February might be a dismal time for UFC fans, but last night’s card had produced some quality scraps
Former lightweight champion Benson Henderson got back to winning ways against Brandon Thatch following his back-to-back losses against Rafael dos Anjos and Donald Cerrone. Bendo’s vast experience really showed against the hot shot and he completely negated the knockout artist’s superior size and power advantages.
Henderson scored a beautiful double-leg takedown on his tiring opponent in the fourth stanza, passed to side control and took his back. From there, Bendo locked in a rear-naked choke forcing the tap at 3:58 of round four. The contest was awarded the Fight of the Night accolade.
Neil Magny continued his hot streak in the UFC by handing Pancrasse product Kiichi Kunimoto his first defeat under the UFC banner.
He utilised his superior reach advantage to control the centre of the Octagon and work off his jab. His venomous combinations overwhelmed the Japanese fighter and after landing big with a takedown in the final round, Magny finished his opponent with a rear-naked choke and earned himself a lucrative Performance of the Night bonus.
An exciting flyweight bout between Ray Borg and Chris Kelades kicked off main card proceedings. The pacy affair developed into a jiu-jitsu chess match in the third round and Borg’s concerted effort to attack on the mat paid off when he locked in a kimura, forcing Kelades to submit at 2:56. Borg earned the other Performance bonus for his night’s work.
Chas Kelly scored a somewhat controversial victory over Jim Alers on the preliminary card. After a tough back-and-forth affair, Kelly started to get the better of the striking battle in the second round.
He landed a barrage of punches in the second round that was enough to force the British fighter to take a knee, but followed it up with an illegal knee to the head. The referee awarded him the TKO victory but from the replay, it looked like the man who famously never fought Conor McGregor at Cage Warriors might have had a case for a disqualification.
The very first bout of the night started with a bang. James Moontasri pummelled Cody Pfister for two rounds while stuffing just about every takedown attempts his opponent threw at him. Moontasri found a way to take his back and sink in the rear naked choke at 1:49 of round two.
