NOTE: Solidly entertaining undercard scrap. Saenz stayed mostly relentless offensively, though Ticman had some moments of offense. Good performance from Saenz though.
-Tom Watson def. Sam Alvey via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
NOTE: Sloppy as all hell with both guys getting hurt in several spots. Not a good fight. Watson almost gave the fight away in the third round after controlling the first two rounds and nearly stopping the fight himself.
NOTE: McMann's wrestling allowed her to keep top position through much of the first ten minutes. Murphy had a lot of offense in the third, and from the bottom, but it wasn't enough to negate McMann's control edge. Not all that great of a fight though.
NOTE: Makovsky had a strong third round, but it was not enough to make up for getting outworked on the ground in the first two rounds. Very competitive fight, Formiga did just enough to win two rounds.
=====Fox Sports 1 Main Card=====
-Lengthy intro rundown on the card from Kenny Florian and Jon Anik, and our first fight will start about 15 minutes into the broadcast here.
FIGHT ONE: THIAGO TAVARES VS. ROBBIE PERALTA (FEATHERWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Peralta circled on the outside early on, and Tavares quickly shot in to try to bring the fight to the ground. Peralta tried to hold off a takedown attempt, but Tavares picked him up and brought him to the ground. Peralta got to his feet, but Tavares took his back standing and dragged him down to the ground. Tavares flattened him out as he turned him around. Peralta survived the early onslaught. Peralta turned into him and allowed Tavares to sit in the mount. He tried to buck out but Tavares held position. Tavares landed a few strikes. He tried to sit up in mount and throw down strikes, getting through with several. Peralta tried to escape, but Tavares held position and took his back. Peralta tried to get loose again, but Tavares landed several hard strikes, then locked on a tight rear naked choke. Peralta fought it for a couple of seconds, but Tavares forced the tap. Impressive performance in his featherweight debut.
WINNER: Tavares via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:27 of the first round
STAR RATING: (**+) Really excellent performance from Tavares. He doesn't appear to have lost any strength coming down from 155 lbs., and if he can get guys to the ground and not let them test his chin, he can be fantastic here for some time to come. Really impressed by what he just did.
FIGHT TWO: SHAWN JORDAN VS. JACK MAY (HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: May took the center and pressed in. He backed Jordan to the cage but missed his first thrown strike. Jordan definitely at a reach disadvantage, but he made up for it as May got in close. Lots of tentativeness from both through the first two minutes. Jordan landed two hard body strikes, but May landed one to the face and Jordan rubbed at the spot a couple of times. Jordan got in a couple of strikes and turned May around in a clinch to the cage. May broke free and backed away. Jordan landed a solid counter with a couple of punches. Jordan barely missed a couple of big right hand strikes, but ate one from May. May landed a hard leg kick. Jordan shot in for a single leg and completed a takedown with 45 seconds left in the round. May tried to hold control of him to avoid any damage. Jordan patiently held position and landed some hard strikes to the body. Jordan ended the round on top.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Jordan. He landed some nice strikes when there were exchanges, and got that late takedown to swing things further in his corner.
ROUND TWO: The reach of May continued to keep Jordan on the outside. May landed a solid left hook, but Jordan avoided much follow up. The punch did cut Jordan on the right eyebrow. Both were breathing heavily. May landed another combination and backed Jordan up to the cage. Jordan covered up and was taking a ton of strikes, but he worked out of it and scored a takedown to get a breather. He was briefly in mount but May got him to half guard. May sat up at the cage, but Jordan kept him down and did damage. Jordan passed to mount, but May quickly used the cage to buck out. Jordan moved to side control and tried to set up a crucifix, but May turned into him. Jordan continued working from the top. He passed back to mount again after trying to set up an arm triangle. Jordan landed some strikes from the top to ride out the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Jordan. May had a nice flurry, but that was it, and Jordan had several dominant positions and did damage in top control for a considerable time in that round.
ROUND THREE: May tried to land a knee in an early clinch, but Jordan easily took him down. Jordan took May's back and started throwing bombs. May tried to cover up and he turtled. Jordan kept position on his back with hooks in and kept landing strikes. May just tried to cover up as Jordan continued throwing hammerfists, punches, elbows, anything he could think to throw. Jordan locked up his arm and kept throwin strikes. Dan Miragliotta told May to fight back, then warned him again, finally stopping things after he couldn't get out.
WINNER: Jordan via TKO at 2:03 of the third round
STAR RATING: (**-) Ugly heavyweight action with a lot of tentative spurts and some bad fight I.Q. Jordan's a tough guy, and took advantage of the openings May gave to him, but May's probably on his way out of the UFC here.
