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UFC FIGHT NIGHT 54 LIVE RESULTS: Ennis' event report for "MacDonald vs. Saffiedine" card from Halifax
Oct 5, 2014 - 12:05:20 AM
UFC FIGHT NIGHT 54 LIVE RESULTS: Ennis' event report for "MacDonald vs. Saffiedine" card from Halifax
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By: Shawn Ennis, MMATorch Senior Columnist

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 54
OCTOBER 4, 2014
LIVE FROM HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA


=====UFC Fight Pass Prelims=====

-Pedro Munhoz def. Jerrod Sanders via submission (guillotine choke) at :39 of the first round

- Albert Tumenov def. Matt Dwyer via KO (head kick) at 1:03 of the first round


=====Fox Sports 2 Prelims=====

-Chris Kelades def. Patrick Holohan via Unanimous Decision

Note: Holohan took the first round, but Kelades came storming back to out grapple and batter Holohan for the next ten minutes. Excellent performance, especially considering that he took the fight on four days notice. Excellent fight.

-Paul Felder def. Jason Saggo via Split Decision

Note: Tough, grinding fight capped by a third round that almost saw both fighters finished. Saggo finished the fight in dominant position, almost finishing an armbar as time expired, but it wasn't enough to sway two judges in his favor. Felder probably took the first two rounds on the two scorecards that saw it for him.

-Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Jake Lindsey via Submission (Inverted Triangle/Kimura)

Note: Aubin-Mercier won the first round pretty handily by out-dueling Lindsey on the feet and working pretty evenly on the ground. He scored a really slick submission out of side control in the second round that will get some attention from his next UFC opponent. Impressive tapout win.

-Daron Cruickshank def. Anthony Njokuani via Unaminous Decision

Note: This was one of those "sounds better on paper than it is in reality" fights. Cruickshank did enough to get the win without doing anything spectacular or all that notable, and Njokuani really didn't do anything outside of stuffing and avoiding takedowns.

=====Fox Sports One Main Card=====

MAIN CARD FIGHT ONE: MITCH GAGNON vs. ROMAN SALAZAR (BANTAMWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Gagnon is a pretty heavy favorite here. Gagnon initiates the clinch early and Salazar circles back out. Salazar took this fight on five days' notice, and fought last nine days ago. Pretty incredible. Gagnon with a left hook, and Salazar shoots. Gagnon defends and looks for a double leg of his own. They stand back up, Salazar looks for the takedown and Gagnon spins and takes his back. Gagnon sinks in a standing rear naked choke, Salazar goes to the ground and taps.

WINNER: Gagnon at 2:06 of the first round

-Nice job by Gagnon, as was to be expected given the late notice and sudden step up in competition for Salazar.

STAR RATING: (***-) Nice choke by Gagnon after doing what he had to do in order to get into position. Not much more to it. Good stuff.

MAIN CARD FIGHT TWO: JINGLIANG LI vs. NORDINE TALEB (WELTERWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: They come out swinging early, each man landing his own punches and kicks. Taleb with a big leg kick, and Li answers. They exchange left hands, and Li answers a leg kick with a left hand. Big left hook by Taleb lands on Li. Not a lot landing for either fighter toward the middle of the round as they feel each other out. Taleb grabs the clinch and lands a knee to the body, and Li lands a right hand. Nice kick to the body by Taleb, and a big counter right hand lands for him as well. Taleb ducks a spinning backfist, but Li lands a big right hand and throws Taleb. Taleb back to his feet immediately and they face off again. Li seems to be the aggressor here with Taleb looking for the counter and the occasional jab. Leg kick by Li countered with a big right hand. Li piling up the leg kicks as Taleb piles up the left hands. Li shoots and is thwarted. Left eye is cut on both me, and a big left hook lands for Taleb. He follows with a takedown as the round ends. Tough round to call. I'd have to call it a draw.

ROUND TWO: Not much different as we head into round two. Li is throwing leg kicks and punches while Taleb looks to counter. Li lands a couple of nice right hands, and he's starting to land with more regularity as the clock ticks past two minutes. Taleb slips a couple of punches and lands a nice combo to the chin of Li, then lands a takedown. Li gets back to the feet and gets his own takedown, looking to take Taleb's back as the round ends. I'd give the edge to Li in that one.

