Gian Villante emerged victorious by TKO against Saperbek Safarov tonight at UFC Fight Night 102 after a one and a half round slug-fest in Albany, New York.
Round One:
Safarov with a solid jab to start. Villante with a leg kick. Right hook connects for Villante. Both men exchanging at close range.
Safarov already sporting a cut under his left eye after that. Safarov bursts forward with a couple of punches. He works the punch nicely.
Villante lands to the body. Kick for him and Safarov returns fire. Big strike from Villante seems to rock Safarov, but he keeps fighting.
Villante with a huge uppercut that hurts his opponent. Another drops him to the mat. Soon after Safarov makes it back to the feet, with that cut below his left eye flowing more freely.
Safarov tries to land a kick and appears to hurt himself in the process. Nevertheless, Safarov isn’t one for giving up and so he continues pressing forward aggressively with strikes.
Villante staying patient and wisely being respectful that Safarov is still dangerous even when he’s hurt. Brief stoppage due to a groin strike from Safarov.
Back to it they go and again Safarov suddenly clutches his knee after a kick, so he’s obviously got a significant issue there. He’s still slugging it out though and lands a huge two-piece that rocks Villante’s head back.
Another punch hurts Villante and puts him down on one knee. Crazy fight here! After doing so well earlier it’s Villante who’s just surviving in the final stages of the round.
Round Two:
Inbetween rounds doctors took a close look at Safarov’s leg, but deemed he’s ok to continue. In the opening minute Villante targets that limb with a kick and Safarov staggers a little, but stays upright and keeps swinging.
Big overhand right lands for Villante. Safarov just misses with a strike and Villante lands a good counter. Jab for Villante now. An uppercut and a knee to the body.
Safarov scrambling for a takedown, but it doesn’t pay off. Into the clinch and Villante connects with big uppercuts. Safarov swinging wildly and looking very tired.
Villante with a couple of big strikes that back Safarov up against the cage. With his opponent clearly wilting, Villante starts putting together a series of uppercuts, hooks and elbows that make up the referee’s mind that Safarov has had enough, leading to the TKO stoppage.
