The UFC’s welterweight king returns to the cage tonight when Georges St. Pierre puts his title on the line against Johny Hendricks at UFC 167. We’ll have live results, thoughts and news all night long.
The action gets underway with three fights on Facebook/YouTube at 6:30 p.m. ET, continuing with four fights on Fox Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and finishing up with the five fight main card on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET.
This post will cover the preliminary fights which stack up like this:
Fox Sports 1 Prelims
Lightweight – Donald Cerrone vs. Evan Dunham
Middleweight – Ed Herman vs. Thales Leites
Welterweight – Brian Ebersole vs. Rick Story
Bantamweight – Erik Perez vs. Edwin Figueroa
Facebook/YouTube Prelims
Welterweight – Jason High vs. Anthony Lapsley
Bantamweight – Will Campuzano vs. Sergio Pettis
Light Heavyweight – Gian Villante vs. Cody Donovan
Make sure to come back and share your thoughts in the comments as the action goes down.
Gian Villante vs. Cody Donovan – Round 1 -They tie up and both men land uppercuts but Villante lands the better of them. Back to range and Donovan lands a few times before a hard leg kick by Villante and another uppercut. Donovan to the body a few times and then stuffs the jab right in Villante’s face. Uppercut lands for Villante again. Head kick by Donovan catches and hurts Villante a little and now another flurry and Villante is a bit buzzed still. Now Villante pushing Donovan into the cage but nothing there and back to range where Donovan lands a good right. Body kick and Villante with a takedown. Nothing doing on the ground and they stand back up and Donovan does good work again. 10-9 Donovan.
Round 2 -Donovan landing some good jabs and right hands early in the round. He ducks down for a takedown but instead ends up pushing Villante into the cage. Big right hand by Villante and Donovan goes down hard. A few follow-up punches and that’s it. Gian Villante wins by TKO (punches), round 2.
Will Campuzano vs. Sergio Pettis – Round 1 – Pettis jabbing and he misses a right hand and Campuzano takes him down. Pettis threatened with a guillotine and gets back to his feet. Right hand by Campuzano. Two punch combo by Pettis lands. Campuzano with a takedown again. Pettis gets back up. Pettis stings him now and Campuzano with a weak takedown attempt and now Pettis is drilling him with leg kicks and hard combinations of punches to the face. Campuzano finishes with a takedown but a 10-9 Pettis round.
Round 2 -Campuzano trying to work a little faster but Pettis is picking him off and now takes him down. Campuzano almost gets caught in a choke but spins out. Pettis trying to take the back. Campuzano escapes and is on top now. Campuzano now trying to take the back himself. Pettis able to get back to his feet. Big knee by Pettis hurts Campuzano. 10-9 Pettis.
Round 3 -Pettis looking for a “power guillotine” again early but nothing there. Campuzano with a takedown. Pettis not really taking any damage and he does get up with about a minute left. Right hand lands for Pettis, as does a body kick. Campuzano with a hard flurry at the end of the round. 10-9 Campuzano round. So, 29-28 Pettis on my card.
Official scorecard: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28. Sergio Pettis wins by unanimous decision.
Jason High vs. Anthony Lapsley – Round 1 – High spends the round working takedowns and occasionally threatening with guillotines. Now High takes the back and as Lapsley stands up, High suplexes him back down and gets both hooks in while taking the back. High struggling to lock in a rear naked choke. He also almost locks in another guillotine at the end of the round. Dominant round but just shy of a 10-8 for me. 10-9 High.
Round 2 -High with another takedown and he’s into mount. A little work and now Lapsley gives up the back. Lapsley manages to spin now and he ends up on top. Good elbow by Lapsley. Lapsley passes one leg to get into half guard. Not a ton happens, but a Lapsley round 10-9.
Round 3 -Right hand by Lapsley to open the round, coming off a body kick. Jab by High and now two punches as he gets inside and scores a takedown. Lapsley trying to get up and High grabs a headlock. Knees to the body by High. High pulls guard for a guillotine again. High gives up on it when he can’t finish and he transitions to an omoplata. High landing a few punches while struggling for the hold to avoid getting put on his back. High now manages to get up and he’s on top again with a front headlock. Lapsley manages to slip behind and High rolls through looking for a heel hook but Lapsley defends and ends up on High’s back. Lapsley slides off the back and High is back on top. Lapsley lands a few elbows off his back. 10-9 High makes it 29-28 High on my card.
Official scorecards: 29-28 across the board. Jason High wins by unanimous decision.
