UFC 174 goes down live tonight. The main event will see Demetrious Johnson look to continue his winning ways when he takes on Ali Bagautinov in a bout where Johnson’s flyweight title will be on the line.
The action gets underway with two prelim fights that will stream live online on Fight Pass at 7 p.m. Et. The fights move to FX (not Fox Sports 1) at 8 p.m. with four fights before finally moving to pay-per-view for the five fight main card at 10 p.m.
This post will cover the action from the Fight Pass and FX prelims.
Here’s how the card breaks down:
FX Prelims:
Welterweight: Daniel Sarafian vs. Kiichi Kunimoto
Women’s Bantamweight: Valerie Letourneau vs. Elizabeth Phillips
Bantamweight: Yves Jabouin vs. Mike Easton
Lightweight: Kajan Johnson vs. Tae Hyun Bang
Fight Pass Prelims:
Bantamweight: Roland Delorme vs. Michinori Tanaka
Lightweight: Jason Saggo vs. Josh Shockley
Make sure to come back and share your thoughts in the comments as the fights go down.
Jason Saggo vs. Josh Shockley – Round 1 – Shockley with a jab, Saggo with a leg kick. Three punch combo from Shockley and a front kick. Saggo pushes inside and is looking for the single leg. Big hip throw from Saggo and he ends up on top as Shockley regains butterfly guard. Shockley almost escapes to his feet but Saggo pounces and is back on top. Saggo with a quick move to mount. They’re up and Saggo takes him right back down. Saggo ends up back in mount, Shockley gives up the back, Saggo can’t finish the choke and is throwing a huge flury of punches. Shockley tries to turn, gets hit more, rolls again, and the ref jumps in right before the round ends. Jason Saggo wins by TKO (punches), round 1.
Roland Delorme vs. Michinori Tanaka – Round 1 – A lot of feeling out early with both men circling and feinting. Tanaka with a good leg kick. Delorme with a takedown right into mount but Tanaka turns and ends up on top in Delorme’s guard. Tanaka looking to stay active and keep Delorme from attacking off his back. Takana grinding from the top now. 10-9 Tanaka.
Round 2 -Tanaka circling and picking his spots to land punches. He connects and Delorme taunts him, trying to get a slugfest instead of getting hit here and there. Tanaka doesn’t bite and goes back to circling. Tanaka closes distance and pushes Delorme into the cage before tripping him to the mat. Tanaka just staying on top and carefully grinding. Now Tanaka passes to half guard. Tanaka steps over into mount. Delorme gets to the end of the round, but he’s in trouble. 10-9 Tanaka.
Round 3 -Tanaka moving around a lot again while Delorme chases. Tanaka charges in and Delorme turns and Tanaka has the back standing. Delorme turns and Tanaka throws him to end up on top. Tanaka tries to take the back, Delorme turns and ends up on top in mount before ending up on the back himself, Tanaka turns and manages to end up back on top. That may have been Delorme’s last chance escaping him. Tanaka with some punches and elbows and Delorme is opened up near his eye. Now Tanaka back to full mount. Delorme with a good hip escape. Tanaka opening up with more punches now. Delorme manages to get to his feet after taking a few punches and gets thrown right back down. Tanaka put a bit of a beating on him this round and clearly should win the decision. 10-9 Tanaka makes it 30-27 Tanaka on my card.
Official scorecards: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-27. Michinori Tanaka wins by unanimous decision.
Kajan Johnson vs. Tae Hyun Bang – Round 1 – Johnson with a kick as they come out to center that misses. Both men land right hands, Jab by Bang. Head kick from Johnson, now Bang with a few good punches. Johnson with a takedown. They get to the feet and Bang hurts him with a punch. Johnson desperate to get the fight to the ground and Bang spins to the back. Johnson escapes back to his feet. Bang with a jab. Hard left hook by Johnson. Right hand by Johnson. Johnson with a takedown but I’ll score that one 10-9 for Bang on the knockdown.
