Stay tuned to https://mmainsight.com this evening for all the results live as they happen from UFC 159 in New Jersey.
The preliminary action is set to get underway at aprox 7pm ET (12pm UK) with the main card going live at 10pm ET (3am UK).
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Main Card:
Jon Jones defeats Chael Sonnen by TKO at 4.33mins of Rd1
Michael Bisping defeats Alan Belcher by unanimous technical decision (30-27 x2, 29-28) after eye injury to Belcher ends the fight in Rd3
Roy Nelson defeats Cheick Kongo by KO at 2.03mins of Rd1
Phil Davis defeats Vinny Magalhaes by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Fight Report
Pat Healy defeats Jim Miller by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4.02mins of Rd3
Prelims:
Rustam Khabilov defeats Yancy Medeiros by TKO (thumb injury) at 2.32mins of Rd1
Oh dear, what a shambles this preliminary card has quickly turned into. Early in the first round Khabilov looked for a takedown and Medeiros landed awkwardly and broke his thumb which resulted in the fight being brought to a premature end.
Ovince St. Preux defeats Gian Villante by technical majority decision (30-28, 30-29, 29-29) at 0.33mins of Rd3
A little bit of an untidy first round with Villante failing on a few takedown attempts and failing to really settle into the fight. OSP wasn’t firing on all cylinders either, but did a good job of stuffing those takedowns and hurt Villante with a nice series of punches mid-way through the round. The second round started with the two men exchanging leg kicks, with Villante’s appearing to carry more weight, but soon after the fight took on a lethargic quality with OSP in particular looking weary and there was little to write home about for the remainder of the round. The third round had barely had a chance to begin when we then encountered the worst refereeing blunder of the year so far as time was called for an eyepoke to Villante. Without giving him a chance to recover, the referee immediately enquired if he could see, and when he replied that he couldn’t he stopped the fight. It was a bizarre blunder – I can’t recall ever seeing a fighter being given absolutely no time at all to recover from an eye-poke like that. Due to this went to a technical decision based on the scorecards up until that point which resulted in an OSP victory. All in all, a bad fight and an even worse performance by the referee. Hang your head in shame Kevin Mulhall.
Sara McMann defeats Sheila Gaff by TKO at 4.06mins of Rd1
Good win for McMann here in her UFC debut. Right from the opening bell she was able to secure a takedown and slowly but methodically started to work ground and pound to Gaff’s mid-section. A little too slowly for the referee though who eventually stood them back up. McMann looked to take the fight to the mat again, but they ended up in the clinch with Gaff landing some good knees to the body. However, McMann was then able to get another takedown and quickly worked into a mounted cruficix position which Gaff was unable to escape from and that allowed McMann to rain down unanswered blows until the referee called an end to the fight.
Bryan Caraway defeats Johnny Bedford by submission (guillotine choke) at 4.44mins of Rd3
Despite being a late replacement Caraway looked good in the opening round, threatening on the feet with repeated left hooks, and securing a nice takedown which enabled him to take Bedford’s back and look for a potential choke. Bedford eventually got back up and started to get more comfortable in the stand-up himself and landed a hurtful shot to the head, but Caraway shook it off and scored another takedown to end the round. More left hands from Caraway in the second started to leave Bedford with a little bleeding around his right eye, then a solid double leg takedown mid-way through the round enabled him to control the action on top until the bell. Bedford was surprisingly hesitant in the opening stages of the third despite almost certainly being down on the scorecards against a short notice opponent, and Carway was able to land a few shots before getting a takedown. Bedford almost ended up on top, but Caraway scrambled well to ensure he maintained the dominant position. He then had to move quickly to escape a submission attempt from Bedford, but from then on he was in full control. It looked like we were heading to the scorecards to decide this one, but in the final minute Caraway suddenly seized upon a guillotine choke, and after an initial scramble he was able to sink it in tight from top position and force the tap.
Cody McKenzie defeats Leonard Garcia by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2)
For two rounds of this fight McKenzie was in complete control as he easily took Garcia to the mat and then dominated him there. In fairness Garcia did a good job of fending off multiple submission attempts in that 10 minute spell as McKenzie looked for numerous guillotines, rear-naked chokes and the occasional triangle choke. In the third Garcia was finally able to keep the fight where he wanted it – on the feet, but by this stage he was tired and the striking on display was rather sloppy from both men, though McKenzie was doing a good job of avoiding his opponents haymakers. In the final minute McKenzie was able to land another takedown and finish the fight in control, but truth be told the fight was already won by that stage.
Steven Siler defeats Kurt Holobaugh by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
This was a great way to start off the card. In the first round Siler was in the ascendancy, landing a solid takedown and then spending much of the round riding on Holobaugh’s back, landing shots from the position that left his opponent’s mouth bleeding. Trying to roll out of the position only landed Holobaugh in more trouble as it enabled Siler to sink in the rear-naked choke with the body triangle secured, yet someone he survived. In the second round the penudlum swung the other way as Holobaugh became the aggressor, working an early guillotine choke attempt, then hurting Siler on the feet before taking him down. From there he attempted another choke which was unsuccessful, but was then able to land some good ground and pound. In the third both men started at a slower pace after the exertions of the previous 10 minutes. Half-way through though they hit the mat and Siler was able to get on top and latch onto Holobaugh’s back as he had done in the first round. From that strong position Siler maintained the upper hand for the remainder of the round, feeding his opponent a steady diet of punches and ensuring that both the round and the fight were going to go in his favor.
