Buried on the prelims is a bantamweight clash with some promise. At
31 years of age, Johns (15-4, 1 NC; 6-4, 1 NC UFC) may be at a
crossroads having lost two of his last three. Marcos (17-1, 1 NC;
4-1, 1 NC UFC) is in a similar headspace, as he will be looking to
rebound from the first defeat of his career. The two come together
and tap their gloves while referee Kerry Hatley watches on. Johns gets things going by smacking the Peruvian with a couple low
kicks. Johns uses this to fire off a right hand, backing Marcos to
the fencing to rebound and toss something bac. “Soncora” reaches
out with a right hand, and Johns ducks so the punch slides off his
dome. Johns hammers the front leg with another kick, and Marcos has
a poor reaction from it and tries to blitz forward. Johns times a
knee up the middle, and Marcos tanks it and throws his own strikes
back. Marcos backs off, and he sprints forward tackling Johns to
the floor with less technique and more brute force behind it. Johns
is able to explode back to his feet, where he pushes Marcos to the
fence and pursues a double-leg takedown. Marcos looks to escape, but the tree stump that is Johns stays
pressed to Marcos until Marcos fights out. Johns wings a right hand
at him that bangs into the shoulder, and he takes a front kick and
looks to sit down on his punches. Marcos leaps at him, Johns
counters with a right over the top, and they clinch again with
Johns going after a takedown. Marcos stands him up when putting his
back to the wall, and he jams “Chapo” up with knees and elbows to
set up his own shot. Marcos leans his man over and looks to knee
him in the side of the head, succeeding once or twice while Johns
tries to turn and respond with a counter shot. Johns reaches behind
him to get a switch or reversal, but Marcos is tightly leaning
against him frustrating him with short uppercuts from behind. Johns
shrugs, and Marcos releases him and beans him with a right hand.
Johns takes it flush and the horn sounds. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Johns Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 Marcos Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Johns

Johns gets behind his jab when the second round begins, allowing
him to intercept Marcos who is revving up his own engine. The
Peruvian jumps at his man with a knee, and he opens up with single
power shots. One big right hand clips Johns behind the ear, and
Johns stays steady and wraps up Marcos in pursuit of a takedown.
Marcos pushes off Johns’ face to break it up, and he forces a
separation and loops a right hand at his opponent. Johns eats it
and fires back, but Marcos has backed him off with his uppercuts.
Marcos considers a takedown, but Johns’ counters, especially his
uppercuts, are making him change his mind. Marcos grins as he
lands, and Johns throws back but Marcos is starting to figure him
out. Johns tosses out his jabs, and Marcos clips him with a one-two
and drops down to secure a single-leg takedown. Johns maintains butterfly hooks, using them to push off the hips
and push Marcos away. Johns’ upkicks give him some space to get to
his knees, and Marcos drops to his own to control Johns from behind
on the mat. Johns works his way to the fence and puts his hands on
without pulling on the links, all while Marcos is controlling him
from the back. Marcos thumps his for in the side with a few knees.
From behind, Marcos wraps his arms around Johns’ shoulder to drag
him back and throw him to the floor. Placing Johns in a position where he has to defend from
ground-fighting, Marcos slips one hook in as Johns hits his face on
the floor. Marcos gets in the other hook, and he slips his forearm
beneath the chin. The rear-naked choke is tight as a drum, and
Hatley is paying very close attention as Johns does not appear to
be fighting the grip. Instead, when Marcos turns to the side to
complete it, Johns goes out, in what becomes his second career
technical submission defeat. The triumphant Peruvian
has just notched his first sub victory as a pro, getting back in
the win column with style points.

Bantamweights are up again in Des Moines, this time red-hot rising
contenders Marcos and Jackson, with Gary Copeland on referee duty.
Jackson is southpaw, Marcos orthodox, and they exchange a couple of
glancing punches from outside before Marcos closes the distance and
clinches with the much taller American. Jackson grounds Marcos with
a beautiful foot sweep, and takes top position in Marcos’ guard. He
lets “Soncora” up quickly, and they go back to kickboxing, where
Marcos continues to try and solve the puzzle of Jackson’s huge
height and reach advantages. They clinch again, this time with
Marcos’ back against the fence, and Jackson drives his knee into
Marcos’ thigh and midsection before they break off and move away
from the fence. Marcos rushes forward and pushes Jackson to the
fence, where he takes a turn firing short knees as they vie for
head position and wrist control. Marcos changes levels, peels
Jackson off the fence and takes him down. Marcos is in Jackson’s
guard, but only briefly, as Jackson hips out, gives his back up and
stands. He turns to face Marcos, completing the escape, just before
the horn. Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Jackson Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Jackson Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Jackson

