Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back in mixed martial arts (MMA) action TONIGHT (Sat., Oct. 19, 2013) with UFC 166: "Velasquez vs. Dos Santos 3" pay-per-view (PPV) event, which takes place at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
The stars at night, are big and bright (clap-clap-clap-clap), deep in the heart of Texas!
Leading the charge will be UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez, who tries to close out his rubber match against Junior dos Santos in the night's main event. Prior to the conclusion of their trilogy, Roy Nelson and Daniel Cormier will attempt to settle their war of words to see who gets down to Light Heavyweight with their records intact.
All that and much, much more.
MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 166 card this evening below, starting with the Facebook "Prelims," which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, right on through the FOX Sports 1-televised under card bouts at 8 p.m. ET and then main card PPV action, which is slated to begin at 10 p.m. ET.
Many of our readers check-in before, during and after the televised action to share their thoughts on all the exciting action. Therefore, feel free to leave a comment (or 166) before you leave and chat with all the other Maniacs during the show -- it always turns out to be a great discussion.
Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps and post-fight analysis after "Velasquez vs. Dos Santos 3."
Without further delay, see below for the latest UFC 166 results. (Note: This will go from the bottom up; therefore, scroll toward the bottom for the latest detailed round-by-round action.)
UFC 166 QUICK RESULTS:
265 lbs.: UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos -- Velasquez wins via TKO (strikes) 3:09 rd 5
265 lbs.: Roy Nelson vs. Daniel Cormier -- Cormier wins via decision (unanimous) 30-27 x3
155 lbs.: Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez -- Melendez wins via decision (unanimous) 29-28 x2, 30-27
265 lbs.: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shawn Jordan -- Gonzaga wins via TKO (punches) 1:33 rd 1
125 lbs.: John Dodson vs. Darrell Montague -- Dodson wins via KO (punch) 4:13 rd 1
185 lbs.: Tim Boetsch vs. C.B. Dollaway -- Boetsch wins via decision (split) 30-26 x2, 27-29
170 lbs.: Hector Lombard vs. Nate Marquardt -- Lombard wins via TKO (punches) 1:48 rd 1
135 lbs.: Jessica Eye vs. Sarah Kaufman -- Eye wins via decision (split) 29-28 x2, 28-29
155 lbs.: K.J. Noons vs. George Sotiropoulos -- Noons wins via decision (unanimous) 30-27, 29-28 x2
170 lbs.: Adlan Amagov vs. T.J. Waldburger -- Amagov wins via KO (punches) 3:45 rd 1
155 lbs.: Anthony Ferguson vs. Mike Rio -- Ferguson wins via submission (D'arce choke) 1:52 rd 1
148 lbs.: Jeremy Larsen vs. Andre Fili* (Fili missed weight at 148.5) -- Fili wins via TKO (punches) 0:53 rd 2
135 lbs.: Dustin Pague vs. Kyogi Horiguchi -- Horiguchi wins via TKO (strikes) 3:51 rd 2
UFC 166 MAIN CARD COMMENTARY PLAY-BY-PLAY (PPV):
Braito here for all the action!
Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos
Round one: Well, my turtle is puckered. Dos Santos just came out for his center cage point thing and Velasquez just met him nose to nose. Cain in black, JDS in blue. Dean the third. Right from Cain and one from JDS staggers Cain two seconds in. Cain grabs a low single and uses it to fish for a guillotine. HUGE uppercut from JDS! Cain with a right. They clinch and Cain is bodying JDS into the fence. Dirty boxing from Cain and the crowd is roaring. Right from Cain. Left from Santos. Cain reaches for a leg but gives it up. Cain with an underhook and punches. Right from Junior and a headkick is blocked. Cain with the dirty boxing again and knees to the legs. Cain drags him to the ground and mounts him. Half guard. Elbow from the bottom from Jr. One from top by Cain. Short right, but an arm punch from Velasquez. JDS rolls, Cain drags him back down. Knee to the left side of JDS and he drops down again. JDS stuffs it at first and hits a hammerfist. Cain on him like glue with double underhooks. Over/under now and an uppercut from Cain. Knee from JDS bounces Cain's leg way back. They exchange knees and JDS breaks free. He realizes the round is nearly over and he tries a spin kick without fear of the takedown.
