Scott Holtzman got the better of Darrell Horcher tonight at UFC Fight Night 123 thanks to his superior wrestling over the course of three rounds.
Round One:
Holtzman with an early front kick to the body. Right hand gets through for him now. Again the right hand lands and the nhe goes for a takedown. It doesn’t work out, but he does settle into the clinch against the cage.
Horcher reverses the position. He lands a knee to the body and then the fighters continue to jockey for position against the cage.
Holtzman goes for an inside trip and lands it. Horcher stands up and blasts a few big shots down on his grounded opponent, then drops back into half-guard.
Horcher gradually getting his back against the cage as he looks for a way to stand. As he’s doing so he starts to eat a few punches to the head, then a knee to the body and one to the head.
Horcher survives that and then gets Holtzman down. However, Holtzman is quickly back up. He tries a big knee strike, but slips and that enables Horcher to get back on top in the final minute of the round.
Last 20 seconds and Holtzman gets back up again. Good strike for Horcher. Holtzman tries a final head kick and slips.
Round Two:
Holtzman dips under a punch. However, Horcher land the left hand soon after. Another left hand lands hard and wobbles Holtzman, but he recovers well.
Horcher conects again. Soon after Holtzman decides it’s time to change things up and lands a takedown. Horcher’s back is up against the cage and he’s trying to stand under pressure from his opponent. He finally does rise up, but Holtzman trips him back down again and lands in half-guard.
Ground and pound punches for Holtzman, working some punches and elbows. Final minute and surprisingly as Holtzman is still chipping away with solid shots the ref decides to stand them up.
Curious decision and Holtzman just lands another takedown soon after and goes back to working some more strikes on the mat as the round ends.
Round Three:
Solid body kick for Holtzman. Nice jab for Horcher. Holtzman in on a takedown and then settles for the clinch against the cage.
Nice elbow strike from Holtzman and then they go back to striking range. Holtzman working another takedown attempt now against the cage.
Another good elbow from Holtzman and Horcher returns fire with punches and a knee to the body. Holtzman lands another trip to bring Horcher down.
Short left hands landing for Holtzman and then the ref issues another bizarre request for the fighters to stand which suits Horcher just fine.
He lands a big left hook that troubles Holtzman, but before he can capitalize on that he finds himself back on the mat again. Holtzman in half-guard, but knows he has to stay busy or this fight will be stood up again. He’s back to landing some short shots to the head again and Horcher stands just before the final bell.
Decision:
Holtzman utilized his wrestling skills to get the job done here and emerges with a clean sweep on the scorecards (30-27 x3) for the unanimous decision victory.
