UFC Fight Night Rotterdam results: Prelims

UFC Fight Night Overeem vs Arlovski results: Prelims

Sunday May 8th, 2016

Rotterdam Ahoy

Rotterdam, Netherlands

Prelims winners: Rustam Khabilov (Russia), Magnus Cedenblad (Sweden), Josh Emmett (Sweden), Reza Madadi (155) – Sweden

Fox Sport 1 Prelims results:
Lightweight: Rustam Khabilov (155) – Russia vs. Chris Wade (155) – USA
A perfectly times head kick from Cris Wade send Rustam Khabilov to the canvas. But Rustam showed his toughness by recovering well and taking over the fight but showing superior ground game.
Winner: Khabilov by unanimous decision

Rustam Khabilov:
“I feel great. I expected his punches and I saw those coming but I didn’t see the kicks, so that changed the fight a bit but I was able to recover. Next I’d like to fight on the September card in Germany if the UFC gives me the fight. I want a higher ranked fighter, I just want to move up the rankings and keep going.”
Chris Wade:
“I’m just really disappointed. I came a long way and I didn’t come this far to lose. I’ve got a lot of thoughts racing through my head right now. I thought I got the better of the majority of the striking exchanges and I let him control too many of the grappling exchanges. I thought that I would be able to use my scrambling to come out on top of the exchanges but as the sweat started to build up from he and I, from the work we were putting in, I just couldn’t roll him any more or to use the things I usually use early on in fights. He was strong. It’s frustrating because I felt like I was sitting on the precipice of the top 15 and I had a lot of momentum. I felt my striking looked really good but my wrestling kind of failed me tonight. I got a little cocky with it.”

Middleweight: Magnus Cedenblad (185) – Sweden vs. Garreth McLellan (184) – South Africa
A strong performance by Celdenblad resulted in a barrage with a high kick and some viscous punches to end the fight in a TKO in round 2.
Winner: Celdenblad Round 2 TKO at 4:13

Magnus Cedenblad:
“I’ve been so disappointed with my performances before this so today I finally reached close to the level that I feel like I’m at. There are still some missing pieces but it was a good result. I enjoyed myself and that’s the most important thing. For me, this was about being back and just having fun out there. It’s not always about winning or losing; it’s about enjoying life and having fun. I got to come here, hang out with my friends, be in Rotterdam and get in the Octagon and box, so it doesn’t get much better than that.”

Garreth McLellan:
“I’m really disappointed but its one of those things and it happens in this game. If you get kicked wrong and get hit by a stray punch then it’s over. I was looking to fight him over a few rounds and I battled at the beginning but I struggled to deal with his range a little. I started to find that distance but unfortunately I lost. I will just have to find where the mistakes are and make sure I do better next time.”
Lightweight: Josh Emmett (156) – USA vs. Jon Tuck (156) – Guam
Josh started very aggressive and seem to dominate the first round. Tuck picked up the action too late and found himself running after Emmet who seem to have suffered a broken finger at that point. Resulting in a split decision victory.
Winner: Emmet by 3 Round split decision

Josh Emmett:
“I feel great besides the third round when he caught me on the hand with the kick. I felt good in the first and second rounds. It was just that one moment in the third and from then I had to fight with one hand. I’m excited to be here though and I really enjoyed the fight. I took this fight on four days notice so just wait until I get a full camp, then you will see what I can do.”

Lightweight: Yan Cabral (156) – Brazil vs. Reza Madadi (155) – Sweden
Yvan Cabral with a slight advantage in striking let his guard down and got caught in the third round with a vicious blow by Reze Madadi resulting in a TKO stoppage.
Winner: Madadi Round 3 TKO

Yan Cabral:
“I felt good during the fight but it’s just one of those things about fighting, you know. I just gave him the opportunity to land. Now I just want to go home, get some rest, re-group and rethink. I want to spend some time with my family and then get back to training. I just hope I get the chance to get back in there and prove the fighter, the warrior, that I am.”

Reza Madadi:
“I swear, I have dreamed about this. Three years ago, I lost everything. Everything. It’s amazing to be back here after three years. Everything I lost, I feel like I’ve got back in one night. I don’t have any words to describe it. To be here, and to win in that way, it just doesn’t get better. First of all, I have God in my life. He is everything to me. Then I have my family, and my teammates are a part of my family. They have supported me from my very first day until today. It’s just amazing to be around all of these people who have always supported me. I cannot describe this feeling.”