UFC FIGHT NIGHT
MARCH 18, 2017
LONDON, ENGLAND
AIRING LIVE ON FIGHT PASS
Matthew Ecochard here, stepping in to provide a live play by play. The UFC is airing live from England this Saturday on their web service UFC Fight Pass. Since the card is live from overseas, the bouts start early and will finish earlier than usual as well. The card features many English fighters, some young prospects and should have some entertaining bouts. Early prelims will just have results and play by play will pick up for the main card and the last couple of prelims.
FIGHT PASS EARLY PRELIMS (1 PM ET/10 AM PT)
(1) Lina Lansberg vs. Lucie Pudilova (Bantamweight 135 lbs)
Result: Lina Lansberg via Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)
(2) Brad Scott vs. Scott Askham (Middleweight 185 lbs)
Result: Brad Scott via Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
(3) Marc Diakiese vs. Teemu Packalen (Lightweight 155 lbs)
Result: Marc Diakiese via KO Round 1 (0:30)
(4) Leon Edwards vs. Vicente Luque (Welterweight 170 lbs)
Result: Leon Edwards via Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)
Ecochard’s Analysis: From what I caught of this fight it was alright. Leon Edwards looked superior to Vicente Luque in just about every aspect. Luque had some nice shots landed, but Edwards just controlled on the mat. Edwards ended up calling out Donald Cerrone for his next fight, which would likely be too much too soon for him.
(5) Daniel Omielanczuk vs. Timothy Johnson (Heavyweight 265 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Omielanczuk throws hands and a nice leg kick to follow up as well. Johnson circles out and moves towards the center of octagon. Left hook to the body for Omielanczuk and another one, Johnson is eating these body shots. Pushing forward Johnson gets the fight against the cage and clinches up. Johnson kept it on the cage for a couple of minutes landing some small shots and stomps, but the referee separates it. Omielanczuk lands a shot and Johnson takes it back against the cage to end the round. Johnson controlled more, but Omielanczuk landed the better shots.
ROUND TWO: Not a whole lot happening for the first few minutes. Johnson lands some big shots and scores the takedown. The last couple of minutes features Johnson pouring shots on while on the mat. Omielanczuk stands up, but Johnson lands some more hard shots. Johnson definitely took that round as Omielanczuk just can’t get his striking off enough here.
ROUND THREE: Immediately Johnson takes Omielanczuk into the fence once again. Johnson is just wearing Omielanczuk down here. Finally Omielanczuk reverses position and drops down for a single leg trip, but couldn’t finish it off. Marc Goddard separates them and Omielanczuk needs to get a finish here in order to win. Johnson is looking tired but is still the aggressor here and is controlling the bout clinching against the cage, but not doing a whole lot. Once again the referee breaks up the clinch with one minute to go. Omielanczuk lands a good elbow and Johnson eats a few more shots, Omielanczuk shoots low and tries to get takedown again, but is denied. Johnson reverses and the fight ends with Johnson once again clinching against the cage.
Result: Timothy Johnson via Split Decision (29-28, 30-27, 28-29)
Ecochard’s Analysis: A tough and gritty fight that wasn’t all that exciting. Johnson really just clinched up against the fence and landed some good shots. Omielanczuk was winning the fight at range, but Johnson stopped any momentum that he was getting. Johnson will struggle against top heavyweights for sure.
(6) Darren Stewart vs. Francimar Barroso (Light Heavyweight 205 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Barroso comes out more explosive to start. Stewart has an amazing level change and gets an easy takedown. A couple shots landed and he backs up and lets Barroso stand up. Barroso becomes much more tentative now because of the earlier level change. A cup shot from Stewart causes a break in the action. Stewart extends his hand but Barroso wouldn’t touch gloves. Stewart becomes aggressive with strikes here and Barroso becomes clinched against the cage. Barroso lands a nice left hand, throws a kick and Stewart catches it and runs him into the fence. A messy combination leads to a takedown for Barroso, but Stewart gets up quickly and the round ends.
ROUND TWO: Barroso lands a big takedown a minute into the round, Stewart gets up fairly easily. Twice in a row, Stewart gets to his feet, but is dragged down twice. A third time now, and Stewart his getting tired very quickly. Stewart looks like he finally gets back up with about two minutes left in the round. The referee steps in as there is not a lot of action occurring. Stewart looks spent here and he might just be waiting out the round. Barroso lands a big kick to the body which must just be draining Stewart. A small left hand and some knees and elbows land in from Stewart and the horn sounds. Clean second round for Barroso.
ROUND THREE: Nothing at all in the first minute. Both fighters throw a hard right hand but neither connecting flush. Both clinch and throw continuous uppercuts at each other. Barroso attempts the takedown against the fence and they spin a few times but Stewart is still pushed against the cage. Knees from both men and they separate again. Nice combination from Stewart and the crowd roars. Stewart pushing forward and attempts to clinch, but Barroso reverses. Stewart gets shrugged off with a minute left in a very close third round. Level change from Stewart but it gets stuffed, they clinch and the round ends. Barroso throws a kick as the horn sounds, almost after the round ended. Very close third round, interesting fight.
