Gabriel Benitez needed a win badly — and he delivered in spades.
In a preliminary fight at UFC San Diego, Charlie Ontiveros fought Benitez. After dealing with some early adversity due to Ontiveros’ unique striking, Benitez was able to get rolling, stunning Ontiveros with a big shot before slamming his opponent to the mat. From there, “Moggly” mauled Ontiveros, transitioning to full mount and finished the fight with vicious ground and pound.
Check out video of the finish below:
Gabriel Benitez overcomes an early onslaught to TKO Charlie Ontiveros #UFCSanDiego
(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/uZHJ4mZ9M0
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) August 13, 2022
Benitez (23-10) entered the fight with two straight losses, and a 1-4 record in his five most recent outings. The 34-year-old was stopped by Billy Quarantillo and David Onama in his previous two appearances, but was able to weather the early Ontiveros storm to possibly save his job with the promotion.
Ontiveros (11-9) is now 0-3 with three finish losses in his octagon run. The 31-year-old has been stopped by strikes in all nine of his pro defeats.
