Francisco Prado mauls Ottman Azaitar in first
It doesn’t get much better than your first UFC victory being an impressive stoppage, and that’s exactly what 21-year-old Francisco Prado created.
On the main card of UFC on ESPN 49 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Prado (12-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) took care of business against Ottman Azaitar (13-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC). The lightweight bout was stopped by the referee at 4:05 of Round 1.
Prado was aggressive from the start. He dictated the pace of the fight by controlling the center of the cage and going first with punches. He also kept Azaitar guessing by mixing in a few takedown attempts. What led to the finish was a beautiful spinning elbow along the fence that caught Azaitar clean, sending him to the canvas. Azaitar was rocked and bloodied, and from that point on, Prado threw bombs from the top until the referee saw enough.
FRANCISCO PRADO HAMMERS HOME THE WIN 🔨 #UFCVegas77 pic.twitter.com/9WPnTdKpck — ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 16, 2023
Prado stumbled in his UFC debut, losing a unanimous decision to Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 284 in February. However, his rebound performance was one that he will not forget.
On the other side, Azaitar falls to .500 in the UFC, having lost his last two outings after picking up a pair of first-round finishes to begin his run with the promotion.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 49 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 49.
Source: MMA Junkie
