UFC News & FeaturesUFC 314 Prelims: Dan Ige Solves Sean Woodson Riddle in Miami
Dan Ige
passed another difficult test in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division.
The Xtreme Couture mainstay rebounded from back-to-back losses to Diego Lopes and Lerone Murphy, as he turned away Sean Woodson with punches in the third round of their featured UFC 314 prelim on Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami. Ige (19-9, 11-8 UFC) brought it to a close 1:12 into Round 3, though it was not without controversy.
Woodson (13-2-1, 7-2-1 UFC) leaned on his seven-inch reach
advantage and managed to keep the Hawaiian at bay with a persistent
jab, unorthodox hand movements and evasive footwork through much of
the first half of the bout. Ige staggered the Wolves Den Training
Center product with a counter left hook at close range in the third
round and gave chase with brutal body blows. Woodson ducked into a
desperation single-leg, at which point he absorbed a series of
short hammerfists that drew enough attention from referee Andrew
Glenn to result in the stoppage. He protested immediately, to
no avail.
Meanwhile, Fight House Academy standout Virna Jandiroba almost certainly cemented herself as the No. 1 contender at 115 pounds with a clear-cut unanimous decision over Xiaonan Yan in a three-round women’s strawweight battle. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Jandiroba (22-3, 8-3 UFC).
Jandiroba has notched five wins in a row.
Elsewhere, Chase Hooper called upon repeated takedowns, positional advances and suffocating control ahead of a unanimous decision over ex-Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder Jim Miller in a three-round lightweight affair. The 25-year-old Hooper (16-3-1, 8-3 UFC) carried all three scorecards: 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.
Miller (38-19, 27-18) threatened with a guillotine choke and scored with a few elbows while in top position in the first round but otherwise proved ineffective. Hooper grounded the New Jersey native repeatedly across the final 10 minutes, advanced to the back on more than one occasion, applied his ground-and-pound whenever possible and even made a few passes at modified heel hooks. Miller, 41, was exhausted by the time it was over.
Hooper has strung together five consecutive victories.
Further down the undercard, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 22 semifinalist Julian Erosa swept aside Darren Elkins with punches in the first round of their featherweight scrap. Finished for the first time in more than three years, Elkins (29-12, 19-11 UFC) met his end 4:15 into Round 2.
It was never competitive. Elkins executed a single-leg takedown and walked into a burst of upkicks, one of which struck him across the bridge of the nose and appeared to leave him permanently compromised. Erosa (31-11, 9-7 UFC) cracked the Team Alpha Male export with a one-two, backed him to the fence and followed a concussive knee strike with a thudding elbow. The impact dropped Elkins to all fours and had him clinging to an ankle on autopilot. From there, Erosa unleashed a series of hammerfists to the side of the head, forcing referee Mike Beltran to intervene.
Erosa, 35, has rattled off three straight wins, all via stoppage.
Not to be outshined, former Thunderstrike Fight League champion Michal Oleksiejczuk dismissed Sedriques Dumas with punches and elbows in the first round of their middleweight pairing. Dumas (10-3, 3-3 UFC) bowed out 2:49 into Round 1, losing for the second time in three outings.
Oleksiejczuk (20-9, 8-7 UFC) entered the Octagon on a career-worst three-fight losing streak, then proceeded to march forward with almost no regard for his opponent. He dropped Dumas with a looping left hook—it was more clothesline than punch—and assumed a dominant position above him before he cut loose with a volley of unanswered elbows and punches to prompt the stoppage.
The victory was Oleksiejczuk’s first since Aug. 26, 2023.
Deeper into the prelims, Chute Boxe standout Marco Tulio disposed of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 29 semifinalist Tresean Gore with punches in the second round of their middleweight tilt. Gore (5-3, 2-3 UFC) succumbed to blows 3:16 into Round 2.
Tulio (14-1, 2-0 UFC) weathered a few harrowing exchanges in the first round—a left hook nearly sat him down—and overwhelmed his counterpart with vicious variety. The Diego Lima protégé unleashed all his weapons on Gore, from punishing jabs and leg kicks to a spinning backfist, upward step-in elbows, a wheel kick and more than one spinning back kick to the body. Tulio staggered the American with a head kick in the second round and bullied him to the canvas behind heavy ground-and-pound before returning to his feet to reset. He then backed Gore to the fence with a jumping switch kick, floored him with a lightning bolt of a right hand and flurried until referee Marc Goddard had seen enough.
The 30-year-old Tulio now finds himself on a 10-fight winning streak.
Finally, Nora Cornolle put away Blitz Sport rep Hailey Cowan with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their women’s bantamweight affair. Cornolle (9-2, 3-1 UFC), who missed weight for the match by one and a half pounds, drew the curtain 1:52 into Round 2.
Cowan (7-4, 0-2 UFC) powered into top position in the first round, freed herself from an armbar and controlled the French muay thai practitioner from half guard. However, she exacted little damage during an extended ground exchange and failed to build much momentum as a result. Cornolle made the American pay. She scrambled behind Cowan on a failed takedown attempt early in the middle stanza, immediately threatened the neck, readjusted her grip and closed it out with the choke.
Cornolle, 35, has won nine of her past 10 bouts.