Marcos comes forward, working to navigate his foe’s reach by
springing in with big overhand rights. Marcos jumps in again, but
this time he changes levels and completes a takedown in the center
of the Octagon. Marcos is in Jackson’s guard, but Jackson will not
concede the position, keeping his hips active and looking to get
his feet on Marcos’ hips and kick him off. Marcos lets his man up
and they go back to work on the feet. Jackson is connecting with a
fast, long jab that comes up from near his beltline, while Marcos
is keeping his chin tucked and looking for his moment to land a big
punch. Marcos steps into the pocket and shoves Jackson to the
fence, where they exchange a couple of blows in close before
breaking the clinch. Marcos wades right back into range and drives
the taller man to the cage again. He locks his hands and, after a
moment’s adjustment, hoists Jackson and puts him on the ground.
Jackson springs right back to his feet and they move back to the
fence. Jackson reverses position and is pushing Marcos into the
chain-link at the end of the round. Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Jackson Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Jackson Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Jackson

The final round begins with Marcos landing a nice body kick to the
open side. Jackson comes back with a pair of punches, one of which
might have grazed Marcos’ right eye in an awkward way, as he comes
away guarding that side of his face closely. Jackson moves in and
tries for a takedown near the fence, but Marcos sprawls well in
close quarters. Marcos goes for a takedown of his own and gets
Jackson off his feet, then moves to the back as Jackson gets back
up. Marcos works from standing back control for a few moments
before Jackson spins out of his grasp and off of the fence. Marcos
immediately closes the distance again, bending at the waist and
trying to pull Jackson’s hips away from the cage. Jackson turns his
back and Marcos takes a rear waistlock, but he can only get off a
few knees to the thigh before Jackson escapes again. Jackson comes
forward, stalking a suddenly tired-looking Marcos, and gets an easy
takedown. As Marcos stands, Jackson snares him in a D’Arce choke,
dragging him back to the mat as he does so. Marcos remains calm and
defends against the choke, but the final horn sounds seconds later,
possibly without “Soncora” having landed a single strike this
round. Barring some extreme judging malfeasance, one of the UFC’s
two dozen or so undefeated fighters is about to go down. Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Jackson (30-27 Jackson) Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Jackson (30-27 Jackson) Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Jackson (30-27 Jackson)

Keith Peterson will oversee the bantamweight fight. Both men meet
at the center of the cage and Yanez is throwing fast hooks at his
opponent. Marcos is throwing out his jab and measuring distance
well. An overhand right from Marcos lands. Yanez is hurt! Marcos is
keeping the pressure on and throws a front kick. Yanez is
recovered. Marcos lands a simultaneous low blow and an eye poke all
at once. Brutal. Yanez is hurt and taking time to recover. Marcos
gets a stern warning, but no points are taken. Yanez scores with a
leg kick. A wild exchange occurs, with Marcos eating an uppercut
and then coming over the top with his own right hand. Yanez
clinches and gets Marcos against the fence. Marcos reverses the
position and is now going for a takedown of his own. Marcos lands a
nice right elbow as time expires. Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Marcos Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Marcos Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Marcos

Marcos goes for a single-leg takedown but comes up short. Yanez
punishes him with a nice right hand. A hard left hook lands for
Yanez that hurts Marcos. Yanez is keeping up the attack but eats a
right hand from Marcos. Clean bodywork by Marcos, who has a varied
attack and throws out a front kick. An overhand right lands for
Marcos. A short left hook and then an extended right hand finds
their mark for Marcos. Yanez is really struggling not to get hit.
Yanez times a right hand as Marcos comes in. Really fun fight so
far. Yanez lands a nice left hook but eats a right hand from
Marcos. The harder shots are coming from Marcos but this is a much
better round for Yanez. The round ends with Marcos attempting a
single-leg and then landing a clubbing overhand right. Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Yanez Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Yanez Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Yanez

