Former UFC title contender Ali Bagautinov secured his first win since returning to Russia earlier this year when he secured a second round submission over Pedro Nobre at Fight Nights Global 69 on Friday night.
Fight Nights Global 69, or FNG 69, took place on Friday, June 30 at the Sibir Ice Sports Palace in Novosibirsk, Russia. As well as the flyweight main event, also on the card was English lightweight Jack McGann, who unfortunately fell to an early stoppage defeat at the hands of Nikolay Gaponov.
In the headline bout’s opening stanza, action was few and far between as both fighters felt each other out with continuous feints and movement. Bagautinov would try to push the pace as time dwindled down and was rewarded with a successful takedown attempt with a minute remaining on the clock. The Russian could not capitalise on this though with Nobre finding his way back to his feet after defending well from the bottom and not letting his opponent get the top position he was looking for.
Bagautinov came out with far more purpose in the second round as he immediately landed a pair of heavy kicks to the body after the restart. Finding consistency with his combinations and power right hands, Bagautinov had the Brazilian on the backfoot however was forced to initiate the clinch against the fence after he was stung by a counter from the Brazilian Top Team fighter. Securing another takedown, the Russian took the back of Nobre and looked to lock in a rear-naked choke attempt, and in a bizarre turn of events, the Titan FC veteran let his guard down in a verbal exchange with referee Marc Goddard which allowed Bagautinov to sink in the hold for the quick tap.
After a 4-3 run in the UFC, “Puncher” (16-7) returned home to Russia after becoming a free agent and was forced to rebound quickly after an unexpected defeat to Tyson Nam back in April on his return fight with the promotion.
Nobre (18-4), meanwhile, fell to his third defeat in four fights after previous losses to TUF 24 winner Tim Elliott and now-Titan FC flyweight champion Jose Torres.
McGann falls to another defeat after suffering quick KO
Liverpool’s Jack McGann (11-5) fell to his second consecutive defeat under the Fight Nights Global banner when he was quickly stopped with a brutal TKO by Russian lightweight prospect Nikolay Gaponov (5-1).
Struggling to cope with Gaponov’s pressure, McGann was on the back foot from the very start of the fight. Around the 20 second mark, Gaponov made the Brit pay for his hesitation when he landed a shuddering head kick that instantly had “The Pilgram” wobbling backwards. Gaponov continued with a relentless onslaught of punches and knees to the backpedalling McGann until referee Marc Goddard stepped in to stop the fight after just 35 seconds of round one.
McGann has experienced mixed fortunes since taking a chance and leaving the UK regional scene for pastures new. After a good start to his Russian career, the Wolfslair MMA product now needs a win after the 24-year-old has fallen to two straight defeats in his last two outings for FNG.
Also on the card, Combat Sambo champion Roman Kopylov (4-0) continued to enjoy a perfect start to his MMA career in front of his hometown fans with a win over American journeyman Kobe Ortiz (15-6). The Russian was handed the victory when Ortiz’s corner refused to let him come out for the third round due to the damage and punishment he had taken from Kopylov throughout the fight.
Fight Nights Global 69 Results
Flyweight Title Main Event: Ali Bagautinov def. Pedro Nobre via Submission (Rear-naked Choke) (Round 2 – 3:49)
Middleweight Bout: Roman Kopylov def. Kobe Ortiz via TKO (Corner Stoppage) (Round 2 – 5:00)
Lightweight Bout: Nikolay Gaponov def. Jack McGann via TKO (Head kick and punches) (Round 1 – 0:35)
Light-Heavyweight Bout: Dmitry Minakov def. Magomed Geroev via Decision (Unanimous)
Light-Heavyweight Bout: Bogdan Guskov def. Ilya Gunenko via KO (Punch) (Round 2 – 0:31)
Women’s Bantamweight Bout: Marina Mokhnatkina def. Irina Degtyareva via Submission (Armbar) (Round 1 – 1:26)
Lightweight Bout: Makhamadzhon Kurbanov def. Iftihor Muminov via TKO (Punches) (Round 1 – 3:50)
Bantamweight Bout: Nikolai Baikin def. Vladimir Alekseev via Decision (Unanimous)
Featherweight Bout: Murad Gasanov def. Vyacheslav Pristenskiy via Decision (Unanimous)
