The excitement that the UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Leites preliminary card produced continued on into the Fox Sports 1 main card. Two Scottish favorites were able to get pivotal victories in exhilarating fashion, and the women’s strawweights may have just sealed FOTN honors with the co-main and main event still to come. Here are the outcomes of the first four main card bouts.
Steven Ray (18-5) def. Leonardo Mafra Teixeira (12-3) via TKO (punches) at 2:30 of round 1 – Lightweights
The main card got off to a great start as Scotland’s Stevie Ray put away Leonardo Mafra in just 1/2 a round. A hard right hand put the Brazilian on ice skates and Ray went to work on the finish. Mafra fired back and it became a battle of mostly boxing exchanges, but a left cross to the temple short-circuited Mafra to the point where he stumbled taking a step back and fell to the canvas. The stoppage came just seconds later, much to the delight of the Scottish faithful.
Leon Edwards (10-2) def. Pawel Pawlak (11-2) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – Welterweights
In a surprisingly disjointed fight, English striker Leon Edwards was able to come away with a comfortable unanimous decision over the highly durable and tough Pawel Pawlak. Edwards struggled to land really clean strikes and was even willing to engage in clinching against the fence. Pawlak’s best shots were to the body, but Edwards showed his class when he stuffed a takedown and wound up on top, where he landed good ground-and-pound. A huge head kick in the 3rd was thought to have been the end of Pawlak, but he somehow survived that humongous shot and rode out the round losing just the decision instead of suffering a KO.
Joanne Calderwood (10-1) def. Cortney Casey (4-2) via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) – Women’s Strawwweights
It wasn’t easy for Calderwood, but she capped off a 3-0 night for Scottish fighters on the card. Against the late replacement Cortney Casey, she came back strong in rounds 2 and 3 to get the decision in a highly entertaining contest. Casey hurt Calderwood early and often with hard punches that had her retreating and uncomfortable. Casey pulled guard and sought a triangle choke finish that she wouldn’t get. It may have been a decision she’ll regret, as Calderwood had time to recover and finished the round in top position. The 2nd round saw Calderwood’s striking return to form as she picked Casey apart with a variety of strikes, but Casey was more than game. A huge spinning back kick to the body dropped Casey like a stone in round 3. Calderwood looked for the finish but was reduced to throwing short elbows before she returned to her feet and the two continued trading. Calderwood threw elbows and knees and punches and Casey’s gas tank was just about on empty. Casey pulled guard late in the 3rd and ended up not getting a submission A thrilling fight goes the way of JoJo, who improves to 2-1 in the UFC over a very determined and formidable opponent.
Joseph Duffy (14-1) def. Ivan Jorge (26-5) via submission (triangle choke) at 3:05 of round 1 – Lightweights
Duffy was soundly beating Ivan Jorge on the feet, mixing up his combinations and throwing hard kicks and knees that the Brazilian was struggling to cope with. Jorge went for a takedown, which Duffy defended, and then he used his backfoot to spring off the cage, take Jorge’s back once they hit the mat, and instantly transition into a triangle choke. The BJJ specialist was forced to tap out to the Irishman, who picked up his 13th finish in 14 victories and 9th submission win overall.
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