UFC on ESPN 55 Prelims: Victor Henry Dissects Rani Yahya in Las Vegas

Patience, persistence and precision worked in concert for Victor Henry.

The longtime Josh Barnett protégé drove deeper into the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division, as he disposed of Rani Yahya with a head kick and follow-up punches in the third round of their featured UFC on ESPN 55 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Henry (24-6, 3-1 UFC) prompted referee Jason Herzog to intervene 2:36 into Round 1.

Yahya (28-12-1, 13-6-1 UFC) pressured and outworked the former Deep champion in the first round, only to slowly wilt from that point forward. Henry decked the 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Fighting World Championships gold medalist with a pair of right hands late in the second round, then swarmed with elbows and punches for a near-finish. Yahya survived, but it soon became clear he was a spent force. Henry picked him apart from the outside in Round 3, dropped him again with a right hand and then invited him to stand after a brief exchange on the ground. He clipped Yahya with a head kick, forced him into a defensive shell and cut loose with punches until Herzog had seen enough.

Meanwhile, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 31 finalist Austin Hubbard returned to the winner’s circle with a unanimous decision over Michal Figlak in a back-and-forth three-round lightweight battle. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28 for Hubbard (16-7, 4-5 UFC).

Figlak (8-2, 0-2 UFC) doubled and tripled up on his jab, stayed technical and employed an effective clinch but lacked the variety his counterpart called upon. Hubbard secured takedowns in the first and third rounds, attacked the legs with kicks and mixed punches to the body and head. Figlak made a late push in the third round, where he snuck behind the Elevation Fight Team rep more than once and buried knees into his legs. However, the lack of urgency in the Pole’s approach may have proved costly.

Hubbard, 32, has won three of his last four fights.

Further down the undercard, Jackson-Wink MMA export Don’Tale Mayes Mayes rode power punching combinations and a steady jab to a unanimous decision over Caio Machado in a three-round heavyweight encounter. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28 for Mayes (11-6, 4-4 UFC), as he bounced back from a Nov. 4 decision loss to Rodrigo Nascimento.

Related » UFC Vegas 91 Round-by-Round Scoring

A former Battlefield Fight League champion, Machado (8-3-1, 0-2 UFC) scored in spurts but failed to land anything of consequence. Mayes floored the Brazilian with a counter right hand in the waning seconds of the first round, touched off more than one flurry with a thudding lead left uppercut and threw in a few kicks at various levels. Machado barreled forward in the back half of the fight and tired to lure the Louisville, Kentucky, native into a firefight, to no avail.

Mayes has put up seven wins across his past 12 outings.

Elsewhere, Fight Science MMA product Chris Padilla filled in as a short-notice replacement for Gabriel Green and dispatched James Llontop with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their lightweight confrontation. Llontop (14-3, 0-1 UFC)—who missed weight for his promotional debut by half a pound—bowed out 4:33 into Round 1, his 12-fight winning streak having run its course.

The 28-year-old Padilla (14-6, 1-0 UFC) completed multiple takedowns, held his own in the standup exchanges and waited for an opportunity to present itself. He grounded Llontop late in the first round, transitioned to the back beautifully and snaked his arms in place for the choke before the Peruvian could activate his defenses. After a brief struggle, Llontop tapped.

Padilla has rattled off four straight victories.

Finally, former Ares Fighting Championship titleholder Ivana Petrovic overcame a sluggish start to put away Na Liang with an arm-triangle choke in the third round of their women’s flyweight clash. Petrovic (7-1, 1-1 UFC) drew the curtain 1:29 into Round 3, as she rebounded from a July 1 decision defeat to Luana Carolina.

Liang (19-8, 0-4 UFC) kept the Norwegian guessing with an early takedown, whirling punches and repeated clinches throughout the first round but offered little else as the bout progressed. Petrovic executed a takedown of her own midway through the middle stanza, climbed to mount and eventually progressed to the back, at which point she cut loose with elbow-laced ground-and-pound that drew blood and nearly resulted in a finish. An exhausted Liang proved powerless at the start of Round 3. There, Petrovic secured another takedown, advanced to mount amid minimal resistance and cinched the fight-ending choke.

The 27-year-old Liang has not registered a win since Jan. 24, 2021 and seems destined to return to the Chinese regional scene.

In other action, onetime Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder Ketlen Souza (14-4, 1-1 UFC) took a unanimous decision from Marnic Mann (6-3, 0-2 UFC) in their three-round women’s strawweight tilt, earning 30-27 scores across the board; and Maheshate Hayisaer (10-3, 2-2 UFC) eked out a split decision—28-29, 29-28, 29-28—over “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America” Season 1 semifinalist Gabriel Benitez (23-12, 7-8 UFC) in a three-round lightweight pairing.