UFC 215 PRELIMS REPORT
SEPTEMBER 9, 2017
EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA AT THE ROGERS PLACE
ON FOX SPORTS 1
Early Prelims
(1) Kajan Johnson vs. Adriano Martins – Lightweight
Favorite: Adriano Martins (-500)
ROUND ONE: They touch gloves. Long feeling out process here. Johnson is trying to use his kicks to keep Martins back, but Martins is doing his best to close the distant. Lots of missed kicks early by both men here. Johnson is allowing Martins to control the pace here, but not much contact being made by either fighter. Both men are tentative but Johnson just isn’t doing anything aside from throwing the occasional leg kick. Martins lands a nice left, but doesn’t follow up. They circle, and Martins lands a HUGE shot, Johnson is down, Martins goes for the neck but can’t finish it as the round ends. Slow round there until the end.
10-9 Martins
ROUND TWO: More of the same at the start of the round. Johnson is landing the occasional kick here but aside from that not much is going on. Johnson landing shots here and there, Martins is just stalking but not throwing much of anything. Johnson whiffs on a big head kick, and Martins lands a nice right hand on the follow up. Johnson is starting to land more here, but he’s still allowing Martins to control the pace and is probably on his way to losing this round. Johnson is almost using a karate style here, moving in and out, and throwing punches from a far distance. I was just criticizing him but it’s possible he won the round just because he was actually landing.
10-9 Johnson
ROUND THREE: Johnson comes out here with the same game plan, and Martins is getting frustrated. Johnson lands a huge right hand and Martins is down, and he’s out. Big win for Johnson here. They threw at the same time, but Johnson landed first.
Winner: Kajan Johnson via KO (Punch) (0:49, Round 3)
(2) Arjan Bhullar vs. Luis Henrique – Heavyweight
Favorite: Arjan Bhullar (-225)
ROUND ONE: Two large men here. Bhullar is a wrestler but he looks content keeping the fight on the feet. He lands a huge right, and they are circling. Still no takedown attempts from Bhullar, the Olympic wrestler. Henrique is being patient here, but you must wonder if he was expecting takedowns here. They clinch, Henrique hands a nice shot, and they separate. Bhullar looks for his first takedown, but can’t get it, and they are circling. Bhullar gets an under hook and pushes Henrique against the fence. He’s controlling him well here, but they separate as the round ends.
10-9 Bhullar
ROUND TWO: Henrique has a cut above his right eye. They come out to the center and are exchanging jabs. Both men are pacing themselves, looking to set up shots. Bhullar is looking decent on the feet here, and still hasn’t shown much interest in trying to take the fight to the ground. Bhullar tries to move inside just as I say that, but Henrique sends him backwards with a flurry. Bhullar comes forward and lands a huge right hand, and Henrique is down, he’s scrambling, and Bhullar scoops him up and slams him. Bhullar has side control, and is attacking with elbows and punches. 2 minutes remaining here. Heavy pressure by Bhullar here, and he’s just not giving Henrique any room to work here. The round ends with Bhullar still on top.
10-9 Bhullar
ROUND THREE: Henrique comes out and is controlling the pace here. He lands a nice body kick, and follows it up with a hard leg kick. He seems like the fresher fighter, but Bhullar is still doing just fine himself. He lands another nice leg kick, and Bhullar doesn’t seem to have an answer. Bhullar lands a nice jab, and they clinch, Bhullar is trying to get the fight down. He’s tired, and not hiding it well, but he’s staying in it. He gets a clinch and pushes Henrique against the fence. Henrique spins out, and they are back to the center. 90 seconds remain. Henrique is lobbing big shots, but nothing lands, they clinch again, and both are landing. Not a super eventful fight here, but it was a decent debut for Bhullar and I think he will get the decision here.
10-9 Henrique (29-28 Bhullar)
Winner: Arjan Bhullar via Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)
Prelims
(3) Mitch Clarke vs. Alex White – Lightweight
ROUND ONE: I missed the first round because I put it on the wrong channel. You can’t win them all I guess. To make matters worse I had to sit through about 7 minutes of golf before I realized.
ROUND TWO: They start fast, with both men coming out swinging. Clarke appears to be the more diverse striker, but the power is clearly on Whites side tonight. They clinch, Clarke is looking for a trip, and landing elbows in the process. They separate, and White is taking deep breaths. Clarke again with the clinch, but White lands a flurry of huge elbows, and opens Clarke up. They separate, and White drops him with a body kick. Clarke scrambles to his feet, but he took a beating there, and White is teeing off on him. Clarke is really busted open here. White with another nice body shot, then he drops Clarke with a right hand. Clarke is back up, and he is one tough dude. Clarke looking for the takedown, he pushes White against the fence and they separate with 30 seconds remaining. White lands a big shot, Clarke goes down again, and the ref steps in. Damn that was a hell of a round and a nice win for Alex White. He really took his time getting the finish and it was the best I’ve ever seen him look.
Winner: Alex White via TKO (Punches) (4:36, Round 2)
Mitch Clarke retired post fight. He leaves the UFC with a 2-4 record, and a 11-5 record overall.
