Gerald Meerschaert def. Oskar Piechota via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 2, 4:55
Steven Peterson def. Matt Bessette via Split Decision
Fox Sport 1 Prelims:
Tyler Diamond vs. Bryce Mitchell (Featherweight/145)
Round 1: Tyler Diamond scores with a single leg 90 seconds into the fight. He is in top position, but Mitchell is threatening with the rubber guard. Nice funk roll by Mitchell and he is briefly on top, but they are scrambling and neither man is maintaining any sort of control. We get a brief break in the action, it appears that Mitchell landed a groin strike. They exchange head kicks and Mitchell scores with a double leg and he has 45 seconds to work. Diamond briefly gets to his feet, but Mitchell has a body lock and drags him right back down. 10-9 Mitchell
Round 2: Mitchell is working for a takedown early, but Diamond isn’t making it easy. They end up on the ground and Mitchell has a tight triangle. Diamond is fighting it, but Mitchell is landing some hard elbows. Nice escape by Diamond! He was in trouble there for a moment. Diamond has side control and is looking for an Arm Triangle. Mitchell rolls to avoid it but gives up his back in the process. Diamond is landing some shots, but he doesn’t have much time to work. 10-9 Mitchell
Round 3: Mitchell connects with a hard-left hand to start the round. Tyler Diamond scores with a right hand and a double leg takedown. He is in top position in half guard. Mitchell is clearly tired, and Diamond appears to clearly be the fresher man. Mitchell gives up his back and Diamond takes it. Diamond moves into side control, he is mostly just maintaining position, but he is dominating the round regardless. 90 seconds remaining in the round. Lots of movement on the ground but neither fighter is establishing a dominant position. Mitchell is doing what he can’t to create some room to work but Diamond won’t allow it. 10-9 Diamond (29-28 Mitchell) I want to score this round 10-8 and the fight a draw but the commission in this state has not adopted the new rules so a 10-8 score is unlikely.
Result: Bryce Mitchell def. Tyler Diamond via Split Decision
John Gunther vs. Allan Zuniga (Lightweight/155)
Round 1: Gunther scores with a takedown early. He isn’t doing much with it, but he is maintaining control against the fence. Gunther throws a spinning back elbow as the round ends. 10-9 Gunther
Round 2: Gunther again chooses to take the fight right to the ground. Zuniga is just defending and looking to his coaches for advice. Lots of work against the cage here by Gunther. The ref steps in and we see a separation. Gunther lands a hard-left hand as the re-engage. Gunther scores with another takedown. This isn’t exactly the most entertaining fight, but Gunther is certainly being effective. 10-9 Gunther
Round 3: Zuniga lands a nice combination early and slips past a takedown attempt. Gunther doesn’t let him gloat for long though and scores with a takedown against the fence. Zuniga is back on his feet and he’s landing with some success, but Gunther just keeps coming forward. Zuniga is landing at will here late in the round. 10-9 Zuniga (29-28 Gunther) I would score this fight as a draw as well if the new rules were in place. This was a 10-8 round in my opinion.
Result: John Gunther def. Allan Zuniga via Majority Decision
Luis Pena vs. Richie Smullen (Lightweight/155)
Round 1: Pena lands a hard knee but Smullen grabs a body lock and scores with a takedown. Smullen can’t keep him there for long though and they are back on the feet. Pena lands a short-left hook and Smullen is down! Smullen is looking to recover but Pena slaps on a guillotine and he is in trouble! Smullen taps and its over! Good stuff there by the “Violent Bob Ross”.
Result: Luis Pena def. Richie Smullen via Submission (Guillotine) Round 1, 3:32
Rachel Ostovich vs. Montana De La Rosa (Flyweight/125)
Round 1: De La Rosa lands a nice jab and follows it up with a right hand. De La Rosa used her length well and Ostovich is going to have to figure out how to get inside. 10-9 De La Rosa
Round 2: Nice front kick early by De La Rosa. Ostovich keeps moving forward though and now has a body lock. She is working for a takedown, but it isn’t there and De La Rosa forces her against the fence as the round ends.10-9 De La Rosa
Round 3: More of the same until De La Rosa took the back late in the round and ended it with a rear naked choke. She looked good on the feet through out the fight and the numbers don’t really tell the story here. Her husband fights on next weekend’s card and I can’t think of another husband/wife that have fought in the UFC before.
