Well, after the events of the last few weeks the UFC rolled into Bakersfield, Colorado under what can only be described as a cloud. Luckily, it was back doing what it did best: no, not releasing press statements on a seemingly daily basis about failed drugs tests, but fights! Unfortunately depleted by one last minute cancellation (Nik Lentz developed the flu Friday), we still had 10 fights to get our teeth into. So let us begin...
Prelims
We got underway with an entertaining encounter between James Moontasri and Cody Pfister. Moontasri was one of three fighters not to make weight, but that didn't seem to bother him. The first round mainly consisted of Pfister pushing Moontasri against the cage trying for the takedown but regularly taking knees to the body. It looked like a finish was inevitable but Pfister kept saving himself with takedown attempts. But in the second we did get a finish. Moontasri with another knee hurt Pfister, the fight went to the mat and 'Moonwalker' took his back and locked in the rear naked choke for the submission win. Bonus points for the MJ celebration after.Next up was an entertaining unanimous decision victory for Zach Makovsky over Tim Elliott. This was all about the takedowns (6) of Makovsky, who spent much of the fight on the ground in top position. Elliott kept active, throwing elbows and punches but Makovsky had too much for him. And when he mounted Elliott's back in the third the deal was sealed. A good fight.
Next up we had a controversial ending. Chas Skelly took on Jim Alers, and straight from the off Skelly landed some bombs before the fight hit the mat. An exchanging of leg lock attempts was the order of the day, before being stood up. For the rest of the round and into round two, both men exchanged some heavy shots with Skelly having the advantage. Then Alers got backed up by a Skelly right and a flurry of strikes dropped him. A knee to the head caused the ref to stop the fight on the buzzer, with the TKO victory to Skelly. The controversy followed as the replay showed that Alers' knee was down, making the knee illegal. But, in my opinion, it happened so quick I'm not surprised the referee missed it.
The final prelim was an absolutely dominant, unanimous decision victory for Efrain Escudero over Rodrigo de Lima. This was all about the striking of Escudero. The first round started with a right hand that rocked de Lima, and Escudero just dished out combination after combination for the rest of the round. In the second de Lima tried pulling guard. Bad idea, as on the mat he ate more shots from Escudero, but did manage to survive into the deciding frame. By this time Escudero was cruising, doing constant damage from all ranges. Total domination from the Mexican.
Main Card
The main card opened with Ray Borg taking on Chris Kelades (who missed weight) in the flyweight division. This was another dominant performance but this time based on the ground. Borg managed to land takedowns at will, and advance position whenever he wanted. Kelades had sporadic moments with a couple of moments in side control but Borg got up then took him down again. Their was nearly a submission at the end of round one, but just as Borg tried to apply pressure to the arm triangle, the buzzer went. The second was more dominance by Borg, takedowns and submission attempts with strikes thrown to keep Kelades honest. Into the third we went, and as Borg got the early takedown, Kelades attempted a guillotine which was easily defended. Borg then advanced his position and locked in a kimura, sealing the submission victory. Very impressive performance by the youngster.
Kevin Lee got the unanimous decision in the next bout, out-boxing Michel Prazeres and using his superior grappling to good effect. The fight started pretty evenly, Lee's right hand being effective but Prazeres' looping shots were catching the American. But as the fight went on, the Brazilians power dropped away significantly. Towards the end of round two, Lee hit a takedown and landed some good ground and pound. In the last, Prazeres looked to be seriously flagging, and was taken down again with Lee mounting his back. Unfortunately he couldn't lock in the rear naked choke, but a very good nights work for the former wrestler.
OK, so the next fight was not good at all. The crowd booed both Daniel Kelly and Patrick Walsh (who missed weight) at the end of this tepid affair. Kelly walked away with the unanimous decision, and the first five minutes were OK. Walsh started by throwing a few hard shots, which Kelly countered in similar fashion, hurting his opponent with a few clean shots. As tiredness started to set in during round two, the striking accuracy decreased, but the rate of strikes increased slightly. Minus the occasional wild punch that landed, a finish didn't look likely. And this continued into the decider, the fighters moving around like being trapped in jelly, whilst firing off the occasional wild shot. One fight I'd rather forget...
Neil Magny submitted Kiichi Kunimoto in the third round, taking his win streak to six. Kunimoto tapped to a rear naked choke just moments after he was taken to the canvas. The veteran Japanese fighter looked exhausted after fending off the high pressure attack of Magny. He was nearly put away in round two after the American took Kunimoto's back and savagely pounded away on him, with Herb Dean watching on closely. When the fight was on the feet, Magny pressured with punches and smothered the Japanese man against the fence, giving him no room to work. I'm certain that Magny, currently unranked at welterweight, will get a step-up in opposition for his next fight.
The co-main event was a unanimous decision victory for Max Holloway over Cole Miller. This fight also had a dose of controversy, but more on that in a second. The fight started with Miller using his length to try and keep Holloway from pushing forward. Towards the halfway point of the round, Holloway landed a tremendous body kick that although didn't affect Miller, certainly looked spectacular. Towards the end of the first the veteran tried pulling guard for a leg lock but time ran out. Miller tried to slow Holloway down in the second with leg kicks and jabs to keep the younger fighter out of range. Holloway landed a spinning back fist before the pair clashed heads. The ref noted it was accidental so didn't call the doctor to check Miller's cut. Their was another headbutt before the end of round two, leaving Miller complaining and Holloway being given a serious warning. Round three was all Holloway, with the young Hawaiian throwing combos and power strikes akin to those found In Street Fighter, whilst Miller struggled with the blood from his cut running into his eyes. Holloway's reward is a fight against Cub Swanson. Now THAT should be fun!
And onto the main event, with Benson Henderson, making a debut at welterweight, taking on Brandon Thatch. Although Thatch did some damage up close, Henderson never really seemed too hurt. Thatch showed some interesting, inventive striking, at one point turning a spinning back fist into a trip, or a spinning back kick. But 'Smooth' used lead body shots to try and keep him at length. But the fight was won on the ground, as Henderson locked in a rear naked choke deep into the fourth frame forcing Thatch to tap just seconds after he tried to escape the former lightweight champion's clutches, but to no avail. Thatch dropped only the second fight of his career (11-2) whilst Henderson moves to 22-5.
So, all in all, an entertaining card with plenty of finishes. As fans of this great sport, could we ask for anymore?
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