UFC Fight Night 105 results: Aiemann Zahabi still unbeaten after win over Reginaldo Vieira

HALIFAX – Dozens of trips to the octagon and a world-renowned coach in his family gave Aiemann Zahabi a tremendous amount of poise in his UFC debut.

And while it took Zahabi (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) a round to convert that characteristic into meaningful offense, he managed to out-strike a tough Reginaldo Vieira (13-5 MMA, 1- UFC) and win a unanimous decision.

The bantamweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 105 event at Scotiabank Centre. It aired on FS1 following an additional prelim on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of the main card on FS1.

The final scorecards were 30-27 and 29-28 twice for Zahabi, the younger brother of Tristar chief Firas Zahabi. The scores all went one direction, but it was a closer fight than the final tally.

Vieira came in throwing every bit of muscle behind his punches, looking to catch the newcomer. When his early efforts met air, he instead attacked the legs. Although Zahabi weathered the offense, he at times looked like he was a little too comfortable on the receiving end of strikes, and it appeared he was a little stuck looking for the perfect counter. Vieira also kept things interesting with repeated takedown attempts, a few of which briefly put the fight on the mat.

Zahabi, however, found the right balance as the second round was coming to a close. He closed the distance on a retreating Vieira and landed a powerful left hand that hurt the Brazilian. Almost taking mount, he managed to swing momentum in his direction.

Vieira tried to make up for that setback in the third by turning up the tempo in the final round. When he convinced Zahabi to slug it out, he had success, landing several powerful hooks. But eventually, Zahabi charged back and landed a series of punches that forced his opponent to tie him up as the bout came to an end.

Vieira, a veteran of “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 4,” now has suffered back-to-back losses following a setback against Marco Beltran this past July, while Zahabi graduates to the big show with a win.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 105 results include:

• Aiemann Zahabi def. Reginaldo Vieira via unanious decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Thiago “Marreta” Santos def. Jack Marshman via TKO (kick, punches) — Round 2, 2:21
• Gerald Meerschaert def. Ryan Janes via submission (armbar) — Round 1, 1:34

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 105, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s Matt Erickson and Mike Bohn contributed to this report on site in Halifax.)