UFC lightweight Jim Miller joined a distinguished group on Saturday, as he became just the fifth fighter in UFC history to reach 20 wins inside the Octagon.
Miller (31-13) accomplished the feat by submitting Clay Guida (35-19) via guillotine choke in just 58 seconds. The lightweight bout co-headlined UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Lawler, which took place in Miller's home state of New Jersey at the Prudential Center.
Guida opened up the contest with a big right hand, but Miller was waiting for that same punch moments later. He cracked Guida with a counter left, and then jumped into a guillotine choke as Guida dropped his head and took a step back. It marks the quickest finish in Miller's 11-year UFC career.
"I knew he was setting something up, setting up big shots," Miller said. "He drilled me with that right. I'm just a guy from North Jersey, anytime adversity shows its ugly face, I don't back down. I'm here getting my 20th win in the Octagon. It's an amazing group of guys to be there with."
Miller joins active lightweight Donald Cerrone, welterweight Demian Maia and retired legends Georges St-Pierre and Michael Bisping in the 20-win club.
Saturday marked Miller's 33rd appearance in the UFC. Guida is not far behind, as this was his 28th fight in the Octagon. The 59 combined contests between them going into the fight represented the highest total of any two opponents in UFC history.
"I'm healthy, and I'm looking to get another one," Miller said of his future plans.
Haqparast returns from hand injury, posts third straight win
German lightweight Nasrat Haqparast (11-2) delivered a highlight-reel knockout in the second round against Joaquim Silva (11-2), in what was his first appearance since October due to a hand injury.
Haqparast dropped Silva with a left hand to the chin before finishing him with strikes on the ground just 36 seconds into the second round. It is his first knockout in the UFC, and first since 2017 -- but the 23-year-old promised there will be more to come.
"I'm a power striker," Haqparast said. "The last two years, my fights went the distance, so guys thought, 'He's not powerful.' My team knows what I'm capable of."
It was an impressive performance by Haqparast beyond the straight left. He outpointed Silva on the feet in the opening round, after taking a couple of minutes to size him up and find his timing. He caught multiple body kick attempts early, and countered with the left hand.
Haqparast is arguably one of the lightweight division's top prospects. He suffered a unanimous decision loss to Marcin Held in his UFC debut in October 2017, but has won three in a row since. Former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre appeared in Haqparast's corner on Saturday.
Meerschaert puts Giles to sleep in the third
Middleweight Gerald Meerschaert (30-11) submitted Trevin Giles (11-2) with a guillotine choke at 1:49 of the third round -- good for his 27th stoppage in 29 career wins.
Meerschaert, who trains out of Roufusport in Milwaukee, caught Giles in a guillotine as Giles worked on finishing a single leg takedown. Giles tapped quickly to the choke, but referee Herb Dean missed it initially as the tap happened out of his field of view. That resulted in Giles going unconscious. Giles appeared fine after the bout, however.
Giles was surprisingly willing to mix it up with Meerschaert on the ground, and Meerschaert took advantage of it on several occasions. He worked multiple sweeps from the bottom throughout the fight, and racked up a decent amount of control time from the top.
Meerschaert snaps a two-fight skid with the win. He was coming off back-to-back losses to Jack Hermansson and Kevin Holland.
Holtzman stops Ma in slugfest
Lightweight Scott Holtzman (13-3) picked up a stoppage win over Dong Hyun Ma (16-10-3) at 5:00 of the second round, as Ma was unable to answer the bell for the third.
Holtzman, of Knoxville, Tennessee, hurt Ma with a stinging right hand in the opening round, which caused Ma's left eye to swell. The eye continued to close up on Ma in the second round, to the point that ringside officials were forced to stop the bout between rounds.
It was a fun stand-up fight while it lasted. Holtzman consistently got the better of Ma in the exchanges, but the South Korean's power was an issue. He dropped Holtzman on his butt with a left hook in the second round, but Holtzman was able to jump immediately back to his feet and get back to work.
Holtzman has now won four of his past five contests. He had a three-fight win streak snapped in his last bout against Nik Lentz, but has been otherwise impressive during that stretch.
Nzechukwu takes decision after opponent docked two points
Light heavyweight prospect Kennedy Nzechukwu (7-1) earned a unanimous decision over Darko Stosic (13-3), primarily because Stosic was docked two points for incidental groin kicks.
All three judges scored the 205-pound contest for Nzechukwu. The scores were influenced by two point deductions on Stosic, for accidental kicks to the groin. Two judges had a final score of 29-26 in favor of Nzechukwu, however -- meaning he would have won anyway, even without Stosic's point deductions.
It was obvious Stosic was not trying to target Nzechukwu's groin. It appeared to be the result of an orthodox fighter facing a southpaw fighter, but nevertheless, the kicks clearly had a negative impact on Nzechukwu. Even after the last of the kicks to the groin caused an extended delay, Nzechukwu refused to simply quit and take a win by disqualification in the third round.