Result: Montana De La Rosa def. Rachel Ostovich via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 3, 4:21
Fox Sports 1 Main Card:
Julian Marquez vs. Alessio Di Chirico (Middleweight/185)
Round 1: Julian Marquez holds a notable win over Matt Hamill from before his UFC days. Interesting bit of trivia there. Di Chirico strikes first with a hard-left body kick. Neither guy is connecting with very much, but they are both looking for the KO. Di Chirico lands a counter left hand against the fence. Marquez lands a grazing head kick. Hard body kick by Marquez, he is starting to look a little more comfortable. 10-9 Marquez but it was close.
Round 2: Its really hard to do this fight justice. They are both throwing some wilds strikes, this is a pretty sloppy fight so far. Nice uppercut lands for Marquez. Di Chirico is throwing a left body kick, but Marquez has caught it several times now. Di Chirico is looking for a takedown, but Marquez has a guillotine and it looks tight! Di Chirico escapes and he is safe for now. They are briefly back on the feet, but Di Chirico scores a takedown. Marquez is threatening with an armbar but can’t quite finish it. 10-9 Marquez
Round 3: They are brawling early. Marquez does not have any interest in defense. Both guys are tired but still swinging. Marquez lands one final hard shot as the round ends. I have no idea how this fight will be scored. It was a good back and forth fight with both guys having good moments. 10-9 Di Chirico (29-28 Marquez)
Result: Alessio Di Chirico def. Julian Marquez via Split Decision
Barb Honchak vs. Roxanne Modafferi (Flyweight/125)
Round 1: Barb Honchak is landing some combinations early. Modafferi is landing her jab but Honchak is firing back with a 1,2 each time. Modafferi lands a couple straights and jabs. Nice takedown by Modafferi! She is on top in half guard and looking to escape to a better position. Modafferi finally gets a pass with about 10 seconds left in the round. DRAW
Round 2: Honchak secures a body lock early and is looking for a takedown. Modafferi counters and winds up in the mount position. She is landing some shots as Honchak tries to cover up. She has 2 minutes to work. She is landing some hard elbows from the top! Honchak is in real trouble here and its all over! Roxanne Modafferi has earned her first UFC victory!
Result: Roxanne Modafferi def. Barb Honchak via TKO (Elbows) Round 2, 3:32
Martin Bravo vs. Alex Caceres (Featherweight/145)
Round 1: Bravo is controlling the action and scores a takedown. Caceres throws up a triangle, but Bravo pulls out and drops back down into the guard. Back on the feet and Caceres needs to make something happen here. Both guys land body shots as the round ends. 10-9 Bravo
Round 2: Bravo lands a straight right that staggers Caceres but then Caceres returns one of his own that hurts Bravo! Caceres moves in for a takedown but can’t quite get it and Bravo returns to his feet. That was a missed opportunity there for Caceres. They are exchanging but Bravo is getting the better of most of them. Good fight so far. Good head movement by Caceres but Bravo is relentless with his strikes. 10-9 Bravo
Round 3: Bravo is connecting with some big shots early. He lands a hard-right hand and Caceres doesn’t appear to have much power left. He is picking his shots and mostly just trying to get away from the pressure it seems. Bravo is absolutely relentless. Caceres lands a nice left and then a right hook as the round ends. Good fight but Bravo should take it. 10-9 Bravo (30-27 Bravo)
Result: Alex Caceres def. Martin Bravo via Split Decision
Mike Trizano vs. Joe Giannetti (Lightweight/155)
Round 1: Giannetti scores a takedown early and ends up with a back-body lock as Trizano gets back to his feet. Giannetti has a notable size advantage and reach as well. Giannetti briefly gets Trizano down but can’t keep him there for long. Trizano just can’t seem to break the body lock. Giannetti is looking for a Darce from the bottom but can’t find it. Lots of movement here on the ground. Trizano throws up a triangle as the round ends. 10-9 Giannetti