FIGHT THREE: SETH BACZYNSKI VS. ALAN JOUBAN (WELTERWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Baczynski circled quickly around the outside. Jouban briefly caught a kick but Baczynski backed out. Jouban landed a leg kick. Both swung wildly but missed. Jouban connected on a left hook. He landed a kick to the body. He landed a hard outside leg kick as he blocked a right hand. Jouban landed a right hook in an exchange. He got in with a couple of hard kicks to the lead leg. Jouban landed a nice right hand. Back to the inside. Jouban landed a hard head kick that rocked Baczynski, but then Baczynski connected on a combo that rocked Jouban right back. Baczynski tried to rush in but Jouban clinched and got his bearings back. Baczynski shot in, picked Jouban up, and took him down, but Jouban quickly moved to his feet. They traded some strikes. Baczynski shot in again, got stuffed, and ate a knee. Baczysnki landed several strikes. Jouban got in with another hard knee. Baczynski landed a few strikes. Jouban fired back. Jouban missed a spinning elbow. He hurt Baczynski with a flurry and drove him to the cage. Jouban then landed a short left that dropped Baczynski! A few more strikes on the ground and it was all over. Hell of a scrap.
WINNER: Jouban via KO at 4:23 of the first round
STAR RATING: (***+) Very entertaining scrap, even if it was real sloppy in that back and forth at times. Still, lots of legitimate damage done, heart shown by both guys in taking the strikes they were taking only to fire back, and a nice decisive finish from the debuting Jouban. Good stuff.
FIGHT FOUR: TIM BOETSCH VS. BRAD TAVARES (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Boetsch almost immediately shot in, but Tavares stuffed it and clinched, bringing it to the cage. After a brief clinch battle, Tavares landed a couple of strikes to back out. They clinched in again and battled at the cage. Tavares landed an elbow. He connected with a knee. Tavares got in a knee. They separated again. Tavares landed a hard right hand in an exchange. Boetsch briefly scored a takedown, but Tavares worked to his feet and landed a hard right hand. Boetsch tried for a throw, but Tavares wound up scrambling and taking his back. Tavares got in some knees to the head against the cage. Boetsch tried to cover up, but Tavares kept delivering knees to the head and body. Boetsch's arms were trapped and he couldn't get it to the ground to stop the knees. He stood up just before the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Tavares. Strong final couple minutes from Tavares there.
ROUND TWO: Tavares landed a hard right hand early and clinched up. Boetsch was bleeding from under the left eye. Tavares backed off a minute into the round. They exchanged strikes, with Boetsch landing one and Tavares getting in a couple. Things slowed for a bit. Boetsch shot in but Tavares clinched and turned him around at the cage. They jockeyed for position a bit, trading short strikes. They were separated. Boetsch then floored Tavares out of nowhere! Tavares popped back to his feet and Boetsch dropped him again! Another strike on the ground and it's all over. He stole that fight back.
WINNER: Boetsch via TKO at 3:18 of the second round
STAR RATING: (**+) Crazy out of nowhere finish as Tavares was on his way to going up two rounds to none. Boetsch just caught him, simple as that, and as Tavares tried to get loose he walked right into that final right hand. Nice moment for Boetsch in front of a home crowd in Maine, though.
FIGHT FIVE: GRAY MAYNARD VS. ROSS PEARSON (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Pearson tried to back Maynard up early, but it was Maynard who landed the first strike of the fight. He got in with the left hook again. Maynard connected to the body. Pearson tried to close the distance again, but Maynard fired out at him. Pearson just missed a couple of strikes. Pearson connected with a hook to the body. He went high with a kick that was blocked. Maynard shot in and tried to drag Pearson to the ground. Pearson stayed on a knee and got back to his feet. Maynard landed some hard strikes to the body in the clinch before backing out. Pearson grazed Maynard with a hook. He landed a hard inside leg kick. Maynard landed a jab. Maynard missed a couple of strikes. Pearson popped in with a solid straight left. Maynard landed a jab. He connected on a left and scored a takedown at the cage. Pearson escaped and popped right to his feet. He landed a couple of knees and scored a couple of strikes before backing out. Pearson landed a jab. They traded strikes late, then got in one more exchange at the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Pearson. This could go either way here, but I think Pearson had the more effective strikes in the round, and the takedowns weren't all that effective for offense for Maynard. Won't argue too hard against Maynard getting the round, though.
ROUND TWO: They clashed early, then Maynard shot in. Pearson held him off at the cage, and tried to fight back in the clinch. Pearson got in an elbow and a knee to the body to break out. They traded jabs. Maynard landed a hard body punch. Pearson stunned Maynard with a right. He knocked him down with a combination and finished it on the ground. Honestly seemed like it was just a matter of Pearson landing the first hard strike to rock him. It finally happened, and Maynard's chin just isn't holding up. Much needed win for Pearson, and yet another brutal loss for Maynard.
