SEATTLE – It was far from dominating, but fast-rising prospect Phil Davis got what he expected in Saturday's UFC Fight Night 24 main event with veteran light heavyweight Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: a test.
Nogueira initially stuffed all of his opponent's takedown attempts and battered him with counter punches, but Davis ultimately wore down the vet, implemented his wrestling-oriented game plan, and landed some effective ground and pound for a unanimous-decision victory.
The bout, which marked Davis' first UFC headliner, took place at Seattle's KeyArena and aired on Spike TV.
With the quick ascent of newly crowned UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones, the MMA world was quick to anoint Davis, a former NCAA champion at Penn State, his only worthy challenger. But as Nogueira demonstrated (and as Davis freely admits), he's still got work ahead ahead of him before he's ready for a title shot.
In the end, though, Davis walked away from UFC Fight Night 24 with his biggest win yet: a unanimous-decision victory over Nogueira via 30-27 scores on all three judges' cards.
Davis attempted to use body kicks and lunging punches to set up takedowns early in the fight. But Nogueira stuffed every one of them in the first round, even when Davis secured both legs. Nogueira also caught him with a number of counter-punches, which forced Davis to widen the distance in the second round. However, later in the round and throughout the third, he found success with single-leg takedown attempts, avoided his opponent's strong submission game, and unloaded some solid ground and pound with punches, elbows and knees to the body.
Davis, a replacement fighter for injured Tito Ortiz, thanked God for even making it to the fight.
"I was falling apart when I was in this training camp," he said. "I didn't know if I could make this fight. But I [prayed]. ... I had all types of injuries."
Davis (9-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) builds on his unbeaten record with the victory while Nogueira (19-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) drops his second straight.
Johnson's head kick sets up easy win
It wasn't the stand-up fight he promised, but Anthony Johnson otherwise dominated his co-main-event bout with welterweight Dan Hardy and earned a lopsided unanimous-decision victory.
Johnson, who was fighting for the first time in 16 months due to injuries, set the tone early with a left head kick that sent Hardy to the mat. Johnson followed him to the canvas – and spent much of the next 15 minutes in the familiar position.
Johnson closed out the first round with ground and pound, and he scored frequent takedowns and continued the top control in the second. In the third and final frame, the takedowns again came with ease, though Johnson couldn't convert on arm-triangle and neck-crank attempts.
Johnson didn't get the stoppage, but he did win every round for a 30-27 victory on the three judges' cards.
With the win, Johnson (9-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) improves to 4-1 in his past five fights and should get another top-tier 170-pounder in his next bout.
Hardy (23-9 MMA, 4-3 UFC), meanwhile, faces uncertain times following his third consecutive defeat inside the octagon.
Johnson taps due to Sadollah's strikes
After losing Duane Ludwig and then James Wilks to injuries, Amir Sadollah ultimately got a booking with fellow welterweight DaMarques Johnson. Despite the late notice, Johnson proved a game opponent, but an offensive onslaught in the second round secured the victory for Sadollah.
The first round was heavy on Mauy Thai fighting; both "TUF" veterans connected with blows from the clinch and mixed in an array of kicks and knees. But in the second round, Sadollah wobbled his opponent during a firefight against the cage and then battered him with ground and pound once on the mat.
In fact, after taking a dominant ground position, Sadollah trapped one of Johnson's arms and bent it over his own face. Sadollah then rained down punches and especially forceful forearm strikes that ultimately forced Johnson to tap out.
The submission victory came at the 3:27 mark of the round.
Sadollah said he just wants the win to move him up the ladder.
"I'm not here just to look good," he joked. "I want to be the best, and I want to the fight. That's why I'm here."
Sadollah (5-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC), the winner of "TUF 7," now has won four of his past five fights. Johnson (12-9 MMA, 3-3 UFC), the "TUF 9" runner-up, now has dropped two of three.
Jung gets revenge, stops Garcia with a twister
After a controversial split-decision loss to Leonard Garcia in their controversial first meeting at WEC 48, Korean featherweight Chan Sung Jung left it out of the judges' hands in the second meeting and stopped the Team Jackson fighter with a slick second-round submission.
Like their first meeting, which earned the 2010 World MMA Award for "Fight of the Year," Jung and Garcia launched another back-and-forth affair through the first 10 minutes of the rematch. But Jung, who took the fight as a late replacement for injured Nam Phan, got the fight to the mat late in the second round.
Once there, Garcia briefly gave up his back. Jung took a dominant position, and though unable to get his back, he used the side position to execute a twister, which put pressure on Garcia's neck and spine. The clearly painful hold forced him to tap out with just one second remaining in the round.
According to UFC broadcaster Joe Rogan, it was the first twister even used to end a fight in the UFC.
"He's been watching Eddie Bravo's videos on YouTube for a long time, and he kept saying in practice at Korean Top Team ... that he's going to do the twister in the UFC someday," said Jung's interpreter, referencing Bravo, the 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu submission specialist. "He finally got the opportunity. Hopefully we'll get the 'Submission of the Night' (bonus) with that one."
Jung (11-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who's perhaps better known for his "Korean Zombie" nickname, snaps out of a 1-3 skid with the win. Garcia (15-7-1 MMA, 2-3 UFC) falls to 2-3-1 over his past six fights, which included a run in the WEC.
MAIN CARD
- Phil Davis def. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Anthony Johnson vs. Dan Hardy via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Amir Sadollah def. DaMarques Johnson via submission (strikes) - Round 2, 3:27
- Chan Sung Jung def. Leonard Garcia via submission (twister) - Round 2, 4:59
- Mike Russow def. Jon Madsen via TKO (doctor's stoppage) - Round 2, 5:00
- Mackens Semerzier def. Alex Caceres via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 3:18
- John Hathaway def. Kris McCray via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Michael McDonald def. Edwin Figueroa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Christian Morecraft def. Sean McCorkle via technical submission (standing guillotine choke) - Round 2, 4:10
- Johny Hendricks def. T.J. Waldburger via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 1:35
- Aaron Simpson def. Mario Miranda via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Nik Lentz def. Waylon Lowe via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 3, 2:24
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