10-9 Velasquez.
Round two: Cain pushing forward. They exchange rights. Cain hits a single but Junior bounces back up. Back to the cage fighting. Two big knees to Junior's legs. Left underhook and a couple rights to JDS. Cain backs off for a second and JDS channels his inner Muhammad Ali with great head movement dodging them all. Stiff jab from Velasquez closes the distance. Knee to Santos' guts. Cain backs off and they're free. Not anymore as Cain powers through a single, backing Junior into the metal again. Junior lands a nice hip toss, but can't capitalize as they both stand. Right hands from both, but Cain's was harder it seemed. JDS tries a knee as Cain comes back in, but doesn't hit it clean. Back to the clinch and Cain lands some more leg knees. Right from JDS. Another, but Cain wades through the swings and we're back to the wall. Hard to call this wall and stall because Cain is striking this whole time. Junior lands a good short one as the round ends.
10-9 Velasquez.
Round three: Right from Junior and Cain drives through on a single. JDS stuffs it, but we're back to the rails. Left from Cain. Cain just glances a big right. Knees to the leg again from the Mexican-American. Knee, knee, punch. Cain on him like white on rice. They separate briefly and JDS punches a bit. Clinch, but another quick break. "Cigano" fights off another takedown attempt. Right from JDS. Clubbing right from Velasquez that floors JDS! Cain is swarming but can't finish the resilient Dos Santos! Dean gives JDS time and he obliges by grabbing a leg. Cain trying for a guillotine. He loses it and punches Jr. JDS is out on his feet again like last fight. Cain with a headkick. 1-2 and another 2 from Cain. More solid punches from the champ and Junior Dos Santos refuses to lose, but he might not have any way to win anymore.
10-9 Velasquez
Round four: Dos Santos' movement and defense are gone now. Big punches from Cain and he's landed about 10 clean punches already and we're not even a minute in. Back to the clinch. JDS is trying to swing back when he gets a bit of room, but Cain is leaving him so little. Cain trying to drag JDS down and he cant. Knees to the body and leg again. Cain backs off for a sec and ducks under a couple hooks while landing a left of his own. Back to the grind. Right from JDS and one from Velasquez. Uppercut from JDS hits hard, but Cain eats it and we're back to the grinding clinch. Right elbow from Cain and I think that cut JDS badly. They break and Herb calls time for the doctor to eyeball Junior. This is a solid 5 on the Musashi scale. Big right whiffs from Junior. Jab lands. Left from Cain and a knee and we're grinding again. Elbows from JDS breaks it up. Left from Cain. Cain ducks under. Another short elbow from JDS and that's about the best success he's had since the first three seconds of the fight. JDS looks like hell but we're into the final round.
10-9 Cain, but JDS had some OK moments this round and looks fresher than he did last round.
Round five: The doc is taking a close look here, but lets Junior go. Uppercut from JDS. Left from Cain. Cain with a single and he gets the takedown near the middle of the cage. Jr tries for a triangle, but can't do anything with it. He does scramble back to his feet. Left from Cain in the clinch. Neck punches for Velasquez. Cain is stuck to him like a starving dog on a steak. Elbow from JDS and a left. Cain with a left of his own and back into the clinch. Right from Cain and he re-clinches off a separation. JDS tries for a standing guillotine or D'arce but Cain breaks loose and stands. He starts punching a kneeling Dos Santos and it looks like JDS has just given up. HERB DEAN STEPS IN! We are done here, folks. Cain Velasquez takes the trilogy. Replays show that JDS hit his head when he slipped off that choke attempt and was stunned.