Wild start to the round as Yanez and Marcos are both exchanging
wild punches. Marcos winds up getting a takedown and takes the
fight to the ground for the first time. Yanez has his legs locked
and is in full guard. Marcos is trying to keep his opponent
grounded, but Yanez is able to use the cage to get back to his
feet. They separate, and Marcos lands a nice overhand right and
then gets another takedown. Yanez goes for a guillotine choke that
goes nowhere. The round is halfway over. Marcos is sneaking in some
small elbows. Yanez gets back up after losing a minute of the fight
on the ground. Yanez clinches and gets Marcos against the cage.
They separate with a minute left. Marcos looks tired but is landing
his jab. Marcos enters with a nice left hook. 30 seconds left.
Yanez isn't attacking and then clinches with 10 seconds left,
securing a win for Marcos, who survives some sloppy punches in the
last few moments. Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Marcos (29-28 Marcos) Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Marcos (29-28
Marcos) Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Marcos (29-28 Marcos)

A pair of bantamweights that hold exactly eight knockout victories
and seven triumphs on the scorecards meet as the prelims keep on
pushing. Castaneda (21-6, 4-2 UFC) rides a two-fight win streak
into this matchup, with a potential pattern brewing of him winning
two and losing the third. His Peruvian foe Marcos (15-0, 1 NC; 2-0,
1 NC UFC) has never tasted defeat as a pro, and his lone
non-victorious performance came in February when he kicked a flying
Qileng Aori in the groin to result in a no contest. The third man
in the Octagon for this one will be Dan Miragliotta, and he begins
the fight when the two men touch ‘em up. Castaneda springs in and
out of range, slapping a few leg kicks on the fiery haired man from
Peru. Marcos throws one back, and he walks through a counter low
kick to punch “Sexi Mexi” in the face three times. Castaneda slips
to the side and keeps snapping out leg kicks, targeting the calf
repeatedly while attempting to parry or dodge anything Marcos
throws his way. Marcos slowly cuts his foe off, and he lines a
right hand down the middle and drills him with a step-in knee.
Marcos gets off a body kick, and Castaneda slaps a few more leg
kicks off the calf for good measure. Marcos marches in with a heavy
right hand, sending Castaneda flying, and Castaneda bounces off the
cage wall and hits one knee. Castaneda gets back up and scampers
away, and Marcos grins and pursues another overhand right. A body
kick is swatted away by Marcos, and he coils and looses his right
hand again. Castaneda prods with low kick after low kick, and he is
met with a right hand and a pair of knees. Two quick hands from
Marcos find the chin of his opponent, and Castaneda’s nose starts
to turn red. A front kick from Marcos does not help, as it grazes
the beak as Castaneda is retreating. Castaneda pecks with another
leg kick and hops away, and Marcos’ right hand marks up the bridge
of Castaneda’s nose. Marcos parries a punch and drills Castaneda
with three before Castaneda can get away. Marcos plants a kick on
the ribs of his foe, and Castaneda’s low kicks keep slapping but
are frequently countered by a right hook. A few more from Marcos
send Castaneda down to his knees, and Castaneda climbs up and
rushes away while Marcos gives chase. As Marcos lands a few more,
the bell rings. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Marcos Scottie Smith scores the round: 10-9 Marcos Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Marcos

Gloves are touched to commence the round, and they trade leg kicks
right off the bat. Marcos connects with a quick combination of
punches, resulting in Castaneda crashing the pocket and clinching
up. Castaneda presses tightly in the clinch, stomping the
undefeated fighter’s toes. Marcos breaks off and chases after
Castaneda, blasting him in the face with a knee and several right
hands. The strikes cause blood to blow from the nose of “Sexi
Mexi,” and Marcos targets the same place with a few more knees and
rights. Castaneda tries to take the fight down to slow down the
onslaught of the Peruvian, where he succeeds in clinging to him and
briefly halting the offense. As Marcos turns him about, he knees
Castaneda in the face and thigh a few times, as Castaneda leans his
shoulder on the wall before splitting off. Castaneda sells out for
a double, and Marcos’ defense holds up as he leans his back on the
fence and knees Castaneda square in the face. Marcos finds
Castaneda’s face with punches, a head kick and a follow-up one-two,
and Castaneda is tough but taking damage. Marcos chases after
Castaneda and lets Castaneda hit him back so he can slug him
harder. Castaneda finds a different angle, rushes forward and
scoops “Soncora” up to slam him on the canvas. Marcos turns to a
knee and is up after a few seconds, and he lays into Castaneda with
punches and a vicious knee until Castaneda shoots once more.
Castaneda spins with an elbow that brushes past the shoulder, and
Marcos drives him back with a front kick and a leaping right hand.
Castaneda counters and bloodies up the bridge of Marcos’ nose, and
the round ends. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Marcos Scottie Smith scores the round: 10-9 Marcos Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Marcos

