‘The Dreamkiller’ has arrived in the UFC! Monster Energy congratulates Gaston Bolanos on defeating Aaron Phillips in the Bantamweight Division fight at UFC Kansas City on Saturday night.
In Saturday night’s prelims fight inside T-Mobile Center, the 30-year-old from Lima, Peru, went the distance for three rounds to clinch the victory by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27).
UFC Kansas City was contested in front of a high-energy crowd inside T-Mobile Center. With 14 fights on the card, the prelims and main card were broadcast live on ESPN+.
Monster Energy’s Bolanos (7-3) came to Kansas City looking to make his debut as a professional fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) promotion. The fight also marked his first outing at bantamweight (135 pounds) after competing at featherweight. Previously, the Peruvian MMA athlete made a name for himself in the Bellator MMA promotion as ‘The Dreamkiller’ and most recently defeated Daniel Carey by TKO at Bellator 277 in April 2022.
His opponent on was American Aaron Phillips (12-5) from Lafayette, Louisiana, looking to recover from a submission loss against Jack Shore in July 2020.
The fight opened strategically as fighters attempted to land from the distance, with Bolanos connecting kicks and pressuring Phillips on the strength of quick one-two combos and right jabs. In the final moments of Round 1, Bolanos dealt punishing body kicks and knocked his opponent over with a low kick.
The second round started with Bolanos defending against a submission attempt from Phillips, escaping a rear naked choke and returning fire with heavy elbows before getting back to his feet. Bolanos countered another takedown by the American and the round ended with Bolanos landing high-volume punches until the bell.
The final round saw Bolanos retain his momentum and bring the pressure, dealing a straight right in the first minute before emerging in top position from a wild scramble. After landing massive ground-and-pound shots, Bolanos took the fight back to standing and unleashed a signature spinning elbow on the American. When all was said and done, the judges pronounced Bolanos the winner by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27).
“I expected this fight to be tough. I knew Aaron was going to be a tough fight,” said Monster Energy’s Bolanos upon winning his UFC debut in Kansas City.
Saturday night’s win marks the first decision victory for the fighter from Peru. “I’ve never won like that, so it was very satisfying,” said Bolanos, adding: “I thought I had him there a couple of times. I probably could have finished him, but it was a great three-round fight, which is something I’ve been looking for a while.”
Born and raised in Peru, Bolanos moved to the United States at 13 years old. He excelled as a kickboxer, advancing all the way to earning the title of Junior World Amateur Muay Thai Champion as well as U.S. National Muay Thai Champion. He made his professional Bellator MMA debut in 2017 and earned six victories by knockout before signing with the UFC in November 2022.
What’s next for the ‘Dreamkiller’? In his post-fight interview, Bolanos said: “A lot of people didn’t think that I was ready for this, and I think I showed today that I belong. I’m ready for more. The bantamweight division I believe is on notice now!”
Gaston Bolanos counts amongst Monster Energy’s elite UFC athletes along with Kamaru Usman, Jon “Bones” Jones, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal, Chris “The All American” Weidman, Rose Namajunas, Tony Ferguson, Marlon Vera, Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Maycee “The Future” Barber, Paulo “The Eraser” Costa, Stipe “Stone Cold” Miocic, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Jessica-Rose Clark, Valentina Shevchenko, Sean “Sugar” O’Malley, Brandon Moreno, Daniel Rodriguez, Alex Pereira, Punahele Soriano, Gilbert Burns, Giga “Ninja” Chikadze, and Islam Makhachev.
For more on Monster Energy’s MMA athletes visit www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