Final result: Cain Velasquez wins via TKO (strikes) at 3:09 of rd 5
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Roy Nelson vs. Daniel Cormier
Round one: I just want to say I am truly grateful that the UFC gave us the replay of Amagov/Waldburger. I needed a break after that fight. That was worse than flyweights. Kung fu fighter Nelson in the white and red. Cormier in black. Jacob Montalvo our third man in the cage. Slow start here as they feel each other out. Single from Cormier and he lands it directly into side control. Full guard here. Cradle here from Cormier. DC standing over Nelson and punching down. Nelson with butterfly guard and kicks him off. Roy up to his feet, but Cormier is dragging him down. Nelson stands and Daniel knees him. DC scoops up the left leg as Nelson threatens a Kimura. Cormier on the back, Nelson rotates and Cormier finishes a single. Nelson gets back to standing. They clinch with Cormier pushing him back. Knee to the guy of Nelson. Right from DC. Big knee to the body... and this one to the groin. We have a break in the action. The shin landed clean on the cup on that one. Nelson blocks a high kick and feints forward. DC with a jab. Nelson with a right. Cormier with a solid 2-3. Cormier ducking under the big right.
10-9 Cormier
Round two: Cormier ducks down under a left. Uppercut from Nelson misses. Leg kick from DC, who then feints a takedown and throws a left over the top. Left from Cormier and a push kick. Left to the body from Nelson. Right from Cormier who swarms Nelson and pushes him into the cage. Plumm from DC and a knee plus a 1-2 over the top. Nelson defended that first single, but not the second one, however he stands right back up. Still in a clinch here. DC leaves his head outside for a minute and Roy grabs it, but Daniel gets out. Dirty boxing from both men and Roy gets out. 2-3 from Daniel both land. Right from Nelson. Cormier wings an arm punch that misses. Leg kick from Nelson spins Daniel around. Roy blocks a high kick and moves back from another.
10-9 Cormier
Round three: Leg kick from Cormier and one up high. Overhand right from Cormier. 1-2 from Roy. Not sure why they're booing here in Texas, but I'll just assume it's because Texas. Leg kick from DC. Straight right from DC. Nelson needs to throw if he wants to land something... Spinning back kick and backfist from Cormier. Front kick lands to Nelson's mouth. A right hand hits the same spot as well. Front leg kick from Daniel hits Nelson's ribs. Nelson gets a left in. Cormier kicking up a storm here. Nelson with a jab, misses a right however. Cormier circling away. Teep from DC. Low kick and high kick like a welterweight. Roy drops the hand to try and drag him into a brawl, but DC fights smart and doesn't let Nelson get a still target. Big right from Cormier. They each land punches near the end and Nelson finishes the action with a leg kick that knocks Cormier off-balance.
10-9 Cormier
Final result: Daniel Cormier wins via Unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
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Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez
Round one: Diego in black, Gil in white. Melendez misses a headkick onto the shoulder of Melendez and puts Diego on the ground. Sanchez on Gil's back looking for a RNC. Gil stands and Diego stays on his back. Gil shakes him off and lands a couple punches... My connection hiccups and I miss a bit. 2:40 left and Gil is punching Sanchez. Body punch and a right to the head as well from Melendez. Sanchez gets a kick caught and pushed back into the cage. To no one's surprise, Sanchez is bleeding. They point out the strikes landed and its a landslide for Gil at the moment at 33-6. Uppercut to the body from Gil. Body kick from Diego and a head kick gets blocked. They're standing and laying leather now. Another body kick from Sanchez and they're standing and wanging! Diego drops down and pops back up and they're punching each other like neither person was anything but a punching bag!
10-9 Melendez.
Round two: Enormous gash on Diego's eyebrow. Diego with the "C'mon" hand gestures despite being walloped. Rogan is expounding upon the body kicks that Sanchez landed and there may be some validity to that. Rights from Gil and a flurry. Right from Sanchez. Kick from Gil. Timeout from the ref to look at the eye. It's ugly, but the doc says go for it. Diego blocks a body kick and tried for a jump knee, but eats a right in the air. They exchange and both land clean. Right from Gil. Body right from Diego. Diego slips on a kick and he eats a punch before getting back up. Gil pumps the jab and doesn't connect. He does on a short right as Diego came in, though. Kick from Sanchez. Right from Melendez. Diego with a takedown, but "El Nino" stands right back up and hits the 2-end of a 1-2. Sanchez whiffs on a head kick and shoots. Stuffed and a knee from Gil. Diego throwing wild kicks now.
