UFC 228 Fight Pass prelim results and highlights: Diego Sanchez, Jim Miller get dominant wins

The UFC 228 Fight Pass prelims just concluded with Diego Sanchez putting on one of his more dominant performances in some time as he schooled Craig White on the ground for the bulk of fifteen minutes. White had a few moments here and there, but Saturday night was the Diego Sanchez show. Before that, Jim Miller put on tonight for the Dallas crowd with a brilliant first-round club and sub of Alex White. Miller has now competed in a supremely impressive 30 UFC bouts over the course of his respectable career. Irene Aldana and Lucie Pudilova waged absolute war in the women’s bantamweight division with each athlete leaving it all in the Octagon. When the dust settled, it was Aldana who walked away with the split decision. Opening up the event, Jarred Brooks picked up a grinding split decision victory over Roberto Sanchez on just five days notice.

Fight Pass prelims:

Diego Sanchez def. Craig White by unanimous decision (30-27 x3): Welterweight

Sanchez quickly found top position and began working from the full guard of White. The top pressure of Sanchez was relentless, causing all sorts of issues for White and preventing him from mounting much offense of his own. Sanchez dominated from the top all round.

White gave up the top position early into the second round, and then we started getting a case of deja vu from the opening round. Sanchez continued to work from the top, scoring with ground strikes and staying busy enough for the referee to stay out of the way. White did land a substantial up-kick from his back, but that was about it.

White dropped Sanchez right away to start the final frame, but Sanchez recovered quickly and proceeded to plant White on his back. The top pressure continued to be the theme of the fight as White struggled to do anything. He wasn’t able to sweep, throw up sub attempts, or even scramble back to his feet.

Jim Miller def. Alex White by submission (RNC) at 1:29 of round 1: Lightweight

Miller came out hot, hurting White on the feet with a series of left hands. Like a true savage killer, Miller pounced on White and went right for the neck. The RNC proved to be too tight for White to escape and Miller achieved the first round submission. Hot damn.

Irene Aldana def. Lucie Pudilova by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29): (W) Bantamweight

Pudilova went right after Aldana, working behind her jab and pressing the action. Aldana did a swell job of using her footwork to maintain the range. The volume of Pudilova was pretty constant, especially with a kick-heavy flurry in the closing moments of the round.

Pudilova kept up her aggression into the second frame, letting her volume add up as Aldana struggled to match the pace. Despite not landing as much volume as her opponent, Aldana was the one that leaving behind the damage, as Pudilova seemed to be wearing it a little more when they went to their corners in between rounds.

Aldana worked her leg kicks early in the final round, welting up the thigh of Pudilova pretty good. It looked as if Pudilova began slowing down a bit, but that didn’t stop her from continuing to throw her strikes. The athletes straight up went to war, trading back and forth with neither woman backing down or budging an inch. What a fight!

Jarred Brooks def. Roberto Sanchez by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29) : Flyweight

Sanchez worked an early takedown to start the matchup, but a leg lock attempt from Brooks led to an awkward position that ate up a large chunk of time. Brooks did return to his feet, but spent the rest of the round with his back to the cage. Sanchez again looked to close the distance and work a takedown to kick off the second frame, but Brooks was ready for it and shoved Sanchez up against the cage. Brooks found top position after Sanchez pulled guard, and kept the position until the round came to a close.

It was Brooks who closed the distance in the third round, shoving Sanchez up against the cage where he searched for a takedown. Brooks worked his way into top position, controlling his opponent with ample success. Whenever it looked as if Sanchez was close to returning to his feet, Brooks would drag him right back down to the floor. Several ground strikes scored for Brooks down the stretch to finish up the round with authority.