UFC Wichita prelims results & highlights: Kunitskaya edges out Reneau despite busted nose

The UFC Wichita prelims are in the books, and Anthony Rocco Martin just out-struck Sergio Moraes over the course of three-rounds to pick up the unanimous decision. Martin has been on absolute fire at 170-pounds now riding a winning wave of four-straight.

The UFC’s #6 ranked bantamweight Marion Reneau and the #9 ranked Yana Kunitskaya went the full-fifteen in a spirited affair. Kunitskaya got ahead early, but Reneau rallied to dish out some major damage to her opponent’s nose in the final round. When the dust settled, it was Kunitskaya who walked away with the unanimous decision.

Grant Dawson showed off his grappling chops in an exciting clash with Julian Erosa. Now unbeaten in four-straight, the 13-1 Dawson made good on his UFC debut. Matt Schnell came up with big against Louis Smolka, realizing a first-round triangle choke on his streaking opponent. Schnell now enjoys a three-fight winning streak. Alex Morono put on for the Wichita crowd by dispatching Zak Ottow with ground strikes in the first round. Morono has now posted up back-to-back wins in the UFC.

**See the complete results below.

ESPN+ prelims:

Anthony Rocco Martin def. Sergio Moraes by unanimous decision (30-27 x2): Welterweight

Moraes chased down a takedown, but Martin was able to reverse it to find himself on top. After a prolonged stall, the referee brought the fight back to its feet. A bit of a sticky kickboxing bout went on for the rest of the round, with a lot of measuring going on. Martin utilized his calf kick to disrupt the movement of his aggressive opponent. Moraes would try to wing hooks at his opponent, but struggled to hit his mark. An accidental cup kick from Moraes paused the action, but Martin wasted no time getting back to work. More stickiness went on on the feet until the bell sounded.

Martin continued to pop shot his opponent in the last round as Moraes threw his wide punches. The jab of Martin allowed him to dictate the pace and keep his foe at bay. Moraes tried to get the fight to the ground and finally did at the end of the fight, but was unable to come up with a finish.

Yana Kunitskaya def. Marion Reneau by unanimous decision (29-28 x3): (W) Bantamweight

Kunitskaya took the center of the cage before pushing her foe against the cage and found a takedown. Reneau began to threaten with subs from her back, resulting in the fight returning to its feet. Reneau seemed to be reacting to what her opponent was doing more-so than getting her own game going. Reneau landed a couple of clean punches early in the second round. Kunitskaya seemed to have some difficulty dealing with the punches of her foe. Towards the end of the round, Kunitskaya began to up her output, landing some volume and busting open.

Kunitskaya continued with her volume in the third round, until Reneau landed a boxing combo that registered. Getting back into her groove, Kunitskaya began to land again, until another hard shot from Reneau exploded the nose of Kunitskaya. Blood began to leak from the nose of Kunitskaya as Reneau scored a few more times before the round ended.

Grant Dawson def. Julian Erosa unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-27): Featherweight

Tons of grappling took place across the first frame. Dawson found success with the takedown, and Erosa was willing to scramble. Eventually, Dawson was able to solidify the top position and rack up some control time before the round ended.

Dawson continued with the pressure in the second round as Erosa looked to keep up the pace. The punches for Dawson began to hit their mark, hurting Erosa and causing him to backpedal. Then, it was Erosa who started to connect with his hands before the bell sounded.

A received hug from the fighters started the final round. Dawson got himself a takedown and was able to land some quality strikes. Erosa exposed his back and did his best to survive. Despite being able to make it out of the round, Erosa did not return to his feet.

Maurice Greene def. Jeff Hughes by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29): Heavyweight

A very heavyweight first round went down. Both guys plotted forward flinging ham hocks at one another with either guy landing sometimes. Greene seemed to have more pep in his step than Hughes did in the second round. Hughes landed a thudding punch to the body that caused Greene to back up in agony. Hughes went for the takedown, but that just allowed Greene to recover. Greene continued to press forward behind his strikes and Hughes did his best to throw back.

Matt Schnell def. Louis Smolka by submission (triangle) at 3:18 of round 1: Bantamweight

Schnell went after Smolka, achieving a body lock and attacking a submission. Smolka escaped the guillotine, but found himself fighting off a triangle. Turns out Smolka was dead to rights and was forced to tap.

Alex Morono def. Zak Ottow by TKO at 3:34 of round 1: Welterweight

Morono and Ottow went right at it, striking it out without many signs of takedown across the first-half of the round. Morono attacked a guillotine which gave him top position, and he made the most of his opportunity. A barrage of ground strikes landed as Ottow was unable to do anything about it. The referee had no choice but to stop the fight.

Alex White def. Dan Moret by unanimous decision (29-28 x3): Lightweight

Moret struck first, closing the distance with a left hand before working for the takedown. The control continued to be strong for Moret. He put White on his back and spent a lot of time holding him there, and even opened up a pretty bad cut with an elbow. Towards the end of the round, White was able to get up and hold Moret up against the fence.

In the second round, White worked hard for a standing guillotine, but was forced to bail on it. Moret was able to get his back off of the cage, but had a difficult time getting anything going. Both men began to flurry, with Moret appearing to be the more labored fighter going into the final round.

Moret continued to pursue the takedown in the final act, but White did a good job of remaining on his feet. White spent a lot of time with his back on the fence, and when he would reverse the position, Moret would work right back to the dominant position. Moret went for broke in the final moments of the fight, and White was willing to throw right back. A couple of strikes landed for each man just before the buzzer sounded.