It wasn’t always a thrilling display, but Dong Hyun Kim did manage to completely dominate Paulo Thiago over the course of 15 minutes at ‘UFC On Fuel TV 6’ in order to cruise to a unanimous decision win.
Kim wasted no time in getting this fight to the floor via a single leg takedown and was swiftly moved to take Thiago’s back.
Thiago may be a high-level BJJ practitioner but there was little he could do as Kim set-up shop there with his hooks in for extra security. He then patiently started working for a potential submission attempt, but at first there was nothing doing and the crowd started to get restless.
That seemed like Kim’s queue to make something happen, and he did with less than a minute left on the clock, attempting a neck crank, but Thiago hung on until the bell.
More ground domination followed for Kim in the second round, again getting an early takedown and ensuring with his expert positioning that Thiago’s not going anywhere in a hurry. The Brazilian does try a kimura, but it’s not happening.
With the clock ticking down to the end of the round Thiago does manage to work himself upright against the cage, but Kim reverses him in the clinch and then goes down to the mat locking in a d’arce choke. It’s a move that Thiago himself knows well though and he’s able to defend it before being saved by the bell.
It’s deja vu in the last round as Kim finds his way back to the mat firmly attached to Thiago’s back. At first it looks as if he’s just going to be happy to control the action from here with his hooks in, but with 90 seconds left he starts to turn up the heat, winding up some big ground and pound strikes, even throwing two fists at a time which gets the crowd fired up.
Thiago’s wilting under the pressure and tries to cover up, but there’s not enough time for Kim to get the finish so it’ll go to a decision.
No surprises here with Kim taking a clean sweep on the judges scorecards to earn the victory (30-26, 30-27 x2).
