PRELIM RESULTS | UFC SEATTLE
Returning to Seattle for the first time in nearly a dozen years, Saturday’s UFC Fight Night event at Climate Pledge Arena played to a raucous house and delivered the goods, right from the opening bout of the evening.
Modestas Bukauskas opened the night with a first-round finish before Nursulton Ruziboev and Austin Vanderford followed with second-round stoppage wins of their own. Washington state product Ricky Simón got himself back into the win column with an hellacious first-round knockout win over Javid Basharat, with Mansur Abdul-Malik continuing the stoppage-fest by rallying to put away Nick Klein in the second.
And the finishes kept coming.
Brazilian Melquizael Costa picked up the biggest win of his career in the penultimate preliminary card fight, submitting featherweight veteran and Federal Way, Washington native Andre Fili before Ion Cutelaba closed out the all-finishes opening slate with a first-round submission win over Ibo Aslan.
Order UFC 313: Pereira vs Ankalaev
Main event scheduled for five rounds. All other bouts scheduled for three rounds.
Main Card Results | Official Scorecards | Watch on ESPN+
Modestas Bukauskas defeats Rafael Cerqueira by KO (strikes) at 2:12 of Round 1
Modestas Bukauskas ate a couple right hands early, but once “The Baltic Gladiator” got Rafael Cerqueira hurt, he made sure to seal the deal with a thrilling stoppage to start the night in Seattle.
Cerquiera did well to find a home for a couple clean right hands in the opening 90 seconds of the fight, but Bukauskas dealt with them well, and after connecting with a shot that put the Brazilian on wobbly legs, the veteran light heavyweight pounced. A series of shots with Cerquiera pinned along the fence brought about the ending, as Bukauskas continued to unload until his foe collapsed to the floor.
That’s now consecutive stoppage wins for Bukauskas and four victories in five fights since returning to the promotion. Now 17-6 overall, the 31-year-old has never looked better under the UFC banner.
Nursulton Ruziboev made a triumphant return to the middleweight division, stopping newcomer Eric McConico in the opening moments of the second round.
After an opening stanza where both men spent the majority of the time feeling each other out, the tall, rangy fighter from Uzbekistan connected with a right hand that shook McConico’s equilibrium, and Ruziboev never allowed him to get his footing again. “Black” quickly chased down the debuting McConico, stinging him again on multiple occasions before referee Keith Peterson finally stepped in and halted the contest.
The 31-year-old opened his UFC tenure with consecutive stoppage wins over Brunno Ferreira and Sedriques Dumas before venturing to welterweight and dropping a decision to Joaquin Buckley. Now back at 185 pounds, Ruziboev once against looks like a dangerous name to track going forward.
Austin Vanderford sent the partisan crowd in the Pacific Northwest into hysterics with a second-round stoppage win over Nikolay Veretennikov, who opted to get a little chippy with his opponent after the fight was halted.
The Dana White’s Contender Series alum needed one takedown in each of the first two rounds to neutralize Veretennikov, hammering home elbows and chasing submissions in the first before a torrent of unanswered punches brought about the finish in the second. As Vanderford celebrated the win, Veretennikov followed him and shoved him, saving his best offense for after the bell.
This was an outstanding win for the Portland, Oregon native, who brings a wealth of experience and excellent wrestling with him into the UFC, and now he’s got a stoppage win under his belt to kick things off.
Main Card Results | Official Scorecards | Watch on ESPN+
Ricky Simon came home and collected the most emphatic victory of his career, knocking Javid Basharat out cold.
The Vancouver, Washington native looked to wrestle in the first half of the opening round, getting inside by struggling to get Basharat to the canvas. Late in the frame as they separated into space, Simon landed a right hand that spun Basharat to the canvas unconscious.
This was a blistering way to stop a three-fight skid and a massive homecoming effort for the bantamweight veteran. After a long run in the Top 15, this one gets Simon moving in the right direction again, and cements his standing as a dangerous out for anyone looking to make a push towards the rankings.
Mansur Abdul-Malik had to deal with some adversity in the first round, but he found his footing and a finish in the second.
Paired off with fellow DWCS Class of ’24 grad Nick Klein, the Xtreme Couture product ate a flush spinning back forearm midway through the opening round that rocked him and allowed Klein to control the remainder of the frame in the clinch. Early in the second, Abdul-Malik was again forced to work out of clinch situations, but once he finally broke free and let go of his hands, the finish soon followed, as Klein could not withstand the barrage of punishing blows coming his way.
This was an outstanding developmental effort and rallying finish for the unbeaten middleweight, who looks the part of a quality long-range prospect. Tests like this are essential, especially early in a career, and Abdul-Malilk should be even better going forward as a result.