Erik Perez vs. Edwin Figueroa – Round 1 – Figueroa takes a massive low blow that drops him but they do continue after he takes a few minutes to recover. Perez with a few more leg kicks and now he scores a takedown. They’re back to standing and Perez is landing some nice combinations. Good right hand by Perez. Perez with another takedown but Figueroa gets up, Perez lands a knee and scores another takedown. 10-9 round for Perez.
Round 2 – Big right by Perez knocks Figueroa back and to the ground. Now they’re trading big shots. Big slam by Perez now and he has Figeuroa turtled up as he lands a few punches. Now Figueroa gets to his feet and lands a really big right hand. Perez takes it and lands in return. Another good right by Figueroa and Perez is forced to shoot. Perez won the round but he has to be careful in the third. 10-9 Perez.
Round 3 – Perez working the leg kicks. Right hand lands for Perez. Perez with another takedown. Perez working some punches to the body as he works his way to side control. Perez with a few strikes and they get to their feet. Perez with a hard two punch combo that had Figueroa wobbled. 10-9 Perez gives him the clean sweep on my card.
Official scorecards: 30-27 across the board. Erik Perez wins by unanimous decision.
Brian Ebersole vs. Rick Story – Round 1 – Story with a left hand and he stuffs the shot of Ebersole. Hard punches from Story now. Story with some more good shots and Ebersole looks like he’s trying to figure out what there is that he can do. Hard left hand by Story lands. Hard combo to the body and head by Story. Good follow-up flurry by Story again after stuffing a shot by Ebersole. Story with another leg kick. Big exchange with Story landing a left and Ebersole landing a right. Leg kick by Story now. 10-9 Story.
Round 2 – More of the same to start the round, Story following Ebersole around and punching him in the head. Ebersole just looks like there’s nothing there that he can do offensively. Standing elbow by Story lands hard. Huge body shot by Story and now Ebersole is looking for the single leg again. Story with a huge right and a few more shots as the round ends. 10-9 Story.
Round 3 – Story puts him down with a takedown and lands a big punch diving into the guard. Story with a heavy leg kick as they’re back on the feet. Big right by Story again. Another big leg kick has Ebersole protecting his leg. He’s badly hurt. Good elbow by Ebersole in the clinch. Another leg kick and another and Ebersole falls to the canvas. The round ends with Story on top landing elbows. 10-9 Story again as he cruises.
Official scorecards: 30-27 across the board. Rick Story wins by unanimous decision.
Ed Herman vs. Thales Leites – Round 1 – Teites lands a good shot that drops Herman and Herman lands an upkick as Leites tries to get on top. Leites with a few punches that land clean as he stands over Herman. Herman does manage to get up but ends up tripped back to the canvas. Leites takes the back and works some punches while getting his hooks in. Herman manages to get to his feet at the end of the round but does nothing. 10-9 Leites.
Round 2 – Leites pushing in and looking for the takedown. Herman turns him against the cage and lands a nice elbow to the head. Leites turns him back around. Leites with a takedown. Then it’s a lot of laying on top and working juuust enough to not get stood up. 10-9 Leites.
Round 3 – Herman with a jab. Leites gets inside and they’re clinched against the cage. Herman with a few good punches but non really land clean. Herman stuffs a takedown attempt. Herman with a cage grab to not get taken down but loses no point and gets taken down anyway. Leites has the back again. Leites on top again in half guard of Herman. 10-9 Leites.
Official scorecards: 30-27 across the board. Thales Leites wins by unanimous decision.
Donald Cerrone vs. Evan Dunham – Round 1 – Dunham looking for a takedown that doesn’t come but he lands a few punches before Cerrone lands a knee. Another knee, this one to the body by Cerrone. Big knee and a hard right and now a left. Cerrone flurrying as Dunham goes down. Cerrone is just blitzing here. Somehow Duhnam survives and manages to get on top. Now Cerrone looks for an omoplata and uses it to end up back on top himself. Dunham working knees to the body and legs as they stand and now Cerrone with some big shots and Dunham backs off. Big knee by Cerrone again. Leg kick by Cerrone. 10-9 Cerrone who looked fantastic.
Round 2 – Cerrone comes out keeping good distance and doing more good work. Right hand by Dunham, but Cerrone gets him to quickly back off. Cerrone with a good knee to the body and Dunham tries for a takedown that he’s not able to finish. Cerrone is the one to get the takedown now. Cerrone now locks up a triangle and this one is over. Impressive stuff. Donald Cerrone wins by submission (triangle choke), round 2.
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