UFC on Fuel 9 is taking place in Stockholm, Sweden today, which means it started at an ungodly hour in my time zone. But it has been worth getting up for so far. The first four fights have featured some good action and two finishes overall, highlighted by Conor McGregor’s UFC debut. The Irish prospect stood in the center of the octagon and took some big shots from opponent Marcus Brimage, but he managed to find Brimage’s chin quickly and got the finish just over one minute into their featherweight fight. Here’s a look at the results from the first four fights.
Papy Abedi defeated Besam Yousef via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Abedi started strong with a trip takedown and controlled the first round, but his gas tank caught up to him over the second half of the fight. Yousef was able to batter him in the clinch and get a takedown of his own, but Abedi did enough in the third to squeak out the the victory. It was his first win the the UFC.
Tom Lawlor defeated Michael Kuiper via submission (guillotine), 1:05 of round 2
Kuiper controlled the first round with some nice judo takedowns and control, and it appeared that Lawlor might have hurt his knee. But Lawlor struck gold early in the second, latching on a guillotine and eventually coaxing a tap out of his Dutch opponent.
Ryan LaFlare defeated Benny Alloway via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
LaFlare was all over Benny from the Bronx right away, earning a multitude of takedowns and pretty much dominating the first two rounds. Alloway had his moments in the second and looked like the fresher fighter in the third, but LaFlare’s relentlessness paid off and earned him all three scorecards in the end.
Conor McGregor defeated Marcus Brimage via TKO (punches), 1:07 of round 1
As mentioned above, McGregor made the most of his UFC debut with a beautiful TKO win. He wobbled Brimage with front kicks and uppercuts a couple of times before dropping him with a punch. He quickly finished him off and added to his allure with an amusing post-fight interview, basically telling Dana White that the knockout of the night bonus was his.
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