Round 2 – Right hand from Bang hurts Johnson again. They end up on the ground and the blood is flowing from Johnson’s eye and Bang’s nose. Back to the feet, 10-9 Johnson.
Round 3 – Bang with a good right hand that catches Johnson, and another wild right that lands. Johnson with a weak takedown attempt and Bang lands a right hand. Whoa! Bang drops Johnson and this one is over. The Canadian fighter goes out in front of the home crowd. Tae Hyun Bang wins by KO (punch), round 3.
Yves Jabouin vs. Mike Easton – Round 1 – Jabouin moving a lot and Eason gets poked in the eye. Both men land punches but Easton getting in better. Good flurry by Easton, now Jabouin with a nice shot and a takedown. Jabouin does a little work but Easton wallwalks back to the feet. Jabouin with a takedown again. This time Easton is a good distance from the cage, so he can’t walk right up again. Jabouin isn’t doing a lot offensively though so he may get stood up. Elbow by Jabouin and Easton gets to his feet. Easton doing good work on the feet again. 10-9 Easton.
Round 2 – Jabouin out and throwing some jabs and front kicks. They’re trading on the feet now and both men are landing a bit. Head kick from Jabouin is blocked. Leg kick by Easton lands hard and he tries for a takedown but gets stuffed. Jabouin tries to take the back. They end up back to the feet with Jabouin pushing Easton into the cage andlanding a very nice combination of punches, knees and a spinning back kick to the body. Huge right by Jabouin and another big right. Spinning back kick by Jabouin as the round ends. 10-9 Jabouin evens it up.
Round 3 – Jabouin doing good work on the feet and Easton trying for a takedown against the cage now. Knee from Jabouin as Easton punshes him into the cage. Now Jabouin spins him and lands a nice flurry. Jabouin is on top now and Easton looks to lock up a kimura and uses it to reverse to get himself on top and now he lets go of the lock. I have it 29-28 Jabouin but could easily see 29-28 Easton.
Official scorecards: 29-28 across the board. Yves Jabouin wins by unanimous decision.
Valerie Letourneau vs. Elizabeth Phillips – Round 1 – Phillips with the clinch and Letourneau with a knee and gets distance again. Jab by Phillips. Another few punches by Phillips. They exchange blocked head kicks. Right hand by Phillips. Big right by Phillips. Right hand by Phillips. Right hand by Letourneau gets in. They trade some shots now and Letourneau has a mouse under her right eye. Letourneau trying to fire back but there’s some very bad swelling. Right hand gets in for Phillips. Hard shot lands for Letourneau. Letourneau with a hard shot and they brawl to the bell. 10-9 Phillips.
Round 2 – They exchange a big flurry and Letourneau may have gotten the better of that one. They’ve slowed down a lot but this is still a striking battle that is seeing both women land some good power shots. Good combination by Letourneau. Hard knee by Letourneau and Phillips was hurt by that one. Phillips took the fight on short notice and it’s showing as she is clearly fatigued. 10-9 Letourneau.
Round 3 – Phillips tries for the takedown but no go. Letourneau opening up with some good punches. Uppercut for Letourneau lands hard. Both landing hard shots and body kicks. They keep trading but Letourneau is clearly better off now. Phillips has her against the cage looking for the takedown again, Letourneau defends very well though and they’re back to standing at range. Right by Letourneau again. Left by Phillips. Letourneau stings her with a hard uppercut. 10-9 Letourneau wins her the fight on my card.
Official scorecards: 29-28 Phillips, 29-28 Letourneau, 29-28 Letourneau. Valerie Letourneau wins by split decision.
Daniel Sarafian vs. Kiichi Kunimoto – Round 1 – Sarafian pusing forward.Leg kick lands for Kunimoto. Good shots from Sarafian. Kunimoto clinches up with Sarafian and trips him to the mat. Kunimoto takes the back now and locks in the rear naked choke, it’s deep and Sarafian has to tap. Kiichi Kunimoto wins by submission (rear naked choke), round 1.
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