In other action, Su Mudaerji (17-7, 4-4 UFC) outstruck Mitch Raposo (9-3, 0-2 UFC) to a split decision—28-29, 29-28, 29-28—in a three-round flyweight clash.
The Xtreme Couture mainstay rebounded from back-to-back losses to Diego Lopes and Lerone Murphy, as he turned away Sean Woodson with punches in the third round of their featured UFC 314 prelim on Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami. Ige (19-9, 11-8 UFC) brought it to a close 1:12 into Round 3, though it was not without controversy.
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Meanwhile, Fight House Academy standout Virna Jandiroba almost certainly cemented herself as the No. 1 contender at 115 pounds with a clear-cut unanimous decision over Xiaonan Yan in a three-round women’s strawweight battle. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Jandiroba (22-3, 8-3 UFC).
Yan (19-5, 9-4 UFC) never solved the puzzle with which she was
presented. Jandiroba completed takedowns in all three rounds, then
proceeded to run circles around the Team Alpha Male rep on the
ground. The accomplished Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt floated
from one dominant position to the next, kept Yan guessing and
flirted with a variety of submissions, including several near-miss
armbars.
Jandiroba has notched five wins in a row.
Elsewhere, Chase Hooper called upon repeated takedowns, positional advances and suffocating control ahead of a unanimous decision over ex-Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder Jim Miller in a three-round lightweight affair. The 25-year-old Hooper (16-3-1, 8-3 UFC) carried all three scorecards: 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.
Related » UFC 314 Round-by-Round Scoring
Miller (38-19, 27-18) threatened with a guillotine choke and scored with a few elbows while in top position in the first round but otherwise proved ineffective. Hooper grounded the New Jersey native repeatedly across the final 10 minutes, advanced to the back on more than one occasion, applied his ground-and-pound whenever possible and even made a few passes at modified heel hooks. Miller, 41, was exhausted by the time it was over.
Hooper has strung together five consecutive victories.
Further down the undercard, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 22 semifinalist Julian Erosa swept aside Darren Elkins with punches in the first round of their featherweight scrap. Finished for the first time in more than three years, Elkins (29-12, 19-11 UFC) met his end 4:15 into Round 2.
It was never competitive. Elkins executed a single-leg takedown and walked into a burst of upkicks, one of which struck him across the bridge of the nose and appeared to leave him permanently compromised. Erosa (31-11, 9-7 UFC) cracked the Team Alpha Male export with a one-two, backed him to the fence and followed a concussive knee strike with a thudding elbow. The impact dropped Elkins to all fours and had him clinging to an ankle on autopilot. From there, Erosa unleashed a series of hammerfists to the side of the head, forcing referee Mike Beltran to intervene.
Erosa, 35, has rattled off three straight wins, all via stoppage.
Not to be outshined, former Thunderstrike Fight League champion Michal Oleksiejczuk dismissed Sedriques Dumas with punches and elbows in the first round of their middleweight pairing. Dumas (10-3, 3-3 UFC) bowed out 2:49 into Round 1, losing for the second time in three outings.
Oleksiejczuk (20-9, 8-7 UFC) entered the Octagon on a career-worst three-fight losing streak, then proceeded to march forward with almost no regard for his opponent. He dropped Dumas with a looping left hook—it was more clothesline than punch—and assumed a dominant position above him before he cut loose with a volley of unanswered elbows and punches to prompt the stoppage.
The victory was Oleksiejczuk’s first since Aug. 26, 2023.
Deeper into the prelims, Chute Boxe standout Marco Tulio disposed of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 29 semifinalist Tresean Gore with punches in the second round of their middleweight tilt. Gore (5-3, 2-3 UFC) succumbed to blows 3:16 into Round 2.
Tulio (14-1, 2-0 UFC) weathered a few harrowing exchanges in the first round—a left hook nearly sat him down—and overwhelmed his counterpart with vicious variety. The Diego Lima protégé unleashed all his weapons on Gore, from punishing jabs and leg kicks to a spinning backfist, upward step-in elbows, a wheel kick and more than one spinning back kick to the body. Tulio staggered the American with a head kick in the second round and bullied him to the canvas behind heavy ground-and-pound before returning to his feet to reset. He then backed Gore to the fence with a jumping switch kick, floored him with a lightning bolt of a right hand and flurried until referee Marc Goddard had seen enough.
The 30-year-old Tulio now finds himself on a 10-fight winning streak.
Finally, Nora Cornolle put away Blitz Sport rep Hailey Cowan with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their women’s bantamweight affair. Cornolle (9-2, 3-1 UFC), who missed weight for the match by one and a half pounds, drew the curtain 1:52 into Round 2.
Cowan (7-4, 0-2 UFC) powered into top position in the first round, freed herself from an armbar and controlled the French muay thai practitioner from half guard. However, she exacted little damage during an extended ground exchange and failed to build much momentum as a result. Cornolle made the American pay. She scrambled behind Cowan on a failed takedown attempt early in the middle stanza, immediately threatened the neck, readjusted her grip and closed it out with the choke.
Cornolle, 35, has won nine of her past 10 bouts.
In other action, Su Mudaerji (17-7, 4-4 UFC) outstruck Mitch Raposo (9-3, 0-2 UFC) to a split decision—28-29, 29-28, 29-28—in a three-round flyweight clash.
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