PITTSBURGH – With three-straight defeats on his record and facing a potential release from the promotion, Xtreme Couture's Tyson Griffin knew his back was against the wall.
Dropping to 145 pounds for the first time in his UFC career and facing recent title challenger Manny Gamburyan, Griffin delivered a much-needed unanimous-decision victory.
The bout served as the featured contest of Sunday's UFC on Versus 4 preliminary card. The seven-fight preliminary portion, which took place at Pittsburgh's CONSOL Energy Center, streamed live on Facebook and preceded the evening's Versus-broadcast main card.
Gamburyan proved the aggressor early, looking actively for the takedown while mixing in strikes, as well. Gamburyan latched onto a standing guillotine choke that Griffin ultimately escaped, but "Pitbull" remained in control of the action in the first frame.
The momentum started to change in the second, due in no small part to Griffin's powerful leg kicks, which left Gamburyan's legs bruised and battered. A pair of low blows to Gamburyan's cup marred the round, but Griffin gained confidence as the action wore on.
With the fight apparently up for grabs in the third, Gamburyan came out swinging. However, Griffin deftly avoided the advances, answered with a few of his own and mixed in a few takedowns, as well. It was both workmanlike and effective, and Griffin was awarded the much needed result via majority decision.
"I got the win, but (I'm) a little disappointed in my performance," Griffin said. "I wanted to go out there and finish Manny.
"He's a tough guy and fought smart. I had a chance to kick his legs, and I did. I think it slowed him down and really affected him. I'm disappointed I couldn't entertain the fans more and get a nice finish, but you can't complain when you get the win."
With the win, Griffin (15-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) finds new life as a featherweight and ends a three-fight skid. Meanwhile, Gamburyan (11-6 MMA, 2-4 UFC) loses in his return to the UFC following a four-fight WEC run.
In a featherweight contest featuring a pair of combatants in a must-win situation, five-time WEC veteran Javier Vazquez outpointed Joe Stevenson in a three-round affair
Vazquez looked in trouble in the early going as Stevenson attacked his arm, but "Showtime" remained patient on top and pulled free from the hold. A questionable standup interrupted the action on the floor, but Vazquez again worked the fight to the floor and looked to deliver damage until the end of the moderately-paced frame.
In the second, Vazquez threatened with a deep guillotine choke attempt, but Stevenson wrestled free. Still, Vazquez was able to control positioning again on the floor and avoid any real damage on the feet. Vazquez appeared to tire as the round wore on, but he still found enough energy to deliver a few knees to the body and briefly secure the back position.
In the final frame, it appeared Stevenson was going to need a finish to claim a victory. It wouldn't come. Despite a few earnest advances, he was unable to land any strikes of real consequence.
"I kept trying to advance, but it was tough when he just kept holding me," Vazquez admitted. "I know that makes it hard to be entertaining. I didn't want to make too much space for him to get out, so I had to do things systematically. He wasn't trying to get out though – just trying to keep me in the same spot.
"He played smart. The more he scrambled with me, it was only going to be a matter of time. Every time we scrambled, I got in good position. I think he was afraid of me catching something in transition."
A 13-year veteran of the sport, Vazquez (16-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC) proves victorious in his UFC debut. And while the fight was his first featherweight, Stevenson (31-14 MMA, 8-8 UFC) has now dropped four-straight fights in the octagon and is now likely facing a release from the promotion.
Lauzon swarms Warburton, nets opening-round tapout
Seven-time "Fight Night" bonus winner Joe Lauzon made an early claim for UFC on Versus 4's "Submission of the Night" award with a scintillating first-round tapout of Brit Curt Warburton.
It was Warburton who looked more effective in the early going, finding range with his jab and staying just outside of Lauzon's advances. That would quickly change.
A left hook floored Warburton, and Lauzon pounced to finish. After driving punches, elbows and knees into his dazed opponent, Lauzon slipped beautifully into a kimura attempt and rolled to his back. The submission looked immediately tight, but Warburton relented as best he could. Lauzon adjusted the hold, cranked the painful-looking submission and earned the tap less than two minutes into the fight.
"I want to thank the crowd for their support and all the fans of UFC," Lauzon said following the win. "We were working on not rushing things, keeping my balance and staying fundamentally sound. I hit pretty hard, but we had about five or six things we wanted to work in rotation. The first one I threw was the one that landed and put him away.
"I'm always trying to hunt down submissions. I never leave it to the judges."
With the quick win, Lauzon (20-6 MMA, 7-3 UFC) bounces back from a disappointing submission loss to George Sotiropoulos this past November. Meanwhile, Warburton (7-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) falls to 1-2 in the octagon.
After posting two wins in three fights as a middleweight, "The Ultimate Fighter 11" cast member Rich Attonito made the decision to drop to 170 pounds. If his performance against Daniel Roberts was any indication of his potential in the division, Attonito made the right call.
In the opening round, both fighters looked comfortable on their feet. Attonito looked to stalk "Ninja" in the standup department, and he defended takedowns from the clinch, as well as more traditional shots. Roberts did hit the deck briefly after an Attonito strike, but it appeared more of a slip than a result of the blow.