10-9 Melendez, but a much closer round.
Round three: Gil misses a right to the abdomen. Left from Sanchez, but an uppercut misses. They both swing and miss. Melendez throws a 4-piece and lands a couple. Two huge rights from Melendez and that fires up Sanchez. They're exchanging, but traffic is landing mostly one-way. Diego's landing some, but Gil's landing a lot more. HUGE right directly to Diego's mug. Timeout to check the enormous cuts on Diego's face. The doc cleans him up and says to hell with it, let 'em go. Liver kick from Sanchez lands. Right from Gil. Diego misses a headkick, surges with hooks. They land flush on each other and Diego hulks up. Diego BLASTS GILBERT AND HE'S ON THE GROUND! Diego Sanchez looking for a rear naked and doesn't get it! Gil gets out but Sanchez drops for a guillotine. Gil slips out and lands some rights clean. More punches from Melendez and this is a contender for fight of the year. Melendez with the body lock and has Diego's back. Sanchez with a switch and he's on Gil's back! Gil shakes him off and they're still winging. Huge body kick from Diego. They're standing and swinging for the fences as the round ends! Nothing clean lands and the fight is over.
10-9 Sanchez
Final result: Gilbert Melendez wins via Unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)
-end-
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shawn Jordan
Round one: "Napao" in blue and white... and a very creepy mustache. Jordan in black and white. Jay Stafin the ref. Gonzaga with a leg kick. Now misses with one. Right from Gabe. Lead right from the lefty, Jordan. Leg kick from Gonzaga. Jordan comes in with a jab and Gonzaga catches him with a right hook that drops Jordan! Gonzaga is swarming with hammerfists and it's AAAALLLLLLL OVER!
Final result: Gabriel Gonzaga wins via TKO (punches) at 1:33 of rd 1
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John Dodson vs. Darrell Montague
Round one: Montague in black, Dodson in blue and white. Low kick from Montague that sneaks into the groin for a second. Dodson shrugs it off and they high five it out. Big left leg kick from Montague and one in return from Dodson. Overhand left from the southpaw, Dodson and a right lands. Dodson tries to punch the knee and misses. Leg kick from Montague and one from Dodson. HUGE left from Dodson floors Montague. Montague comes up and Dodson slams him down. Montague desperate on a single and staves off the punishment from Dodson. Dodson escapes and lands another big left. Montague isn't back in it yet, but managing to stay out of trouble. Montague seems in it... never mind. Dodson just slipped Montague some ether. Montague has the sudden urge to sleep after a ridiculous left straight on the chin and he plants face down center cage.
Final result: John Dodson wins via Knockout (punch) at 4:13 of rd 1
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UFC 166 "PRELIMS" PLAY-BY-PLAY (FOX SPORTS 1):
Tim Boetsch vs. C.B. Dollaway
Round one: "Barbarian" Boetsch in black. Dolloway in white. Boetsch with aggression early. Kick and a punch land for Tim. Right from Dolloway. A leg kick, too. Boetsch eats a jab. Clinch knee to the chest from Tim. Dolloway with the taunt and a leg kick to hook. Uppercut from Tim and a takedown from Boetsch. Dolloway stands. Leg kick from Tim. Tim chasing here, but lands a leg kick. Jab from Dolloway and a right from Boetsch. Dolloway with the full Diaz here and I can't root for Boetsch any harder than I am now. Plumm from Dolloway and some knees. I'll give Dolloway this much, every time he tosses his hands up, he proceeds to land a punch. Uppercut from Boetsch and Dolloway misses a headkick.
