UFC 208 results: Islam Makhachev works over Nik Lentz for dominant unanimous decision

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Islam Makhachev dominated Nik Lentz for the full three rounds in a one-sided fight that only got worse for Lentz as time went on.

With slick trip takedowns and suffocating ground control, Makhachev (14-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) overwhelmed Lentz (27-8-2 MMA, 11-5-1 UFC), doing everything but put him away en route to a clear unanimous decision victory.

The bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC 208 event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn N.Y. It aired on FS1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on pay-per-view.

Makhachev’s success in this fight was built largely, though not entirely, on his takedowns from the clinch. Again and again he used the same inside trip to put Lentz on his back, then swarmed him once there, stifling any attempt by Lentz to get back to his feet and keeping him on the defensive with short strikes from the top.

The most significant offense Lentz managed to mount came in the form of some guillotine attempts off his back in the early rounds, and those seemed less and less threatening as time wore on.

Even on the feet, Makhachev was the more dangerous fighter, battering Lentz with kicks to the body and head in the second round before taking him back down and resuming the assault there.

In the waning moments of the third, Makhachev came close to finishing the fight, taking Lentz’s back and hammering him with punches to the side of the head before attempting a rear-naked choke in the final minute.

Lentz would survive that attack and attempt a takedown of his own before the final horn sounded, but the outcome by that point was clear. With scores of 30-25, 30-25, and 30-27, Makhachev took the unanimous decision victory after a one-sided performance.

The win makes it two straight for Makhachev. Lentz’s loss snaps a two-fight winning streak.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 208 results include:

For complete coverage UFC 208, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report on site in Brooklyn.)