We’re now only a few minutes away from the main card opener of UFC 312 and despite a notable lack of depth, the card is delivering so far.
After three sensational early prelim fights that included a 19-second knockout, the action continued onto the preliminary card of UFC 312 – albeit the pace notably dropped off.
Out of those four fights, three went to the judges’ scorecards with the prelim headlines dominated by a debut victory for one Aleksandre Topuria.
Aleksandre Topuria def. Colby Thicknesse via unanimous decision
Given that he’s the older brother of the UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, Aleksandre Topuria entered UFC 312 Fight Week with a fair amount of hype behind him.
Despite all that pressure, Aleksandre looked as cool, calm and collected as his younger brother, dropping Colby Thicknesse in the opening stanza thanks to slick boxing before ending the first round with a Supplex.
To his credit, Thicknesse stayed competitive in the second round, avoiding many of Topuria’s more powerful shots and even landing some solid jabs of his own to remind ‘El Conquistador’ that he was no layup.
The third round took place mostly on the ground, with Topuria showcasing his impressive grappling skills to ride out the round en route to the unanimous decision win.
“When I prepare, I know that strategy is good, but sometimes one punch can change everything,” he explained in the octagon.
“I’m a Mixed Martial Arts fighter, not a boxer, sometimes striker, sometimes wrestler. For that reason, you have to be able to prepare for any scenario, [and] I’m ready for every scenario.”
Wang Cong def. Bruna Brasil via unanimous decision
‘The Joker’ was one of the most-hyped female fighters of 2024 and after losing her undefeated record in disappointing fashion, was expected to bounce back in a big way at UFC 312 against Bruna Brasil.
Round one was close; both athletes had success on the feet and although Wang landed a late takedown, the Chinese standout looked in pain as she limped back to her corner after Brasil landed a nasty low kick.
Wang stepped things up in the second, finding her range and rhythm as she began to run away with the contest thanks to her superior boxing, even ending the second stanza with a powerful low kick of her own.
Round three was played to a similar tune. Wang continued to up the pressure with clean boxing and utilized a variety of kicks to keep Brasil at bay – the judges scorecards’ ultimately read 30-27 (x3) in favor of ‘The Joker’.
Tom Nolan def. Viacheslav Borshchev via unanimous decision
Nolan vs Borshchev was Dana White’s choice for ‘If you don’t know, now you know’ for UFC 312, and the lightweight bout certainly lived up to that accolade.
Local hero Nolan dominated the opening round, landing two takedowns and almost locking up a D’Arce choke. When ‘Slava Clause’ did get back to his feet, Nolan made him pay with heavy low kicks.
Round two was much closer as both fighters found success in their striking. Nolan was briefly able to get Borshchev down and attempted another submission but failed to get a good enough grip to lock the choke up.
Nolan upped the pace again in the third and when he found himself on his back, was able to land several powerful up-kicks, one of which opened up Borshchev. The Australian gets the nod via unanimous decision.
Gabriel Santos def. Jack Jenkins via third-round submission
The UFC 312 prelims wrapped up with undoubtedly the best fight of the bunch between featherweight hopefuls Gabriel Santos and Jack Jenkins.
After a high-paced opening two minutes, Jenkins dropped Santos with a high kick but found himself defending a triangle choke as he rushed in too quickly for follow-up shots. Santos scored a takedown of his own and landed some heavy ground-and-pound to end the round.
In the second, momentum swung in Santos’ favor, with the Brazilian controlling Jenkins on the ground and landing the occasional shot from top position but failing to score much meaningful damage.
That quickly changed in the third; Santos front-kicked the Australian in the face before jumping on his back, his relentless top pressure continued and the Brazilian was ultimately able to lock up a third-round rear-naked choke.
The UFC 312 main card starts in a matter of minutes; stay up to date with all the results and highlights on Bloody Elbow.