10-9 Dolloway
Round two: Left from Dolloway to open. Right from Boetsch and Dolloway goes for a takedown. He lands a single and ends up in Boetsch's butterfly guard. Full guard. Half guard. Short elbows from Dolloway. Boetsch rolls. Dolloway tries a Peruvian necktie and fails. Tim scrambles up and Dolloway has his back for a second. Knee from Tim. Dolloway shoots a double and fails. Boetsch looks for a guillotine for a moment and lands on top. Knee to the body from Boetsch. Elbow and an uppercut from Dolloway. Tim stomps the foot. Right from Boetsch and Dolloway channels his inner Diaz. Dolloway ducks under and lands a takedown into side control. Kimura attempt from Boetsch on bottom. Dolloway defends and lands a bunch of elbows to the side.
10-9 Dolloway
Round three: Boetsch lands a leg kick and an uppercut. Oooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwww. Boetsch lunged in and Dolloway nearly pushed his eyeball back out of his skull. Terrible eye poke here and Boetsch is bleeding. Doc lets him go. Right from Boetsch and he stuffs a takedown. Tim with an uppercut. Dolloway backed to the cage but he bails out. What the hell, Dolloway eye pokes him AGAIN! Ref really needs to take a point here, and he does. 3:30 here and Boetsch tags him with a left. Boetsch looks for a guillotine and slips off. Dolloway on top. Not sure how huge that point deduction is for Dolloway as Rogan and Goldberg are making it out to be, but here we are. Dolloway in half. Mount. A little ground and pound here. Boetsch pushes off the cage and stands. Foot stomps from Boetsch. Knee from Dolloway. Tim needs to stop leg kicking and make sure he wins this round with something that staggers Dolloway if he even wants a draw. There's a solid right from Boetsch and Dolloway backs up. Dolloway lands clean with both hands. Clinch with 30 seconds left and Dolloway takes his back. Boetsch reverses. Guillotine. Dolloway spins. They kneel and scramble again. Boetsch on top grabbing for a neck and the round ends.
Incredibly close round, but I'll say 9-9 here.
Final result: Tim Boetsch wins via Split decision (30-26 x2,27-29)
Wow, that's shocking.
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Hector Lombard vs. Nate Marquardt
Round one: Lombard in black, Marquardt in white. Lombard looking aggressive and Marquardt looking to stick and move. Kick and move in this case. Nate pumping the jab into air. Jab from Nate and an uppercut from Hector. Right from Lombard lands and Nate is retreating. A left and another right lands clean and Nate is in big trouble. Marquardt collapses and Lombard is swarming. Big ground and pound and the ref saves Nate Marquardt.
Final result: Hector Lombard wins via TKO (punches) at 1:48 of rd 1
-end-
Round one: Eye in the black shirt and red shorts. Kaufman with a pink tank-top and black shorts. Jacob Montalvo our ref. Eye swinging early. Kaufman with a left. Clinch and some dirty boxing from both. Elbows from Eye and some uppercuts from Kaufman. Leg kick from Eye. Right from Kaufman. Clinch into the cage and Eye pressing Kaufman back. Kaufman gets out and knees. Kaufman lands a nice uppercut off the break. Eye with a clinch uppercut. Back to a clinch after some slinging and Eye rocks Sarah's head back with a couple punches. She backs off and the leather is flying free again. Stiff jab from Kaufman and a right. Inside leg kick from Kaufman.
Terribly hard round to score, but I think I'll go with Kaufman.
Round two: 3-piece combo from Kaufman. And a 2-3 from Kaufman. And a right. Sarah is landing solid, while Eye is hitting some quick shots that she's not sitting down on. Jab from Eye and an overhand from Kaufman over the top. A solid right from Kaufman and they clinch. Eye pushes Kaufman back and stomps on Kaufman's right foot a good half dozen times. Elbow from Kaufman as they separate. Clinch again and Kaufman with some knees to the thigh. They break with a minute to go. Right from Eye and a return from Kaufman. Eye misses with a combo.
