Junior dos Santos escaped defeat at the hands of Stipe Miocic. |
Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Not much separated
Junior dos
Santos
from
Stipe
Miocic
after five rounds.
Beaten to a bloody pulp, the tough-minded and durable dos Santos
leaned exclusively on his boxing skills in capturing a unanimous
decision from the Strong Style Fight Team standout in the
UFC on Fox
13
headliner on Saturday at the US Airways Center in Phoenix.
All three judges sided with dos Santos (17-3, 11-2 UFC): 48-47,
49-46 and 49-46.
Miocic (12-2, 6-2) has never looked better. He cracked the favored
dos Santos repeatedly with right hands, landed beautiful power
punches while exiting clinches and mixed in a second-round
takedown. Miocic had the Brazilian reeling more than once with
high-velocity shots but could not find a way to put away the former
champion.
Dos Santos briefly floored him with a counter left hook in the
third round, executed an exquisite trip takedown in the fourth and
scored with a stinging jab throughout. He also invested heavily in
body shots with left hooks and straight rights -- a strategy that
seemed to take the spring out of Miocic’s step late in the fight.
Both men had their moments in the fifth despite being bloodied and
exhausted, closing out a memorable 25-minute confrontation
Dos Anjos Leg Kicks Wreck Diaz
Rafael dos
Anjos
traumatized “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 winner
Nate
Diaz
with leg kicks and ground-and-pound in claiming a
one-sided unanimous decision in the lightweight co-main event. Dos
Anjos (23-7, 12-5 UFC) swept the scorecards with 30-26, 30-26 and
30-27 marks.
Diaz (17-10, 12-8 UFC), who missed weight by more than four pounds,
looked lethargic and at times disinterested. Dos Anjos battered the
inside and outside of his lead leg with crippling kicks throughout
the first round, rendering the Californian virtually inept from an
offensive standpoint. The Brazilian opened a cut near Diaz’s eye
with a straight left in the second round, mixed in takedowns and
answered his opponent’s taunts and slaps from the bottom by piling
up points with ground-and-pound.
Dos Anjos is 7-1 over his last eight fights, having lost only to
the undefeated
Khabib
Nurmagomedov
.
Overeem Overwhelms Returning Struve
Former
Strikeforce
and
Dream
champion
Alistair
Overeem
took care of fellow Dutchman
Stefan
Struve
with punishing first-round ground-and-pound in their
featured heavyweight contest. Struve (25-7, 9-5 UFC), who had not
competed in nearly two years, succumbed to the blows 4:13 into
round one.
Overeem (38-14, 3-3 UFC) executed a takedown roughly two minutes
into the match and probed for openings from top position. The
34-year-old ultimately funneled Struve towards the base of the cage
and unloaded with a series of jackhammer standing-to-ground lefts
and rights, prompting referee “Big” John McCarthy to intervene on
Struve’s behalf.
Mitrione Dispatches Former Title Contender Gonzaga
Blackzilians representative
Matt
Mitrione
wiped out
Gabriel
Gonzaga
with a short left hook and follow-up ground-and-pound
in the first round of their heavyweight showcase. Mitrione (9-3,
9-3 UFC) brought it to a close 1:59 into round one, pushing his
winning streak to three fights.
Gonzaga (16-9, 11-8 UFC) had issues with “The Ultimate Fighter”
Season 10 graduate’s speed and footwork. Mitrione drew the
Brazilian into range, dropped him to his knees with a two-punch
combination and went to work with standing-to-ground punches. The
36-year-old took a step back when the desperate Gonzaga clutched
for his legs and blasted him with one last right hand for the
finish.
Undefeated Jedrzejczyk Edges Gadelha
Polish muay Thai machine
Joanna
Jedrzejczyk
eked out a split decision over Nova Uniao’s
Claudia
Gadelha
in a preliminary women’s strawweight pairing. All three
cageside judges scored it 29-28, two of them siding with the
undefeated Jedrzejczyk (8-0, 2-0 UFC).
Jedrzejczyk connected on the most significant blow of the bout in
the closing seconds of the first round, where she floored the
three-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion with a ringing right
uppercut and pounced with hammerfists. The break between rounds
allowed Gadelha to clear her head, but she struggled to establish
any kind of offensive rhythm. Jedrzejczyk had answers for many of
her takedowns and scored often when the two traded punches on the
feet.
An inadvertent head butt initiated by Gadelha (12-1, 1-1 UFC)
resulted in a nasty gash above the Brazilian’s left eye in the
third round. She struck for a pair of takedowns over the final five
minutes, but a path to the submission she desired did not present
itself.
Moraga Taps Late Replacement Gates
Arizona Combat Sports-MMA Lab rep
John Moraga
submitted reigning Tachi Palace Fights champion
Willie
Gates
with a third-round rear-naked choke in their undercard
matchup at 125 pounds. A replacement for the injured
Jussier da
Silva
, Gates (11-5, 0-1 UFC) conceded defeat 4:06 into round
three.
Moraga (16-3, 5-2 UFC) survived a harrowing exchange in the first
round, where he paused to complain about an inadvertent low blow.
