Bagautinov, Covington shine on early UFC Ottawa prelims

Middleweight Bout: Elias Theodorou def. Sam Alvey via unanimous decision

Unfortunately for Elias Theodorou and Sam Alvey, their in-cage performance could not match their oversized personalities.

For months, the two middleweights mocked each other on social media with funny tweets and cute Instagram posts, but that did not result in fireworks when they actually met in the featured Fight Pass preliminary bout of UFC Fight Night 89 in Ottawa, Ontario on Saturday.

For three rounds, Theodorou circled and Alvey seemed content to stare at him with only the occasional strike thrown. It was Theodorou who did just enough to earn a unanimous decision, his fourth win in five UFC appearances.

"The Spartan" was only partially to blame for the tepid action, as Alvey rarely took a forward step for the entire fifteen minutes of the bout even as Theodorou landed kick after kick from range.

Alvey is known for his one-punch knockout power, but that one punch never came and the result was his second straight loss. It is the first losing streak of Alvey's 35-match MMA career.

Strawweight Bout: Randa Markos def. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger via unanimous decision

Randa Markos made up for a missed weight cut by outworking Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger for a unanimous decision win.

"Quiet Storm" was her usual aggressive self, deftly moving in and out to land the majority of the bout's significant strikes and find openings for her takedowns.

The closest either fighter came to a finish was near the end of the first round when Markos had Jones-Lybarger pinned down against the cage. Markos drilled her opponent with short punches, but Jones-Lybarger was able to defend herself until time ran out.

That set the tone for the rest of the fight, with Markos dictating the pace and avoiding Jones-Lybarger's most effective strikes.

It was a bittersweet win for Markos, who weighed in over the 115-pound limit Friday, resulting in the forfeiture of 20 percent of her purse.

Markos bounces back from a decision loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz last December. She now stands at 2-2 in the UFC, continuing a trend of seven straight fights where she's alternated wins and losses dating back to her time on the regional scene.

Welterweight Bout: Colby Covington def. Jonathan Meunier via 3rd-round submission (rear-naked choke)

Faced with an opponent competing on less than 10 days' notice, Colby Covington took care of business.

Covington was in complete control of debuting welterweight Jonathan Meunier for almost their entire bout. His wrestling neutralized Meunier at every turn, and when the time came to put Covington away, he did so with a spinning backfist that lead to a rear-naked choke finish in the final round.

Afterward, Covington called out grappling masters Demian Maia and Dong Hyun Kim.

Covington improves to 4-1 in the UFC, while Meunier loses for the first time in his eight-fight career after stepping in as a replacement for Alex Garcia.

Flyweight Bout: Ali Bagautinov def. Geane Herrera via unanimous decision

Ali Bagautinov got back on the winning track with a solid performance against a gutsy Geane Herrera.

A steady mix of wrestling, ground-and-pound, and timely submission defense were enough for Bagautinov to take a unanimous decision in the opening preliminary bout of UFC Fight Night 89.

It was the first win for Bagautinov since February 2014 after dropping a pair of fights to flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and No. 1-ranked contender Joseph Benavidez.

The 26-year-old Herrera did not make things easy for Bagautinov. He absorbed the former title challenger's most powerful shots and on a pair of occasions it even looked like he might submit him.

The first round was all Bagautinov as he came forward with confidence, opening up with overhand punches and kicks to Herrera's head and body. That put Herrera off-balance and Bagautinov capitalized with a key takedown.

Herrera tried to attack with a heel hook, but Bagautinov stayed upright and slammed his fists down at Herrera.

Round 2 was closer, with Herrera looking for a triangle choke after being taken down again.

However, Bagautinov escaped and continued to use his superior grappling to set Herrera up for more effective ground-and-pound.

That strategy was in full effect in Round 3, though Herrera arguably came the closest to finishing the fight when he swept Bagautinov and transitioned right into a kimura lock that Bagautinov narrowly survived.

Aside from the submission attempts, Herrera had no answer for Bagautinov's relentless ground strikes, though he earned a moral victory by making it to the final bell.

The loss drops Herrera to 1-2 in the UFC after knocking out Joby Sanchez in his last outing.