A pair of unknown bantamweight brawlers got busy inside the Octagon at the UFC on FX 1: "Guillard vs. Miller" event tonight (Fri., Jan. 20, 2012) in Nashville, as Mike Easton took on the debuting Jared Papazian.
Easton had just one UFC bout under his resume but that was one more than Papazian, the current King of the Cage flyweight champion who came into tonight having won eight of his last nine contests.
Make it eight of 10.
That's because "The Hulk" kept up a solid pace and plenty of pressure to earn himself a majority decision in a close and hard fought battle. When asked who he wants next, Easton simply said he wants to keep working his way up.
With the current climate of the 135-pound division being what it is, he could be at the top of the ladder sooner rather than later.
Seeing as we're talking about the little dudes, it was no surprise that they came out banging, both men grabbing clinching to dirty box for the first 30 seconds or so.
The pace slowed considerably when they reset, as both men attempted to find their timing and range. The first round ended after a highly competitive back and forth slugfest that may have been scored either way.
The second stanza saw a lot of the same, with Papazian countering and landing a few solid shots but Easton hitting on his leg kicks and following up with big punches down the pipe.
"The Hulk" may have stolen the frame with the tried and true "late takedown FTW" strategy. Crucial, too, considering how close the fight was.
Easton seemed to land the far more meaningful punches in the final frame and was quite clearly the fresher fighter as the horn sounded. Papazian could barely raise his arms for his cornermen.
That may have been enough to award Easton the bout via majority decision.
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