10-9 Kaufman
Round three: We continue the theme of Eye sticking and moving with mostly the jab and Kaufman coming over the top with a bigger power punch that Eye seems to just eat without much trouble. Having written that, Eye looks a bit shaky after that right. She recovers. 1-2 from Eye. Right from Kaufman. Clinch and a nice right from Sarah as they part. Kaufman tries a takedown and they clinch again. Eye with her back to the fence but she gets out. Big right hand lands flush on Eye's jaw. And another and Kaufman is swarming. Eye is holding on here and firing back. Eye pushing Kaufman into the links and taking her time to recover. Series of short rights from Kaufman as she is making this a brawl. Eye with a right. Left from Eye. Right from Kaufman. Great ending.
10-9 Kaufman on the only clear round. I'd accept anything from 30-27 Kaufman to 29-28 Eye, including a draw.
Final result: Jessica Eye wins by Split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)
The crowd seems to agree with me as they boo lustily.
-end-
K.J. Noons vs. George Sotiropoulos
Round one: Karl in black, G-Sot in white. We're back to Herb Dean. Noons takes the center and George is circling. We're forty seconds in and finally we've got a strike thrown. it didn't land, but Noons let a right hand go. Let's update that, KJ lands the first blow at 3:15 - a body jab. Boobirds are out in full force. George finally lands a punch halfway through the round. Right from Noons to the body. George misses a head kick, but lands a left punch a few seconds later. George pumping out the jab a good twenty times and hitting all air. Eye poke. This is really gonna be a snoozer it seems. We're back and back to not much happening. Here we go, Noons is flurrying and drops Sotiropoulos. They're exchanging wildly and the round ends.
10-9 Noons.
Round two: They slang and wang to open, but go back to not landing for a while. George pushing forward now, still not landing much, but does glance a headkick. Sot misses a knee and a left. George's sense of distance has been completely off all night. Noons stuffs the first takedown attempt. Uppercut from KJ. The place slows down a bit midway through. Single from George which gets stuffed. George switches to a double and lands it. KJ gets a bit of an assist from the cage to stand up. Sot ducks a punch and gets a body shot in. Left from Noons. Leg kick from the Aussie. Noons bobs and weaves away from numerous strikes. Knee from Noons as the bell rings.
I'll say 10-9 Sotiropoulos
Round three: Noons swings big and misses. George lands a right. And a jab. Noons with a right of his own. Leg kick from Sot. A left uppercut from Noons gets blocked. George throws a combo and pushes forward but doesn't land. Right from Noons and another wobbles George. Noons is perhaps being too patient as he lets George recover. George nearly hits a takedown but Noons' defense is really solid. And again. Another right from KJ. George tries a Karate Kid jumping crane kick. G-Sot with a left. BIG high kick from George lands after three leg kicks. Oz-man misses a high kick and eats a punch for his troubles. Right from Noons and a left from George. They swing at the end with Noons looking the better for it
10-9 Noons
Final result: K.J. Noons wins by Unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)
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UFC 166 FACEBOOK "PRELIMS" PLAY-BY-PLAY (UFC's facebook page):
Adlan Amagov vs. T.J. Waldburger
Round one: Native Texan Waldburger in the blue and white. Amagov in red. RED FOR SOVIET MOTHER RUSSIA. I will add that if don't think we're gonna get "USA USA" chants, you're insane. Jay Stafin our ref. TJ with a low kick to start. And another. Aaaaand another. Amagov misses a high kick. Amagov ducks for a takedown but doesn't land it. Rogan expounds upon the spinning technique that Amagov is looking for. On cue, the Russian lands a spinning back kick. TJ with a takedown attempt and Amagov is stuffing the single. Hard lefts in the clinch for Amagov and holy smokes, he's landing solid on TJ with those short clinch lefts and he's OUT! GOOD NIGHT, IRENE!
