Muslim Salikhov showed off his full array of deadly accurate spinning strikes against Andre Fialho tonight at UFC Fight Night 215 on his way to an impressive third round TKO victory.
Round One:
Leg kick for Salikhov. Now one from Fialho. He lands again. Both land push kicks at the same time to knock each other back.
Left hook from Fialho and a straight from Salikhov. Outside leg kick from Salikhov. left hook for Salikhov.
Heavy calf kick for Salikhov. Body punch for Fialho. Head kick from Salikhov misses and then tries a spinning head kick also whistles just short of Fialho’s head.
Straight right for Fialho. Nice left hand from him as Salikhov stepped in. Fialho with a punch. Both landing to the head. Spinning kick from Salikhov to the body.
Now Salikhov closes the distance and lands a takedown. Salikhov working in Fialho’s guard and lands a couple of punches. Fialho uses his legs to push away and stands up.
Salikhov with a spinning kick to the body, but Fialho blasts him with a big punch in return and it’s damaged Salikhov’s left eye.
Salikhov thinks about a takedown, but it’s Fialho who presses him into the cage. Salikhov able to reverse position.
They break apart in the final seconds and Salikhov lands a hook.
Round Two:
Salikhov immediately gets the body lock and looks for a takedown and moves over to the cage. Fialho able to turn into him and gets away as Salikhov is unleashing hard strikes.
Fialho with a jab. Front kick to the body for Salikhov. He lands a punch to the midsection too. Calf kick for Fialho and Salikhov counters with a powerful spinning backfist that lands hard.
Spinning hook Kick for Salikhov too. Salikhov clinching up now and walks him over the cage. Fialho gets away though.
Left hook for Salikhov. Now a body punch. Hard left hook for Salikhov. Front kick to the body. Fialho offering very little here.
Another front kick to the body for Salikhov. He steps into a right hand and Fialho wobbles a bit as he goes backwards.
Fialho bites down on his gumshield and fires back but he loses his balance and Salikhov gets on top and starts dropping down heavy punches. This fight is in danger of being stopped, but Fialho manages to survive.
Salikhov slows down and takes a brief rest on top while blood leaks from Fialho’s nose. Body-head combo from Salikhov. Now a few hooks. Fialho throws an elbow from his back as the round ends.
Round Three:
Missed punch from Fialho and Salikhov clinches up. Back to striking range. Punch does land now for Fialho but Salikhov connects too.
Head kick attempt from Salikhov is blocked but Fialho doesn’t look right. Big spinning body kick from Salikhov and Fialho’s legs buckle but then he right himself. He’s in bad shape here though as Fialho lands another front kick to the midsection.
Big spinning head kick for Salikhov and Fialho looks shell-shocked. A couple of punches land behind it and that’s it, the referee has rightly seen enough and Salikhov gets a big TKO victory at 1.03mins of rd3.
