Join us today on Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, round scoring and play-by-play (for the main card) as UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Oleinik takes place in the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Moscow, Russia. The headliner comes in the heavyweight division, where veterans Mark Hunt and Alexei Oleinik will meet in a battle of striking versus grappling. The co-main will see the returning Nikita Krylov face off with Jan Blachowicz at 205 pounds. Today’s event is in Russia, and that means it will start early for North Americans. The eight-fight undercard will kick off at 10:30am ET/7:30am PT, and will air entirely on Fight Pass. The four-fight main card starts at 2pm ET/11am PT. It will air on Fight Pass as well. Check out this week’s MMA Vivisection for predictions, analysis and betting odds on the each matchup. Mark Hunt vs. Alexei Oleinik Round 1 - Hunt chops at the legs right away. Jab. Oleinik with a left hook and looks to clinch, but he can’t. Another hard low kick from Hunt. Oleinik is already unsteady on them. Hunt lands a huge right hook, but Oleinik takes it! Wow. Another low kick. Oleinik with a wild left hook that misses. Another low kick from Hunto. Oleinik presses off a Hunt miss and lands a couple of shots. Oleinik dives on a leg and gets his back. He takes Hunt down and secures the back with both hooks! One minute left in the round. He’s hunting for the choke. Hunt isn’t fighting hands. He secures it! Hunt taps! Hunt didn’t even hand fight, that was really strange. Alexei Oleinik defeated Mark Hunt via submission (rear naked choke), 4:26 of round 1 Nikita Krylov vs. Jan Blachowicz Round 1 - Krylov firing away early, as usual. He dives in on a leg and gets the takedown. Blachowicz hunting for subs from the bottom, but Krylov is aware. Blachowicz looking for a choke from the bottom. Krylov pops out out to side. Short right from Kyrlov as Blachowicz squirms. Back to half. Back to side. 10-9 Krylov. Round 2 - Blachowicz takes the back. Krylov looks for an ankle lock but Blachowicz takes him down and moves to side. He’s doing enough with his fists to maintain the position. Blachowicz takes the back, then secures an arm-triangle choke. Krylov taps. Beautiful. Jan Blachowicz defeated Nikita Krylov via submission (arm-triangle choke), 2:41 of round 2 Andrei Arlovski vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov Round 1 - Abdurakhimov trips Arlovski, but lets him up. Another takedown, and Abdurakhimov jumps into Arlovski’s guard this time. Not much happens here, Abdurakhimov can’t pass Arlovski’s guard. So the ref stood them up with 1:45 to go. They clinch briefly. Abdurakhimov lands a left. Low kick from Arlovski trips up Abdurakhimov. He’s back up right away though. Arlovski wades in and lands some short shots. 10-9 Abdurakhimov. Round 2 - Immediate low knee. Cornuts cam confirms. Only a brief delay. Abdurakhimov catches a kick and dumps Arlovski to the floor. He jumps into his guard. Abdurakhimov is landing a bit but the ref is warning them already. Now he’s opening up. Arlovski gets up though, and separates. Halfway though the round. Arlovski with a trip takedown but Abdurakhimov gets up immediately. They battle in the clinch in the center of the cage. Arlovski with the trip takedown. He lands a couple shots. 10-9 Arlovski. Round 3 - Abdurakhimov with a spinning elbow that misses. They clinch up. They separate, but still battle in close. They both land once they get back to range. But there’s really not a lot happening. Eye poke from Abdurakhimov. Arlovski isn’t happy. Action resumes after a couple of minutes. Body shot from Abdurakhimov. They clinch again. Now a cup check from Abdurakhimov. Arlovski is complaining, but they restart. Abdurakhimov with a body shot and a right hook. Arlovski is still complaining, but it isn’t making much sense at this point. 10-9 and 29-28 Abdurakhimov. Shamil Abdurakhimov defeated Andrei Arlovski via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) Thiago Alves vs. Alexey Kunchenko Round 1 - Alves with an inside leg kick. Head kick from Kunchenko blocked. Jabs from Alves. More leg kicks. Kunchenko returns it. Not a lot of action here.Body shot from Kunchenko. Body kick from Alvves. They exchange in the pocket for the first time in the fight. The crowd is pretty tepid here. Not a lot happened. 10-9 Alves. Round 2 - Body shot from Kunchenko. Leg kick from Kunchenko. Alves returns it. They exchange punches. Alves with a low kick. The crowd is booing the lack of action. Inside leg kick from Kunchenko. Right hook scores for Kunchenko, Alves fires back with a head kick. Alves steps in with a left. Another head kick from Alves, but it doesn’t land. Kunchenko kicks the inside of the leg. Alves fires back with two punches. Counter jab from Kunchenko. Alves with a body kick. Now a leg kick. Straight right from Alves, and he’s taking over a bit. As I say that though, Kunchenko turns up the volume. Alves with a slapping body kick. Kunchenko with a nice counter 1-2. 