Ian McCall earned a unanimous decision victory over Brad Pickett tonight at UFC Fight Night 46 with his speed and movement being a big factor from start to finish.
Round One:
They’re underway with a touch of the gloves. McCall misses with a low kick to start. Respectful distance from both men, but then a leg kick connects for McCall and Pickett responds with punches.
Again when McCall closes the distance Pickett swings hard punches without finding the target. Pickett tries a takedown, but McCall stuffs it and lands a good knee. McCall clinching against the cage still hunting for a takedown, but there’s a knee landed in there that lands to the groin of McCall and forces a stoppage.
Back to it they go and McCall lands a low kick and snaps off some punches. McCall looking for a takedown, but Pickett fights it off and presses him against the cage. They are working hard in the clinch and Pickett lands a solid punch before they break apart.
McCall lands with a left and a right. He comes in a gain with a short flurry, then backs up. Very big punch from McCall, but it whistles by Pickett’s head. McCall looking to uses his speed here as he consistently darts in and out with a shot or two. Pickett not quite timing his counters at this stage.
Pickett clinching and then McCall reverses it, throws a few punches and then backs away. Another exchange in close and McCall lands a good uppercut. McCall very light on his feet here. Some nice exchanges here with McCall generally getting the better of it, though Pickett does land one hard blow that stops his opponent just for a brief second. Over McCall is then straight back to it and sneaks in another well placed uppercut as the round comes to a close.
Round Two:
McCall circling on the outside and Pickett wades in with a punch that just misses. McCall back to that darting style that was working for him in the opening round. McCall moves in with a takedown, but Pickett is straight back up – met with a punch from McCall though.
Soon after McCall lands another takedown and gets into full mount. Pickett almost reverses him a couple of times, but McCall stays on top, now in half guard. McCall working to pass, but as he tries to get back into mount Pickett escapes and gets back upright.
Pickett stalking, but McCall’s speed is still proving to be a crucial aspect of this fight. He lands a nice punch and then is back out. Pickett reaches for a takedown, but it’s stuffed. He does land with a straight punch down the way pipe immediately afterwards though.
Nice kick to the mid-section from McCall. Pickett continues to stalk him and is caught with a low kick to the groin which brings about another stoppage.
Pickett’s ok and they get back to it. McCall wades in with a left and right to set up a takedown that’s stuffed. Pickett lands a nice hook in a brief exchange in close.
McCall goes back to working from the outside, but Pickett’s pressing him all the time and trying to give him as little space as possible to work. Pickett takedown attempt fails. McCall with a spinning backfist attempt, but loses his balance. They reset and a competitive round comes to an end.
Round Three:
Hard body kick for McCall early in the round. Pickett comes forward and McCall lands another solid kick. A third kick comes soon after. He’s really favoring these kicks now as he moves around the outside and dodges Pickett’s blows. Up to six or seven body kicks now from McCall on the outside.
Pickett changes things up pressing McCall against the cage and looking for a takedown, but he’s struggling to get him down and McCall works his way out of the clinch. Close range exchange with both men throwing with purpose. McCall tries a takedown and it doesn’t quite pay off, but then Pickett lands a trip takedown. McCall bounces right up again though.
McCall’s speed still causing problems for Pickett who’s not landing as much as he’d like. Suddenly McCall bursts forward and secures a good takedown. He’s able to move fluidly to side control and then mount almost in one movement, but Pickett gets him back to half guard. Body-body-head strikes from McCall and then repeated punches to the head. McCall spinning around his opponent and gets to side control.
Pickett works hard and manages to get to his feet. They both let fly with heavy leather toe-to-toe, but unfortunately there’s only a couple of seconds remaining and the fight stops there.
Decision:
McCall always seemed to have the edge in this fight and that’s proven in the judges scorecards as he claims a unanimous decision victory (30-27 x2, 29-28).
