For two rounds Tim Means clearly had the upperhand against Nicolas Dalby tonight at UFC Fight Night 190, but his opponent had him hurt twice in the final round with punches, leaving him just hanging on to claim a decision victory.
Round One:
Dalby feeling out with the jab. Means with a head kick that partially connects and then there’s a firefight for a moment as Dalby blasts back with a frenzied flurry of strikes.
Into the clinch now and then Means manages to land a nice takedown. Means able to pass to side control now in the center of the Octagon with the best part of four minutes to work.
They move towards the cage and Dalby starts to use the cage to try to stand. Means looking to prevent that as he stays tight to him, but Dalby does get to his knees.
A few body punches from Means and then a knee strike to the midsection as Dalby does manage to stand and get back to striking range.
Exchange of strikes and then Dalby pushes away from another clinch position. Leg kick from Dalby and then he goes into the clinch landing a few knees and presses Means into the cage.
Means able to get free. Dalby has a cut above his right eye. Means staggers Dalby with a left hand and then tries to drive into a takedown, ending up in the clinch instead.
Not much happening from the position and then Dalby gets free towards the end of the round.
Round Two:
Dalby misses punches but then lands a leg kick. He tries to initiate a clinch but then throws solid punches in close instead, while Means connects with a couple of body punches.
Clinch position, but not for long. Means landing crisply and Means is still trying to keep busy with his strikes too.
Hard punch for Means, but Dalby takes it well. Another solid connection for him. Means presses him up against the cage and lands a few more solid blows.
They separate and Means lands a punch to the body. Knee upstairs from Dalby. Dalby attempts a takedown, but Means stuffed that nicely.
Exchange of punches in close. Right hand for Dalby. Body punch for Means. Head kick from dalby gets through, but doesn’t land cleanly. He follows off with a flurry of punches. Another clinch.
Back at striking range and Means puts a kick upstairs and then also lands a solid elbow. Dalby still looking to get his own offense going, but Means then changes things up by taking him down.
Means in side control here with 30 seconds remaining in the round and he opts to just control that position rather than looking to land more strikes.
Round Three:
Body kick for Means and then a sneaky left hand. Dalby with a big punch and then another right hand that hurt Means, landing heavily to his nose.
Dalby into the clinch against the cage. Means getting valuable time to recover here and then reverses the clinch position.
Means backs up but then drives back into the clinch again. Dalby trying to land knees with his back against the cage. Means stays tight to him and appears to be just trying to tick the minutes down here in relative safety, knowing that he’s won the first two rounds.
Dalby able to break free. Means marches forward and eats a punch. Means eager to get back into the clinch and does so against the cage again.
Dalby trying to escape this position as we reach the final minute of the round. All control from Means here with not much thought of offense.
Finally Dalby able to get free with 30 seconds to go and tries to land hooks, but Means just goes straight into the clinch again.
Dalby finds space and has Means hurt again with another blow. Final seconds now and Dalby unleashes a last flurry, but Means hangs on in there to take this one to the scorecards.
Decision:
So Means had to battle through adversity in that final round, appearing to be rocked twice, but he did what he had to do to survive and his good work in the opening two rounds ensure that he still emerges with the unanimous decision victory (29-28 x3).
