UFC 166 will be headlined by a third heavyweight title fight between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos. Before that though, Bloody Elbow will provide a live video stream of the early preliminary card, and play-by-play for the entire undercard in this post. The card will begin with four fights that will be streamed above, which kick off at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT. Coverage will move over to Fox Sports 1 (Sportsnet 360 in Canada) for the final four fights of the preliminary card. That kicks off at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Finally, the main card will be aired on PPV, and that begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
This post will cover the entire preliminary card. The featured bout of the prelims sees Tim Boetsch facing off with C.B. Dollaway in a middleweight battle.
Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Dustin Pague
Round 1 – Herb Dean is the ref. Horiguchi opened with some kicks and a lot of movement. Pague wrapped him up with a body triangle and took his back. Horiguchi stood up but almost got stuck in a choke with Pague on his back. Horiguchi defended well and they stayed in the position for almost two minutes. Pague finally let go of the body triangle and put one on foot the ground, but kept back control. Horiguchi reversed against the cage and looked for his own takedown. Back to striking, Pague scored with a couple of knees and landed a nice throw takedown. Horiguchi ended up on top at the end of the round and landed a big punch. 10-9 Pague.
Round 2 – The two men decided to throw down a bit to start round two, and Horiguchi blasted page with a left hook that dropped him. He was all over Pague with ground and pound looking for the finish, but Pague defended well and eventually swept him. They returned to the feet but Horiguchi quickly scored another takedown. After controlling Horiguchi for a while, the Japanese fighter started to open up with some big shots. He poured it on with probably 30 straight punches and the ref was forced to jump in and stop it. Great performance from Horiguchi after a rough first round.
Kyoji Horiguchi defeats Dustin Pague by TKO (strikes), 3:51, round 2
Andre Fili vs. Jeremy Larsen
Round 1 – Fili came out aggressively with kicks and a big right that wobbled Larsen. Larsen responded with a big shot of his own though, and clinched up against the cage. Larsen clubbed him with a big knee and opened up against the cage with more knees and some punches. Larsen had a big cut opened on his forehead. Larsen went for a takedown and wiped blood all over his opponent. The ref checked the cut after the fighters separated, but he was deemed good to go. Both fighters scored with solid shots, and didn’t let up for a while. Larsen scored with a punch and turned it into a takedown with 90 seconds to go. Fili was very active looking for omoplatas, but settled for a nice sweep to return to his feet. Larsen was wearing the dreaded crimson mask. 10-9 Fili.
Round 2 – Larsen scored with a big right early. Fiii came back with his own big right that staggered Larsen and sent him to the mat. Fili followed up but he didn’t even really need to. Larsen was done.
Andre Fili defeats Jeremy Larsen by TKO (strikes), :53, round 2
Tony Ferguson vs. Mike Rio
Round 1 – Rio looked for the takedown pretty much immediately, but Ferguson fought it off. Ferguson scored with some jabs and stuffed another takedown. Ferguson scored with a big left hook that wobbled Rio and sent him to the mat. Ferguson dropped down and cinched up a tight D’Arce choke. There was no escape, and Rio was forced to tap.
Tony Ferguson defeats Mike Rio by submission (D’Arce choke), 1:52, round 1
Adlan Amagov vs. T.J. Waldburger
Round 1 – Both men opened with some kicks. Amagov just missed with a head kick. The pace was a bit slow over the first 90 seconds. Amagov scored with a spinning back kick. Waldburger shot in but got stuffed. They jockeyed for position agains the cage, with Waldburger holding a leg but not being able to get it to the floor. Amagov clubbed Waldburger with an uppercut that actually raised Waldburger off his feet! He clubbed him with another shot and T.J. was seriously hurt. He went down, and Amagov put him completely out with punches. Wow.
Adlan Amagov defeats T.J. Waldburger by knockout (punches), 3:45, round 1
K.J. Noons vs. George Sotiropoulos
Round 1 – Sotiropoulos was circling a lot early and no one really landed a thing for the first minute. Noons finally got close enough to land a few jabs to the body. Sotiropoulos landed a good counter right. Noons scored with a solid right to the body, and another. Noons scored with a left hook, but it was partially blocked. Sotiropoulos poked Noons in the eye. It was bad, but Noons said he was good to go. Noons scored with an uppercut and pressured his opponent before the bell, scoring with a bevy of punches. 10-9 Noons.