(4) Gavin Tucker vs. Rick Glenn – Featherweight
Favorite: Gavin Tucker (-305)
ROUND ONE: Glenn will enjoy a 3.5-inch height advantage tonight, but the crowd is certainly on Tuckers side. Tucker comes out fast, throws a spinning back kick, but Glenn grabs him and nearly takes the back, but they separate. Nice leg kick by Tucker. Glenn has a large reach advantage but Tucker is having no problems closing the distance so far. Rick Glenn isn’t doing much but his size is allowing him to get out of the way of most of Tuckers big shots. They stop the action for a moment, it looks like Tucker got kicked in the groin but he doesn’t waste much time. Tucker is having to use a lot of movement to close the distance, and he gets caught coming in. Glenn drops him with what I think was a left hand, but Tucker quickly gets back to his feet. Tucker goes for a takedown but can’t get it, and Tucker is getting tired here. The size looks like it’s becoming a big factor. Close round but Glenn got the knockdown.
10-9 Glenn
ROUND TWO: Tucker comes out with the same aggression that he showed in the first. He catches Glenn with a big kick, and follows up with some punches in the clinch, but Glenn trips him and gets him down. Tucker is on his back, but goes for a leg lock. Glenn scrambles, and gets the back, he’s landing some shots here, but Tucker wall climbs back to his feet. The size is clearly a factor now. Glenn stuffs a rushed takedown, and they are struggling against the fence, but Glenn gets him down. Tucker pops up, but Glenn gets him right back down. Tucker is tired here, and he’s taking a beating. Cormier just said it best, Glenn is letting Tucker beat himself here tonight. He’s tired from that first round. Glenn gets Tucker down again, but Tucker attempts a heel hook. Glenn shakes it, and they are back on the feet. Glenn is just tiring Tucker out here with constant takedowns, and relentless pressure. He’s sitting in Tuckers half-guard landing punches and elbows, and that’s how the round ends. Glenn is clearly in control here, and if I was Tuckers corner I might just stop this fight. He is only going to take more of a beating in the third. He needs to consider a drop to bantamweight…just my opinion. He’s clearly talented but the size difference is a battle for him on its own.
10-8 Glenn
ROUND THREE: Tucker is a warrior. He comes out aggressive, but he is clearly tired and Glenn quickly puts him against the fence. Tucker goes for a takedown, but Glenn stuffs it, and Tucker is on his back taking shots here. Tucker is trying to move, but can’t do much here. He’s fighting for under hooks, but Glenn is relentless, and Glenn attempts a kneebar, but Tucker rolls through. Glenn is back on top, landing more takedowns. Tucker is really looking for a leg lock here, and is really getting punished for it in the process. The ref should stop this, it’s a relentless beating at this point. Tucker has nothing left. I just don’t get why this hasn’t been stopped…the last minute of that fight should not have happened. I’m not the type to usually complain about this type of stuff, but that was unbelievable.
10-7 Glenn, I know…but watch it. (Rick Glenn 30-24)
Winner: Rick Glenn via Unanimous Decision (30-24, 30-25, 29-27)
(5) Sarah Moras vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith – Women’s Bantamweight
ROUND ONE: Okay well they switched to Fox Sports 1 while I was grabbing a beer and I didn’t notice for a moment…when I switched over to FS1 Sarah Moras was celebrating her armbar victory.
Winner: Sarah Moras via Submission (Armbar)
(6) Sara McMann vs. Ketlen Vieira – Women’s Bantamweight
ROUND ONE: Sara McMann doesn’t waste much time, and quickly shoots for a takedown against the cage. She can’t complete it, but she is controlling Vieira against the fence. They struggle for position, and McMann completes the takedown. She lands a nice elbow, but is pacing herself well. Vieira has a high guard, but doesn’t seem to have anything. McMann is landing more hard shots here. McMann takes the mount and is landing some heavy hammer fists here, but Vieira escaped with a crafty thing that I can’t even explain. Vieira is looking for a kneebar, and McMann is in a tough spot here, but the round is ending and McMann will survive.
10-9 McMann
ROUND TWO: Vieira fears the takedown as the round starts. They are circling, but neither has thrown a strike. McMann changes levels, and she’s’ working hard for a takedown, but let’s up after some hard elbows by Vieira. McMann is against the fence, but not much action really, mostly just positional. McMann reverses the position, and lands a nice knee. She is controlling Vieira against the fence, but stull its mostly just been a grappling affair so far. McMann lands a nice elbow, but Vieira lands a nice trip and McMann is on her back. She’s doing nothing to get up, not even looking for hooks. Vieira is looking for a head and arm triangle and she gets it, McMann taps. Nice win.
Winner: Ketlen Vieira via Submission Arm-Triangle Choke (4:16, Round 2)
NOW CHECK OUT HEYDORN’S UFC 215 LIVE COVERAGE: HEYDORN’S UFC 215 LIVE COVERAGE 9/9: Nunes vs. Shevchenko, Magny vs. Dos Anjos, Cejudo vs. Reis, Latifi vs. Pedro, Stephens vs. Melendez
Leave a Reply