Ryan
Gandra introduced himself to the
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division with the
kind of ferocity that warrants immediate notice.
The Flavio Baiano Team product discarded fellow
Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Jose Medina
with punches in the first round of their featured
UFC Fight Night 268 prelim on Saturday at CDMX Arena in Mexico
City.
Medina (11-7, 0-4 UFC) met his end just 41 seconds into Round
1.
Gandra (9-1, 1-0 UFC) stepped forward behind a lead right hook, a
left hand over the top and a front kick to the body. He then
flurried with punches, connected with a knee up the middle and
reset. Medina failed to circle out of danger, all but sealing his
fate. Gandra pinned him to the fence with punches, folded him with
a right hand and cleaned up the crumbs with follow-up shots.
Meanwhile, Xtreme Couture export Javier
Reyes overcame an inauspicious start to dispatch Douglas
Silva de Andrade with punches in the first round of their
featherweight affair.
Reyes (23-5, 1-0 UFC) brought it to a close 4:59 into Round
1.
In his first assignment since June 15, 2024, the 40-year-old Silva
de Andrade (29-6, 7-7 UFC) knocked down the Colombian with an
overhand right during one of their initial exchanges but failed to
follow up with enough fervor to force a finish. Reyes recovered and
later leveled the Brazilian with a clean right hand of his own. He
pounced with punches and elbows, secured a mat return when Silva de
Andrade managed to stand and escalated his assault from there.
Reyes advanced to the back, flattened out the Corinthians
MMA-trained vet and slammed the door with unanswered punches.
It was the eighth first-round stoppage of Reyes’ career.
Deeper into the prelims, American Top Team’s Francis
Marshall rebounded from a March 8 split decision loss to
Mairon
Santos and put away Erik Silva
with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their featherweight
tilt.
Marshall (9-3, 3-3 UFC) drew the curtain 2:29 into Round
1.
A former LUX Fight League champion, Silva (9-4, 0-3 UFC) greeted
the Kurt
Pellegrino protégé with a spinning wheel kick but enjoyed
little other success. Marshall secured a takedown, threatened with
an arm-triangle and progressed to full mount. The move set off a
brief scramble during which Silva left his neck exposed. Marshall
then bit down on the choke, tightened his squeeze and prompted the
tapout.
Silva, 38, remains winless across three appearances inside the
Octagon.
Finally, Nova Uniao prospect Damian
Pinas swept aside Wesley
Schultz with punches in the first round of their middleweight
confrontation.
Schultz (8-2, 0-1 UFC), who entered the cage on the strength of
back-to-back victories, bowed out 2:30 into Round
1.
Pinas (9-1, 1-0 UFC) decked the Pure Vida BJJ rep with a clean
one-two inside the first minute, floored him a second time with a
right uppercut and stonewalled multiple takedown attempts. He
eventually backed Schultz to the fence and cut loose with another
one-two that dropped the Wisconsin native where he stood. No
follow-up shots were required.
The 23-year-old Pinas has rattled off five straight wins.
In other action, Ailin Perez
(13-2, 6-1 UFC) laid claim to a unanimous decision—29-28, 29-28,
29-28—over Macy
Chiasson (10-6, 8-6 UFC) in their three-round women’s
bantamweight scrap; Cristian
Quinonez (19-5, 2-2 UFC) cruised to a unanimous decision over
Kris
Moutinho (14-8, 0-4 UFC) in their three-round bantamweight
encounter, as all three judges turned in 30-27 scorecards; and
undefeated Mexican prospect Regina
Tarin (8-0, 1-0 UFC) filled in as a short-notice replacement
for Sofia
Montenegro and took a unanimous decision—30-27, 30-27,
29-28—from Ernesta
Kareckaite (6-2-1, 1-2 UFC) in their 130-pound catchweight
clash.
