Denis Tiuliulin and Jamie Pickett faced off in a middleweight bout at UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs. Waterson on May 8, 2021. Tiuliulin, a Russian fighter, was making his UFC debut, while Pickett, an American fighter, was coming off a loss in his previous UFC fight. The two fighters were both looking to make a statement and move up in the UFC middleweight rankings.

From the start of the fight, Tiuliulin was the aggressor, pushing the pace and taking the fight to Pickett. He used his superior grappling skills to take Pickett down and control him on the ground. Pickett was able to get back to his feet a few times, but Tiuliulin continued to take him down and control him on the ground.

In the second round, Tiuliulin continued to dominate the grappling exchanges, but Pickett started to find his range with his striking. He landed some hard punches and kicks but was unable to do any significant damage to Tiuliulin. Tiuliulin was able to weather the storm and take Pickett down again towards the end of the round.

The third and final round saw Pickett come out with a sense of urgency, knowing he needed a finish to win the fight. He landed some good strikes early on, but Tiuliulin was able to take him down and control him on the ground for the rest of the round. Tiuliulin was declared the winner by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28 in his favor.

Overall, it was an impressive UFC debut for Denis Tiuliulin, who showed off his grappling skills and dominated the fight on the ground. Jamie Pickett showed heart and toughness but was unable to mount a significant offense against Tiuliulin’s grappling. It will be interesting to see where both fighters go from here in the UFC middleweight division.