UFC FIGHT NIGHT 122 REPORT
NOVEMBER 25, 2017
SHANGHAI, CHINA AT THE MERCEDEZ BENZ ARENA
ON UFC FIGHT PASS
The UFC continued its International Tour with a stop at the Mercedez-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China for UFC Fight Night 122. The main event took place in the middleweight division where Michael Bisping stepped in for Anderson Silva on three weeks’ notice to take on Kelvin Gastelum.
The co-main event featured China’s own Li Jingliang. He took on Zak Ottow in a battle of welterweights. The main card also included Wang Guan vs. Alex Caceres and Muslim Salikhov vs. Alex Garcia.
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Main Card
(9) Muslim Salikhov (12-1) vs. Alex Garcia (14-4) – Middleweight 170 lbs.
ROUND ONE: Both fighters come out with a lot of feints and not much more as the fight gets underway. Garcia shoots in and runs Salikhov to the fence. He lands the takedown 45 seconds into the round. Excellent defense from Salikhov from bottom as Garcia works to better his position. Salikhov bucks Garcia off and gets back to his feet with 2:52 left in the round. Back to center. The second half of the round is fought on the feet under Garcia shoots in with a minute to go. Salikhov defends it well and they are back to center. Another takedown for Garcia with 24 seconds to go. He postures up and lands a nice combination as the round ends.
10-9 Garcia
ROUND TWO: They trade right hands to start the second round. Salikhov just misses with a hook kick; Garcia was able to get his hands up just in time with 3:43 to go. Big overhand right lands for Garcia shortly after. Garcia shoots in but Salikhov side steps him and lands a solid kick to the body. Garcia shoots and pins Salikhov against the cage with 2:32 to go. He finishes the takedown at the 2:20 mark. Garcia works from on top and takes the back with 1:48 to go. He sinks in a RNC and Salikhov taps.
Result: Alex Garcia over Muslim Salikhov by Submission – Rear Naked Choke (3:22 of Round 2)
Grocke’s Point of View: Really strong performance from Garcia coming in as the small underdog. He was controlling the pace of the fight and landing takedowns whenever he needed it. It didn’t look like he had the choke under the chin but he was able to get Salikhov to tap.
(10) Wang Guan (16-1-1) vs. Alex Caceres (13-10, 1 NC) – Featherweight 145 lbs.
ROUND ONE: Guan opens the fight landing a straight right hand. They trade leg kicks as both fighters get off to fast starts. They clinch up center cage and Guan takes a knee low. The fight resumes with 3:40 on the clock. Guan lands a heavy kick the body and follows up with a short left that staggers Caceres. Guan moves in but it looks as though Caceres has his wits about him. With three minutes to go they trade punches. Guan closes distance and they tie up against the cage. After taking a knee Caceres gets away and they reset at center with just over two minutes left in the round. A nice exchange at 1:35 with both fighters landing punches. Gaun is finding success with his right hand as Caceres encourages him on. Guan lands a huge left hand that drops Caceres with ten seconds left. Guan pounces but Caceres is saved by the horn.
10-9 Guan
ROUND TWO: Guan comes out aggressively to open the round. He lands a big left hook that staggers Caceres. Caceres is on his horse back pedaling away from Guan. Guan continues with heavy pressure. A minute in and Caceres looks to be back in the fight. Maybe not because a straight right hand rocks Caceres again with 3:32 left in the round. Guan takes a kick low but wants to continue fighting on with 3:18 to go. The fight remains on the feet, Guan lands a big right hand that stuns Caceres again with a minute to go. The final minute continues as a kick boxing match.
10-9 Guan
ROUND THREE: Caceres tries to clinch but Guan isn’t having it as the round starts. A big left rocks Caceres a minute in but he takes it well. 30 seconds later a right hand puts Caceres onn the mat again but he’s back up before Guan can capitalize. Caceres goes for a head kick and slips with 2:40 to go and Guan tries to get a takedown. Caceres does a good job defending against the attempt and they reset at center. They clinch against the cage briefly with both guys landing knees and they separate. Back to center with two minutes to go. Guan takes another kick low and this time he takes time to recover. They resume the fight with 49 seconds left. Caceres tries to pick up the pace the final 40 seconds and has the most success he’s had in the fight. Unfortunately the horn sounds ending the fight before he can do much.
10-9 Caceres
Result: Wang Guan over Alex Caceres by Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Grocke’s Point of View: I didn’t see this being as close as the judges had it. I thought it was a clear win for Guan. He hurt Caceres multiple times and landed the more damaging shots.
(11) Li Jingliang (13-4) vs. Zak Ottow (15-4) – Welterweight 170 lbs.
ROUND ONE: Li comes out and lands a leg kick. Aa few more leg kicks for Li and he blocks a high kick from Ottow. They trade low kicks and Li follows up with an overhand right that meets the mark. Ottow attempts a high kick but Li catches it. They stand at center with 3:35 to go. Ottow lands a nice right hand as Li fires off another leg kick. Li is using kicks and jabs to maintain distance not allowing Ottow to get inside. Li lands a big left hand as Ottow tries to move in. with 2:23 left in the round. Li lands another leg kick and follows up with a straight right that drops Ottow. Li pounces with 2:14 remaining and Ottow is in serious trouble. Li is raining down hammer fists as Ottow covers up and that’s it. The Herb Dean finally stops the barrage of punches.
