Magomed Ankalaev made quick work of Johnny Walker in the first UFC event of 2024 Saturday night.
Ankalaev finished Walker in the main event of UFC Fight Night 234 live on ESPN+. The event took place from the Apex in Las Vegas.
After taking several weeks off, the promotion returned with a rematch of a fight from UFC 294. That night, the bout was ended early due to an illegal knee landed on Walker.
This time, Ankalaev, a former light heavyweight title challenger, made sure there would be no issue with the finish. The 31-year-old from Russia improved to 18-1-1 in his career and remained unbeaten since 2018.
UFC Results: Jim Miller Adds To His Impressive Resume
Veteran Jim Miller was able to claim another victory when he submitted Gabriel Benitez in the co-main event.
Late in the third round, Miller locked in a face crank, securing his UFC-record 26th win. A total of 23 of those have come in the lightweight division.
This was also his 43rd appearance for the promotion, which is the most. He now owns 12 submissions inside the Octagon.
Mario Bautista claimed a decision over Ricky Simon, Brunno Ferreira knocked out Phil Hawes and Waldo Cortes-Acosta claimed a decision vs. former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski.
UFC Results: Four Finishes Including Spinning Wheel Kick
Of the six prelim bouts, four of them ended early, including a spinning wheel kick knockout by Marcus McGhee.
McGhee connected in the second round on Gaston Bolanos in their bantamweight bout. Farid Basharat topped Taylor Lapilus in another bantamweight affair.
In the prelim main event, Preston Parsons topped Matthew Semelsberger via decision.
Joshua Van, Nikolas Motta and Jean Silva all won by TKO to start off the night. Motta and Silva scored their victories inside of the first round.
Up Next
The promotion heads to Toronto, Ontario, Canada for UFC 297 from the Scotiabank Arena.
Sean Strickland makes his first middleweight title defense against Dricus du Plessis in the headline fight. Also, Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva meet to determine the new women’s bantamweight champion.
Neil Magny vs. Mike Malott, Chris Curtis vs. Marc-Andre Barriault and Arnold Allen vs. Movsar Evloev round out the pay-per-view main card.
UFC Results
Magomed Ankalaev def. Johnny Walker via KO (strike) at 2:42 of Round 2
Jim Miller def. Gabriel Benitez via submission (face crank) at 3:25 of Round 3
Mario Bautista def. Ricky Simon via unanimous decision
Brunno Ferreira def. Phil Hawes via KO (strike) at 4:55 of Round 1
Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Andrei Arlovski via unanimous decision
Preston Parsons def. Matthew Semelsberger via unanimous decision
Marcus McGhee def. Gaston Bolanos via TKO (strikes) at 3:29 of Round 2
Farid Basharat def. Taylor Lapilus via unanimous decision
Jean Silva def. Westin Wilson via TKO (strikes) at 4:12 of Round 1
Nikolas Motta def. Tom Nolan via TKO (strikes) at 1:03 of Round 1
Joshua Van def. Felipe Bunes via TKO (strikes) at 4:31 of Round 2