ROUND THREE: The third round continues to be pretty evenly matched, with both fighters landing and lumping each other up. Li is landing more consistently and coming forward as the fight wears on, but Taleb is landing the big shots. The stats don't back up that assertion, but that's how it seems. Taleb goes for the takedown and Li gets a hold of Taleb's crotch to avoid being put on his back. Li almost rolls into mount, but Taleb reverses and ends up in Li's guard. Taleb lands a big elbow toward the end of the round from within the guard, but is mostly content to hold Li down as the round ends. I'd probably give the edge to Taleb there, so the fight is a draw on my card - could go either way.

WINNER: Nordine Taleb by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

-It was neither pretty nor decisive, but a nice show of grit and toughness by both fighters.

STAR RATING: (**+) Certainly not a must-see fight, and hard to tell what either guy has for the rest of the division as a result of this fight.

MAIN CARD FIGHT THREE: ELIAS THEODOROU vs. BRUNO SANTOS (MIDDLEWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Elias comes out and throws a high kick that finds air. He follows with a leg kick. Elias looking like the much taller fighter here. Santos wades in with a flurry, but Elias blocks them. Elias initiates the clinch on the fence and throws some knees to the body. Elias grabs a leg but Santos evades the takedown. Elias lets it go and lands a nice uppercut on the way out. Nice left hand by Elias. They clinch again against the fence, and Santos comes charging out from that position with a takedown. Elias looks to get back up, but Santos drags him back down from behind. Knee from Santos to the head of Elias. Theodorou continues to clinch and press Santos against the fence. He backs off and Santos lands a nice punch. They trade a few more punches with Santos getting off a bit as the round ends. I'd give the first to Elias Theodorou.

ROUND TWO: Elias comes out on the attack again. Overhand right and a front kick to the face by Elias. Santos with his hands low, looks to be getting tired. They exchange right hands, and Santos looks for a big overhand right. Elias looks for a running uppercut and they clinch against the fence again. Theodorou seems to really be keying on wearing Santos out. More of the same as the round wears on, but the Elias is thrown to the ground via a kick with a little over 1:20 in the round. Santos able to get some offense in on the ground for the last part of the frame, and I believe he probably took that round.

ROUND THREE: Santos comes out early and gets a takedown, then works from the back. Elias is able to spin out and get Santos himself to the ground. They work back to the feet again and Elias is able to land a nice takedown with about two minutes left in the round. He gets into position taking Santos's back and stays there for most of the round. Not entirely eventful, but a good showing by Elias Theodorou against a very tough Bruno Santos.

WINNER: Elias Theodorou by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)

-Not a lot to see here, though that's hardly surprising if you've seen Bruno Santos fight before. Theodorou has potential in the division - Santos is a tough guy to control.

STAR RATING: (**-) Skippable.

MAIN CARD FIGHT FOUR: YOSDENIS CEDENO vs. CHAD LAPRISE (LIGHTWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Cedeno comes out quick with a big leg kick, and Laprise lands a nice kick to the body. They clinch and Laprise pushes Cedeno up against the fence. Knees from Cedeno as he looks to get some leverage and separate. He does so and they look to strike again. Jab from Cedeno, and Laprise throws a huge overhand right that misses. Big leg kick from Laprise and a right hand. Cedeno looks to avoid the strikes of Laprise, and he walks right into a big takedown from Laprise. Cedeno is active on the bottom, but Laprise moves to mount. Cedeno tries to escape but Laprise takes his back and latches on a body triangle. Cedeno maintains wrist control to neutralize the offense of Laprise, and he spins out of mount and into the guard of Laprise. Laprise wants to stand from there and is able to do so as the round ends. I'd give that round to Laprise.

ROUND TWO: They clinch early with Laprise initiating a takedown, and Cedeno scrambles back to the feet. Nasty leg kick by Laprise, and another. Big right hook by Laprise, and the fight goes to the ground. Laprise grabs a body trangle and holds on to back control for much of the round. Another one in the books for Laprise.

ROUND THREE: You might call this one a snoozer, and that's pretty apt. More of the same in round three. Laprise all the way.

WINNER: Chad Laprise by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)

-This is another one where there's just not much going on. Can very easily be skipped.

STAR RATING: (**-) Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.

