Phil Rowe earned a TKO victory over Niko Price in the final five minutes of their fight tonight at UFC On ESPN 42, bouncing back after he too had been hurt by strikes earlier in the round.
Round One:
Leg kicks exchanged and Price throws one to the body too. Another leg kick from Price. he lands it again on the inside. Rowe goes for a punch as Price again looks for a low kick.
Leg kick for Rowe and Price closes the distance and lands a short flurry of punches. More low kicks from Price.
Leg kick from Rowe is caught by Price, who throws a punch in return. Knee upstairs from Rowe grazes the target. Now a one-two from him.
Body punch for Price. he punches his way into the clinch against the cage. They soon break apart.
Body kick and punches behind it from Rowe. Price wades in with a series of left hands. One-two from Rowe, but then slips on a kick.
A couple of outside leg kicks from Price. Heavy right hand from Rowe staggers Price, but he quickly regains his equilibrium and continues fighting.
Inside leg kick from Price. Nice left hook from Rowe. He lands another solid punch. Jumping kick attempt from him as the round is drawing to a close.
Round Two:
Rowe pumps out the jab and a low kick from Price. left hook for Rowe. Price moving forward with purpose and lands a solid inside leg kick, then gets into the clinch against the cage.
Elbow strike for Price as they break free. Hard right hand for Rowe. Body punches from Price. Jab for Rowe.
Suddenly Rowe surprises Price with a nicely timed takedown. He doesn’t spend long there though before opting to back off and get back to the feet.
A few punches off the guard from Price. Rowe with a solid knee and more strikes along with it. Price drives in for his own takedown now but Rowe stuffs it.
Body kick from Price. One-two for Rowe. Price winging strikes now as he tries to land on the bigger man. Rowe looks for a standing choke and Price drops to the mat to scramble out of that. Rowe ends up taking his back though.
Rowe has the body triangle now as he works towards a rear-naked choke. It’s more of a crank than anything though and he lets it go. Price standing and Rowe tries to keep on him, but his opponent rolls away.
Jab for Rowe as Price bleeds from a cut to his left eye. Body kick for Price and a final punch before the round ends.
Round Three:
Nice right hand for Price. He fires off more punches as he tries to build up a head of steam in the final round. Now he chops to the legs and then back upstairs with winging punches.
Overhand right from Price hurts Rowe. He lands again and then a knee for good measure. Rowe a bit wobbled as he’s up against the cage. He moves away but Price continues to unleash strikes and Rowe drops to the mat.
Price with short ground-and-pound strikes. He secures half-guard. He drops down an elbow. Rowe battles his way back to his feet. Price with tired looking hooks. Rowe hits him with a punch. Price trying for more hooks but he looks spent and is now operating on pure heart.
Rowe who lands cleanly and again. Price is hurt and is backing up as Rowe now finds his second wind and puts him down with a flurry of punches. Price stands, but Rowe tees off on him again and the ref steps in to save him, handing Rowe the TKO win at 3.26mins of the final round.
