FURY Pro grappling 3 took place last night and was stacked from top to bottom with UFC stars.
It also delivered some unexpected drama in the main event as Carla Esparza lost her match with Danielle Kelly after her attempted slam lead to an accidental clash of heads, opening up a nasty cut on her right eyebrow which led to an injury stoppage win for her opponent.
It was a troubling outcome since Esparza is currently being earmarked as the next UFC title challenger for Rose Namajunas in 2022, but she appeared to be eager to downplay it’s significance afterwards.
“Sorry guys, accidental head butt on a slam led to a cut and a stop in the match. In good spirits!” Esparza wrote. “Just gotta get a couple stitches. Thanks so much @furygrappling for having me, and @daniellekellybjj for the match 🙏🏼🥋💥.”
Undefeated 15-0 UFC welterweight Sean Brady fared better in the co-main event as he unexpectedly got the better of grappling star Craig jones, outworking him to a decision victory.
One of the best known stars on the card was Donald Cerrone, but despite having a significant weight advantage over fellow UFC fighter Joe Solecki, he suffered a rear-naked choke loss at the 3.17min mark.
There were also some all-UFC bouts, including Clay Guida getting the better of Billy Quarantillo in the eyes of the judges, while Renato Moicano also managed to best Chase Hooper on the scorecards.
Continuing the theme, despite having been KO’d in his last two UFC outings, Joaquim Silva delivered a confidence-boosting guillotine choke submission win over Neil Magny at the 2.47min mark, while Andre Petroski beat Phil Hawes by decision.
After a disappointing year in which grappling was exposed as his achilles heel, Kevin Holland also bravely stepped up to compete at the event and did show off improved ability on the mat against Kody Hamrah, though he ultimately lost out by decision.
Meanwhile, Alex Caceres submitted Eddy Torres and Gillian Robertson got the better of Chrissy Briggs on the scorecards.
Check out all the FURY Pro grappling 3 results below.
Danielle Kelly def. Carla Esparza via injury stoppage (cut) – 4:26mins
Sean Brady def. Craig Jones via judges decision
Joe Solecki def. Donald Cerrone via submission (rear-naked choke) – 3:17mins
Clay Guida def. Billy Quarantillo via judges decision
Renato Moicano def. Chase Hooper via judges decision
Nicky Rod def. Steve Mowry via submission (rear-naked choke) – 5:30mins
Joaquim Silva def. Neil Magny via submission (guillotine choke) – 2:47mins
Jonathan Piersma def. Philip Rowe via judges decision
Alex Caceres def. Eddy Torres via submission (rear-naked choke) – 2:35mins
Kody Hamrah def. Kevin Holland via judges decision
Andre Petroski def. Phil Hawes via judges decision
Gillian Robertson def. Chrissy Briggs via judges decision
