UFC Fight Night Live Blog - Prelims
We've got all the action from the prelims, coming at you live from Seattle. There may be spoilers here. You were warned.
Waylon Lowe vs. Nik Lentz
Waylon Lowe turns in an early bid for best walk-out song of the night with The Stones' Painted Black.Round 1
Lentz starts it off with a high kick and an attempt at a flying knee. Neither land. Lentz fires another high kick and Lowe counters with a right hook. Lowe lands another right hook. Lowe shoots in for a takedown and Lentz looks to sink in a guillotine. Lowe slips it and stands back up. Lentz scores with a combo and Lowe goes for another takedown to get out of trouble. Lentz is busy still looking for the guillotine. Lowe briefly passes into half guard, but Lentz pulls back to full.
Round 2
Lentz comes out of his corner for the second looking to do some damage, but Lowe keeps hammering him with counters and his right is finding a comfortable home on Lentz’s face. Lowe gets him backed up against the fence and scoops up Lent’z legs for another takedown. From his back, Lentz tries for another guillotine but after about a minute of work, the ref stands them up.
Lentz is showing some visible wear and tear now with blood streaming down his face, but both fighters have started this round in a slower gear. The right of Lowe continues to punish Lentz. Lowe begins to pour it on and goes for a takedown but Lentz slips in another guillotine and has it deep this time. Lowe drops to a knee and Lentz cranks it. Lowe taps out to give “The Carny” an impressive come-from-behind win.
Mario Miranda vs. Aaron Simpson
>strong>Round 1
Miranda comes out charging and puts Simpson against the fence. Goes for some foot stomps but not much else and the referee break it up. This time it’s Simpson with the bull rush to the fence. He gets Miranda down and briefly takes his back but Miranda recovers. Miranda goes for a takedown but Simpson counters and takes his back. Simpson gets it down to the mat unleashes some ground and pound. At the ten second mark Simpson tries for a last impression and fires a few last bombs.
Round 2
Simpson takes his mad to the fence early. He’s hammering Miranda’s thighs with knees. Miranda breaks free but before long is back on the fence and Simpson gets another takedown. He has his back and is cranking the forearn, maybe looking for a kimura from behind. Simpson slams his man to the mat and cranks a kimura, but Miranda escapes. Simpsons recovers the back. Still slamming his knees into Miranda’s thigh and thinking kimura.Round 3
Simpson gets another early takedown. Miranda is on his feet again but Simpson still has his back. Simpson lifts and slams Miranda and works him over on the mat. Miranda gets to his feet one more time, only to get slammed again. Miranda finally recovers but not for long, as Simpson is all over him in seconds. The final horn blows and Miranda hangs his head in exhausted defeat as he awaits the decision for Simpson. All the judges give Simpson all three rounds, and one awarding him a 10-8 round (probably the second).
Johny Hendricks vs. TJ Waldburger
Round 1
TJ charges at Hendricks for an aggressive start against the wrestler. TJ lands a slapping inside leg kick. Hendricks lands a BOMB on TJ and Waldburger drops. Hendricks delivers two more before the referee can jump in. Waldburguer is disputing the call but the replay confirms he was out. He regained his senses quickly, but it was a good call.Sean McCorkle vs. Christian Morecraft
Round 2
Morecraft has Sean against the cage and fires off a few rounds. The crowd appreciates the aggression. But when the action falls to the ground, things slow down a bit. @DanaWhite tweets his concerns that the fighters should be stood up. Eventually they make their own way to the feet and Sean takes a knee to the gibblies. It looks like Sean might be using his injury time to catch his breath more than anything else. When the action starts back up, Morecraft sinks in a standing guillotine and cranks it. Sean refuses to tap and goes to sleep, still on his feet. Impressive.
Michael McDonald vs. Edwin Figueroa
Round 1
A few fireworks kick off the bantamweight bout. This has flashbacks of The Korean Zombie and Leonard Garcia. I wonder if that will turn into foreshadowing. A right lands clean on McDonald’s chin. It makes a loud pop, but it didn’t look like there was much real power behind it. McDonald scores a takedown but not much happens on the ground. The fight finds its way back to the feet and there are more fireworks. Explosive first round.Round 2
Another round starts fast and hard. Edwin sends off a high kick. It’s caught and he’s taken down. McDonald takes Edwin’s back and looks for a rear naked choke. It’s tight but Edwin won’t tap. He breaks free. McDonald is still trying to lock it up. Edwin flips over and tries to work from top guard but McDonald had a triangle choke waiting for him. The triangle isn’t tight enough, so he readjusts and grabs the arm for a triangle/armbar. He cranks it, but Edwin still refuses to tap.Round 3
Edwin is looking beat up, but he’s still standing and he’s trying to end this fight. I don’t know if he has enough left to finish his opponent, but he’s determined to put on a show. McDonald gets a takedown with little resistance. He lets him back up, takes him back down. Edwin gains top control and passes guard. McDonald takes back his guard. The referee stands them up. McDonald hardly wants to get up. These men are both exhausted, but Old McDonald scores a takedown.The bell rings and they hug it out while waiting for the decision. Bruce Buffer announces a unanimous decision for McDonald.
John Hathaway vs. Kris McCray
Round 1
McCray tries to drag Hathaway to the mat from behind. Hathaway rolls and grabs a leg for the kneebar. McCray avoids the submission and maintains top control. Hathaway tries to stand and McCray slams him back down. McCray spends most of the reaming time looking for ground and pound but can’t create enough distance from inside Hathaway’s guard.Round 2
McCray catches an attempted high kick and scores a takedown. Hathaway goes for a triangle. He transitions to an armbar but MccRay rolls out of it. Back on the feet McCray is playing the dirty boxing games and grinding out his opponent against the fence. He’s not quite Randy Couture but he must be wearing out Hathaway. Just before the bell, McCray scores another takedown into mount but there’s no time for any real offense.Round 3
Hathaway scores an early takedown. He gets to half guard but can’t do much damage. McCray sweeps and gets Hathaway’s back against the cage. Hathaway uses the cage to recover and takes McCray down. McCray is back up. Back down.John Hathaway gets a split decision victory.
Alex Caceres vs. Mackens Semerzier
Round 1
The infamous TUF alum Carerces gets taken down and looks for a triangle but can't find it. Mackens gets full mount and lands a few bombs. Caceres gives up his back and tries to roll in search for a leg. Mackens locks in a rear naked choke and Caceres can't fight it. Bruce Leeroy's official debut doesn't go as planned but the young fighter is still smiling. Sort of.
Jon Madsen vs. Mike Russow
Round 1
Madsen scores nicely with a counter left. Madsen puts together several attacks but he’s a little overzealous and he’s got his head down, so he misses. Looks like Russow may have landed an uppercut but couldn’t quite see from the angle. The action has been pretty slow so far and the crowd has been patient but they’re starting to get restless.Round 2
They both come out of their corners more aggressive but still aren’t landing much. A knee from Russow finds its way into Madsen’s belly. Madsen falls to his knees and offers up his neck for a guillotine but Russow apparently doesn’t want the gift and instead goes for Madsen’s back. He can’t do anything with it and the referee breaks the action. The bell rings on a slow round.They’re working on Madsen’s eye in his corner and it looks like the referee is calling this one. Madsen’s eye is swollen shut and can’t be allowed to continue.