Melquizael Costa took full advantage of a tactical mistake by Andre Fili, locking up a deep guillotine choke and securing the finish when the featherweight veteran left his neck exposed.
The two men had traded sporadic shots and missed kicks throughout the majority of the the opening round before Fili hit a well-timed, open-space takedown in the center of the cage. But he left his head outside for just a second too long, and that was all the time Costa needed to connect his hands, throw his right leg over the back, and squeeze out a tap.
Easily the biggest win of his UFC career, the submission win gets the Chute Boxe Joao Emilio representative back into the win column and brings his record to 3-2 inside the Octagon.
Main Card Results | Official Scorecards | Watch on ESPN+
Ion Cutelaba showed the diversity of his game and his veteran savvy in the preliminary card finisher against Ibo Aslan, wrestling “The Last Ottoman” to the ground and collecting a first-round submission win.
Main Card Results | Official Scorecards | Watch on ESPN+
The light heavyweights opened the contest slinging hammers, throwing caution to the wind and heavy leather at each other until Cutelaba wisely looked to change things up by putting Aslan on the deck. Though he struggled to keep him down initially, Cutelaba quickly shot again, climbing into top position, clamping onto a arm-triangle choke and securing the tap.
This was a chaotic battle and a tremendous effort for “The Hulk,” who remains one of the most consistent all-action fighters on the roster. Win or lose, when Cutelaba steps into the Octagon, excitement is bound to happen, and it did again on Saturday night in Seattle.
Don’t miss a moment of UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs Song, live from Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington on February 22, 2025. Prelims start at 6pm ET/3pm PT, while the main card kicks off live on ESPN+ at 9pm ET/6pm PT.
See How The Judges Scored Every Round Of UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs Song, Live From Climate Pledge Arena In Seattle,
See The Fight Results, Watch Post-Fight Interviews With The Main Card Winners And More From UFC Fight Night: Cejudo v
Main navigation
UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs Song Results
UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs Song Prelim Results
UFC FIGHT NIGHT
Footer
Cookie Policy
Nursulton Ruziboev defeats Eric McConico by TKO (strikes) at 0:33 of Round 2
Austin Vanderford defeats Nikolay Veretennikov by TKO (strikes) at 4:13 of Round 2
Ricky Simón defeats Javid Basharat by KO (right hand) at 3:15 of Round 1
Mansur Abdul-Malik defeats Nick Klein by TKO (strikes) at 3:24 of Round 2
Melquizael Costa defeats Andre Fili by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:30 of Round 1
Ion Cutelaba defeats Ibo Aslan by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 2:51 of Round 1
UP NEXT
Ibo Aslan taps out to Ion Cutelaba in stunning first octagon loss as UFC Seattle prelims end in all stoppages
Ibo Aslan was defeated for the first time under the UFC banner with a rare submission at the Climate Pledge Arena.
The rising Turkish star has become one of the most exciting light-heavyweights in the world, and headlined a knockout-filled prelim card at UFC Seattle. And he took a big step up against octagon veteran Ion Cutelaba for a bout that promised fireworks.
In their 32 combined wins, just five had gone to the judges’ scorecards all on the record of Cutelaba. And after all stoppages on the previous preliminary card, there was real excitement for the pair to throw hands.
From the opening bell, Ibo Aslan and Ion Cutelaba were throwing big shots in an effort to land the knockout. It looked as though the veteran was rocked early, but he managed to get a big takedown halfway through the round that changed the fight’s complexion.
Cutelaba had never submitted anyone in his UFC career, in fact losing four by that very method in his nine promotional defeats. But he locked in a head-and-arm choke on the ground, and declared ‘I am power’ in an explosive victory.
‘Turkish Power’ Aslan had been one of the fastest-rising stars in the promotion, and attempted to give a thumbs up to the referee as he defended against the choke. But he ended up tapping out as he suffered his first defeat in the octagon.
The sole undercard fight at UFC Seattle which didn’t end in knockout saw Melquizael Costa defeat Andre Fili. That one ended in submission within one round.
It goes to show the exciting nature of the prelims, which were generally hastily thrown together, for the card at the Climate Pledge Arena. In fact, not one fight prior to the prelim headliner went past round two as all knockouts were landed across the board.
Modestas Bukauskas kicked off the action with a stunning combination to send Raffael Cerqueira to sleep in the first round of their clash. Immediately after that, Nursulton Ruziboev blasted out promotional newcomer Eric McConico, before Austin Vanderford marked his debut with a TKO.
