Kyle Nelson thought he’d TKO’d Matt Frevola in the first round tonight at UFC Fight Night 262, but a ref blunder meant he ended up having to fight his way to a win on the scorecards.
Round One
Leg kick for Frevolva as Nelson comes over the top with a punch. Kick again from Frevola.
Frevola tries a head kick but misses. Left hand for him though. Now an inside leg kick. Wild swing from Nelson, but it doesn’t land and Frevola clinches up momentarily.
Back to striking range. Another calf kick for Frevola. Spinning attack misses. Frevola slips after a strike and as he gets back up Nelson tries for a big head kick but just misses.
Kick to the upper arm from Nelson. Now a leg kick from Nelson. High kick attempt from Frevola. Back to the calf kick now. Both men finding the target with these kicks, but not really with their wild punches.
Frevola closes the distance and lands a powerful takedown. Nelson rolls to his knees and starts to try to work back up to his feet. Frevola hops onto his back then thinks better of it due to his unsecure position and hops back off again.
Frevola with a knee in the clinch. Nelson reverses and lands an uppercut. Head kick in close from him then they go back to the center.
Nelson lands a right hook and Frevola was troubled by that. Nelson goes after him and it gets wild as they try to slug it out. Nelson lands another big punch and floors Frevola. Big ground-and-pound blows from Nelson landing repeatedly to seal the deal and the ref steps in and stops the fight with just a few seconds remaining on the clock.
Bizarre situation here as the ref Dan Miragliotta stops Nelson’s celebration and is ushering the fighters to their corners while saying the fight isn’t over!
We’re headed to the second round, but this fight should be over as the ref halted the fight with 3 seconds remaining in the round. Crazy!
The official explanation is that Miragliotta stopped the fight because he thought he heard the end of round horn, but he was mistaken as the replay shows that wasn’t the case.
Round Two
Back to it they go. Frevola seems to be ok. Nelson lands a punch. Now a high kick grazes him.
Knee in close for Frevola. High kick from Frevola but gets caught by a punch. He goes for another kick. Frevola in on a takedown attempt, but Nelson stays upright. Frevola remains clinched up against the cage.
Nelson fights his way out the clinch with a kick to the body. Calf kick for Frevola.
Frevola swinging for the fences. Body kick for him, but then gets knocked off-balance as Nelson tries to grab it.
Spinning body kick attempt from Frevola. Calf kick for Nelson. He goes for that again.
Superman punch from Frevola. Front kicks to the body from Nelson. Now a lazy overhand. Missed combo from Frevola. He lands a calf kick. Solid body kick for Nelson, then a calf kick.
Elbow strike from Frevola. Now a left hook as the round ends.
Round Three
Good body shot for Nelson and Frevola doesn’t like that. Head kicks from Nelson landing now, but though Frevola is rocked it’s not hard enough to finish him.
Nelson clinches up against the cage as Frevola tries to recover. Back to striking range now. Tired looking spinning kick from Frevola.
Body kick for Nelson again. Nicely timed takedown from Frevola. Nelson able to stand back up quickly though.
Frevola clinching up against the cage now. Nelson reverses and then drags Frevola to the mat. Nelson riding the back here to keep Frevola down. He’s trying to move into full mount, but being patient. Even so, Frevola manages to transition on top.
Nelson with a reversal and tries for a leg lock, but nothing doing. There’s a scramble and Nelson brings Frevola down again close to the cage.
Frevola on his knees in the final 10 seconds and stands back up. Nelson with a final few strikes before the horn sounds.
Decision
Thankfully, despite the earlier awful ref blunder that robbed Nelson of a TKO victory in the first round, he still ends up winning the fight by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2).
