UFC Fight Night 35 results, photos: Elias Silverio dominates Vallie-Flagg despite deduction

DULUTH, Ga. – The closest Isaac Vallie-Flagg came to launching an effective offense against Elias Silverio came in the second round, when an illegal knee cost the Brazilian a point. Fortunately for Silverio, he was so dominant in the rest of the fight that he didn’t need it, as the judges awarded him a unanimous decision victory (29-27, 29-27, 29-27) over Vallie-Flagg.

The lightweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 35 event at Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on FOX Sports 1.

From the opening seconds on, it was clear that Silverio’s size advantage was going to be a significant problem for Vallie-Flagg, who struggled to get close enough to do damage on the feet, and yet couldn’t extricate himself from the bottom position when the fight hit the mat. Silverio dominated each and every round, with only the borderline illegal knee that resulted in a point deduction marring the otherwise stellar performance.

Even with the lost point, by the time the final horn sounded the decision was hardly in doubt. On this night, Silverio was just too much for Vallie-Flagg to handle.

“I am very happy,” Silverio said after the win.  “My opponent is a great fighter, and to win was special.”

Silverio (10-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) keeps his perfect record intact with his second straight win in the UFC. Vallie-Flagg (14-4-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) drops his first bout since 2007 with the loss.

“I’m disappointed,” Vallie-Flagg admitted. “I didn’t do the things I wanted to do in that fight.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 35 results include:

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 35, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

Matt Erickson contributed to this report on-site in Duluth.