The fighters hug it out to start the last round, and Marcos leads
the dance with a clean right hand. Castaneda strafes to the side
and responds with a straight right hand, and he spins with a kick
that misses the mark. Marcos kicks his foe in the ribs, and he
chops at the inside calf and then jams his shin into the solar
plexus. Castaneda retaliates with a head kick, and Marcos kicks him
back only for the foot to bounce off the stomach and potentially
the cup. After a brief look at the replay, Miragliotta tells them
it was legal, so they resume fighting and Marcos kicks the same
spot. Castaneda cries foul again for a cup shot, and Miragliotta
once more tells him they are legal. Marcos rushes at Castaneda, who
is turned around and upset, and he punches his way forward until
Castaneda grabs hold of him to tie him up. Marcos is turned around,
but he muscles his way out of the tie-up. Castaneda goes after him,
kicking the lead leg and body before Marcos lines up a right hand
down the pipe. Marcos jabs the body with a kick, and Castaneda
responds with a low kick. They trade strikes one after the other,
and Marcos lands a right as Castaneda trips. Castaneda is upright
in an instant, and he throws a few punches that are out of range.
Castaneda gets off a solid body kick, and Marcos comes back at him
with three punches and a much heavier body kick of his own.
Castaneda races forward, keeping Marcos on the back foot, and he
throws punches and kicks. Castaneda winds up with a big right hand,
and Marcos says, “two can play that game,” and decks Castaneda with
his own fastball. Castaneda hits his seat and jumps back up to his
feet after the flash knockdown, and Marcos elects to tie him up
instead of land much more. On the break, Marcos digs a right to the
body and one to the head, and Castaneda punches his foe in the
chest in response. Castaneda scores a right hand and lets loose
with a head kick, and Marcos suddenly realizes that he is in
trouble. Castaneda sprints at him trying to do some finalizing
damage, and Marcos gets his feet back and cracks Castaneda with a
thudding elbow right before the fight wraps. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Marcos (30-27 Marcos) Scottie Smith scores the round: 10-9 Marcos (30-27 Marcos) Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Marcos (30-27 Marcos)

If the reports and claims are accurate, a billionaire will be in
the stands at the UFC Apex this afternoon. Within a matter of
minutes, it will be apparent if the tech mogul and personality of
the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Elon Musk, has
received the Mark Zuckerberg treatment of renting the entire place
out for himself. If not, a few hundred fans plus the controversial
figure will be in the building for this jam-packed 14-fight
showcase. The first match of the day comes in the bantamweight
division, as flashy undefeated Peruvian Marcos (15-0, 2-0 UFC) aims
to keep his spotless record intact at the expense of Inner
Mongolia’s Aori (25-11, 3-3 UFC). Referee Jason Herzog will need to
be on high alert right out of the gate to keep track of these two
quick competitors. The gloves are touched, and it’s on with the
show. Aori flicks out an early front kick to measure his range, and
he sits back and waits to see if a counter comes his way. It does
not. Marcos watches from afar, and he surges into action with a
single overhand right that gets Aori’s attention. The two trade low
kicks, and they both let their hands go with big, winging punches.
In the midst of an exchange, Marcos changes things up with a stern
knee on the jaw, and Aori shakes it off. Both men land flush and
back off to not get sucked into a brawl. Aori paws out a front
kick, and blood trickles down the temple from the power lefts from
the Peruvian. Aori leaps forward with a knee, and uses his momentum
to press into a clinch. Marcos meets him with a strike that busts
Aori’s mouth open, and Aori cannot keep the tie-up and is forced to
back off and reset. Marcos comes up short with a front kick, but
his looping punches continues to bust up the Chinese competitor,
smashing Aori’s nose in the process. Blood leaks from several
places on Aori’s face like the Doomguy low on health, but he is
very much still in the fight as he lets Marcos have it with a quick
combination. Marcos keeps his guard high, so Aori kicks low
repeatedly. Marcos retaliates after absorbing one particularly
stern low kick, and he whips his right hand into action. Marcos
prods out a jab and draws out some oncoming fire from Aori, taking
advantage of this by blasting Aori with an uppercut. Aori tanks it
and moves forward, and the horn signals the end of the first
round. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Marcos Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Marcos Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Marcos

