The Fight Pass portion of UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs. Cruz is in the books. Out of the five fights, three went to decision and two were finished before the final horn. Here’s how it all went down.
Paul Felder defeated Daron Cruickshank by submission (rear naked choke), 3:56 of round three
This was a fight that featured action everywhere, not just on the feet as most expected. They both connected with some innovative strikes in the first and second, but Felder threatened with a deep guillotine choke as well. There were reversals on the ground in the second, which was unusual. Cruickshank also opened up with a big combination that seemed to wobble Felder a bit.
Felder stuck with the grappling, securing an inverted triangle that had Cruickshank stuck for a while. He followed that up with some solid work to get to Cruickshank’s back, and eventually sunk a rear naked choke to pick up the first submission win of his career.
Ilir Latifi defeated Sean O’Connell by knockout (punches), :30 of round one
It didn’t take long for The Sledgehammer to land…well, a sledgehammer. A monster right connected right on O’Connell’s ear, throwing off his equilibrium and sending him dramatically to the mat. Latifi jumped in with one more accurate right that seemed to put O’Connell out. Referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at that moment. O’Connell was up right away and protesting, but it was a good stoppage.
Charles Rosa def eated Kyle Bochniak by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Bochniak, who took the fight on very short notice, came out quickly and dropped Rosa in the first round. He was able to control the striking for the rest of the round, and quite clearly won the round in my eyes. Rosa came back in the second though, mixing in takedown attempts with hard leg kicks and solid striking to even it up. Bochniak had a couple of moments in the final round where he stunned Rosa with strikes, but he was bloodied up and tired and Rosa was able to take advantage. He pressed the pace, connected with more strikes, and took the decision (even though the 30-27 score is terrible).
Rob Font defeated Joey Gomez by TKO (strikes), 4:13 of round two
Font was in control of the striking for the large majority of this bout. He looked loose and battered his opponent a bit in the first. Gomez looked a little stiff and wasn’t able to connect with much. Font had him hurt early in the second, but Gomez got a takedown. Back on the feet a little later though, Font cracked Gomez with a left that he never saw coming. Gomez staggered back to the cage, and Font ripped into him with body shots along with an uppercut that knocked his mouthpiece out. Gomez crumpled to the mat and the fight was over.
Francimar Barroso defeated Elvis Mutapcic by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Barroso and Mutapcic opened the night with a not-so-entertaining bout. Barroso took Mutapcic down in the first and rode out the round on top, not really doing a lot with the position. The second and third rounds were contested on the feet with each man landing single shots here and there but nothing too damaging. Barroso did open a cut over Mutapcic’s eye in the second. Mutapcic landed a nice uppercut in the third and few other hard shots, but the bout ended up going to the Brazilian fighter by unanimous decision.
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