This was a fairly underwhelming fight with the biggest talking point being the lengthy break Ryan Jimmo had to take to recover from a second round groin shot, and he struggled to get back into the fight after that with Francimar Barroso eventually grinding his way to a unanimous decision victory.
Round One:
Jimmo lands a leg kick to start. Also an eyepoke, but Barroso is ok to continue. Another Jimmo leg kick and Barroso tries to counter over the top.
Barroso flurries forward, but Jimmo backs away. Jimmo counters with a solid right hand there as Barroso barrels forward. Undettered, Barroso bundles forward again and this time gets Jimmo to the cage.
Barroso looking for an opportunity to get this fight to the mat, but Jimmo stays upright for now. Jimmo with a couple of short punches in the clinch. Barroso with double underhooks now. He goes for a single leg, but again Jimmo stays on his feet showing good balance.
Couple of knees to the midsection for Jimmo. Barosso on the single leg again and hoists it high and bundles Jimmo to the mat, but he pops right back up and they are straight back into that clinch against the cage. Barroso with a few knees to the legs. Trying for that takedown again, but not this time. Not much happening and the ref separates them.
Jimmo with a head kick attempt that partially lands. He connects with a leg kick. Barroso presses forward with punches. He tries a head kick, but Jimmo gets away from it in time.
Round Two:
Barroso barging forward and fakes a takedown attempt. coming upstairs with punches that don’t quite find the mark. Good strike to the body from Barroso and now they are into the clinch with the Braziliand getting Jimmo up against the cage. He lands a couple of knees to the legs, but it’s the takedown he’s really looking for.
Has to settle for a couple of more knees for now though and the ref breaks them apart. Barosso with a leg kick. He lands another and Jimmo lands a counter right, but that kick went low to the groin and he needs time to recover.
Jimmo in real pain here and when the ref asks if he needs a doctor he says yes. That’s not a good sign and neither is the fact that he’s almost dry heaving which results in a bucket being brought into the Octagon. Very rare to see that, he’s suffering out there, but still has a few minutes to recover.
two and a half minutes left for Jimmo to recover and he tries to stand, then goes back to his knees. He stands again, but nope, back to his knees he goes. Looks like he is going to be able to continue after all though. He gets up and touches gloves with his opponent, but takes some extra time to walk it off before getting back to it.
Here we go now. Jimmo lands a right hand as Barroso comes forward. Barosso not showing a great deal of urgency here despite how badly Jimmo seemed to be hurt by that groins strike.
Barroso connects with a punch. Jimmo with a leg kick. Barosso flurries but eats an uppercut in the process. Right hand lands for Barroso.
Jimmo with another uppercut. Barroso into a takedown attempt and they end up clinching against the cage. They clashed heads there and Jimmo has swelling to his forehead as a result.
Barroso breaks apart just for a moment and flurries before going right back into it. Not for long though as the ref separates them. Only a few seconds of the round remaining and both men seem happy to take a breather.
Round Three:
Inbetween rounds Jimmo says his stomach is still cramping due to the groin strike and he’s having difficulty breathing. He’s going to continue fighting though.
Jab for Jimmo and a left kick to the leg. He lands another kick. Now a right kick to the lead leg. There’s a bit of a pause in the action and Barroso misses with a kick.
Barroso tries to engage, but Jimmo backs away. Body kick for Barroso that just glances Jimmo. Lots of gaps in the action here with both men lacking energy.
Barroso barges forward with blows and Jimmo spins him around to the cage. Barroso reverses with half the round remaining. He lands a couple of knees and tries for the takedown, but Jimmo defends.
Little bit of separation and Barroso lands a punch and comes into the clinch again, but they are pulled apart soon afterwards by the ref.
Into the center of the cage again, but again big lulls in the action. Jimmo tries to land a body kick and gets caught with a punch. Barroso tries for a takedown but settles for the clinch. A few more knees to the legs from him in the final minute. Jimmo not really making any effort to break free or attack and seems glad when the final bell sounds.
Decision:
That groin strike in the second round really seemed to take the fight out of Jimmo, making Barroso’s life easier as he claims a fairly uninspiring unanimous decision victory (30-27 x2, 29-28).
