The UFC Fight Night 101 preliminary card featured a few fun fights — some back-and-forth and some dominant — but zero finishes. The event is taking place live from Melbourne, Australia and is headlined by Robert Whittaker vs. Derek Brunson.
Check out the results of the prelim card below.
Daniel Kelly def. Chris Camozzi via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-27, 30-27)
Chris Camozzi started off well in the featured preliminary bout against 39-year-old Daniel Kelly. He landed a large amount of strikes in the early going and used solid footwork to avoid most of the judoka’s offense. Kelly lunged in with a right hand several times, but struggled to find his range. After getting cut open by a devastating elbow, Kelly landed a takedown late in the first round — a hint of what was to come.
Kelly grinded Camozzi out in the second and third rounds. The second round was all Kelly; he landed a big takedown and Camozzi was unable to get up and offered limited offense from bottom.
In the final round, Camozzi kept the bout on the feet for the first two minutes or so, but Kelly eventually got the fight where he wanted it — the mat — solidifying the victory.
Damien Brown def. Jon Tuck via Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Damien Brown had to overcome adversity in a big way to get past Jon Tuck at UFC Fight Night 101. He was taken down early by “The Super Saiyan,” who lay on top of the Australian for a couple minutes and landed some solid ground-and-pound. Brown was dropped at the end of the round, as well, which preceded a rear naked choke attempt from Tuck.
Brown turned things around in the second round, however, and made it into a grueling, bloody affair. Both traded shots in the latter rounds, but it was Brown that got the better of the exchanges in round two and three, which were both very, very close. Brown was given the split decision nod at the end.
Jonathan Meunier def. Rich Walsh via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Jonathan Meunier looked fantastic in his second UFC outing on Saturday evening. He walked into enemy territory against Rich Walsh and picked up a clear unanimous decision victory.
Training at one of the best mixed martial arts gyms on the planet, TriStar, has certainly paid off for the French-Canadian. He put on a very crisp, technical performance; he landed at will with precision and used his reach to a tee.
Walsh found himself at the end of Meunier’s strikes — a variety of attacks, including a spinning hook kick and spinning back fist — for most of the fight. He was forced to go on defense for the majority of the 15-minute bout and was unable to develop much offense throughout the affair.
Ben Nguyen def. Geane Herrera via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
Ben Nguyen put on a striking clinic in the opening fight of the televised preliminary card against Geane Herrera. He outclassed his opponent from start to finish with a high output rate. Herrera really never got going, and his biggest moment was at the very beginning when he landed a jumping side kick, which only threw Nguyen off momentarily.
Nguyen also showed off improved footwork. UFC commentator Jon Anik even slightly compared him to bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who is known for arguably the best movement in MMA. Nguyen didn’t let Herrera land anything significant and walked away with his third UFC victory.
Jason Knight def. Dan Hooker via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-26)
Jason Knight picked up the biggest win of his career in the UFC Fight Pass featured fight against Dan Hooker. He kicked the bout off in style, knocking “The Hangman” down only moments into the first round. He got hit quite a bit later on in the round, but still made it close with a pair of takedowns, a submission attempt, and some ground-and-pound, as well as the early knockdown.
The later the fight went, the more dominant it became for Knight. He outclassed the New Zealand native on the mat and nearly choked him out a couple times in the second half of the fight. Knight outworked Hooker throughout 15 minutes and got the win. Hooker did well at the end of the bout, landing some good shots on the feet, but it was too little, too late.
Marlon Vera def. Ning Guangyou via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Marlon Vera vs. Ning Guangyou started off a little slow; it was even on the feet for the first few minutes. But Vera eventually grabbed hold of the TUF: Japan winner, scored a takedown, and nearly tapped him out.
The success stopped there — for a round — for the 23-year-old. Guangyou turned things around in the second round, landing lots of ground-and-pound and shots, including heavy kicks, on the feet.
It was even heading into the final round, and “Chito” clearly knew that. Early in the third round, Vera landed a monstrous strike followed by a barrage of ground-and-pound shots. He pressured Guangyou in the third round more so than the other two, and did enough to get the judges’ nod.
Jenel Lausa def. Yao Zhikui via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
There was no feeling-out process to kick off UFC Fight Night 101. In the opening fight, Jenel Lausa got the job done against Yao Zhikui. The flyweights went at it right from the opening bell. Lausa and Zhikui swung for the fences and it was Lausa who landed more often.
It was somewhat close early on, but Lausa really found his groove at the beginning of the second round when he landed a head kick that dropped Zhikui. Instead of trying to finish the fight with ground-and-pound, he chose to go for a guillotine, but was not successful.
Lausa started to tire, got taken down and suffered some ground-and-pound strikes late in the second, but the devastating knockdown gave him the second round.
Lausa picked apart Zhikui over the course of three rounds, but the Chinese fighter didn’t give up — he stuck around for 15 minutes and got in his own shots. But Lausa’s great use of movement and angles allowed him to land more, giving him the unanimous decision victory.