In the second, Roberts quickly moved into a clinch and brought the fight to the floor. After quickly sinking both hooks around his foe, Roberts began searching for the rear-naked choke. However, Attonito remained patient and reversed to top position after escaping the hold. From there, Attonito controlled the positioning for the remainder of the frame, launching a few heavy punches in the closing seconds.
In the third, Roberts had little energy left in the tank. Roberts capitalized on his tiring foe by teeing off on the feet with heavy punches and mixing in slapping low kicks along the way. A high kick sent Roberts to the floor, though he somehow survived an onslaught of punches on the ground. A weary Roberts returned to the feet and tried unsuccessfully to turn the tide with a takedown, but Attonito outmuscled him en route to a clear-cut unanimous decision over a woozy foe.
"I didn't get to finish the fight, which I would have liked to do, but it's not always so easy to put guys away sometimes," Attonito said. "Just going to go back to the gym and keep working hard so next time I can put that guy away.
"I knew he was trying to take me down, so it was tough for me to open up with my punches. I hit him with that head kick, was swarming him with punches, and I thought they would stop it right there. Credit Daniel, he's a tough kid, standing in there and he kept fighting back."
With the win, Attonito (10-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) bounces back from a December loss to Dave Branch. Meanwhile, Roberts (12-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) has now dropped two-straight fights for the first time in his career.
Oliveira taps Lentz in following clearly illegal blow
Lightweights Charles Oliveira and Nik Lentz looked well on their way to a classic affair before an illegal strike and an ill-performing referee led to an unfortunate conclusion.
The opening round was one of the most exciting in recent memory – and perhaps one of the best of the year to date – as both fighters took turns threatening to end the fight. It started with Oliveira's crisp standup, and a powerful right uppercut sent Lentz to his back. Oliveira went to the floor to finish with strikes before switching to a guillotine-choke attempt. In a thrilling turn of events, Lentz escaped and locked in his own version of the choke, but he couldn't finish the hold.
In the second, Lentz looked fatigued, but he still pressed forward. However, after escaping from a brief choke attempt, Oliveira moved to his feet. As his opponent looked to do the same, Oliveira nailed him in the face with a clearly illegal knee, as Lentz still had one knee on the canvas. However, referee Chip Snider did not intervene, and Oliveira landed another knee (this one legal) to the face. As a battered Lentz hit the floor, Oliveira swooped to the back and locked in a rear-naked choke, forcing a Lentz tap.
Despite the entertaining clash, the crowd booed the result, more in protest of the referee's blown call than as a statement of the two fighters' performances.
"My plan was to fight standup," Oliveira said after the controversial win. "I never wanted to hurt him. I just look for the submission or knockout. Many times I change my technique with standup. I put in a knee forward, an illegal knee, and I want to say I'm sorry. I feel bad."
UFC executive Marc Ratner informed MMAjunkie.com that the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission will immediately review the result, but for now, it stands as a first-round submission win for Oliveira (15-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC). Lentz (21-4-2 MMA, 5-1-1 UFC) suffers his first loss in the octagon (at least for now).
In a battle of former lightweights competing in the featherweight division, wrestling standout Ricardo Lamas flashed some newfound striking skills in dispatching of Matt Grice.
The two traded on the feet early, and Lamas actually took the fight to the floor halfway into the opening round. But after defending an armbar, Lamas returned to the feet and continued to trade with his opponent. It wouldn't be long before he took advantage of the position.
A left high kick in the closing minute wobbled Grice, and Lamas refused to let his opponent recover. As Grice staggered against the cage, hoping to regain his wits, Lamas blasted him with a clean punching combination that sent the action to the floor. A few follow-up shots on the ground was all it took for the fight to be halted with 19 seconds left in the first frame.
"I came into this fight wanting to mix it up," Lamas said of his performance. "I think I had better standup and ground game. When I had the opportunity to take him down I did, and when I had the opportunity to strike I did."
After posting a 4-2 record in the WEC, Lamas (10-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) tastsd victory in his UFC debut. Meanwhile, in his first UFC appearance in more than two years, Grice (13-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC) sees a four-fight win streak snapped.
In the night's opening contest, "The Ultimate Fighter 12 " finalist Michael Johnson flashed improved striking skills en route to a first-round TKO win over promotional newcomer Edward Faaloloto.
The Hawaiian slugger looked crisp early, peppering Johnson with powerful low kicks to each of his opponent's legs. But Johnson stood firm in the pocket, firing off combinations at every opportunity. As time wore on, that gamble paid off.
Faaloloto looked to slow as the round wore on, and with blood trickling down his face from an earlier elbow, Johnson capitalized in the Thai clinch. After a few knees up the middle, Johnson rocked his opponent with a stiff left. A follow up overhand right was mostly blocked but still sent Faaloloto toppling to the canvas. Johnson pounced with a flurry on the ground, and the bout was waved off with 18 seconds left in the opening round.
"It feels amazing after six months off to go in there and get a TKO," Johnson said after the fight. "He's a tough guy. I knew he was going to bring it.
"We were both fighting for a job or fighting for comfort. He came at me with a barrage, then I just took over."
With the win, Johnson (9-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) bounces back from December loss to "TUF 12" winner Jonathan Brookins. Meanwhile, onetime WEC veteran Faaloloto (2-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) is now 0-2 under the Zuffa banner and may be facing a release.
For complete coverage of UFC on Versus 4 , check out the UFC Events section of MMAjunkie.com.
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