Canadian Yves Jabouin managed to make his bantamweight debut a good one, picking up a split-decision victory over Ian Loveland. The scores were 30-27 Loveland, 29-28 Jabouin, and 29-28 Jabouin. The first round was close, with Loveland spending a fair amount of the round on top while Jabouin got the best of the standup. Round two saw Jabouin hold a wider margin in the striking and even getting a takedown of his own to counter one of Lovelands. The third was much slower, but Jabouin did enough on the feet to take it.
The most surprising moment of the fight was likely when Bruce Buffer read off the scorecards. While a split decision wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, the 30-27 card for Loveland seemed a little crazy. The fight was the first bout on the Facebook portion of the UFC 134 broadcast.
What was the high spot of this fight?
Probably the spinning back kicks from Jabouin, or the look on everyone’s face when it was announced that one judge gave the fight to Loveland 30-27. What?
Where do these guys go from here?
Jabouin did pick up a win in his bantamweight debut, but he didn’t exactly like the world on fire with the victory. His vaunted striking game looked good but not great. I imagine he will meet a lower-level bantamweight, likely a striker, in his next bout. I’m tempted to say he’d face the winner of the Damacio Page vs. Norifumi Yamamoto fight scheduled for UFC 135, but they might be a little further up the pecking order than Jabouin is.
Loveland has now dropped both bouts since the drop to bantamweight and is 1-2 in the UFC overall. He did make it a close fight though, which will likely earn him another shot in the promotion. Facing the loser of one of the many upcoming bantamweight fights between newcomers seems the most appropriate way to book Loveland going forward.
Watch it now, later, or never?
I’m tempted to say never. While the fight wasn’t really bad by any means, it certainly wasn’t the most exciting either. If you only have time for a few fights from the card, this is definitely worth passing up.
More BE coverage of UFC 134 in the full entry.
Shogun Rua Proves He Can Still Be a Champion – Fraser Coffeen
The Biggest Winners and Losers on the Night – Matthew Roth
Anderson Silva Unmatched at Middleweight, Options Slim – Leland Roling
FightMetric Recap for Anderson Silva, Edson Barboza vs. Ross Pearson – Mike Fagan
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s Greatest Hits – Brent Brookhouse
Post-Fight Recap and Analysis – Mike Fagan
Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami Fight Video Highlights – ESPN
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Brendan Schaub Fight Video Highlights – ESPN
Bad Boy Presents Bloody Elbow Radio – UFC 134
Anderson Silva Wins Over Rio with Stoppage of Yushin Okami – Matthew Roth
Anderson Silva’s Brilliance and Other Post-Hangover Thoughts – Brent Brookhouse
Mauricio Rua Stops Forrest Griffin in Two Minutes – Matthew Roth
Edson Barboza Wins a Split Decision over Ross Pearson – Matthew Roth
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira With a Stunning Knockout of Brendan Schaub – Matthew Roth
UFC 134 Post-Fight Press Conference Updates – Tim Burke
Stanislav Nedkov Silences Brazilian Crowd with Knockout of Luis Cane – Matthew Roth
Thiago Tavares Ground and Pounds Spencer Fisher to a Second Round Stoppage – Matthew Roth
Rousimar Palhares Wins a Decision in a Strange But Great Fight With Dan Miller – Tim Burke
Paulo Thiago Takes a Dominant Decision Victory Over David Mitchell – Tim Burke
Raphael Assuncao Outworks Johnny Eduardo to Decision – Matthew Roth
Erick Silva Puts Luis Ramos to Sleep with a Massive Right – Matthew Roth
Yuri Alcantara Grapples Felipe Arantes to a Decision – Matthew Roth
Yves Jabouin Works Ian Loveland to a Split Decision – Matthew Roth
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