10-9 Alves. Round 3 - Alves with a low kick and a body kick. Kunchenko returns the leg kick, and lands a right. Alves kicks the calf. Again. Kunchenko with a combo, but Alves counters. Kunchenko counters a leg kick with his fist. Another nice counter combo from Kunchenko. Low kick. Brief stop. Body kick from Alves. They trade hands. Alves with a body kick but Kunchenko flurries with counters and presses Alves against the fence. Kunchenko with a takedown, but Alves is up quickly. They battle in the clinch again. Kunchenko gets some distance and lands hard. He’s pushing forward through Alves’ striks. Step-in elbow from the Russian. Spinning elbow misses. 10-9 Kunchenko, but 29-28 Alves. Close fight. Alexey Kunchenko defeated Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) Preliminary Card (10:30am ET) Khalid Murtazaliev def. C.B. Dollaway by TKO (referee’s stoppage) at 5:00 of round 2 Petr Yan def. Jin Soo Son by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) Rustam Khabilov def. Kajan Johnson by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)<doc-sep>The Bloody Elbow team has made its predictions for the UFC’s debut card in Moscow, Russia on Saturday morning/afternoon, and the majority are going with Mark Hunt to defeat Alexei Oleinik in the main event. As for the co-main, only Phil Mackenzie and Zane Simon are backing Jan Blachowicz to beat Nikita Krylov. Note: Predictions are entered throughout the week and collected the day before the event. Explanations behind each pick are not required and some writers opt not to do so for their own reasons. For example, if Phil Mackenzie entered all of his predictions on Wednesday without adding in any explanations, he has no idea if he’s going to be the only one siding with one fighter for any given fight. Mark Hunt vs. Alexei Oleinik Mookie Alexander: Well this pretty much all depends on two things: 1.) Can Mark Hunt stop takedowns? And 2.) Is he basically impossible to do weird chokes on due to his neck fat, as Oleinik says? On the feet it should still be Hunt’s pretty clearly, as Oleinik is quite hittable (but ridiculously tough), and Hunt still has enough power and sense of timing that he badly hurt Curtis Blaydes prior to getting dominated. Mark Hunt by TKO, round 2. Victor Rodriguez: Alex O’s got submission chops and trains with some great heavyweights down at American Top Team, but let’s be real - he’s not gonna shoot a double leg on Hunt. His best chance is trip takedowns and attacks from the clinch, and he’s likely to succeed at that. Hunt has proven he can survive on the ground and make things ugly for grapplers like him, but this also ignores the fact that Oleinik has to close the distance first. That’s where Hunt shines, and he can hit him with a vicious uppercut in the clinch or just blast him with a slick shot over the shoulder to put his lights out. He might be up there in age, but this is a fight that he should be able to ace. Mark Hunt by violence, round 2. Zane Simon: Oliynyk is essentially an IQ test at this point. He’s still got freakishly long arms and hits hard, but now over 40 and with bad knees it seems like his cardio and defense largely aren’t there. If you clinch up with him and take him down, he’ll submit you. If you do literally anything else... Mark Hunt via KO, round 1. Staff picking Hunt: Mookie, Phil, Fraser, Dayne, Tim, Victor, Zane Staff picking Oleinik: Bissell, Nick, Harry, Stephie Nikita Krylov vs. Jan Blachowicz Mookie Alexander: Niki Thrillz is back. Hell yeah! Blachowicz might actually be the more technical striker here, and he’s certainly gotten better compared to the Jan from a few years ago. Krylov is still the more well-rounded fighter, and I think he’ll weather an early storm from Blachowicz and then choke him out in the next round. Nikita Krylov by submission, round 2. Phil Mackenzie: People expect me to pick against the Most Technical Striker In Light Heavyweight History? I refuse. Krylov is a potent finisher and definitely the superior athlete, but relies heavily on opponents being intimidated by his whirlwind offense on the feet, and specifically his weird kicks. If his aggression translated into clinch exchanges I’d be more likely to favour him, but he’s not really much of a wrestler. He can be pushed back by more functional strikers (Tybura) and when he is going backwards his defense is nonexistent. Jab, body kick, Jan Blachowicz by unanimous decision. Victor Rodriguez: Jan’s recent performances have been better than when he first arrived in the UFC, but Krylov’s got youth, athleticism and some very strong striking on his side. That and the fact that his technique has improved by leaps and bounds since his time away from the UFC. Nikita Krylov by headkick KO, round 2. Zane Simon: There’s a real chance that Krylov pressures Blachowicz to the cage and picks him apart with a variety of flashy kicks. But, the new Jan tends to fight consistently behind a