The second fight on the UFC 171 prelims on FS2 featured a featherweight fight between Dennis Bermudez and Jim Hettes. Bermudez made a statement in the opening round as he beat and manhandled Hettes through the first five minutes. Hettes struggled to stay in the fight and even landed some solid blows of his own, but he couldn’t keep up with Bermudez. Toward the end of the final round, he succumbed to Bermudez’s onslaught and lost by TKO.
Bermudez pressured early in the fight and tied Hettes up in the clinch. Hettes avoided the takedown and escaped only to end up defending the clinch again. Separated, Bermudez takes control on the feet, battering Hettes with punches and kicks while mixing in a big slam. Another big takedown from Bermudez into side control with just over a minute left in the opening round. hettes was able to escape for a second, but Bermudez grabbed a guillotine and turned him into mount as the round ended.
Bermudez moved right into the clinch at the start of the second round. They separated for a moment with Bermudez landing hard on the inside before taking control of the clinch again. Hettes was able to takedown Bermudez and land a couple shots, but Bermudez got up quickly. He landed a combination that rocked Hettes who lost his mouthpiece. It looked like it might be stopped but Hettes was able to recover. When they returned to standing the ref stopped the action so Hettes could put his mouthguard back in. Hettes found some offense in the closing minute, scoring a takedown from the clinch and taking back control as the round ended.
After a back and forth exchange on the feet, Bermudez put Hettes down with a knee. He followed him into the mat into guard and worked him with ground strikes. Bermudez let Hettes up. Hettes tried to stay in the fight but he was too beaten and exhausted. He started falling down after every exchange before the referee finally called a stop to the action.
Dennis Bermudez TKO’s Jim Hettes at 2:57 of round 3.