Result: Francimar Barroso via Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)
Ecochard’s Analysis: Very close match with Barroso just doing slightly more to get the decision. Barroso looked good, but not a world beater by any means. Stewart came out strong, but really slowed down. Stewart was talking about dropping to 185 lbs and that should really help him be the bigger man and definitely have a strength advantage. Barroso needs a small step up to test him further, but nothing in the top 15 yet.
(7) Joseph Duffy vs. Reza Madadi (Lightweight 155 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Takedown landed early by Madadi and both men are reversing positions quickly, but Duffy finally ends up on top. Duffy is just forcing his weight onto Madadi and cradles him up in the corner against the cage. Constant ground and pound from Duffy and Madadi is just eating shots and hasn’t even attempted to get up really. Madadi has a guillotine attempt, but loses it and Duffy postures up and lands hard shots. Big elbow cuts up Madadi real badly and it leaves him with some blood pouring down his head as the horn sounds.
ROUND TWO: Duffy opens up with some sharp boxing. A nasty knee and some strikes pile up from Duffy. Some kicks are peppered in and land heavy on Madadi. Single leg attempt stuffed by Duffy and Madadi doesn’t have a whole lot of weapons here. Duffy has constant pressure and is landing at will. Madadi’s blood is getting all into his vision and I’m surprised that the ref doesn’t want to look at the cut. A big knee lands and stiffens up Madadi for a second. Madadi gets a takedown, but Duffy stand back up immediately. Another big knee lands and Madadi keeps wiping the blood off of his face. The round ends and that could easily be a 10-8 for Duffy.
ROUND THREE: Madadi misses with another spinning attempt. Duffy lands some quick jabs to the body then back to the head. Madadi attempts another takedown, but gets reversed against the cage once again. Duffy is just keeping Madadi at bay and this is just target practice for Duffy. One minute left in the round and this is all Duffy here tonight. Tough heart out of Madadi here, but there wasn’t much for him to do after that initial takedown.
Result: Joseph Duffy via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)
Ecochard’s Analysis: Joseph Duffy looks absolutely amazing when he is on point. Dustin Poirier exposed some holes in his game, but besides that Duffy has really looked like a monster in all of his UFC appearances. Madadi is a tough man and has shown that before, but he just doesn’t have the skills to cut it when it gets towards top competition. Duffy should have a top 15 opponent next time out, he has fluid striking, grappling and can just overwhelm his opponents so well.
FIGHT PASS MAIN CARD (5 PM ET/ 2 PM PT)
(8) Arnold Allen vs. Makwan Amirkhani (Featherweight 145 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Amirkhani comes out quickly with a kick and knee attempt. Both of these men are typically exciting so this should be good. Amirkhani takes down Allen, but he gets back up to his feet. Against the cage Amirkhani takes down Allen again, but with a much more forceful takedown. A guillotine attempt almost has Allen, but he gets out of it. Amirkhani doesn’t let go of the front headlock attempt through all of this. Allen stands up and takes down Amirkhani now. Allen does a nice job of controlling the bout for a couple of minutes, but Amirkhani finally escapes. A clinch occurs and both men are trying to out wrestle the other. The referee steps in with 20 seconds left, Amirkhani lands a nice right hand. Allen lands a nice right hand in return and hurts Amirkhani. Wow, what a flurry at the end of that round.
ROUND TWO: As soon as the round starts Amirkhani takes down Allen with a front headlock, slowly setting up a d’arce choke. Allen scrambles, Amirkhani jumps forward for a leg, but Allen ends up on top. Strong mount from Allen allows him to control and land some strong ground and pound. Amirkhani gets up and then dives in deep for a takedown of his own, Allen grabs the front headlock this time, but couldn’t hold it and Amirkhani ends up on top. This is a gruelling grappling match. Amirkhani ends the round on top and both men are looking a little spent heading into the third.
ROUND THREE: Allen stops the takedown attempt of Amirkhani. A huge left hand lands and it stumbled Amirkhani. The takedowns are relentless for Amirkhani and he finds a way to get them. Allen has a kimura locked up, but gets sweeped. Just beautiful grappling here from both men. Amirkhani is on top and landing some good shots. The referee has a poor stand up here, why? Amirkhani was working from the top and stopped for all of three seconds. Allen has the fight against the fence, but can’t quite get the trip takedown. Allen pulls Amirkhani from the fence and scrambles to end up on top. Allen lands some hard shots, gets into rear-naked position and the final horn sounds. Wow what a fun back and forth grappling battle with some strong strikes here and there for good measure.
