5 Defining Moments: Alonzo Menifield

This submission was slick from Menifield 😳 #UFC290 pic.twitter.com/Slj6LCcKLp

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 9, 2023

Alonzo Menifield needs to right the ship.

A mainstay of the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division for six-plus years, the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate will take on Julius Walker in a featured UFC Fight Night 252 attraction on Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. Menifield, 37, steps back into the spotlight on the heels of back-to-back losses for the first time since 2020. He owns a respectable 8-5-1 record across his 14 appearances in the UFC.

As Menifield moves ever closer to his looming battle with Walker at 205 pounds, a look at five of the many moments that have come to define him:

1. Welcome to the Club

Menifield disposed of Dashawn Boatwright with first-round punches and nailed down a UFC contract during Week 1 of DWCS on June 12, 2018 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. In his first outing in almost 18 months, the previously unbeaten Boatwright bit the dust just eight seconds into Round 1. Menifield smothered an attempted head kick, drove the Virginian to the canvas with a clubbing right hand and pummeled him with a volley of unanswered lefts for the finish. The performance was enough to earn him a spot on the UFC roster.

2. Fists of Fury

The undefeated Menifield excelled in his Octagon debut, as he put away Vinicius Moreira with first-round punches as part of the UFC Fight Night 143 undercard on Jan. 19, 2019 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Moreira, who entered the cage on a five-fight winning streak, succumbed to blows 3:56 into Round 1. Operating in the shadows of the Henry Cejudo-T.J. Dillashaw main event, Menifield took the Hulk Smash approach and let his fists fly with reckless abandon. Powerful right hands found their mark over and over again, and while Moreira managed to initiate a clinch, it only prolonged the inevitable. Upon separation, Menifield countered an ill-advised spinning back kick to the body with a right hook to the jaw. Moreira hit the deck and ate a few more right hands before referee Dan Miragliotta waved it off.

3. Not Ready for Primetime

Ovince St. Preux knocked out Menifield with a beautiful counter left hook in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 176 co-main event on Sept. 5, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The end came 4:07 into Round 2. St. Preux utilized his height and reach advantages, picked his spots from the outside and employed a kick-heavy approach. He withstood a late punching burst from Menifield at the end of the first round, then hunted the finish with patience and purpose. Menifield’s output dropped to alarming levels in Round 2, where he continued to absorb leg and body kicks while circling haplessly on the perimeter. He pressed forward with roughly a minute to go, led with his chin and walked into the left hook. The impact froze him instantly, as he faceplanted at St. Preux’s feet.

4. Power Play

Menifield knocked down Dustin Jacoby twice with left hooks and laid claim to a unanimous decision over the former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder in their featured UFC 296 prelim on Dec. 16, 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28. Jacoby performed well in defeat and operated behind a punishing jab. However, he had no answer for Menifield’s ability to turn the tide with a single punch. The Saekson Muay Thai rep floored Jacoby with a left hook in the second and did so again the third. Menifield pursued the finish on both occasions, and though he came away empty-handed, he piled up the points when he had the chance.

5. Tables Turned

Azamat Murzakanov made his most significant move yet in the light heavyweight division when he disposed of Menifield with punches in the second round of their featured UFC on ABC 7 prelim on Aug. 3, 2024 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Referee Daniel Movahedi called it off 3:18 into Round 2. In his first outing in more than a year, the unbeaten Murzakanov picked up apart the Los Angeles native with a variety of weapons, uppercuts and knees chief among them. His handiwork resulted in a cut near Menifield’s left eye. Murzakanov stepped on the accelerator in the second round, absorbed the return fire and set his counterpart on skates with a slashing left uppercut. He let his heavy hands fly from there, drove Menifield to his back and drew the curtain with two devastating standing-to-ground punches. The victory moved Murzakanov to 14-0.