UFC 263 results: Muhammad decisions Maia, Craig breaks Hill’s arm

The UFC 263 PPV main card is in progress, and the company’s #12 ranked welterweight Belal Muhammad, just took a unanimous decision over the #9 ranked, legend Demian Maia. Muhammad showed off stellar takedown defense, refusing to allow Maia to get him down to the ground and keep him there. In open space, it was Muhammad who was landing the quality strikes that aided him in earning the unanimous nod. Belal is actually unbeaten in his last six bouts, which should set him up for another big name fight next time around.

Before that, the UFC’s light heavyweight division saw a gruesome arm injury when Paul Craig hit an unorthodox triangle armbar on Jamahal Hill in the opening round. Paul broke the arm and alerted the referee of it, but the official allowed the match to resume. That’s when Craig decided to punch away wile Hill was still in the triangle, and the broken arm flopped all around like a fish out of water. The referee then elected to stop the sporting contest. This was a nasty finish for Craig, who just so happens to be unbeaten in his last five outings. Hopefully Hill will bounce back quickly from this horrific injury.

**See complete results below

Main card:

Belal Muhammad def. Demian Maia by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2): Welterweight

Surprise surprise! Maia closed the distance right away, pushing his opponent against the cage. He worked a single leg to get Muhammad down, but he wasn’t able to hold him there. Muhammad was able to scramble up and into open space. He was doing a sound job of fighting off the takedown attempts, but spent quite a bit of time defending with his back to the cage.

The second round spent a lot more time on its feet than the first round. Muhammad was doing better at keeping some space between him and Maia, and he was scoring with his jab. Towards the end of the round, Maia began to slow down a bit, but was still able to stall out his adversary up against the cage.

The final frame saw more of the same. Maia kept trying for a single leg, and Muhammad being to slippery to keep ahold of. It was Muhammad who was landing the better strikes in open space, when he wasn’t fighting off a single. The final minute of the fight witnessed Maia with one last grind attempt against the fence.

Paul Craig def. Jamahal Hill by TKO at 1:59 of round 1: Light Heavyweight

We got a nasty arm break in this one! Hill fell over on top of Craig, and quickly found his arm in jeopardy. Craig hit an unorthodox triangle armbar, dislocating the elbow joint of Hill. Craig informed the referee that the arm had broke, but the official let the fight continue. So, Paul proceeded to punch away, causing Hill’s limp arm to flop around all nasty like. That’s when the referee finally stopped the fight. Ewwwww!