Round 2 – They were chucking knuckles a lot earlier in this round, with both men landed a good shot. Sotiroppoulos pressed forward a bit and landed two rights while Noons whiffed on an uppercut. Noons stuffed George’s first shot attempt in the fight. Sotiropoulos scored with a body kick and got a takedown. Noons never went to his back though and got up quickly. George scores with a body shot at the same time KJ punched him in the grill. Sotiropoulos continued to land for the rest of the round. 10-9 Sotiropoulos
Round 3 – Sotiropoulos scored with a right hook and a leg kick. Noons responded with a right and cut him open. He then scored with a right hook that wobbled Sotiropoulos. George ducked a shot and loooked for a takedown but it got stuffed. And again. Noons landed the right again. Sotiropoulos started to press a bit more but couldn’t land anything damaging. Noons was looking for the home run right but Sotiropoulos slipped it and responded with a shot of his own. George scored with a few leg kicks and then a head kick. KJ’s right landed but George took it. Noons scored last with a right hook. Close round, but I’m leaning towards Noons 10-9 and 29-28 overall.
K.J. Noons defeats George Sotiropoulos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Jessica Eye vs. Sarah Kaufman
Round 1 – Eye was working the jab right away. Kaufman scored with a counter. Eye clinched up and they battled inside with uppercuts and knees. Eye with a leg kick and a jab. Eye put together a nice combo and landed an elbow before clinching again. Sarah landed a hard knee and two big rights. Another good exchange where Eye landed an uppercut and Kaufman tagged her back with a right hook. Eye started to find her timing and landed a few lefts. Kaufman continued t find a home for her right. Close round, but I’ll go 10-9 Kaufman
Round 2 – Kaufman got off to a good start with a combination and some good work in the clinch. Eye was trying to work the jab but Sarah had it timed and responded well with straight rights. Jabs, counter rights again. Eye clinched up and went for the deadly foot stomps. Once again, Kaufman clubbed her with a right. Kaufman’s eye was swelling due to all of the jabs. Tons of knees in the clinch from both ladies. Eye with a beautiful straight left. Eye with a few kicks and another jab. Very close again. 10-9 Eye.
Round 3 – After eating a jab, Kaufman wobbled Eye with a right hook. Eye landed her own right, Kaufman responded with her own. Eye clinched up and rocked Kaufman with an uppercut but got a big shot in return on the break. They clinched up again and exchanged shots. Kaufman blasted Eye with a right that sent her reeling. Kaufman continued to beat her up until Eye clinched to buy time. Kaufman separated and blasted her with rights. Eye came back with a straight right of her own though, showing she was still in the fight. Eye with two nice counters. They blasted to the horn, with Sarah landing one final big shot. Great fight! 10-9 Kaufman, and I have her winning 29-28.
Jessica Eye defeats Sarah Kaufman by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Hector Lombard vs. Nate Marquardt
Round 1 – Marquardt opened with a front kick to the body. Marquardt landed a knee but got clubbed on the side of the head for his efforts. Lombard caught Marquardt with a huge right that hurt Nate and had him backing off. Lombard pressed forward with more damaging shots that sent Marquardt to the mat when his leg gave out. Lombard jumped him and beat him down until the ref finally jumped in.
Hector Lombard defeats Nate Marquardt by knockout, 1:48, round 1
Tim Boetsch vs. C.B. Dollaway
Round 1 – Dollaway got his kicking game going early and Boetsch wasn’t able to connect with much of anything. He finally clinched up and landed a knee but Dollaway got him back with a left hook. Dollaway followed that up with another. Boetsch got a takedown for about two seconds. Dollaway was staying on the outside but Boetsch came up with a left gook. For some reason Dollaway started taunting him and playing to the crowd. Dollaway clinched up and landed a series of knees, then a left hook. Boetsch landed an uppercut up close and opened a cut on Dollaway’s cheek. 10-9 Dollaway.
Round 2 – Boetsch landed a straight kick to the face, which made Dollaway laugh and shake his head. They went to the ground with Dollaway on top. Boetsch escaped and blasted Dollaway, but they went to the ground again. Then back up. Then back down. Boetsch connected with a knee to the body. Back on the feet, Dollaway landed two elbows in close. Boetsch landed a straight right and Dollaway smiled again. Dollaway scored a big takedown. Boetsch immediately went for a kimura. They stalled out in that position for the rest of the round. 10-9 Dollaway
Round 3 – The round started with…a really nasty eye poke. Dollaway was going for a low kick and just stuck his fingers right in Boetsch’s eye. The fight continued with Boetsch bleeding out of his eye. Nasty. Dollaway scored with a leg kick. And them he poked him in the eye again. The ref took a point from Dollaway, which was completely justified. Boetsch, who was visibly angered by the second poke, charged forward on the restart. He immediately dropped for a guillotine but it slipped off and Dollaway worked from the top. He moved straight to mount, but got bucked off after a few seconds. They were both tired, but kept trying to land strikes. Boetsch connected with a big right, but Dollaway came back with two of his own. Dollaway went for a takedown and they engaged in a crazy scramble! Boetch looked for a D’Arce but couldn’t get it. Then tried a guillotine but it wasn’t there. 9-9, and I have it 29-27 Dollaway.
Tim Boetsch defeats C.B. Dollaway by split decision (30-26, 27-29, 30-26)
Weird scores.
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