Farid Basharat narrowly beat Jean Matsumoto by split-decision tonight at UFC Fight Night 266 after a closely fought three round battle.
Round One
Hard leg kick from Basharat. Matsumoto coming forward and Basharat attempts to greet him with a jumping knee that just misses.
Matsumoto coming forward again and this time Basharat tries for a spinning backfist. Basharat has also landed an elbow that’s opening up a cut to Matsumoto’s cheek.
They clinch up now and Matsumoto presses his opponent into the cage. Basharat gets away. He lands a low kick. Matsumoto lands one of his own.
Nice jab from Basharat as Matsumoto was applying pressure. Matsumoto driving Baharat into the cage on the other side of the Octagon. They jockey for position and then back off.
Basharat with another spinning attack. Matsumoto returns fire with a one-two. More clinch work now initiated by Matsumoto. Basharat lands an elbow while Matsumoto tries to work for a double-leg.
Now Matsumoto does manage to hoist Basharat up into the air and land a takedown. Basharat works back to his feet though and reverses the clinch position now. Basharat trying for a takedown of his own now, but Matsumoto fends that off and lands an elbow as they break apart.
Matsumoto trying to go in for a takedown in the closing seconds of the round and almost eats a counter punch instead.
Round Two
Low kick for Matsumoto and a jab from Basharat. They clinch up again and jockey for position before breaking free.
Spinning kick to the body attempted by Basharat. Basharat lands a punch that puts Matsumoto in reverse gear. He continues to press forward, but Matsumoto is firing back now to fend him off.
An exchange of punches from both men now in the center of the Octagon. Matsumoto with another flurry now as he ups his output. Now he’s into the clinch and working a takedown attempt. Basharat down on his knees. As he tries to get back up Matsumoto hops on his back, but then comes back off and remains in the clinch.
Matsumoto with another takedown and trying to secure the back now, but Basharat scrambles and ends up on top. Matsumoto back to his feet and returns to striking range though.
Another even exchange of strikes. Matsumoto punches to disguise another takedown attempt and gets Basharat back onto his knees again. He gets up. Matsumoto lands a nice knee and punch that forces Basharat to retreat.
Matsumoto marching forward now with a few seconds left looking to capitalize, but we’re headed to the third and final round.
Round Three
Matsumoto immediately on the attack with left and right hands, then a kick. Now Matsumoto is into the clinch against the cage again. Elbow strike from Basharat and then gets away.
They clinch in the center of the cage now and it’s Matsumoto who lands a strike before they part.
Low kick for Matsumoto. Now a nicely timed takedown from Basharat. Matsumoto works back to the cage and stands quickly. Basharat still clinched up, but Matsumoto reverses and lands a couple of punches as his opponent moves away.
Basharat steps into a knee to the body. Leg kick from Matsumoto. Right hand for Basharat. He’s looking for single clean strikes, while Matsumoto is working flurries.
Matsumoto tries to clinch up again, but they don’t remain there for long.
Hard punch lands for Matsumoto. Basharat lands another takedown, but Matsumoto scrambles back up quickly.
Straight punches land from Matsumoto as he marches forward aggressively. He clinches and lands a knee to the body. Now he’s trying for a takedown and Basharat goes to his knees. Now he’s down and Matsumoto is trying to lock down his legs, but isn’t able to and his opponent is back up.
Matsumoto straight back into attack mode with more left and right hands, but Basharat counters that by landing a takedown. Matsumoto stands but eats a knee to the head on the way.
Decision
This was a closely fought battle from start to finish between two well-matched and well-rounded fighters. That’s reflected in the split-decision verdict, but it’s Farid Basharat who emerges with his hand raised and maintains his undefeated record (29-28 x2, 28-29).