Final result: Adlan Amagov wins via KO (punches) at 3:45 of rd 1
-end-
Anthony Ferguson vs. Mike Rio
Round one: "Wolverine" Rio in black, Tony in blue and we've got Kerry Hatley as a ref. Rio with a lunging jab. Rio looking for the takedown to no avail so far. Looping left catches Ferguson behind the ear. Still no success on the takedown for Rio. Right from Tony to the jaw. And a jab. Great sprawl from Ferguson and a knee to the shoulder. Left from Fergie staggers Rio and Rio shoots to prevent getting smashed. Ferguson stuffs it and he locks up a D'arce choke. He transitions to the proper angle and taps out Rio.
Final result: Anthony Ferguson wins via submission (D'arce choke) at 1:52 of rd 1
-end-
Round one: "Touchy" Fili in red, Larsen dropping down to featherweight and in black. Fili comes out aggressive and lands a right headkick. Looping right from Fili misses. They exchange. Solid right from Fili wobbles Larsen. Five big knees from Fili and Larsen is busted up bad. He falls to the ground, but scrambles back up. More knees and Fili looks like he's on a stairmaster gone berserk. Punches from Fili. Larsen finally gets some composure and backs Fili into the fence. Fili defends the takedown and they break. The ref pauses the action to work on Fili's cut. He's good and we're back in. Larsen with a couple of body shots. Headshots from Fili. Looping right from Fili clips him, but Larsen is working hard, too. They clinch and Fili looks for a takedown. They break. Fili stalking forward gets a kick caught and dumped. Larsen on top in guard and throwing body punches. Fili throws his legs up for a triangle, now an omoplata... Larsen defends. Another punch for Larsen. Fili tries the omoplata again, and this time manages to get his legs underneath Larsen and sweeps him. Fili takes the opportunity to scramble up. Short left from Fili lands solid.
Fili 10-9
Round two: Larsen has two big cuts on his head. Fili catches a Larsen low kick and lands a punch. Big right from Larsen lands. Fili misses a headkick. Larsen is in huge trouble from a left and a right to both temples. He weeble wobbles to the ground. Fili follows up and punches him out.
Final result: Andre Fili wins via TKO (punches) at 0:53 of round 2
PS: Fili, a piano belt in Joe Benavidez's Joe-Jitsu, stated that he cut THIRTY POUNDS down from 178 for this fight in just two weeks.
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Dustin Pague vs. Kyogi Horiguchi
Round one: Kid Yamamoto protege Horiguchi is actually a 125'er who bulked up for the opportunity. He's in silver shorts. The man who has a name that is pronounced as "Peg" is in white. Herb Dean; the ref. Pague takes the center and Kyogi is bouncing around the side. Pague looks a lot bigger. Horiguchi with a couple leg kicks. Pague closes the distance and just bullies the smaller Japanese fighter down to the mat. He loses control briefly for a second, but grabs a body triangle from the back and attacks the neck. Kyogi stands and puts Pague back to the cage. Pague is still fighting for the RNC, and has an arm under the neck, but Horiguchi defends well. Finally, Pague gives up on the body triangle and attempts to get the hooks back in, but Horiguchi reverses and now has Pague backed up to the fencing. Pague truly does look like a monster against the undersized Kyogi. Big left knee from Pague. Body lock hip toss from Pague into Horiguchi's quarter guard. They scramble a bit with the American landing some GNP, but Kyogi manages to reverse and land a big right at the end of the round.
10-9 Pague
Round two: Kyogi comes out a bit more aggressive and lands a nice punch flush. Horiguchi with a BIG punch that flattens Pague. Horiguchi follows him down and is trying to pound him out. Pague dives into a deep half and sweeps Kyogi. Full guard. Kyogi shrimps out and escapes. Kyogi backs Pague up and lands an outside leg trip to land on top of Pague. Pague tries deep half again but fails and eats a bunch of rights. More GNP from Horiguchi. Pague tries deep half again and fails again. Horiguchi stands and just rails Pague twice with huge lefts. More punches from up top and he is landing repeatedly. Lefts and rights and Pague is offering zero resistance. Herb Dean is looking and... yup, there's the stoppage.
Final result: Kyogi Horiguchi wins via TKO (ground and pound) at 3:51 of rd 2
-end-