Adam Fugitt edged out a closely contested striking battle with Josh Quinlan by split decision tonight at UFC On ESPN 58.
Round One:
Low kick for Quinlan. Kick from Fugitt but slips to the mat from that. Back up he gets and then does land a body kick.
Both throw a kick at the same time. Quinlan bursts forward and lands a right hand. Calf kick for him. High kick attempt from Fugitt.
Leg kick for Fugitt. Quinlan darts forward but doesn’t connect. High leg kick for Fugitt and then another.
Body kick for Fugitt. Kick to the thigh for Quinlan. Calf kick for Quinlan as Fugitt throws a punch. Right hand for Quinlan and then a couple of body punches. Kick for Fugitt.
Step-in calf kick for Quinlan. High kick off the guard from Fugitt. He lands a couple of leg kicks. Another step-in right hand lands for Quinlan.
Body kick for Fugitt. Now a front kick to the midsection. High kick attempt from Quinlan. He lands a superman punch. Light body kick for Fugitt.
Calf kick for Fugitt. Chopping kick to the thigh for Quinlan. Right hook counter from Quinlan as Fugitt steps in. A couple of missed kicks from Fugitt. He tries a knee that misses and Quinlan lands a counter.
Round Two:
Calf kick for Quinlan. Body kick for Fugitt. A couple of high kick attempts from Fugitt. Now he lands a leg kick. Looping punch from Quinlan. Fugitt tries to clinch up, but it doesn’t work out.
Leg kicks exchanged. Fugitt with a a few kicks that come up just short. Body kick for Quinlan. Quinlan bursts into a punch but Fugitt lands a kick to stop him. Right hand for Quinlan. Body kick for Fugitt. Inside leg kick from Quinlan.
Body kicks exchanged. Push kick from Fugitt. He lands a calf kick now. Fugitt has a cut to his right eye. Solid punch connects for Quinlan. High kick off the arm from Fugitt. Body kick for Quinlan but Fugitt responds with a left and right hand.
Right hand for Quinlan. Quinlan comes over the top of a Fugitt low kick with a punch upstairs. Solid body kick for Fugitt. Right hand again for Quinlan.
Round Three:
Punch for Quinlan as Fugitt looks for a kick. Fugitt kicks high off the upper arm. Body kick from Quinlan. Now a punch lands cleanly.
Right hand for Fugitt as Quinlan looks for his too. Leg kick for Fugitt. Fugitt attempts a jumping front kick and a punch behind it.
Body kick for Fugitt. Now a left hand. Another punch is followed by a high kick attempt. Low kick and a punch from Fugitt as he picks up his intensity.
Another high kick attempt from Fugitt. He misses on a couple of front kicks upstairs. Kick from Quinlan is almost caught.
Body kick for Fugitt. Another one for him. Counter right for Fugitt who is having his best round so far. He gets through with a body kick.
Fugitt attempts a spinning elbow but misses. Head kick attempt upstairs from Fugitt. Now a low kick. Calf kick for Quinlan. High kick from Fugitt seemed to land, but Quinlan didn’t bat an eyelid. Quinlan lands a solid punch in the final second of the fight.
Decision:
This was a closely contested striking battle and as such was not an easy one to judge. The clearest round was the final one though with Fugitt stepping up his work-rate and throwing more in combination, and they may just have been enough to swing the fight in his favor in the minds of two of the three judges, leading him to a split-decision victory (29-28 x2, 28-29).