For the first time since right before the pandemic, the UFC is back
in Brazil, and it is a long time coming. Fittingly, every one of
the UFC record-tying 15 matches contains at least one Brazilian,
while two fights pit countrymen against one another. This marathon
of a pay-per-view offering begins in the bantamweight division, as
Santa Catarina native Oliveira (18-4, 0-1 UFC) tries to make good
in his second try in the Octagon. He faces promotional newcomer
Marcos (13-0, 0-0 UFC), who will look to keep his spotless record
intact in hostile territory. The first assignment of this show in
the Jeunesse Arena goes to referee Fernando Portella, who observes
a clap of hands to get the night started. Oliveira is the initial
aggressor, and he scores first with a sweeping low kick. Marcos
responds with a front kick that smacks his man right on the jaw,
surprising him early. From a wide distance, Oliveira shoots in for
a takedown, but it is buffeted by the Peruvian as they clinch up
against the wall. Oliveira jams a knee up the middle as his foe
tries to escape, and a second effort from Marcos allows him to turn
things around and blast a knee to the body. Oliveira spins him back
around as the crowd already lets the fighters know of their brief
displeasures. Marcos breaks off and dodges a spinning back fist by
a matter of inches, and he lets fly a quick body kick. Oliveira
replies with a slapping calf kick, and when he attacks another,
Marcos slips out of the way. The Brazilian fighter leaps forward
for another takedown that is far away from his opponent, and Marcos
sees it coming and stands him up without issue. On the break,
Oliveira pursues another spinning back fist, and this one collides
off the guard. Marcos walks forward calmly, ripping two punches to
the body, while Oliveira backs off and bounces off the fending.
Oliveira springs into action, running forward with his fists
outstretched and a flying knee, and Marcos guards against it and is
forced to deal with a takedown to follow. Marcos cracks him with a
big knee on the way up as he stops the takedown entry, and he
releases his foe so he can slap a kick to the body. Marcos strings
together a short combination and bobs out of the way when counters
come at him, and he catches a fleeing Oliveira at the end of a
right hand. Oliveira spins with a back fist, and he starts to get
reckless and misses the mark wildly. Marcos closes in, and the two
suddenly engage in a ferocious flurry of fists, with both landing
cleanly. Oliveira changes things in up in pursuit of a single, and
when that fails, he spins and gets drilled on the way out. The
rounds ends, and the two jaw at one another. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Marcos Edwin Ayala scores the round: 10-9 Marcos Scottie Smith scores the round: 10-9 Oliveira

The fighters reintroduce themselves to one another with a quick
glove touch, and Oliveira leads the dance with a high kick that
misses his intended target. The Brazilian spins with another back
fist, and he goes wide. Oliveira attempts another, and this makes
him fall over. As he tries to recover, Marcos lets rip a kick to
the body, and Oliveira hunches over in pain as he runs to the cage
wall. Marcos gives chase, nailing him with another kick beneath the
guard. Oliveira backpedals, and he finds himself getting blitzed by
a combination of a few punches, a head kick, and a solid right
hook. Oliveira tries to get one back with a spinning back fist, and
Marcos does not seem concerned as he blocks it without issue.
Oliveira loads up on his punches while Marcos is calmer and more
measured, and the spins continue to fail. Marcos connects with a
kick to the body to buckle Oliveira’s knees, and as he leans up
against the wall, “Soncora” is there to continue his beating of the
midsection. Oliveira tries to escape, and a knee from Marcos
connects flush. One more vicious knee to the body crumbles the Brazilian, who
shells up but is clearly done. Finishing the job with a bow in the
form of a few punches while Oliveira is face-down on the floor,
Marcos keeps on striking until Portella steps in and calls the
fight. This was a statement introductory performance
for the still undefeated Peruvian fighter, who notches one more
knockout on his growingly impressive resume.

Daniel Marcos

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Grappling Profile

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