UFC on ESPN 33 headliner: Curtis Blaydes calls for interim title fight after beating Chris Daukaus

The 31-year-old Blaydes (16-3, 11-3 UFC)—the UFC’s all-time heavyweight leader in completed takedowns—chose to stand and exchange, and the approach paid dividends. He ate a few right hands from Daukaus early in the bout but stayed the course and let his talent seize the reins. Blaydes buckled the former Cage Fury Fighting Championships contender with a two-punch salvo in the first round and opened a cut near his left eye, setting the table for what was to come. At the start of the second, he countered Daukaus’ with a crushing right hook that dropped him to his kneesand forced him to retreat to his back in a dazed and confusedstate. Blaydes then pounced with follow-up punches and prompted referee Herb Dean to call for the stoppage.

In the immediate aftermath, Blaydes called for an interim title fight with Ciryl Gane.

Grasso Choke Stuns Wood

Lobo Gym star Alexa Grasso submitted “The Ultimate Fighter 20” graduate Joanne Wood with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their women’s flyweight co-main event. Grasso (14-3, 6-3 UFC) drew the curtain 3:57 into Round 1, authoring the first submission of her 17-fight career.

Wood (15-8, 7-8 UFC) operated behind front kicks to the body and head, pressed the issue and connected with a spinning elbow upstairs. Grasso scrambled behind the Syndicate MMA-trained Scotswoman, moved to the back and secured position with her hooks. She then focused her attention on the neck, re-adjusted her grip and let her squeeze do the rest.

Grasso, 28, has won three fights in a row.

Determined Barberena Outlasts Brown

Bryan Barberena marched into hostile territory, gave as good as he got and escaped with a split decision over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 7 quarterfinalist Matt Brown in a three-round war of attrition at 170 pounds that left both men in need of stitches and ibuprofen. All three judges scored it 29-28: Andrew Adkins for Brown, Michael Bell and Eric Colon for Barberena.

Brown (23-19, 16-13 UFC) called upon on his guile and experience, as he attacked the Gym-O representative with a variety of techniques, from foot sweeps and standing elbows to takedowns and knees to the body. Barberena (17-8, 8-6 UFC) absorbed it all and fired back. He opened a cut beneath Brown’s left eye with a stepping elbow in the first round and rang his bell with another in the second. Neither of them seemed willing to give ground. Brown lunged in front early in Round 3, where he opened a vertical cut between his counterpart’s eyes with a close-range elbow strike, scored with knees from the rear waistlock position and even mixed in a takedown. Still, Barberena refused to wilt. “Bam Bam” responded in the waning seconds, cut loose with accurate power punches and appeared to have Brown in trouble as time ran out.

The 41-year-old Brown has lost three of his past four bouts.

France Tames Unbeaten Askarov

Damaging punching combinations and gritty submission defense carried City Kickboxing’s Kai Kara France to a unanimous decision over the previously undefeated Askar Askarov in a three-round flyweight showcase. France (24-9, 7-2 UFC) swept the scorecards with matching 29-28 marks across the board.

Askarov (14-1-1, 3-1-1 UFC) struck for a takedown in the first round, advanced to the back, secured himself with a body triangle and threatened with rear-naked chokes from the backpack position. It resulted in several precarious moments for France, but he managed to withstand his counterpart’s efforts until the horn sounded. The 29-year-old Kiwi stemmed the tide in the second, where he stayed on his feet and assaulted Askarov with punches from both hands. France shook the Russian grappler from his back in the third round, mixed in a few leg kicks and flurried with punches when the opportunities presented themselves. Most importantly, he stayed upright.

France, 29, now finds himself on a three-fight winning streak and very much in the title picture at 125 pounds.

Magny Dodges Griffin Bullet

“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 16 semifinalist Neil Magny overcame a rough start to eke out a split decision over onetime Tachi Palace Fights titleholder Max Griffin in a three-round welterweight feature. All three cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards: Todd Schwarz for Griffin; Eric Colon and Sal D’Amato for Magny.

Griffin (18-9, 6-7 UFC) floored the Elevation Fight Team mainstay with a thudding right hand in the first round and swarmed for a potential finish. Magny (26-8, 19-7 UFC) survived, put the brush with adversity in the rearview mirror and exploited his height and reach advantage behind a potent jab. He showed more initiative in the second round and pushed a pace Griffin could not match in the third. Magny dragged him to the mat, progressed to the back and threatened the neck. Griffin refused to give in, kept his composure despite visible fatigue and put his fate in the hands of the judiciary. The ruling went against him.

Magny has rattled off five victories in six appearances.

Diakiese Slows Borshchev Rise

Former British Association of Mixed Martial Arts champion Marc Diakiese turned an unexpected tactical wrinkle into a unanimous decision over Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Viacheslav Borshchev in a three-round lightweight attraction. All three judges scored it 30-27 for Diakiese (15-5, 6-5 UFC), who rebounded from back-to-back losses to Rafael Fiziev and Rafael Alves.

Borshchev (6-2, 1-1 UFC) was ill-prepared for the Brit’s change-of-pace approach. Diakiese executed multiple takedowns in all three rounds and paired them with suffocating positional control. His efforts short-circuited whatever plans Borshchev brought into the cage, leaving the Team Alpha Male-trained Russian flummoxed and frustrated.

The setback snapped Borshchev’s four-fight winning streak.