Albert Duraev edged out Chidi Njokuani by split decision tonight at UFC On ESPN 43.
Round One:
Front kick to the body for Njokuani to start. Leg kick for Duraev. Body kick from Njokuani. Now an inside calf kick.
Missed head kick from Duraev. Straight right for him as Njokuani moves on the outside. Body kick for Njokuani.
Njokuani feeling for the front kick but doesn’t commit to it. Now he does go for a body kick and Duraev is able to grab hold of it and then use that to land a takedown.
Njokuani parallel to the cage as Duraev is in a high half-guard and trapping an arm while landing punches. Njokuani able to get to his knees as Duraev chips away.
Njokuani stands and Duraev stays held on as he looks to bring him straight back down. Njokuani defending against the cage, but then Duraev commits hard to the takedown and lands it.
Duraev in Njokuani’s closed guard now. 30 seconds to go as he tries to find space to land strikes. Njokuani able to kick him off for a moment, but he drops back down into guard. A few punches land for Duraev before the round ends.
Round Two:
Left hand for Njokuani. Low kick for Duraev. Spinning backfist attempt from Duraev, but it’s blocked.
Leg kick for Njokuani. Inside leg kick from Duraev. left and right hand from Njokuani. Outside leg kick for Duraev, and then another.
Njokuani circling on the outside and then steps into a nice punch to the head. Right hand for Duraev. He lands a leg kick too and avoids a counter.
Whiffed hook attempt from Duraev. Njokuani lands an inside leg kick, but he’s not putting too much power into most of these strikes, potentially wary of the takedown.
Duraev looks to punch and Njokuani lands a one-two counter. Front kick to the body for Njokuani. Inside leg kick and then a hard right hand for Njokuani hurt Duraev, but he’s ok.
Njokuani lands to the body. He checks a leg kick. Punch from Duraev and Njokuani counters with a leg kick.
Overhand right from Duraev grazes the target. Leg kick for Duraev. Body kick from Njokuani. Duraev with an outside leg kick.
Round Three:
Crushing body kick from Njokuani staggers Duraev backwards. Duraev tries to laugh that off, but that hurt! Good right hand from Duraev.
Duraev now pressing Njokuani into the cage as he works for a takedown. Njokuani defending for now. Duraev still committing hard to this attempt.
Njokuani does well to break free and get back to striking range. Inside leg kick for Duraev. Fast right hand for Duraev.
Duraev misses one low kick and lands another. Body kick from Njokuani. Duraev with a grazing straight punch.
jab for Njokuani. Leg kicks from Duraev. Straight left for Duraev. Njokuani looking for counters but not quite finding the mark and he needs to pick up the pace.
Straight right for Duraev. Leg kick for him. Body punch for Njokuani. Good left hand for Duraev as Njokuani tries to fire back.
Right hand for Duraev. Low kick. Body kick for Njokuani. Njokuani trying to land counters and missing again. He lands a short flurry of punches. Missed punches from Duraev.
Another hard body kick for Njokuani. Head kick attempt from Duraev misses. Another short flurry of punches and a kick from Njokuani. Njokuani tries for a head kick in the final second, but nothing doing.
Decision:
There was a fairly slow pace to this fight at times, with Njokuani in particular seeming reluctant to really show off the full extent of his striking arsenal, and that costs him in the end as Duraev’s steady if not spectacular performance earns him a split-decision victory.
