The UFC’s first trip to Mexico got off to the kind of sloppy start that many expected when looking at the makeup of the UFC 180 prelims.
Marco Beltran and Marlon Vera engaged in a “wild brawl” that saw both men use poor technique throughout, meaning a lot of unfinished attempts at submissions due to improper finishing technique. Vera was the one initiating most of the attempts to finish, including a third round attempt at a d’arce choke that he tried to finish from the mount (which is just not right at all, ask Luke Thomas).
Despite the majority opinion being that Vera had earned the decision win, the judges didn’t agree, awarding Beltran (the Mexican fighter in the first ever UFC fight in Mexico) the unanimous decision victory, all scoring it 29-28 Beltran.
In the second Fight Pass prelim, the action picked up a little bit. Henry Briones mixed striking on the feet, ground and pound and a rear naked choke for the victory. Briones landed a crushing uppercut to the face of Guido Cannetti, dropping him to the mat, landed some heavy punches on the ground and then locked in a rear naked choke as Cannetti covered up, forcing the submission in the second round.
The finish came after Cannetti had a very good first round, landing body kicks that were clearly hurting Briones. It was still a sloppy affair, but at least better than the first round and Briones’ finishing sequence was very solid.