Welshman Brett Johns gained the biggest scalp of his mixed martial arts career to date with a stunning first-round submission victory over former bantamweight title challenger Joe Soto.
The unbeaten bantamweight capitalised on an attempted takedown from Soto to reverse it into an ultra-rare calf slicer, forcing his wincing opponent to tap after just thirty seconds on the clock.
The only prior UFC victory by way of calf slicer was by Charles Oliveira almost six years ago. The compression lock involves pressing the calf muscle into one of the bones of your leg and can cause damage to muscles or tendons. It is rarely featured even in jiu-jitsu competitions but may be more known in popular culture as WWE wrestler AJ Styles finishing move.
If the victory wasn’t sweet enough for Johns, he was rightly rewarded with a performance of the night bonus, earning an extra $50,000 bonus. Johns said post-fight “I do practice that move in the gym but I got lucky tonight”. He went on to call for a ranked opponent as the twenty-five-year-old Swansea-born bantamweight earned his third victory in the octagon.
Welsh flags were draped around the Park Theater in Las Vegas and the victory should lead to Johns being on the brink of a ranking at 135-pounds.
In the main event, Nicco Montano clinched the newly-created women’s flyweight crown, defeating the vastly more experienced Roxanne Modafferi after twenty-five minutes of action.
It marks an impressive win for Nicco Montano considering it was just her sixth professional fight, improving her record to 4-2 alongside winning The Ultimate Fighter Season 26. The question remains over how long she can keep her title with the likes of Valentina Shevchenko circling as well as others considering the move to 125-pounds.
Sean O’Malley came through his octagon debut with a decision victory over Terrion Ware in the co-main event. The twenty-three-year-old demonstrated he belongs in the UFC following his impressive performance on Dana White’s Contender Series, which earned him a contract in the promotion.
Gerald Meerschaert earned a performance of the night bonus for his brutal liver kick knockout of Eric Spicely. Spicely controlled the first round with his superior grappling, nearly submitting his opponent twice before Meerschaert managed to see the round out.
Both men are primarily submission specialists but it was Meerschaert’s striking that demonstrated his true ability with his left hand finding the target on multiple occasions. He then added some kicks into his striking array and they took a toll on Spicely’s body, eventually succumbing to a perfect timed liver kick sending Spicely slumping to the canvas.
The octagon action continues this evening when Max Holloway looks to defend his featherweight crown in a rematch against Jose Aldo.
