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Zak Cummings Photo Credit: MMA Plus

BELFAST, Northern Ireland – Zak Cummings (20-5) made a triumphant return to the emerald isles against Alexander Yakovlev (23-8-1) at the SSE Arena in Belfast this evening.

The bout was held at catchweight after Cummings failed to make the 171lbs welterweight limit but he did not let his pre-fight issues affect him as he entered the octagon against his Russian opponent.

Taking control for the fight from the outset the 32-year old who trains out of Glory MMA and Fitness in Springfield, Missouri was able to lock in a straight armour to bring an end to the bout at the 4:02 mark of Round 2 (for a full breakdown of the fight checkout out UFC Fight Night 99 (Live blog).

Speaking to the members of the media Cummings was all smiles following a winning return to the Ireland following a 2nd round submission loss to Gunnar Nelson at UFC Fight Night 46 in Dublin, Ireland in July 2014.

“Preparation to come here and fight internationally is just to make sure I get here a little early just to get prepared for the time difference, any elevation – whatever it is. I’ve been in this game for a long time so I train to fight, I don’t really train that hard anymore so I can make it easier on my body. I work really hard on my conditioning and then when it comes time for the lights to come on, I know I’m ready. When it’s go time, it’s time to go. I went in with my game plan and knowing that if I stuck to what I’m good at, no one can beat me. So, I just have to show up. I knew that he didn’t deal with pressure very well so I wanted to pressure him and really keep him on his heels. When I got him to the ground, that’s just a sneaky little move that I do and I got him. I was really close to the top-15 before my last loss so I just want someone that’s going to get me back there. Whoever is above me in the rankings.”