UFC Fight Night 146 Prelims: Anthony Rocco Martin Gets Unanimous Nod Against Sergio Moraes
Anthony
Rocco Martin flustered and frustrated Brazil’s Sergio
Moraes from start to finish in the featured preliminary bout of
UFC Fight Night 146 on Saturday.
Martin (16-4) peppered his foe with scattered leg kicks and hooks upstairs. Moraes (14-4) was never allowed to get things going offensively and continuous whiffed on his wild, loopy counter punches. Martin did not trail from his gameplan and walked away with a unanimous decision when all three judges saw it in his favor, 30-27.
Bantamweight contender Yana Kunitskaya had to withstand a badly broken and disfigured nose to outlast Marion Reneau over three rounds.
The Russian controlled the bout for the first two rounds with better striking and a powerful clinch game, but Reneau (9-5) did a ton of damage in the third. Reneau busted up Kunitskaya’s nose with punches and nearly had her foe wilted, but “Foxy” hung tough and wound up winning a unanimous decision. All three judges saw it for Kunitskaya (12-4) via scores of 29-28.
Featherweight contender Grant Dawson looked terrific in his Octagon debut, something he’s dreamed of since he was a tike. “The Prophet” was relentless against veteran Julian Erosa, taking the Washington native down repeatedly. “Juicy J” kept exploding back to his feet, but Dawson never let him breathe.
he young Nebraskan landed several hard punches and elbows in the third frame on the ground and threatened with some submissions to win a lopsided unanimous decision. One judge had it 29-27; the second had it 30-27; the third saw it 30-26, allowing Dawson to rise to 13-1. Erosa fell to 22-7.
Heavyweight prospect Maurice Greene did just enough to topple Jeff Hughes (10-2) over three rounds, exacting revenge for a decision loss last April at Legacy Fighting Alliance 38.
Greene withstood several hard punches, but he pressed the action for three rounds and landed his share of hands and feet. The fight was as close as they come, but “The Crochet Boss” was slightly better; Greene (7-2) won via split decision on scores of 29-28 (twice) and 28-29.
Bantamweight contender Matt Schnell looked terrific in vanquishing Hawaii’s Louis Smolka in the opening period.
Schnell (13-4) landed several solid punches to the head early and quickly took “Da Last Samurai” down. From there, “Danger” transitioned from a guillotine off his back, to a triangle choke, to an armbar and then back to another triangle to seal Smolka’s fate. Schnell locked in the submission tightly and Smolka (15-6) couldn’t escape and bowed out at 3:18 of the first.
Alex Morono was dominant against Zak Ottow as the welterweight took him out in the first stanza.
When “The Great White” was taken down after landing a spinning back kick to the gut, he transitioned from a missed guillotine to taking his opponent’s back. Once there, Ottow (17-7) had nowhere to go and Morono unloaded a series of nasty elbows to the head, prompting his foe to verbally submit. The win came at 3:34 of the first, giving Morono (16-5, 1 NC) his biggest win to date.
The opening bout of the card was a grueling affair between Alex White and Dan Moret. White (13-5) was cracked by a few punches and elbows in the first, which opened up a deep cut on his forehead.
“The Spartan” dug deep after losing the opening frame and out-grappled Moret (13-5) over the final two rounds and landed several clean punches during a wild exchange late in the tilt. White walked away the victor via unanimous decision when all three judges favored him, 29-28.
Martin (16-4) peppered his foe with scattered leg kicks and hooks upstairs. Moraes (14-4) was never allowed to get things going offensively and continuous whiffed on his wild, loopy counter punches. Martin did not trail from his gameplan and walked away with a unanimous decision when all three judges saw it in his favor, 30-27.
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Kunitskaya Weathers Badly Broken Nose to Claim Victory
Bantamweight contender Yana Kunitskaya had to withstand a badly broken and disfigured nose to outlast Marion Reneau over three rounds.
The Russian controlled the bout for the first two rounds with better striking and a powerful clinch game, but Reneau (9-5) did a ton of damage in the third. Reneau busted up Kunitskaya’s nose with punches and nearly had her foe wilted, but “Foxy” hung tough and wound up winning a unanimous decision. All three judges saw it for Kunitskaya (12-4) via scores of 29-28.
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Dawson Dominates Erosa Over 15 Minutes
Featherweight contender Grant Dawson looked terrific in his Octagon debut, something he’s dreamed of since he was a tike. “The Prophet” was relentless against veteran Julian Erosa, taking the Washington native down repeatedly. “Juicy J” kept exploding back to his feet, but Dawson never let him breathe.
he young Nebraskan landed several hard punches and elbows in the third frame on the ground and threatened with some submissions to win a lopsided unanimous decision. One judge had it 29-27; the second had it 30-27; the third saw it 30-26, allowing Dawson to rise to 13-1. Erosa fell to 22-7.
Greene Decisions Hughes in Rematch
Heavyweight prospect Maurice Greene did just enough to topple Jeff Hughes (10-2) over three rounds, exacting revenge for a decision loss last April at Legacy Fighting Alliance 38.
Greene withstood several hard punches, but he pressed the action for three rounds and landed his share of hands and feet. The fight was as close as they come, but “The Crochet Boss” was slightly better; Greene (7-2) won via split decision on scores of 29-28 (twice) and 28-29.
Related » UFC Wichita Round-by-Round Scoring
Schnell Chains Together Slick Triangle Submission of Smolka
Bantamweight contender Matt Schnell looked terrific in vanquishing Hawaii’s Louis Smolka in the opening period.
Schnell (13-4) landed several solid punches to the head early and quickly took “Da Last Samurai” down. From there, “Danger” transitioned from a guillotine off his back, to a triangle choke, to an armbar and then back to another triangle to seal Smolka’s fate. Schnell locked in the submission tightly and Smolka (15-6) couldn’t escape and bowed out at 3:18 of the first.
Morono Pummels Ottow Into Verbal Submission
Alex Morono was dominant against Zak Ottow as the welterweight took him out in the first stanza.
When “The Great White” was taken down after landing a spinning back kick to the gut, he transitioned from a missed guillotine to taking his opponent’s back. Once there, Ottow (17-7) had nowhere to go and Morono unloaded a series of nasty elbows to the head, prompting his foe to verbally submit. The win came at 3:34 of the first, giving Morono (16-5, 1 NC) his biggest win to date.
White Takes Two Rounds From Moret
The opening bout of the card was a grueling affair between Alex White and Dan Moret. White (13-5) was cracked by a few punches and elbows in the first, which opened up a deep cut on his forehead.
“The Spartan” dug deep after losing the opening frame and out-grappled Moret (13-5) over the final two rounds and landed several clean punches during a wild exchange late in the tilt. White walked away the victor via unanimous decision when all three judges favored him, 29-28.
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