Battlin’ Brits Kelly and Taylor Deliver on UFC 80 Undercard

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By Thomas Gerbasi

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, January 19 - Liverpool’s Paul Kelly and Walsall’s Paul Taylor did the British Isles proud in their welterweight battle tonight, battling it out for three closely contested rounds, with Octagon debutant Kelly emerging victorious via a unanimous decision on the UFC 80 undercard at the Metro Radio Arena.

Scores were 30-27 for the unbeaten Kelly, 8-0, in a bout that was a lot closer than those scores would indicate, hence it's award for UFC 80 Fight of The Night.

Both fighters went toe-to-toe at the bell, immediately igniting the crowd. After a brief respite at the fence, where Taylor (8-3-1) fired away with close range strikes, there was another firefight before the bout hit the mat. On the ground, Kelly worked his ground and pound as Taylor – now bleeding from the nose - focused on improving his position and locking in a submission until the bell sounded.

20 seconds into the second, the two fighters resumed their ground fighting, with Kelly working his way back into the top position after a brief spell on the bottom. While on the bottom, Taylor drew a roar when he locked up his opponent’s arm, but Kelly battled his way free and resumed his striking from the top, opening up a huge cut on his opponent’s forehead.

The toe to toe slugging commenced once again at the start of the third, and Taylor was staggered briefly by a left before the two tumbled to the canvas. Kelly soon took side control, but again Taylor would find a way to get back into a better position. With under three minutes left, referee Herb Dean stood the fight up, and Taylor scored well with his strikes before Kelly took him back down. For the remainder of the bout, the two fatigued battlers fired away, Kelly from the top, Taylor from the bottom, a fitting end to the evenly fought contest.

Heavyweight prospect Antoni Hardonk made short work of Northern Ireland’s Colin Robinson, improving to 6-4 with a 17 second stoppage.

Robinson (9-4) closed the distance immediately, but Hardonk used his knees and leg kicks to gain some working room, and a stiff left to the chin sent Robinson stumbling to the canvas. Hardonk hesitated, and as referee Mario Yamasaki closed in, Robinson tried to stand but stumbled down again, prompting the stoppage.

“The leg kicks helped to get him out of his rhythm, but it was the left jab that hurt him,” said Hardonk. “I should have stepped in earlier, but I wasn’t sure, and the referee stopped the fight.”

Italy’s Alessio Sakara got back in the win column in his final bout at light heavyweight, scoring a first round TKO of Detroit’s James Lee.

“I worked so much with American Top Team and each fight I’m getting better,” said Sakara, who promises a drop to the middleweight division. “I want to cut to 185 and I promise my fans that I will be the best fighter at 185.”

Lee (25-3), a submission specialist, predictably shot in for the takedown against Sakara (16-6, 1 no contest), a former pro boxer who has had issues on the ground before. Sakara fought off the attempt, but Lee held on to the Italian’s leg. Sakara responded with a series of blows to the head that hurt and finished Lee, bringing in referee Dan Miragliotta to halt the bout at the 1:30 mark.

In the opener, up and coming lightweight Sam Stout put together a disciplined gameplan and adhered to it for three rounds, winning a unanimous decision over Per Eklund.

Scores were 29-27, and 30-27 twice.

“Every time you come up with the win, you’ve got to be happy,” said Stout, who broke a two fight UFC losing streak.

The first round primarily consisting of Stout fighting off takedown attempts by Eklund, who ate more than his share of strikes while grabbing for the Canadian’s legs. There was more of the same in the second, and even when Eklund did get his foe to the mat, a submission attempt was easily tossed aside by Stout, and by the end of the round, the Swedish fighter was visibly fatigued and hearing it from the crowd. The third frame was no better in terms of action or strategy from Eklund, who had no Plan B against Stout, who wisely kept the bout standing to play to his strengths.

“My gameplan if it hit the ground was to get back to my feet, protect my arms and not get caught in anything stupid,” said Stout, who improves to 14-3-1. Eklund falls to 14-3-1.

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