The UFC on FOX 24 preliminary card is all wrapped up. Alexander Volkov turned in a confident and efficient performance against Roy Nelson. Tom Duquesnoy had a tougher-than-expected first foray into the Octagon, but he still finished in style. Rashid Magomedovgot back in the win column over Bobby Green, and Tim Elliott excited the Kansas City crowd with a thrilling grappling battle with Louis Smolka. Here’s how the fights played out.

Alexander Volkov def. Roy Nelson by unanimous decision (30-27 x3) – Heavyweights

Volkov started off with leg kicks. Nelson, as you would expect, sought the concussion-inducing right hand KO. Volkov stopped a double-leg attempt and then turned “Big Country” around and against the fence. After knees to the body, Volkov wound up being taken down. Nelson controlled Volkov for nearly the remainder of the first round. I say “nearly” because Dan Miragliotta stood them up and Volkov teed off with a bombardment of strikes that had Nelson hurt but not enough to get him to drop. Nelson landed two rights of his own but Volkov took them well.

Nelson persisted with the takedown in round 2, but Volkov excellently defended it. Volkov separated the hands and scored with a kick to the body. The Russian stuck out his jab and peppered Roy’s face with it. Nelson landed an overhand right but Volkov was able to reset and continue to rip him up at range. He used his massive height and reach advantage effectively and avoided brawling with Roy.

Volkov’s takedown defense continued to hold up against Nelson heading into round 3. Nelson wasn’t setting up any of his strikes and when he was landing it didn’t particularly faze Volkov. A head kick followed up by three hard punches had Nelson stunned. Nelson connected on an inside left uppercut, but his success was sporadic. Volkov drilled Nelson to the body with devastating knees and kicks. Another stuffed takedown by Volkov was followed by a head kick that backed Nelson away. A stiff uppercut and leg kick combo rocked Nelson once more. Volkov improves to 2-0 in the UFC, while Nelson loses for the fifth time in his last seven.

Tom Duquesnoy def. Patrick Williams by TKO (punches and elbows) at :28 of round 2 – Bantamweights

Williams took down the highly-touted Frenchman in the opening minute. Duquesnoy got back to his feet, where Williams threw some uppercuts and knees. After a hard leg kick, Williams took Duquesnoy down again, but he wasted no time getting himself back up. A short punch knocked Duquesnoy down and Williams tried to take advantage but Duquesnoy maintained hos composure. A hard right hand by Duquesnoy caught Williams’ attention, as did knees to the body in the clinch. Williams had his hands on his knees with about 40 seconds left in the first round. Duquesnoy had a cut on the left side of his face. Williams was absolutely destroyed by standing elbows as the horn sounded to end round 1. It took him awhile to get back to his feet and to his corner, and he was on unsteady legs getting to his stool.

With Williams exhausted and hurt, Duquesnoy mauled him with punches and more elbows until Williams fell to the ground again off a right elbow to the temple. This time the referee intervened to stop the fight. Duquesnoy wins his Octagon debut in style, while Williams’ return from his two-year layoff ends in defeat.

Rashid Magomedov def. Bobby Green by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) – Lightweights

Round 1 was all about the striking. The Dagestan fighter was catching Green with sharp left hands and working a combination punching plan. Green had a couple of nice leg kicks, closed the distance effectively, and was able to get Maogmedov against the fence a couple of times. It was a tight round but Magomedov looked to have landed the cleaner, harder strikes. Green’s late takedown attempt was brilliantly thwarted by Magomedov.

Magomedov fired off a wicked body shot, which Green no-sold. An eye poke by Rashid halted action, but it proved to be a punch to the eye that caused the bleeding. Mario Yamasaki threatened to take a point away on a legal strike he didn’t even see. Magomedov’s quick, technical striking was on dis play, as he cracked Green with a 1-2. Rashid took Green down but Bobby scrambled back up in an instant. Magomedov settled into a nice rhythm that led to him comfortably taking the second round.

There wasn’t a whole lot of action in the final round. Magomedov popped Green with an overhand right. Green threw knees to the body and leg kicks while Magomedov had his own body kicks in response. Magomedov fired off a hard body punch and then went upstairs. Rashid was in command of the striking in the closing stages, taking home a comfortable decision. Green has lost three straight, while Magomedov bounces back from his loss to Beneil Dariush. The 29-28 scorecard for Green was … questionable, to say the least.

Tim Elliott def. Louis Smolka by unanimous decision (30-27 x3) – Flyweights

Elliott took Smolka down with ridiculous ease in the opening seconds. He was searching for a guillotine right off the bat, then advanced to side control. Smolka got bashed with knees on the way up. The Hawaiian threw Elliott down but lost the scramble and then he wound up on his back again. Elliott fought off a Smolka guillotine and the crazy scrambles between these two continued. Smolka took control of Elliott’s back momentarily, but Elliott was able to get back to his feet and fire off some punches. The porous takedown defense of Smolka reared its ugly head again. Elliott threw a slicing elbow with under a minute left in the round and opened up a cut. Smolka reversed Elliott and finished the round with ground-an-pound and control of the back. Sensational stuff.

Smolka countered an Elliott takedown with another guillotine attempt. He cranked on it and tried to get to mount. Elliott escaped it and then took Smolka down as soon as Louis got back to his feet. Another Elliott takedown led to a rear-naked choke attempt by the recent title challenger. Smolka calmly defended it and tried rolling over to get on top. Elliott slickly transitioned to mount, but Smolka countered with a leglock. The insane transitions and exemplary grappling defined this spectacular fight. Both men exchanged some punches at range before Elliott took Smolka down for the umpteenth time. Elliott had a mounted guillotine on Smolka late in the second, but lost his grip and got flipped over after landing a few punches to the body.

In round 3, Smolka ripped Elliott to the head and body before the inevitable drive forward for the takedown. He couldn’t control Smolka for very long, which was the theme of this fantastic showcase of jiu-jitsu and fast-paced grappling. Smolka was doing what he could to box up Elliott, but he found himself tossed into mount and eating elbows. Elliott had a body triangle but lost it and Smolka answered back with a d’arce choke. Elliott was dumped on his head after getting back to his feet. Smolka kept the attack going, but Elliott transitioned to side control before they stood back up. Elliott added in two more takedowns, Smolka had a north-south choke in the dying seconds, but not enough time to finish it. It’s hard to imagine another fight topping this for entertainment value for the rest of the evening.