Eric McConico followed a tried-and-true recipe to the winner’s circle in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division.
Crisp combination punching, superior cardio and outstanding defensive grappling carried the John Crouch disciple to a unanimous decision over five-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Rodolfo Vieira in the featured UFC Fight Night 274 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. McConico (11-4-1, 2-2 UFC) swept the scorecards with matching 29-28 marks from the cageside judges.
Vieira (11-5, 6-5 UFC) missed his chance. He rattled McConico with a sweeping right hook in the first round, jumped to his back and transitioned from an attempted rear-naked choke to an armbar. McConico kept his cool, freed himself from danger and withstood a pair of takedowns from the Brazilian. Vieira appeared to have little fuel left in the tank for the second and third rounds. McConico picked him apart with clean two- and three-punch volleys, short-circuited his takedowns and held his own in the clinch.
Meanwhile, MMA Lab export Jackson McVey rebounded from back-to-back losses to Brunno Ferreira and Zachary Reese, as he put away Sedriques Dumas with a brabo choke in the first round of their middleweight clash. Dumas (10-5, 3-5 UFC) waved the white flag of surrender 2:14 into Round 1.
McVey (7-2, 1-2 UFC) bullied his way into the clinch, softened his counterpart with a variety of close-range strikes and elected to separate. He reset in open space and followed a left hook with a mean right uppercut that had Dumas ducking for cover. McVey then powered into top position, let fly with a series of unanswered left hands, framed the choke and let his squeeze do the rest.
All seven of McVey’s pro victories have resulted in first-round finishes.
Further down the undercard, American Top Team’s Michelle Montague kept her perfect professional record intact with a unanimous decision over Mayra Bueno Silva in their three-round women’s bantamweight tiff. All three members of the judiciary sided with Montague (8-0, 2-0 UFC): 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.
Bueno Silva (10-7-1, 5-7-1 UFC) was physically and technically overmatched for much of the bout. Montague set the tone with a slam takedown in the first round and paired it with sustained elbow-laced ground-and-pound that bordered on cruel-and-usual punishment. Bueno Silva managed to survive and stayed upright in the middle stanza, where she exposed the New Zealand native’s lack of experience and even made a pass at a ninja choke. It was not enough to throw Montague off the scent. The Carlo Meister protégé secured another takedown inside the first minute of Round 3, piled up control time and unleashed her ground-and-pound, most notably with slashing elbows.
The 34-year-old Buenos Silva has suffered five consecutive defeats.
Finally, Cody Durden filled in as a short-notice replacement for Lucas Rocha and laid claim to a unanimous decision over the heavily favored Jafel Filho in their three-round bantamweight confrontation. Scores were 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28—all for Durden (18-10-1, 7-8-1 UFC), who entered the cage on a four-fight losing streak.
Filho (17-5, 3-3 UFC) never seemed comfortable, even when the action spilled onto the mat. Durden controlled a majority of the standup exchanges with inside leg kicks and counter right hands, withstood a second-round takedown from the former Shooto Brazil champion and saved his best work for the final five minutes. There, he executed a trip takedown on a fading Filho, advanced to the back, threatened with a face crank and racked up points with ground-and-pound.
The victory was Durden’s first since Sept. 7, 2024.
In other action, Francis Marshall (10-3, 4-3 UFC) cruised to a unanimous decision—30-27, 30-27, 30-27—over Lucas Brennan (11-3, 0-1 UFC) in their three-round lightweight affair; Victor Valenzuela (14-4, 1-0 UFC) outpointed Max Griffin (20-13, 8-11 UFC) to a unanimous decision in their three-round welterweight tilt, as he earned 29-28 marks from all three cageside judges; and Talita Alencar (8-1-1, 4-1 UFC) took a unanimous decision—29-28, 29-28, 29-28—from Julia Polastri (14-6, 2-3 UFC) in their three-round women’s strawweight pairing.