powerful jab and backs it up with a nice counter game. Krylov is better controlled than he used to be, but is still largely a wild kicker standing without much defense and a mediocre wrestler and poor grappler. I think Jan can pump the jab, hit a couple counters, force a bad shot, and tap Nikki Thrillz out, as much as I hate to say it. Jan Blachowicz via submission round 1. Staff picking Krylov: Bissell, Nick, Harry, Mookie, Stephie, Fraser, Dayne, Tim, Victor Staff picking Blachowicz: Phil, Zane Andrei Arlovski vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov Mookie Alexander: Arlovski still has pretty good takedown defense and Abdurakhimov isn’t exactly a world-beater on the feet. Yes, he KO’d Chase Sherman… but Chase Sherman knows close to nothing about defense. Arlovski was reasonably competitive with Tai Tuivasa, and has enough craftiness to prevent Abdurakhimov from taking an unbearably ugly fight. Andrei Arlovski by unanimous decision. Victor Rodriguez: Abdurakhimov fights ugly, and he can start to plod around in spots. Arlovski still has good movement and handspeed, which should serve him well here. If anything, I worry that they’ll be tentative like in Arlovski’s fight against Schaub. I’m getting the impression Andrei batters Shamil for a good bit and pulls away, but is unable to finish him. Andrei Arlovski by decision. Zane Simon: I guess I expect Shamil’s takedown game to work alright. If it doesn’t, this is a 50/50 fight that Arlovski can easily win on pace and his own wrestling. Shamil Abdurakhimov by decision. Staff picking Arlovski: Bissell, Nick, Harry, Mookie, Stephie, Phil, Fraser, Dayne, Victor Staff picking Abdurakhimov: Tim, Zane Thiago Alves vs. Alexey Kunchenko Mookie Alexander: Thiago Alves is about to get that M-1 smoke. Alexey Kunchenko by KO, round 1. Victor Rodriguez: Alves is gonna have a rough night. Kunchenko’s fought international talent, and has seen a bit of everything in his career so far.<doc-sep>Mark Hunt was winning, until he wasn’t. The Super Samoan was lighting up Alexei Oleinik in the main event of UFC Moscow with leg kicks and had him hurting early in the fight. It was only a matter of time before he chopped down the Ezekiel tree. But Hunt gave up a takedown to a grappling machine, and that was the beginning of the end. Once Oleinik got Hunt to the ground, he immediately secured back mount and hunted for a choke. Hunt seemed to panic, not fighting hands at all and generally doing a bad job of defending himself. Unsurprisingly, Oleinik secured the rear naked choke, and Hunt tapped. It was strange, considering all the work Hunt has done over the years to improve his submission defense. But it is what it is, and the Russian fans went home happy. Overall though, the main card was pretty irrelevant.<doc-sep>The octagon invades Russia for the very first time today for the promotions UFC Fight Night 136 event. The fight card is airing exclusively on UFC Fight Pass and features an eight-bout preliminary card that started at 10:30am EST. The twelve-bout fight card is headlined by a heavyweight fight between veterans Mark Hunt (13-12-1 MMA) and Aleksei Oleinik (56-11-1 MMA). Mark Hunt was last seen in action at February’s UFC 221 event in Perth, Australia where he suffered a unanimous decision loss to streaking division contender Curtis Blaydes. Prior to that, “The Super Samoan” was coming off a fourth-round TKO victory over Derrick Lewis which took place in June of 2017. Meanwhile, Aleksei Oleinik has won three of his last four fights with all three of those wins coming by way of submission. “The Boa Constrictor” earned his most recent victory at May’s UFC 224 in Brazil where he submitted Junior Albini in the very first-round with an Ezekiel Choke. In the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 136 light heavyweight staple Jan Blachowicz will square off with the returning Nikita Krylov. Blachowicz will enter the contest on a three-fight winning streak, his latest being a thrilling decision victory over Jimi Manuwa in March. As for Nikita Krylov, the 26-year-old went a perfect 4-0 while fighting outside of the UFC. Krylov earned all four of his victories by way of stoppage, capturing the FNG Light Heavyweight Championship with a knockout of Fabio Maldonado in his most recent effort. Get all of the UFC Fight Night 136 live results below: UFC Fight Night 136 Main Card (UFC Fight Pass @ 2 p.m. EST) Mark Hunt vs. Aleksei Oleinik – Oleinik def. Hunt via submission (rear-naked choke) in Round 1 Jan Blachowicz vs. Nikita Krylov – Blachowicz def. Krylov via submission (arm triangle) in Round 2 Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Andrei Arlovski – Abdurakhimov def. Arlovski via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2) Thiago Alves vs. Alexey Kunchenko – Kunchenko def. Alves via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2) UFC Fight Night 136 Prelims (UFC Fight Pass @ 10:30 a.m. EST) Khalid Murtazaliev vs. C.B. Dollaway – Murtazaliev