MAIN CARD FIGHT FIVE: BRYAN CARAWAY vs. RAFAEL ASSUNCAO (BANTAMWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Assuncao with some nasty leg kicks to open things up. Caraway looks to get inside and land some punches and he lands some nice uppercuts. Big welt on the leg of Caraway. Big counter right by Assuncao lands, and he lands a couple of big kicks to the body. Overhand right by Assuncao, and a nice right hand by Caraway. Caraway's hands are low and he shoots. They clinch against the fence briefly and square off in the middle. Assuncao misses an uppercut and they clinch briefly again. They trade a couple of quick punches and Assuncao gets a takedown briefly until Caraway scrambles out. They clinch again. Big leg kick by Assuncao after the separation and he misses a flying knee. Nice right hand by Caraway and they scramble at the end of the first. Assuncao takes that one.

ROUND TWO: They clinch immediately and Assuncao lands a nasty right hand on the separation. The fight has been mostly bursts of activity, and that trend continues as Caraway lands a high kick and Assuncao uses it to drag him to the ground. They exchange right hands, and then trade leg kicks. Caraway fakes a strike and comes in to get the takedown. Half guard for Caraway and he looks to take the back as Assuncao scrambles out, but they end up back ont he feet. Leg kick by Assuncao and those are starting to really pile up. Assuncao goes up high with the kick and it's blocked. Nice double leg by Caraway and they scramble back to the feet as Caraway is looking to improve position. High kick by Assuncao, and the bursts of activity continue as the round ends. Assuncao is landing more and mixing it up more, so I give him the round.

ROUND THREE: As has been the trend tonight, the third round was basically the same as the first two. Bursts of activity, clinch, scramble, repeat. Assuncao hurt Caraway more in this round, and he almost scored a guillotine at one point. In the end, this was the most decisive round in Assuncao's favor with Caraway slowing down, even though he continued to come forward.

WINNER: Chad Laprise by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)

-Good fight, if not spectacular. Good showing by Assuncao, who gets a clear-cut decision win, and Caraway doesn't come away too damaged here either as he hung with Assuncao for the duration of the fight and never wilted despite taking quite a bit of punishment.

STAR RATING: (***-) Solid fight for Assuncao, and a good primer for what he can do heading into a potential title fight after Dominick Cruz.

MAIN EVENT: RORY MACDONALD vs. TAREC SAFFIEDINE (WELTERWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Intense staredown from both fighters before the fight starts, and they come out with a bit of a measured pace. Nice leg kick lands for Tarec, and MacDonald lands one of his own. They exchange jabs to feel out the distance. Mostly pawing at each other as they get going here. MacDonald lands a big leg kick and Tarec lands one as well. Nice right hand for MacDonald, and a jab. Tarec lands an inside leg kick that's almost caught. He backs out and MacDonald misses a front kick to the face. Straight right hand by MacDonald. He catches a leg kick and puts Tarec on his back. They get back to the feet and MacDonald has a knee blocked on the way up. Front kick by MacDonald. Big leg kick lands for MacDonald, and Tarec lands a nasty one as well. They continue to measure each other and Tarec lands a leg kick a few seconds before time expires. Close round, and I'd give the edge to MacDonald.

ROUND TWO: MacDonald lands a nice combination to start the violence in this round. Tarec looks to land punches and MacDonald evades, then dodges a leg kick. Crescent kick misses for Tarec, but he lands a jab. Nice jab by MacDonald. Jab by Tarec, and another leg kick. Those may do some damage going forward. Another leg kick for Tarec, and MacDonald misses a counter on the next leg kick.

ROUND THREE: More of the same as we start off in round three, Saffiedine landing leg kicks and MacDonald countering with jabs. MacDonald lands a big left uppercut that staggers Saffiedine and puts him down. He follows Tarec to the mat and ends it with a couple of big shots. Nicely done by MacDonald with pinpoint accuracy on the strikes.

WINNER: Rory MacDonald by TKO at 1:28 of the third round.

-MacDonald needed an emphatic win, and he certainly delivered here. Saffiedine had never been finished up to this point, and MacDonald put a stamp on that one. Very impressive finish for MacDonald.

STAR RATING: (***+) Nothing too intense going on for the first couple of rounds, but the finish was a thing of beauty.


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