January 14, 2025 6:30 pm ET
LAS VEGAS – Nurullo Aliev beat Joe Solecki with a unanimous decision Saturday to open the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 249 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Aliev, a betting favorite of more than 8-1 who stayed unbeaten with his eighth decision in 10 wins.
Nurullo Aliev def. Joe Solecki
Result: Nurullo Aliev def. Joe Solecki via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Updated records: Aliev (10-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), Solecki (13-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC)
Key stats: Aliev had more than eight minutes of control time from his two takedowns.
Aliev on the fight’s key moment
“He’s a good grappler, but I think I also have pretty good grappling. He’s a black belt in jiu-jitsu. The plan was to strike with him in the standup, but he was running away. In the morning, we were training with my jiu-jitsu coach and we were training this submission triangle choke (that Solecki attempted). Honestly, it was pretty tight a couple of times.”
HE DROPPED HIM 😱#UFCVegas101 | @NurulloAliev pic.twitter.com/RU9cczi30q
— UFC (@ufc) January 11, 2025
Aliev on returning after a long layoff
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JANUARY 11: (L-R) Nurullo Aliev of Tajikistan punches Joe Solecki in a lightweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on January 11, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
“After my surgery, it was hard. But my coach was telling me that I’m going to come back stronger. Six months after surgery, I started working on my boxing. I came back after two years of not fighting and I put on a great performance.”
Aliev on what he wants next
“Hopefully I’m not going to have any more injuries and I can come back (soon). Even if King Kong can make 155, I will fight him.”
To hear more from Aliev, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 249.
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