Emmett pulls off shocking upset, KOs Lamas; Ponzinibbio bests Perry
EMMETT vs LAMAS
Unheralded Josh Emmett announced his arrival to the elite of the featherweight division on at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, as he parlayed a late notice call-up to Saturday’s UFC Fight Night co-main event into a first-round knockout of No. 3-ranked contender Ricardo Lamas.
“My goal was to come out here and shock the world,” said Emmett. “I think I might have.”
Stepping in for former champion Jose Aldo, Emmett was throwing hands with bad intentions from the start, and while Lamas was blocking many of the blows and calmly countering back, it was clear that the Californian was of the mindset that if he kept busy, eventually something would land and change the complexion of the fight. In the final minute of the first round, it did, with a flush left hook to the head immediately ending the fight, as referee Jerin Valel halted matters at the 4:33 mark with no follow-up shots necessary from Emmett, who improves to 13-1 with the win. Chicago’s Lamas falls to 18-6.
Emmett came in overweight for the bout at 148.5 pounds.
PONZINIBBIO vs PERRY
Argentina’s Santiago Ponzinibbio won his sixth straight in a highly anticipated welterweight bout, taking a hard-fought three-round unanimous decision over popular knockout artist Mike Perry.
All three judges scored it 29-28 for the No. 10-ranked Ponzinibbio, now 27-3. Perry falls to 11-2.
Ponzinibbio used speed and movement to stay out of Perry’s range in the opening round, primarily using his kicks and jabs to keep a step ahead. Perry did land a couple hard right hands, though, and each time he clearly got Ponzinibbio’s attention.
In the second, it was Perry’s left that got through, and after jarring the Argentinean early, a takedown followed, putting more points on the board for the Florida product. Ponzinibbio didn’t stay grounded for long, and while his kicks to the leg began taking a toll on Perry, the exchanges began heating up as both were bloodied while trading blows. In the late stages of the round, a left by Ponzinibbio rattled Perry and he followed up with more hard shots, but “Platinum” was firing back soon enough as the frame closed.
The action kept heating up into the final round, with Perry rocking Ponzinibbio in the second minute only to get dropped by a spinning backfist as he threw a kick at his opponent. Perry fought his way back to his feet, only to get taken down twice by “Gente Boa.” Midway through the round, Perry rose, and the two traded bombs before yet another takedown by Ponzinibbio. This time, Ponzinibbio kept the fight grounded until the final 30 seconds, leaving Perry without the time or energy to pull off a final comeback.
Glover Teixeira gets the TKO win over Misha Cirkunov in impressive fashion...could he be next in line to fight Daniel Cormier? #UFCWinnipeghttps://t.co/0fR6Vr592r
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) December 17, 2017
TEIXEIRA vs CIRKUNOV
No. 3-ranked light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira showed off his veteran savvy in the main card opener, as he adjusted from a rough start to stop the No. 7-ranked Misha Cirkunov in the first round.
Cirkunov set a fast pace at the start, and his busy striking attack seemed to catch Teixeira off guard. But the veteran contender still had some tricks up his sleeve, and after taking the Toronto product to the mat, it was a whole new fight. First, Teixeira looked for a rear naked choke, and then he flattened Cirkunox off and began firing off strikes. After several unanswered blows, referee Dan Miragliotta called a stop to the bout, with the 38-year-old Teixeira improving to 27-6 at 2:45 of the opening round. Cirkunov falls to 13-4.
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