Excerpt from UFC.com
Rising featherweight star Max Holloway capped off a great night for Hawaii at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore Saturday, as his second round TKO win over Octagon newcomer Will Chope made it three for three for his team in UFC Fight Night action, joining him in the win column with Dustin Kimura and Russell Doane.
Chope worked off any first-time UFC jitters with an active attack, with Holloway forced to pull off some unorthodox moves to keep the Thailand-based fighter off him. In the final two minutes, Holloway finally began to find his range though, and the Hawaiian pounced, landing with hard shots down the middle, forcing Chope to clinch with his opponent against the fence in the final minute before a round finishing barrage of strikes from Holloway.
Holloway continued to press in the second round, and Chope was forced to go on the defensive as Holloway unleashed punches and kicks upstairs and downstairs. After a rough sequence, Chope fired back and then clinched with Holloway against the fence, getting a brief breather. Once the two broke, Holloway went on the attack once again, and this time he dropped Chope to the mat, with a follow up series of strikes prompting referee Leon Roberts to halt the fight at 2:27 of the second round.
With the win, Holloway improves to 8-3; Chope falls to 19-6.
Watch Holloway’s backstage interview
KIMURA vs. DELOS REYES
Bantamweight prospect Dustin Kimura survived an early onslaught from newcomer Jon Delos Reyes to finish off the Guam native via first round submission.
Delos Reyes (7-3) came out throwing bombs, and within the first 45 seconds he had knocked Kimura to the mat. Kimura (12-1) worked his ground game from his back as Delos Reyes continues to fire away, but the Hawaiian remained poised and secured an armbar, producing a tap out at 2:13 of the opening round.
DOANE vs. ISSA
Hawaiian bantamweight Russell Doane got the night off to an exciting start with a second round submission win over Leandro Issa in a clash of Octagon newcomers.
As soon as Doane let his hands go to open the bout, the Brazil-born Issa took him to the mat. Doane impressively reversed and got back to his feet, going right back to his standup efforts. Issa had to work a little harder for his next takedown but he got it. This time, Doane’s reversal
saw him take Issa’s back, and he fired off strikes. Issa stayed calm, and soon he was able to lock in a triangle choke. Doane tried to slam his way out of trouble, and while Issa kept the hold on, Doane was able to make it to the bell.
Issa worked his striking game well in the early part of round two, but the heavy-handed Doane rocked him on a number of occasions with his right hand and he tossed off takedown attempts from the Brazilian. With a little over a minute left, the bout went to the mat, but it was Doane in control as he unleashed strikes and almost locked in an armbar before a triangle choke finished matters at 4:59 of the second frame.
With the win, Doane improves to 13-3; Issa, who now makes his home in Singapore, falls to 11-4.