Round 2: They tie up early and fall to the ground with Trizano winding up on top. He passes from half guard into side control. Giannetti is threatening with a toe-hold but can’t complete it. I really can’t explain what’s going on right now, but the crowd hates it. It was a sort of scissor position, and Trizano was elbowing Giannetti repeatedly in the tail bone. Odd round. 10-9 Trizano
Round 3: Trizano starts the round off by kicking Giannetti in the groin and we see a brief pause in the action. Trizano is starting to have some success with his low kicks. Giannetti lands a nice body kick but eats a hard leg kick for his efforts. More low kicks land for Trizano with about three minutes left in the round. I hate to sound like Dana White here, but it doesn’t seem like either guy is really concerned with winning. It should be clear to both that its split one round a piece here. Trizano probably did enough to win but we’ll see. Not a good fight. 10-9 Trizano (29-28 Trizano)
Result: Mike Trizano def. Joe Giannetti via Split Decision to win the Ultimate Fighter: Lightweight Championship
Israel Adesanya vs. Brad Tavares (Middleweight/185)
Round 1: Adesanya lands a low kick early. Tavares attacks with a flurry and grabs a clinch. He is now controlling the fight against the fence. Only briefly though and they are back in the center. Adesanya is starting to land the leg kick at will and Tavares isn’t doing anything to defend them. Tavares lands a hard-right hand and shoots in for a single but can’t get it. Adesanya rolled for an Iminari lock or something similar, I don’t know what it was, but it didn’t work at Brad Tavares wound up on top. He landed several hard shots as the round ended. 10-9 Tavares
Round 2: Tavares is starting to land lots of shots and Tavares is just throwing single punches. Tavares shoots for a takedown but Adesanya holds himself up long enough to reach the cage and they separate. The lead leg of Tavares is taking more punishment. Adesanya is smashing Tavares with a jab and then a low kick, just over and over. Herb Dean steps in and warns Adesanya to keep his fingers closed. Tavares eats a hard body kick and it looked like it hurt him, but he quickly recovered. Tavares lands a pair of hooks as the round ends. 10-9 Adesanya
Round 3: Adesanya lands a hard knee. They are in the clinch and Adesanya trips Tavares down but allows him to get up. Tavares shoots for a double leg but Adesanya shakes him off. He’s going to have to disguise these shots a bit more. Tavares has a body lock against the fence, but Adesanya side steps him and escapes. Jab lands for Tavares. Adesanya lands a hard-right hand! Adesanya is starting to string his strikes together very nicely. 10-9 Adesanya
Round 4: Tavares is looking for a takedown early and forces the fight against the fence. Tavares gets him down with a dragging single leg takedown! Adesanya throws up a triangle but can’t get it! Tavares has the back! Adesanya gets back to his and goes for a kimura! Tavares escapes but Adesanya is back on his feet. Hard elbow lands for Adesanya! Herb Dean has called time again and the doctors are in the cage looking at Brad Tavares. He appears to have a to have a pretty bad cut above his left eye and a replay shows that it came from the elbow. Tavares tries and fails on a takedown attempt. 10-9 Adesanya
Round 5: Adesanya shakes a takedown early. Adesanya grabs a guillotine but Tavares drops to the ground and escapes it. Adesanya is on top though and landing some good shots. Tavares is looking for a kneebar but Adesanya just steps out of it and they are back on the feet. 40 seconds left in the fight. Tavares looks for another takedown but again Adesanya just won’t allow it. 10-9 Adesanya (49-46 Adesanya)
Result: Israel Adesanya def. Brad Tavares via Unanimous Decision
Post-Fight Bonuses (Opinion):
Performance of the night: Israel Adesanya
Performance of the night: Gerald Meerschaert
Fight of the night: Alex Caceres vs. Martin Bravo
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