def. Dollaway via TKO at 5:00 of Round 2 Jin Soo Son vs. Petr Yan – Yan def. Son via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28) Kajan Johnson vs. Rustam Khabilov – Khabilov def. Johnson via split-decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Desmond Green vs. Mairbek Taisumov – Taisumov defeats Green via unanimous decision (30-27 x3) Magomed Ankalaev vs. Marcin Prachnio – Ankalaev def. Prachnio via KO (headkick) at 3:09 of Round 1 Jordan Johnson vs. Adam Yandiev – Johnson def. Yandiev via submission (arm triangle) at :46 of Round 2 Ramazan Emeev vs. Claudio Silva – Emeev def. Sekulic by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-26) Merab Dvalishvili vs. Terrion Ware – Dvalishvili def. Ware by unanimous decision (30-25 x3) This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM<doc-sep>
Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images Alexey Oleinik gave the fans in Moscow what they came to see, as he secured a first-round win over Mark Hunt to end UFC Fight Night 136 on Saturday. The veteran heavyweights put together a solid opening round, but a big left hook from the home favourite allowed him to secure a rear-naked choke. Elsewhere, Jan Blachowicz pushed his winning streak to four fights, and Andrei Arlovski struggled in a decision loss. Here are the full results: Alexey Oleinik def. Mark Hunt via submission (rear-naked choke) Round 1 Jan Blachowicz def. Nikita Krylov via submission (arm-triangle choke) Round 2 Shamil Abdurakhimov def. Andrei Arlovski via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) Alexey Kunchenko def. Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) Khalid Murtazaliev def. CB Dollaway by TKO (referee's stoppage) Round 2 Petr Yan def. Jin Soo Son by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) Rustam Khabilov def. Kajan Johnson by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Mairbek Taisumov def. Desmond Green by unanimous decision (30-27 x3) Magomed Ankalaev def. Marcin Prachnio via KO (head kick) Round 1 Jordan Johnson def. Adam Yandiev by submission (side choke) Round 2 Ramazan Emeev def. Stefan Sekulic by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-26) Merab Dvalishvili def. Terrion Ware by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-25) What's Next for Oleinik? Oleinik and Hunt served up a short, fun bout, as the Samoan found success with an early leg kick that appeared to limit the 41-year-old Oleinik's mobility. The Russian answered with some excellent grappling. Stamina and technique in the stand-up game have never been Oleinik's strengths, but in the heavyweight division, he presents a real threat due to his solid ground work. There are few giants of the sport as creative and consistent with their submissions, and that presents a major challenge. It also makes him a hard man to find a matchup for, however. Per Bloody Elbow, he's looking for someone higher the rankings: Video Play Button Videos you might like Tommy Toe Hold had an ambitious request: The UFC are never going to match up a creative submission specialist who has a limited following against a bigger name they're trying to hype. There are too many risks involved. Alistair Overeem, who is ranked sixth in the division and coming off a loss against Curtis Blaydes, would make sense. Arlovski Needs to Hang Up the Gloves Arlovski is a legend, but like so many greats before him, the 39-year-old has gone on fighting too long. On Saturday, he lost a unanimous decision to Abdurakhimov—his second in a row. Back-to-back wins over Stefan Struve and Junior Albini had given him momentum, but it's worth remembering the veteran had lost five fights in a row before that run. His performance in Moscow was a far cry from the Arlovski fans knew, and many noted it wasn't the first dull scrap he's been involved in of late: Barring a turnaround for the ages, the Pitbull will never get back to title contention. Not at age 39, and not with seven losses in his last nine bouts. Arlovski was a great fighter, but that was long ago, and it's time to step away. Herb Dean's Disasterclass As far as MMA referees go, Herb Dean is considered among the best, which is why his disastrous handling of the fight between Khalid Murtazaliev and CB Dollaway stood out. The former had dominated Dollaway in the final minutes of the second round, raining vicious ground-and-pound on the nearly defenseless fighter. With 20 seconds left in the frame, Dollaway rolled on his stomach and all but gave in, but Dean didn't stop the fight. With announcers screaming at the referee to jump in and the fans looking confused, Dollaway endured another 20 seconds of punishment. Once the round ended, he couldn't get up and take a seat―but Dean still wasn't ready to call it a day, urging him to get up. Fans and pundits couldn't believe what they saw: Dean eventually awarded the stoppage win to Murtazaliev when Dollaway made it clear he didn't want to fight on, but the 35-year-old was done before that.