Guida Shuts Down Showtime; Ferguson Wins TUF 13 Crown
LAS VEGAS, June 4 – Clay Guida is no one’s welcome mat. That fact was made clear at the Pearl at The Palms Saturday night, as “The Carpenter” spoiled the UFC debut of former WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, winning a dominant three round unanimous decision that dashed Pettis’ hopes for a championship fight with the winner of the third bout between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. Watch post-fight interview
Scores were 30-27 across the board for Guida, who improves to 29-8; Pettis falls to 11-2.
After a brief feeling out process, Pettis landed two kicks, with Guida using the second to take “Showtime” to the canvas. Pettis looked for submissions from the bottom, while Guida looked for everything else that he could do to gain an advantage. As Guida pulled back, Pettis shot out a kick from his back that looked like it would have taken the Illinois native’s head off if it landed, but instead, it provided Pettis an opportunity to get back to his feet. He wasn’t there long, as Guida scored another takedown and kept his foe there until the bell.
Pettis began getting his shots off better in round two, but Guida’s takedown attempts again proved to be unstoppable. Pushing Pettis into the fence, Guida was more than eager to turn the fight into a war of wills. Midway through the round, Pettis made it back to his feet, but Guida stayed attached to him until Pettis was able to break loose with two minutes left. A couple of flashy kicks from Pettis got the crowd on the Milwaukee fighter’s side, but Guida took the shots well and kept marching forward, getting another takedown. Pettis wasn’t going home yet though, and he almost sunk in an armbar attempt in the closing seconds of the round.
Refusing to let up, despite his apparent lead, Guida chased after Pettis and took him down after throwing a wild overhand right. On the mat, it was the same smothering and punishing attack that he had specialized in during the first two rounds, and Pettis had no answers for “The Carpenter.” With two minutes left, Pettis got to his feet, but as the two fell back to the mat, it was Pettis taking Guida’s back. After some tense moments, Guida found an escape and then took Pettis’ back where he remained for the remainder of the bout.
NIJEM vs. FERGUSON
Team Lesnar’s Tony Ferguson made an emphatic statement in his TUF13 finale bout against Team dos Santos’ Ramsey Nijem, ending what was shaping up to be an interesting three round war with a first round knockout victory to earn a UFC contract and the title of The Ultimate Fighter. Watch post-fight interview
Nijem fired off strikes as he chased Ferguson across the Octagon at the bell. Ferguson responded with a takedown, but after a few moments on the mat, a wild scramble saw the two return to the feet, where Nijem rocked his foe briefly with a hard shot to the head. Settling down, Ferguson’s boxing was sharp, while Nijem shook things up with his wild flurries. But it was Ferguson’s cool that paid off, as he timed a perfect left to the jaw that put Nijem on his back. A final right followed and referee Josh Rosenthal was right there to call the bout at 3:54 of the opening round.
With the win, Ferguson improves to 12-2; Nijem falls to 5-2.
HERMAN vs. CREDEUR
After nearly two years out of the Octagon due to injury, The Ultimate Fighter season three finalist Ed “Short Fuse” Herman made short work of Tim Credeur, stopping him in less than a minute. Watch post-fight interview
The bout was Herman’s first since August of 2009, when his knee gave way against Aaron Simpson. Credeur was also returning from a long layoff (September of 2009), but the two engaged immediately, neither giving any ground while standing. But as the fighters got closer, Herman dropped the Louisiana native with a right uppercut. Herman made sure Credeur wasn’t going to use his jiu-jitsu game, as a series of hard shots brought in referee Herb Dean to halt the fight at the 48 second mark.
With the win, Herman ups his record to 18-7; Credeur falls to 13-6.
KINGSBURY vs. MALDONADO
Light heavyweight prospects Kyle Kingsbury and Fabio Maldonado thrilled the Palms’ crowd with a brutal three round war that was eventually won by Kingsbury via a razor-thin three round unanimous decision. Watch post-fight interview
“I thought I earned it but I’ve never been in a harder fight in my life,” said Kingsbury, who took the bout via identical scores of 29-28.
Kingsbury came out on the attack, landing flush jabs on Maldonado and adding a series of knees when the Brazilian got too close. With a little over three minutes left, Kingsbury shot for – and got – a takedown, but after a Maldonado choke attempt came up empty, the two scrambled back to their feet. Maldonado began to get his range as the round progressed, and he scored with some thudding 1-2s that got his opponent’s attention. Kingsbury got even a few moments later, and then took his opponent to the mat. After taking some ground strikes, Maldonado shot up to his feet, and the two traded in the clinch until the bell, with Maldonado throwing body shots and Kingsbury landing knees.
The fighters traded positioning on the mat as round two began but quickly got back to their feet. Maldonado continued to pound away to the body whenever he got close, and Kingsbury was quick to respond with knees. Maldonado’s punishing body work looked to be paying dividends as the round wore on, and Kingsbury’s work rate dropped until a late surge of activity.
Kingsbury got a second wind in round three, and Maldonado paid for it as his face was bloodied. A takedown added to his core tally, but then Maldonado took his turn, swelling up his foe’s left eye and bloodying his nose. With 90 seconds left, the bout strayed to the mat, and the two took a well-deserved break for a few moments until referee Chris Tognoni stood them up. And while Kingsbury looked for a final scoring surge, it was Maldonado with the last takedown.
With the win, Kingsbury improves to 11-2 with 1 NC; Maldonado falls to 18-4.
COPE vs. O'NEIL
In the main card opener, Chris Cope put on an impressive standup performance in scoring a clear-cut three round unanimous decision win over his TUF 13 teammate, Chuck O’Neil. Watch post-fight interview
Cope took a competitive first round, and while there was plenty of give and take, the Californian landed the harder shots. The pattern didn’t change in round two, and if anything, Cope began to widen his lead as the more accurate and busier fighter. He got even more confident in the third, yelling “WOOOOO” to the crowd before ripping off a flurry of hard shots that included a spinning backfist. So when the identical scores of 30-27 were announced, there was no doubt as to who the winner was.
With the win, Cope improves to 5-2; O’Neil falls to 8-5.
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