Preliminary Card Results
YoutubeUFC Fight Night 43 opened with a spirited light heavyweight tilt that quickly turned into a slugfest. Gian Villante (11-5) walked out to the ring to Johnny Cash's God's Gonna Cut You Down on his way to meet Sean O'Connell (15-5), who was filling in for the injured Australian Anthony Perosh. It marked O'Connell's second short-notice fight in two appearances with the UFC, as he also filled in against Ryan Jimmo in his debut. After the first minute and a half or so, the fight turned into a sloppy brawl, with both fighters swinging wildly, and Villante showing more varied strikes than his opponent, mixing in head and body kicks. Both fighters also displayed solid chins, and it looked like this would be a great fight to start things off, with the crowd very into the bout. O'Connell seemed to be dropping his hands a bit too much however, and it appeared he might get caught, with his corner warning him to keep them up and protect himself. At the end of the first round, Villante just missed a takedown, and the fight went to the second. Round two saw the bangfest continue, and O'Connell dropped Villante with a hard left that likely won him the round. He also scored a quick takedown as Villante returned to his feet, but wasn't able to do much with it. The fighters returned again to trading blows, and the fight headed to a third. Villante came out strong in the third, continuing to press forward and mix in kicks, something that likely made the difference in the bout, which would end in a split decision, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 in favour of Gian Villante. Overall, a great start to the event, which carried into the second fight, a featherweight match that pitted local fighter Dan Hooker (10-4) against England's Ian Entwistle (8-2). The crowd was hot from the get-go for their hometown boy, and Hooker did not disappoint, making the most of his UFC debut. Early in the first, after the fighters tied up against the cage, things would go to the ground, and Entwistle would attempt a heel hook. He would hold it, in the end, for several minutes - but that stubborn tenacity in holding it would prove to be his undoing. Entwistle would begin using short punches and elbows to gain the upper hand, while Entwistle clung to his leg. Before long those short elbows began doing serious damage; they were simply vicious strikes, and Entwistle was opened up, face bloody, unable to answer back, trapped on the ground as the crowd roared. The ref moved in to wave off the fight at 3:34 of the first. This was a beautiful sequence of short elbows. It may have helped that it was a Kiwi fighter, but it was great to see the crowd completely into the action even when it went to the ground. Great, knowledgeable crowd. Hats off to the Kiwi fans. The third fight of the card found TUF product Neil Magny (10-3), on a two-fight win streak, up against the debuting Rodrigo de Lima (8-1-1) in a back-and-forth welterweight battle. This fight was almost two fights in one, as the first round saw de Lima dominant for most of the frame. The Brazilian, who was giving up a six inch reach advantage, managed to get Magny down after surprising him with some quick shots and took the back. Just a little later, he was on Magny like a blanket, controlling the lanky welterweight with a body lock. de Lima's control was the story of the round, and he would spend the later part of the round in mount, where he would attempt a triangle that would change the course of the fight. Magny managed to pick the Brazilian up, holding him against the fence to relieve the pressure before slamming him as the clock ticked down. Building from the slam, the second round was a different fight, with Magny switching stances, controlling with his jab, and throwing a series of hard rights, backing de Lima up before knocking him out. In a second straight welterweight fight, Vic Gruijic (6-3), who fought at middleweight as part of TUF Nations: Canada vs. Australia, took on Chris Indich (5-2). Both fought for Team Australia, and both had lost their matches on the TUF: Nations finale back in April. Indich, I should add, is a decade younger than Gruijic. I should also note that we've head AC/DC a couple of times already tonight. Both fighters opened each other up in the first, but overall, not a lot of action was to be found, and the crowd wound up a little restless. Indich would score a double leg takedown with a minute and a half or so to go in the first. Vic would answer with one of his own and work for a rear naked choke to no avail, but as Indich returned to his feet Gruijic would unleash a powerful combo, taking the fight by TKO as the clock ticked down. So far, 1 brawl that went to decision and three TKOs - I barely need the iced coffee I've loaded up in preparation for this night. A flyweight bout between Australian Richie Vaculik (9-2) and Roldan Sangcha-an (4-0), from the Philippines, would see a first round of beautiful transitions on the ground, with Vaculik ending the round strong with a rear naked choke attempt. A gorgeous head kick from Sangcha-an would open the second but the fight would return to the mat, where it would be for most of the remainder of the fight. Vaculik took a unanimous decision thanks to strong wrestling and control. The final fight of the preliminary card saw lightweight Jake Mathews (5-0), another TUF Nations product from Australia, against Dashon Johnson (9-0) from California. It may be the total lack of sleep talking, but Mathews looks a little like Justin Bieber. Sorry Jake. Mathews is just 19, and this fight had to be a dream come true at such a young age. He might be young, however, but he fought like a seasoned pro to start this bout, surviving a weak guillotine attempt and then unleashing some vicious ground and pound with brutal elbows. In the second Johnson swung for the fences wildly, and Mathews tied him up against the fence only to receive some illegal 12-6 elbows to the back of the head, which the ref immediately deducted a point for. The fight would go to a third, and young Jake would be all over Johnson again, ground and pounding him, working for chokes, and finally, as Johnson at last seemed to mount some offence and reverse into top control, he found himself in a triangle and was forced to tap. Mathews looked much improved from TUF Nations and should be a hell of a lot of fun to watch in future. Preliminary Card Results: LW Jake Matthews defeated Dashon Johnson via triangle choke (round 3 - 3:16) FYW Richie Vaculik defeated Roldan Sangcha-an via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) WW Vik Grujic defeated Chris Indich via TKO (round 1 - 4:55) WW Neil Magny defeated Rodrigo de Lima via TKO (round 2 - 2:32) FW Dan Hooker defeated Ian Entwistle via TKO - elbows (round 1 - 3:34) LHW Gian Villante defeated Sean O'Connell via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)