WINNER: Pearson via TKO at 1:35 of the second round
STAR RATING: (**+) Competitive fight for a while, then Pearson found Maynard's chin and got a win he needed to get. Maynard's got to be giving serious consideration to retirement after this one, I just don't know that he can keep taking that type of punishment.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT SIX: RYAN BADER VS. OVINCE ST. PREUX (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Bader landed a leg kick to start off. St. Preux landed a counter left. They collided and Bader scored an easy takedown into side control. Bader patiently worked from the top as St. Preux tried to improve his position. Bader tried to take his back in transition, but St. Preux got free and moved to his feet. St. Preux threw a hard head kick that was only partially blocked. He landed another hard kick to the body. Bader landed a solid counter left as St. Preux sloppily tossed out a strike. St. Preux landed a straight left. Bader tried to rush in but St. Preux shoved him aside. Bader landed a nice counter jab but couldn't complete a brief takedown attempt. Bader landed a right hand. St. Preux landed a left in response. They continued circling around one another. Bader landed a right hand and scored another takedown into side control just before the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Bader. Strong round for the favorite. St. Preux got in a few hard strikes, but didn't do much else in that first round.
ROUND TWO: St. Preux missed a few strikes after Bader rushed in. They traded kicks. Bader landed a good left hand. St. Preux landed a hard kick to the body. Things slowed down save for a few sporadic spurts of attempted offense. Bader tried to close the distance for a takedown, but St. Preux held it off and circled out. Lots of circling, little offense from both. St. Preux finally landed a solid left, but didn't have anything behind it. St. Preux landed a left, then countered a takedown attempt and wound up on top himself. Bader tried control his wrists and worked back to his feet, eating a few strikes in the process. Bader then scored a takedown at the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 OSP. I guess. Really dull round, so very little happened.
ROUND THREE: St. Preux opened with a high kick that was blocked. He circled around with his hands down. St. Preux rushed in with some strikes but wasn't really hitting the mark at all. Bader shot in and scored a takedown. St. Preux rolled to his knees and stood up at the cage, though. Bader picked him up and dragged him back down, working from side control. St. Preux got his feet to the cage and Bader tried to work from the top. St. Preux scrambled and got to his feet, but ate a right hand out of a clinch, and Bader took him down again. Bader landed a hard elbow as he passed to half guard. Bader tried to stay busy as St. Preux grabbed a wrist. St. Preux tried to get up, but Bader kept him down and landed a few strikes. St. Preux then succeeded in briefly getting to his feet, but failed an attempt to switch and escape. Bader held onto him and tried to drag him back down. St. Preux stayed on his feet, though, and Bader separated with a right hand.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Bader. Strong round, though still not a ton happening. But Bader is wearing St. Preux down with the takedowns now, and that could very well be what we see though the final ten minutes as well.
ROUND FOUR: St. Preux missed a few early strikes. Bader nearly took him down but St. Preux managed to fight to his feet and separate. St. Preux got in a leg kick but couldn't follow up with anything significant. St. Preux missed a left and shoved Bader back to the cage. He connected on a body strike. Bader shot in but got stuffed. He landed a nice knee to the body, though, and held the clinch. He switched to a double leg and completed the takedown. He took St. Preux's back, but St. Preux turtled up as Bader tried to stay busy. St. Preux stood up, but Bader stayed on his back standing. Bader dropped him back down. St. Preux got to his knees as Bader stayed on him. Bader nearly locked on an arm lock, but St. Preux rolled out of it. Bader landed strikes on top and continued to stay busy enough to keep position while wearing St. Preux down. St. Preux got to his feet again, but ate a strike before the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Bader. St. Preux just seems lethargic right now, and his cornerman was on fire trying to get him mentally back in this.
ROUND FIVE: St. Preux opened with a high kick that was blocked. More circling, minor advance from St. Preux. St. Preux shot in and scored a takedown into side control, fighting out of a kimura attempt. Bader rolled into him and St. Preux sprawled. Bader exploded to his feet, countered another takedown attempt, and scored a throw of his own. Bader briefly tried to set up a kimura but lost it. St. Preux got to his feet with two minutes left, but Bader rushed back at him. St. Preux landed some hard elbows that opened Bader up, then he turned into Bader and scored a takedown at the cage. Bader got free and went for another takedown, eating a couple of elbows. Bader was bleeding badly as he continued looking for another takedown. St. Preux nearly pulled off a switch, but Bader stayed on him at the cage. Bader backed off briefly and shot in, only to get stuffed twice more before the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 St. Preux. Close, not very action packed round, but St. Preux did the most damage. Either way, not nearly enough for St. Preux, who just proved he's not an elite fighter by any stretch of the imagination.
WINNER: Bader via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)
STAR RATING: (*+) Dull fight, especially for a main event, but that wasn't entirely surprising. St. Preux was extremely uninspired, while Bader did just enough to control a majority of the fight.
-One down, three to go this month for the UFC. Thanks for joining us tonight, we'll have follow up on the event through the week and we'll also turn our attention to next weekend's double header!
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(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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