UFC on ESPN+ 18 results: Ion Cutelaba's wrestling leads to quick TKO of Khalil Rountree

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Ion Cutelaba used wrestling to his advantage to score an important win for his career against Khalil Rountree on Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 18.

Ordinarily known for his striking ability, Cutelaba (15-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) only stood up with Rountree (8-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) for a few seconds before opting to shoot for takedowns until he got top position and net the TKO with strikes from top position just shy of the midway point of the first round.

The light heavyweight bout was part of the main card at UFC on ESPN+ 18, which took place at Royal Arena in Copenhagen and streamed on ESPN+.

Rountree wasted no time going to his kicking game to start the fight, and Cutelaba didn’t like it much. He caught a thudding body shot from Rountree and eventually turned it in to a takedown. Rountree did well to get up early, but Cutelaba was absolutely persist in working his grappling game.

Takedowns set up the beginning of the end, but it was the vicious ground-and-pound that closed the show. Cutelaba mixed in a sickening assault of elbows and punches from on top, causing Rountree to turtle up. He was given multiple warnings to try to get himself out of the position, but Rountree continued to take damage and referee Marc Goddard, who waved it off at the 2:14 mark of Round 1.

“Everyone was expecting to fight stand up in the boxing more, but our game plan and our camp was just wrestling,” Cutelaba said through an interpreter during his post-fight interview with Dan Hardy. “Thank you a lot for all the persons that helped me in this training camp.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 18 results include:

Ion Cutelaba def. Khalil Rountree via TKO (punches and elbows) – Round 1, 2:35 Ovince Saint Preux def. Michal Oleksiejczuk via submission (Von Preux choke) – Round 2, 2:14 Nicolas Dalby def. Alex Oliveira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) John Phillips def. Alen Amedovski via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:14 Makhmud Muradov def. Alessio Di Chirico via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Ismail Naurdiev def. Siyar Bahadurzada via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-26) Giga Chikadze def. Brandon Davis via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Lina Lansberg def. Macy Chiasson via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28) Marc Diakiese def. Lando Vannata via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26) Jack Shore def. Nohelin Hernandez via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:51