UFC Fight Night 118 results from last night: Oskar Piechota vs Jonathan Wilson fight recap

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight prospects Oskar Piechota and Jonathan Wilson square off yesterday (Oct. 21, 2017) at UFC Fight Night 118 inside Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland.

Piechota entered this bout with a lot of hype and the entire Polish crowd behind him. A jiu-jitsu ace with knockout power, Piechota has been beating up foes on the European regional scene and was ready to take a step up in competition.

As for Wilson, this was a potential last stand. His first fight at 185 lbs., Wilson was retreating from a pair of tough losses at Light Heavyweight. The American was also hoping to remind fight fans of his absurd knockout power and quick hands, which definitely made him a viable spoiler.

After a lengthy feeling out process with some kicks from Wilson, Piechota ducked into a double leg and transitioned into the standing back mount. Almost immediately, the Polish athlete went after the neck, trying to crank through his opponent’s face.

Wilson defended the choke well enough, but Piechota struck with elbows instead. In the final seconds of the round, Piechota snuck his arm under the chin and began to squeeze, but the bell rang before he had a real chance to finish.

Wilson fought off the choke, but he was still pretty lucky to see the second round.

“Jonny Bravo” seemed a bit hesitant at the start of the second round, likely trying to avoid being taken down once more. On the other side of the equation, Piechota was in no hurry to exchange and happily waited for his moments, resulting in a very slow rate of exchanges.

Few strikes of significance landed in the second round. Piechota’s right hand was accurate to the head and body, but it was rarely thrown. Wilson pressured, but he landed almost exclusively with kicks, as Piechota gave him few opportunities to counter.

It was a perfectly even round until the literal last second, when Piechota dropped his foe with no time to capitalize.

The fighters upped the pace just a bit in the final frame, and more punches began to land as a result. At the halfway point, Piechota decided that he’d had enough of that, level changing into a power double and driving his foe to the mat.

Wilson attempted a kimura from his back, but his guard was quickly passed. From the mount, Piechota picked his shots and hunted for the submission finish. That ultimately resulted in a triangle choke/arm bar combo that was locked in, but once again the clock ran out.

Piechota finished this fight three times if given another 10 seconds, but he walked with a clear cut decision win.

“Imadlo” is a really unique fighter. He clearly has a great deal of patience and prefers low activity exchanges, but he was also remarkably effective for the amount of strikes he threw. On the whole, Piechota will likely need to increase his activity before taking on the division’s best fighters, but otherwise he looks to have all the skills necessary to succeed in the UFC.

Next up for Piechota should be another up-and-comer, perhaps fellow UFC “Gdansk” winner Ramazan Emeev.

As for Wilson, it’s his third clear cut loss in a row. He has some great athletic tools, but he clearly needs to develop his defense wrestling and jiu-jitsu. His opponent scored the takedown pretty much every time he really tried, and that was a problem at 205 lbs. as well.

Ultimatley, Wilson is young and definitely has talent. Some time on the regional scene wouldn’t hurt him, as he’s still pretty inexperienced despite facing some tough tests.

Last night at UFC Fight Night 118, Oskar Piechota cruised to a decision victory. Who should the Polish fighter face next?

For complete UFC Fight Night 118 “Cerrone vs. Till” results and play-by-play, click HERE!