter a takedown that delivered the fight-ending blow, with only one follow up punch landing thanks to the referee acting fast and stopping the fight. Murphy remains undefeated and his UFC record extends to 3-0-1.

The first finish of UFC 267 came when Andre Petroski hit an arm triangle on Yaozong Hu with only 14-seconds to go in the third-round. Petroski was likely on his way to a decision win since he was dominating with his grappling, and also slamming power punches when the fight was on its feet. Petroski is officially 2-0 under the UFC banner, and has finished all-seven of his MMA wins.

Opening up the event, the UFC’s #15 ranked flyweight, Tagir Ulanbekov, squeaked by promotional newcomer, Allan Nascimento, with a split decision. The bulk of this bout took place open the canvas, with an abundance of fun submission attempts and grappling exchanges. It was Ulanbekov with the takedowns and top control, and then Nascimento with sub attempts. Tagir keeps his spot in the rankings, while Nascimento’s stock rises as well.

**See complete results below

Early prelims:

Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Shamil Gamzatov by TKO at 3:31 of round 1: Light Heavyweight

Oleksiejczuk pushed the action right away, winging haymakers and backing up Gamzatov. He had to walk through some counter punches, but Oleksiejczuk was stinging Gamzatov early and often. Gamzatov was throwing solid combinations to counter his aggressor, but Oleksiejczuk was on a mission. Michal kept throwing and an uppercut finally got through to cause Gamzatov to wilt to the floor. A series of ground and pound sealed the deal for him.

Lerone Murphy def. Makwan Amirkhani by knockout at :14 of round 2: Featherweight

It didn’t take very long for Amirkhani to hit a sweet double leg takedown trip takedown and take top position. Murphy worked to get back to his feet, but was still carrying to weight of Amirkhani. Up and down Lerone went, being dominated the entire time. The second act began with Amirkhani shooting right into a Murphy knee, putting him out on impact. A follow up punch landed before the referee had a chance to jump in and rescue Amirkhani. WOW! Amirkhani was down for some time, but did make it back to his feet under his own power.

Andre Petroski def. Yaozong Hu by submission (Arm Triangle) at 4:46 of round 3: Middleweight

Petroski opened the match by connecting with a duo of clean left hands. Then as soon as Hu slipped on throwing a kick, Petroski jumped on a mounted guillotine. Hu was able to hang tough, escape, and scramble his was back to his feet. Petroski continued to bomb with his left hand, and he was connecting, but Hu was just eating them and marching forward.

The same sort of pace spilled over into the second round. Petroski hit a takedown and began to work his grappling. He smothered HU, controlling and threatening with arm triangles. The round came to a close with Petroski on Hu’s back, and Yaozong finally working back to his feet.

Petroski blasted a takedown to begin round-three, and went back to grinding on his opponent. When Hu did get up, Petroski bombed on him with heavy leather, and then took him right back down. Petroski continued to dominate, taking the back and threatening with RNC’s. Then, he started dropping some viscous elbows and was able to lock up another arm triangle and force the tap.

Tagir Ulanbekov def. Allan Nascimento by split (29-28 x2, 28-29): Flyweight

Ulanbekov was trying to get his jab going early, while Nascimento was chopping away with leg kicks. Tagir hit a takedown, but Nascimento was threatening with sub and sweep attempts. A crazy and lengthy scramble ensued from there on, including Ulanbekov locking up a really tight guillotine with Nascimento barely escaping.

Ulanbekov shot in for a takedown to get the second round going. Nascimento stayed on his feet, with his back was pinned to the cage, until he dropped down for a Kimura attempt. Ulanbekov was able to shut down the hold, but wasn’t doing much of anything other than holding on from the top. It was Nascimento throwing strikes from his back, which weren’t exactly devastating, but they were at least something.

Ulanbekov hit a takedown right away to start the final frame, but went right back to defending a submission. Nascimento kept throwing his legs up for triangles and armbars, while Ulanbekov was more focused on holding on. When Tagir did finally pass to half guard, he was able to score some ground and pound. Within the final minute, Nascimento went back to attacking with triangle, but Ulanbekov remained safe and on top until the bell.