Referee Jason Herzog informed the two flyweights that he did not
see the foul and implored them to continue. However, Moraga turned
his back to plead his case, and an opportunistic Gates pounced,
blindsiding him with a right hand before nearly locking in a
rear-naked choke. Moraga escaped and turned up the heat in the
second and third rounds. Slowed by a steady diet of leg kicks,
Gates looked lost in the clinch, where the Arizonan chipped away at
him with knees to the thigh, short punches and standing elbows.
In the third round, Moraga again moved into clinch range, executed
a trip takedown and assumed top position on his wilting
counterpart. Heavy, elbow-laden ground-and-pound then softened
Gates for the choke and led to the tapout.
Moraga, 30, has won 10 of his past 12 fights, losing only to
Demetrious
Johnson
and
John
Dodson
.
Neck Injury Stops Riggs
An apparent neck injury forced
Joe Riggs
to
submit to
American Top Team
’s
Ben
Saunders
in the first round of their preliminary welterweight
clash. The anticlimactic conclusion came 57 seconds into round one,
as Riggs submitted within the “Killa B” guard.
Riggs (40-15, 4-5 UFC) -- who had not fought inside the Octagon in
eight years -- moved in on a double-leg, hoisted Saunders skyward
and put him on the mat, injuring himself as he did so. Soon after,
“Diesel” asked out of the match, bringing an end to his streak of
six consecutive wins. A graduate of “The Ultimate Fighter 7,”
Saunders (18-6-2, 6-3 UFC) has rattled off five victories in his
last six outings.
Dober Choke Sends Varner Into Retirement
Drew
Dober
submitted former World Extreme Cagefighting champion
Jamie
Varner
with a first-round rear-naked choke in a brief and
bizarre undercard duel at 155 pounds. Dober (15-6, 1-2 UFC)
finished it 1:52 into round one.
Varner (21-11-1, 3-6 UFC) whiffed on a lateral drop, striking his
head on the mat in the process. The sequence left him dazed and
vulnerable, and Dober immediately climbed to mount. Punches fell
next, and Varner rolled to his stomach in a desperate attempt to
free himself from danger. Dober then cinched the choke for the
tapout, snapping his two-fight losing streak.
Afterward, the 30-year-old Varner, a loser in each of his past four
fights, announced his retirement.
Barberena Wins Seventh Straight
MMA Lab representative
Bryan
Barberena
put away
Joe
Ellenberger
with third-round ground-and-pound in a preliminary
lightweight tilt. Barberena (10-2, 1-0) drew the curtain closed
3:24 into round three, as he recorded his seventh consecutive
victory.
Ellenberger (15-2, 1-1 UFC) enjoyed success with his takedowns but
accomplished little else. His pace slowed to a crawl in the second
round, allowing Barberena to seize control. The Octagon rookie
capitalized, and in the third round, he dropped Ellenberger with a
multi-punch burst punctuated by a crisp right hook. From there,
Barberena increased the intensity of his ground-and-pound, trapped
the Nebraskan at the base of the cage and took care of his
remaining business with unanswered punches.
The defeat was Ellenberger’s first since October 2011.
Michaud Downs Reeling Whiteley
Takedowns and a heavy top game carried MMA Lab export
David
Michaud
to a unanimous decision over
Garett
Whiteley
in an undercard battle at 155 pounds. Michaud (8-1,
1-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27
marks.
Michaud struck for takedowns in all three rounds and applied mild
ground-and-pound to the Indianapolis native, chewing up time with
top control. Whiteley fought effectively from his back, opening a
cut near the South Dakotan’s right eye with a short elbow that
painted the canvas red in the second round. Blood poured out of the
wound for the better part of two rounds, drenching both men as they
jockeyed for position. Michaud slowed visibly down the stretch, but
a pair of third-round takedowns sealed it for him in the eyes of
the judges.
Whiteley (7-3, 0-3 UFC), who trains under “The Ultimate Fighter”
Season 4 finalist
Chris Lytle
,
has lost three fights in a row.
Unbeaten Cejudo Dominates Kimura
Henry
Cejudo
lived up to his gold-medal pedigree, as he kept his
perfect professional record intact with a lopsided unanimous
decision over
Dustin
Kimura
in a preliminary bantamweight affair. All three cageside
judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Cejudo (7-0, 1-0 UFC).
Kimura (11-3, 2-2 UFC) had no answers. Cejudo cracked him with
clean punching combinations throughout the 15-minute fight, mixing
in knees and kicks to the body. The 2008 Olympic gold medalist
floored Kimura with a searing straight right hand in the first
round and had him bleeding from multiple cuts, one near his right
brow and another on his right cheek, by the end of the second.
Cejudo kept his foot on the gas in round three, where he kept the
Hawaiian off-balance and tentative with a polished and efficient
standup attack.
Entwistle Heel Hook Submits Birchak
Ian
Entwistle
spoiled the organizational debut of former Maximum
Fighting Championship titleholder
Anthony
Birchak
with a first-round heel hook in an undercard scrap at
135 pounds. Birchak (11-2, 0-1 UFC) tapped out 64 seconds into
round one, his five-fight winning streak at a painful end.
Birchak struck for a quick takedown behind a Superman punch and
postured inside the Englishman’s guard, leaving his foot vulnerable
while he dropped heavy blows. Entwistle (9-2, 1-1 UFC) bit down on
the heel hook, maintained the maneuver through a series of
defensive rolls from the Arizonan and ultimately secured the
finish.