Result: Li Jingliang over Zak Ottow by TKO – Punches (2:57 of Round 1)
Grocke’s Point of View: Big win for Jingliang in front of his hometown fans. This was an emotional win for him. He did an excellent job keeping Ottow at range with kicks and jabs. In order for Ottow to have a chance he had to get inside. A really smart game plan that was executed to perfection here.
(12) Michael Bisping (31-8) vs. Kelvin Gastelum (14-3, 1NC) – Middleweight 185 lbs.
ROUND ONE: Both guys come out firing. Gastelum lands a crushing body kick 25 seconds into the fight. Bisping comes back and lands a straight right hand. They both land jabs and tie up 4:20 on the clock. Bisping shakes Gastelum off they reset back at center with 4:12 to go. Gastelum catches a kick and just misses with a left hand. A nice exchange with both guys landing punches at the 3:20 mark. Gastelum comes in with a strong kick to the body, but eats a right hand in the process. Bisping comes in and lands a right hand. A huge combination from Gastelum drops Bisping and he is out cold. Gastelum lands a few more right hands before referee Marc Goddard can cover Bisping and this one is all over.
Result: Kelvin Gastelum over Michael Bisping by Knockout (2:30 of Round 1)
Grocke’s Point of View: While this was a huge win for Gastelum, I hated seeing this. Bisping had no right taking this fight and shame on the UFC for allowing this fight to happen. Kudos to Gastelum for showing concern and respect for Bisping.
Prelims
(8) Zabit Magomedsharipov (12-1) vs. Sheymon Moraes (9-1) – Featherweight 145 lbs.
ROUND ONE: They trade kicks as the fight starts. A nice switch lead kick lands for Moraes a minute into the round. A slow start for both fighters in the early going. Beautiful combination lands flush for Magomedsharipov with just under three minutes to go. Magomedsharopiv catches a kick a takes Moraes down. He works to take the back and slams Moraes down to the mat. He still has Moraes’ back and works from side control. He transitions to mount with just under a minute left. Heavy ground and pound from Magomedsharipov from mount and that’s how the round ends.
10-9 Magomedsharipov
ROUND TWO: Moraes comes out and takes center cage to start the second round. Magomedsharipov just misses with a 360 turning kick, but follows up with a takedown 30 seconds into the round. Moraes scrambles back to his feet and takes Magomedsharipov down and gets mount 40 seconds in. Magomedsharipov reverses but gets caught in a triangle. Magomedsharipov slips out easily. Both fighters work back to their feet, but Magamedsharipov quickly gets Moraes to the mat again. Magamedsharipov He works for a RNC with 3:20 to go in the round. Heavy ground and pound from Magomedsharipov on top. Moraes is just covering up. Moraes turns on his back and is in serious trouble as Magomedsharipov applies heavy pressure from mount. Somehow Moraes survives the final 1:40 with some excellent defense from bottom.
10-8 Magomedsharipov
ROUND THREE: Both fighters throw leg kicks but Magomedsharipov’s lands flush and takes Moraes’ legs out from underneath him. Magamedsharipov ends up on top but then decides to let Moraes up 30 seconds into the final round. Back on the feet they trade jabs and Moraes lands an uppercut that just misses doing serious harm. Spinning back fist lands flush for Magomedsharipov. Magomedsharipov works for a takedown and finally gets it with three minutes to go. Just relentless pressure from Magomedsharipov and he gets full mount with 1:40 left. With a minute to go Magomedsharipov continues to try and better his position. With 32 seconds left Magomedsharipov locks on an Anaconda Choke and Moraes is in trouble. He finally taps from the choke.
Result: Zabit Magomedsharipov over Sheymon Moraes by Submission – Anaconda Choke (4:30 of Round 3)
Grocke’s Point of View: Wow, that was an impressive performance from Magomedsharipov. He completely dominated that fight from the opening horn until the finish. He is going to be a serious problem for the rest of the featherweight division. The UFC didn’t do Sheymon Moraes any favors with this match-up for his debut.
(7) Kenan Song (11-3) vs. Bobby Nash (8-3) – Welterweight 170 lbs.
Result: Kenan Song over Bobby Nash by TKO – Strikes (0:15 of Round 1)
(6) Kailin Curran (4-5) vs. Xiaonan Yan (7-1, 1 NC) – Strawweight 115 lbs.
Result: Xiaonan Yan over Kailian Curran by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
(5) Yadong Song (10-5) vs. Bharat Khandare (5-2) – Batamweight 135 lbs.
Result: Yadong Song over Bharat Khandare by Submission- Front Choke (4:16 of Round 1)
(4) Chase Sherman (11-3) vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov (17-4) – Heavyweight 265 lbs.
Result: Shamil Abdurakhimov over Chase Sherman by Knockout (1:24 of Round 1)
(3) Yanan Wu (9-1) vs. Gina Mazany (4-1) – Bantamweight 135 lbs.
Result: Gina Mazany over Yanan Wu by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
(2) Wuliji Buren (10-4) vs. Rolando Dy (8-6, 1 NC) – Featherweight 145 lbs.
Result: Rolando Dy over Wuliji Buren by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
(1) Cyril Asker (8-3) vs. Yaozong Hu (3-0) – Heavyweight 265 lbs.
Result: Cyril Asker over Yaozong Hu by Submission – Rear Naked Choke (2.33 of Round 2)
NOW CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE: UFC FIGHT NIGHT 122 PREDICTIONS 11/25: Grocke’s updated odds and predictions for every fight
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