The lightweight division was in the spotlight during the UFC 323 preliminary card as a handful of rising contenders stayed hot with impressive stoppage victories.
Manuel Torres' first-round technical knockout win over Grant Dawson in the featured preliminary bout Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas should help him break into the top 15 at 155 pounds when the official UFC fighter rankings update next week.
Torres bided his time and eventually landed a swift uppercut that dropped Dawson, who was the 13th-ranked lightweight contender prior to the bout.
The 30-year-old from Mexico improved to 17-3 in mixed martial arts with all but one of his wins happening in the first round. Torres is 5-1 in the UFC since debuting in the organization in 2022 and was coming off a TKO win over Drew Dober in March.
Terrance McKinney vs. Chris Duncan was expected to be an all-action barnburner and that’s exactly what fight fans witnessed.
The pair of exciting brawlers exchanged strikes non-stop once the first round began, with McKinney rocking Duncan early. Duncan weathered the storm and dropped McKinney with an elbow and eventually locked in an anaconda choke that forced a tap midway through the opening round.
Scotland’s Duncan has won four in a row and is 6-1 in the UFC with his lone loss being to Torres in February 2024. Duncan has submitted three of his past four opponents.
Duncan’s win over McKinney only lasted 2:30, which isn’t surprising considering 21 of McKinney’s 25 pro bouts have ended in the opening round and none have gone the distance, while Duncan has only been to a decision four times in his 17-fight career.
Also at lightweight, Fares Ziam extended his winning streak to six with a knockout of Nazim Sadykhov.
After controlling the action on the ground in the opening round, Ziam found success late in the second round with his strikes as he landed a combination at the horn that ended the fight.
The 28-year-old from France is 8-1 in the UFC since debuting in 2020. Ziam’s only loss during UFC career was a first-round submission loss in 2022 to McKinney.
Also on the prelims, Maycee Barber returned to the cage for the first time in nearly two years and showed why she had been considered a future title contender in the women’s flyweight division.
Barber overcame being rocked by an illegal upkick from Karine Silva and went on to win by unanimous decision.
The 27-year-old American has won her past seven fights but has been inactive while dealing with unspecified prolonged health issues. Barber had been scheduled to headline a Fight Night card in late May against Erin Blanchfield but withdrew literally minutes before she was scheduled to walk to the cage due to a medical emergency.
Barber entered the weekend as the fifth-ranked contender at 125 pounds and looked solid against Silva, making sure she remains in the title picture.
Brazil's Silva, 32, has now lost two of her past three by unanimous decision.
Jalin Turner and Iwo Baraniewski were among the winners on the early prelims. Seven of the nine preliminary bouts at UFC 323 ended in a KO/TKO or submission.
