It was UK vs. UK in the heavyweight bout between Rob Broughton and Phil De Fries on the Facebook undercard of UFC 138: Leben vs. Munoz.
De Fries, in his UFC debut, wasted no time in shooting a takedown right off the bat. Broughton defended with underhooks and landed a stiff sequence of knees in the over-under clinch. Referee Dan Miragliotta restarted the pair but they quickly re-assumed the same position on the fence. De Fries went low and snared an ankle pick, moving right to side control while Broughton tried to push off on the fence with his feet.
A positional chess match without much offense ensued, with De Fries seeking knee-on-belly and trying to pass and Broughton scooting back to guard with each attempt.
De Fries quickly attained the clinch to start the second and got his arms low and deep around Broughton’s leg to score a takedown, taking the back once and then again. Broughton stayed slippery and worked for a kimura to free himself up. De Fries re-established top position but Broughton was much closer with the kimura, this time using it to sweep and get on top in half-guard.
They traded kimura attempts and Broughton transitioned from his armlock to the mounted crucifix, pelting with heavy elbows. De Fries escaped and once again found himself fighting off a kimura to end the frame.
De Fries doubled up his jab to kick off the third before wresting Broughton to the floor with a double leg. Stuck in side control, Broughton used the fence to roll over, which was countered well by De Fries, who maintained control and landed back in their original position.
Still scrambling, Broughton had his back taken and then spun loose but gave up the full mount, where De Fries started to turn up the heat with strikes from the top. The referee stand up with twelve seconds left was not enough time for Broughton to unload on the feet.
The judges saw the bout 29-28 for Phil De Fries across the board, who defeats Rob Broughton by unanimous decision in his UFC debut.