The main card of UFC Fight Night 88 had up and down moments, with little in the way of finishes but a lot of closely contested action. Here are the results:
Rick Story def. Tarec Saffiedine by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
In his return after a long layoff, Story took no time in getting back into action, pushing the pace right away. The later half of the round took place against the cage with Story grinding Saffiedine. Story ended the round with a bunch of body shots, with Saffiedine attempting a head kick well after the horn. While Saffiedine got the better of the stand up from range, Story continued to grind away in the clinch, landing tons of body shots. The third round was more of the same, although Saffiedine did land more significant strikes throughout the round that Story just shakes off. Overall, a typical grind it out win for Rick Story.
Chris Camozzi def. Vitor Miranda by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Imagine two kids who are involved in a three legged race. Now imagine if they fell down and got into a fight. That’s what the second half of the first round looked like as both fighters threw punches from a leg lock position. It looked ridiculous and really ineffective. Camozzi took the fight to the ground in the second round, switching from guard to loose back control to pinning Miranda against the fence. Camozzi ended the round on top, punishing Miranda with ground and pound. Camozzi started the third with a quick takedown, punishing Miranda’s face from the top. The rest of the round saw Miranda looking for the one shot knockout while Camozzi landed counter jabs.
Lorenz Larkin def. Jorge Masvidal by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Larkin had success early in the fight, landing powerful kicks to the lead leg and body of Masvidal. In response, Masvidal began to pressure Larkin to the fence, holding him in the clinch for a minute. After they separated, Masvidal was hit by an eye poke that sent him to the mat. The fight was stopped, and the replay showed that it was basically thrown punch with the fingers extended. Masvidal continued the fight through the pain. Larkin started the round with a nice jumping head kick that landed flush, which Masvidal smiled at. Larkin had success throughout the round, getting the better of the stand up exchanges and capping the round off with a takedown. The third round had a mix of everything, with Larkin almost decapitating Masvidal several times while Masvidal continued to move forward. Larkin got the better of their wild exchanges, but Masvidal continued to push forward until the very end.
Paul Felder def. Josh Burkman by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
What started off as a slow and technical fight broke into an all out brawl. After picking their shots in the first half of the first round, both fighters cut loose and started dropping bombs on each other. This wild exchange was capped off with a takedown by Burkman, who was able to hold Felder for the rest of the round. The second round was closely contested with both fighters landing hard strikes, but at a much slower pace and speed. The third saw Felder put on a pace that Burkman couldn’t quite match, leading Burkman to force the clinch along the fence. Felder landed an elbow to Burkman’s face that resulted in a waterfall of blood to run out of Burkman’s nose. The round ended with a late takedown from Burkman.