Result: Arnold Allen via Split Decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
Ecochard’s Analysis: Arnold Allen really came out strong here and put himself on the map. There isn’t much of a loser in this fight. Amirkhani was the better wrestler, but Allen seemed to have slightly better grappling. The striking certainly went to Allen with some really hard shots. Both men have nothing to be ashamed of here and could be seen as top 15 going forward with a couple of wins.
(9) Brad Pickett vs. Marlon Vera (Catchweight 140 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Pickett starts in the center of the octagon looking for the right hand, eats two body kicks while pushing forward. Pickett gets the fight against the cage and gets the early takedown with a big slam. Vera gets up and they separate away from fence. The kicks are adding up for Vera. Pickett is loading up with his right hand and just waiting for a second to land. Knee from Vera, followed with a straight right from Pickett. A nice left hook wobbles Vera, but he gets right back up. Pickett lunges forward and looks for the takedown, but nothing materializes. Pickett is almost landing his right a bunch here, but definitely landed the better shots that round.
ROUND TWO: Knees and punches come early for Pickett and he goes for a takedown again and picks up Vera and slams him hard. Pickett ends up on top and is controlling for over a minute landing some ground and pound. Pickett is just pounding away on Vera and Vera isn’t doing a whole lot to try to get up. Vera gets back to his feet and the begin to strike again. Pickett really controlled most of this round but he seems to be tiring as the fight goes on a little bit.
ROUND THREE: Vera comes out strong in the third round and is landing the better strikes early. Both men are circling and trying to time their punches and kicks. Neither fighter has landed more than a small kick and a hook here and there in the first couple of minutes. Vera lands another nice body kick and is picking up the pace here. An uppercut almost lands for Pickett. Vera landing cleaner here, but Pickett is hanging in there just fine. A huge headkick lands for Vera and it drops Pickett. Vera follwos up with two hard shots and the ref steps in. Hard to call if that was a little early, seems like it might of been. Just heart breaking for Brad Pickett here in his last fight.
Result: Marlon Vera via TKO Round 3 (3:50)
Ecochard’s Analysis: That fight was fun and Pickett actually looked really good for those two round and just slowed down way too much in that third round. Vera looked strong, but was a slow start and just needs to keep improving. What an emotional end to his career here. Marlon Vera has a sad post-fight interview, thanking Pickett for everything, feeling bummed out that he had to get the win that way. Dan Hardy did some nice control telling Pickett it doesn’t matter what the result was, that everyone in the arena loves him and his career is legendary.
(10) Gunnar Nelson vs. Alan Jouban (Welterweight 170 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Nelson moves into the center early and Jouban lands a couple of nice leg kicks. Nelson flurries forward and clinches into the fence. Jouban is continuously backing up, but is landing a few leg kicks. Nelson gets a nice lift and takedown. Now the bout is in Nelson’s world. Nelson moves into side control fairly easily. Slowly, Nelson moves right into the mount position, Jouban is trying to turn but that will just give his back to Nelson. 30 seconds left in the round, Nelson lands a hard elbow and controls Jouban through the end of the round while in mount.
ROUND TWO: Jouban comes forward with a nice couple of punches and Nelson tries to counter. Nelson takes the center back and hurts Jouban with a straight right hand and follows up with a kick. Nelson drops into a really deep guillotine and it’s all over.
Result: Gunnar Nelson via Submission Round 2 (:46)
Ecochard’s Analysis: Nelson looked so dominant here against Jouban. The striking was his, the wrestling was his and the submissions were obviously his as well. There just isn’t an area where Nelson is weak, he is such a complete fighter and still improving. Look for a top 10 fight next time out. Jouban looked okay, but was just outclassed, especially on the ground.
(11) Jimi Manuwa (9) vs. Corey Anderson (Light Heavyweight Main Event 205 lbs – 5 Rounds)
ROUND ONE: Just some feints in the first minute. Manuwa lands a nice left hook to the body against the cage. Left head kick from Manuwa. Anderson lands a couple shots, but is circling with his back against the fence. Manuwa stops a lightly attempted takedown. Anderson is constantly moving here with Manuwa stalking him. Anderson goes for another takedown and it is stuffed again. Manuwa lands two hard left hands and it knocks out Anderson out!!!!!! WOW! That barely looked like a shot and it just dropped Anderson. Unbelievable, he made it look so easy.
Result: Jimi Manuwa via KO Round 1 (3:05)
Ecochard’s Analysis: Manuwa looked calm, cool and collected in that fight. Nothing seemed to bother him and he just walked Anderson down the whole time. Anderson never got comfortable here and just got stunned from two left hands.
That’s all for the fights today from London, England. Thanks for joining us for the play by play here and for some enjoyable fights, especially on the main card. The UFC takes a couple weeks off here, but watch for Bellator to have a few weeks straight of fights coming up.
Leave a Reply