"We train to push through it," Nzechukwu said. "I know my performance was horrible, but that third groin shot hurt me. I couldn't stop and [win via] DQ. I had to keep going."
Stosic, of Serbia, out-landed Nzechukwu in total strikes 68 to 28. His kicks to the body and legs of Nzechukwu were extremely effective, but cost him the fight. He is now 1-2 in the UFC.
Gall pulls out late decision at home
Welterweight Mickey Gall (6-2) had to dig deep in the third round to pull out a unanimous decision over Salim Touahri (10-4) in his home state.
The New Jersey native went into the final round of his bout against Touahri all tied up at one round apiece. Gall, 27, clearly won the deciding frame though, as he landed several combinations to Touahri's head and body, both at range and in tight.
It was Gall's first appearance since a high-profile loss to UFC veteran Diego Sanchez in March. Gall has since said he was sick prior to the fight.
"Everybody knows I was sick; everybody knows that wasn't the real me," Gall said. "If Diego wants to bite off another piece -- he said he wanted to humble me, I didn't get the message. Let's run it back."
Gall improves to 5-2 in the UFC.
Older Shevchenko sister scores first submission win of career
Flyweight Antonina Shevchenko (8-1), the older sister of flyweight champion Valentina, secured the first submission win of her career as she choked out Lucie Pudilova (8-5) at the 1:20 mark of the second round.
Shevchenko, 34, suffered a cut over her left eye in the opening round, when Pudilova connected a right elbow in the clinch. Pudilova scored a takedown moments later, but Shevchenko nearly tapped her out with an armbar from the bottom.
It was a similar story in the second round, as Shevchenko managed to take Pudilova's back, even though it was Pudilova who initiated the grappling.
"I didn't feel the elbow very hard, but I felt, of course, the blood in my eye," Shevchenko said. "I said, 'Oh God.' I just, in the first round I saw she's pretty open for submission,s and I just took it."
It's a rebound win for Shevchenko, as she suffered the first loss of her MMA career to Roxanne Modafferi in April. Valentina is scheduled to defend her 125-pound title against Liz Carmouche on Aug. 10 in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Schnell records ninth first-round finish of career
Flyweight Matt Schnell (14-4) continued his habit of finishing opponents early, submitting Jordan Espinosa (14-6) via triangle choke just 1:23 into the contest -- good for the second-fastest submission win in UFC flyweight history.
Schnell, of Armory, Mississippi, landed a good right hand on Espinoza, stuffed an ensuing takedown, and then locked Espinoza in a guillotine choke. Espinoza managed to escape the choke, but Schnell transitioned immediately into a triangle attempt that eventually finished the fight. It is the ninth first-round finish of Schnell's pro career.
"It's about time some people start paying attention to the flyweights," Schnell said. "I understand people's preconceived notions of what this division is capable of, but leave my name out of it. I finish fights."
Schnell's three straight wins at flyweight are tied for the second-longest active winning streak in the division (with Joseph Benavidez), behind current champion Henry Cejudo (four).
Murphy upsets Borella in knockout
Veteran flyweight contender Lauren Murphy (11-4) picked up one of the biggest wins of her career in the form of a third-round TKO over betting favorite Mara Romero Borella (12-6).
The finish came at 1:46 of the third round. Murphy, 36, backed Borella up with an uppercut and when Borella responded with a takedown attempt, Murphy stifled the shot and executed a perfect left knee to the chin. Borella fell backwards from the knee and Murphy finished it off with elbows on the ground.
It's a big win for Murphy, who hadn't fought since June 2018 due to injury. Borella, of Italy, falls to 2-2 in the UFC.
Silva cruises to fifth UFC win
Brazilian welterweight Claudio Silva (14-1) made quick work of UFC newcomer Cole Williams (11-2), as he submitted the Iowan via rear-naked choke just 2:35 into the first round.
Silva was supposed to fight Ramazan Emeev, of Azerbaijan, but Emeev was unable to take the fight due to visa issues. Williams agreed to replace Emeev on the card, but Silva proved to be in another class. He took Williams' back on the ground less than 90 seconds in and landed a string of hard punches before wrapping up the choke and finishing the fight.
The 36-year-old is now 5-0 in the UFC, with three consecutive wins by submission. Those five appearances have been scattered over five years due to injury, but Silva says he is now healthy and wants to stay busy.
Granger stays perfect in UFC debut
Washington's Miranda Granger (7-0) remains undefeated, following a clear-cut unanimous decision win over Hannah Goldy (5-1) in her UFC debut. All three judges scored the flyweight contest a shutout for Granger, 30-27.
Granger, who primarily competes at strawweight, used her significant reach advantage to combat Goldy's long-range striking style, landing some good knees and left hooks whenever the fight went into the clinch. The 27-year-old has finished most of her professional fights with submissions, but looked comfortable on her feet with Goldy -- outlanding her opponent 59 to 30 in total strikes.
Still to come:
Robbie Lawler vs. Colby Covington