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SAN JOSE, July 26 - Longtime lightweight contender Jorge Masvidal rose from a first-round knockdown in his UFC Fight Night prelim bout against Daron Cruickshank Saturday at the SAP Center, taking control in the next two frames to secure a three-round unanimous decision win over the highly-touted prospect.
Scores were 29-28 twice, and 29-27.
After the two took a bit of time to get acclimated, Cruickshank’s first serious offensive move – a right hand – landed flush and put Masvidal on his back. Referee Herb Dean moved in quickly as if to stop the fight, but Masvidal stood up immediately and told Cruickshank to bring it on. The much bigger Masvidal continued to march forward, leaving Cruickshank in the role of counterstriker, and the Floridian scored plenty throughout, ending the round with a takedown as well.
Cruickshank opened the second with a takedown of his opponent, but the veteran Masvidal quickly reversed position and after working his strikes, he sunk in a choke. Cruickshank kept his cool and Masvidal eventually released his grip, but “Gamebred” kept the Detroit native on his back for the rest of the round.
Masvidal kept Cruickshank on the mat for the majority of the final frame, using all his veteran savvy to control the bout and nullify the attack of the game, but still raw, Cruickshank and lock up his fourth Octagon victory.
With the win, Masvidal improves to 27-8; Cruickshank falls to 15-5.
CUMMINS vs. KINGSBURY
In one of the most one-sided three-rounders seen in a long time, light heavyweight prospect Patrick Cummins spoiled the comeback of Kyle Kingsbury, winning a shutout unanimous decision.
Scores were 30-27, 30-25, and 30-24.
Kingsbury was making his first start since a September 2012 loss to Jimi Manuwa. The Ultimate Fighter season eight alum retired after the bout.
“I'm not sure if it was the time off or the fact his wrestling is so good that I was never able to get comfortable in the Octagon," said Kingsbury. "He set his takedowns up well and I really couldn’t do much to stop them. That was definitely my last fight. I told everyone I didn’t want to be a .500 fighter and so enough was enough. It didn’t make sense to get beat up anymore.”
After landing a few stiff jabs, Cummins got the fight where he wanted it, taking Kingsbury to the mat twice. Kingsbury rose each time, but the third time around, Cummins was able to keep his foe grounded a bit longer. Again, the San Jose product got back to his feet, and he was able to get a few shots in before getting put on his back, but the pattern of the fight had been set, and with Cummins upped his strike output, things weren’t looking good for “Kingsbu.”
The second was even worse for Kingsbury, as he was just dominated at every turn by Cummins. To his credit, he wouldn’t give in, but at this point he needed a miracle to turn the fight around, and that miracle never came, Cummins turning in another one-sided round in the final frame.
With the win, Cummins ups his record to 6-1; Kingsbury falls to 11-6, 1 NC.
MEANS vs. PERPETUO
Brazil’s Hernani Perpetuo may be the best welterweight in the UFC with an 0-2 record, and after a hard-fought loss to Jordan Mein in his debut, he fell short in another exciting three-rounder, this one to Tim Means.
The unanimous decision read 29-28 for Means, now 21-6-1; Perpetuo, who pointed to an injured elbow after the fight, falls to 17-5 with 1 NC.
Perpetuo went for the finish immediately, ripping off lefts and rights at Means. The Albuquerque product took the shots well and responded with a takedown, an aspect of his game he had admitted to neglecting in the past. The two rose immediately, Perpetuo going back on the offensive and Means firing back. The pace eventually settled down, but when the two welterweights threw, they were playing for keeps.
The back and forth exchanges continued into round two, Means rocking Perpetuo midway through the round with a left hand, but the Brazilian responding with crunching combinations that certainly evened the score.
Means’ quicker strikes allowed him to pull ahead in the third, yet it may have been Perpetuo’s showboating in the last stanza that cost him the bout, as he dropped his hands and dared Means to hit him, an offer “The Dirty Bird” eagerly accepted en route to the victory.
ORTEGA vs. DE LA TORRE
Los Angeles featherweight prospect Brian Ortega made a successful Octagon debut against Arizona’s Mike De La Torre, submitting his opponent in the first round.
De La Torre came out swinging to start the bout, but after weathering the storm and closing the gap, Ortega brought the fight into his world. From there, it was a matter of time before he took De La Torre’s back while the two stood, and he sunk in a rear naked choke that produced a tap out at the 1:39 mark.
With the win, Ortega remains unbeaten, moving to 9-0; De La Torre slips to 12-5.
TRATOR vs. ARREOLA
Brazil’s Tiago Trator scored his first UFC win, outpointing Tijuana’s Akbarh Arreola in a matchup of debuting lightweights.
The three-round unanimous decision read 30-27 twice and 29-28 for Amapa’s Trator.
There were plenty of wild strikes being thrown by both men in the first round, most missing. As the minutes ticked by, Trator was clearly the more accurate of the two, securing him the round despite a last minute takedown by Arreola.
Trator’s steady diet of leg kicks continued in round two, one knocking the Mexico native to the deck in the opening minute. The trip to canvas seemed to ignite Arreola, who began landing his kicks with more frequency, but after eating a few of those, Trator refocused, rocking his opponent with a hard right hand and keeping out of trouble for the rest of the round.
The busy Brazilian clearly wore Arreola down in the final round, but despite Trator’s punishing attack, The Mexican vet remained upright to hear the final judges’ call.
With the win, Trator ups his record 19-4-2 with 1 NC; Arreola falls to 22-8-1.
BURNS vs. STAHL
In a clash of unbeaten welterweight debutants, it was Brazil’s Gilbert “Durinho” Burns who left the Octagon with his “0” intact, as he won a close, but unanimous, three-round decision over Umea, Sweden’s Andreas Stahl.
Scores were 29-28 across the board for Burns, now 8-0; Stahl falls to 9-1.
It was a grueling first five minutes for both men, with Stahl cutting Burns over the right eye and Burns landing a wild uppercut later in the round providing the highlights of what was shaping up to be a war of attrition.
The crisper striking of Stahl allowed him to keep Burns on the end of his punches throughout much of the second round, but the aggressive Brazilian did get in his share of shots and a takedown in the final 90 seconds, though he wasn’t able to keep the Swede grounded for long.
Burns turned things up in the third round, aggressively using his strikes to try and set up a takedown. He didn’t get Stahl to the mat, but he did get in plenty of strikes, keeping Stahl off guard with his unorthodox rhythm.
"That was my first fight in the UFC and also my first fight that went all three rounds," said Burns. "All of my fights before the UFC have been finishes in the first round. I’m excited and I’m happy to be here, it’s a privilege and I’m looking forward to the next one. Next for me is going to be at 155 – that’s where I come from, that’s my division. I just did 170 because it’s hard for me to make 155. But my next fight will be at lightweight. I’m ready and I will reign in that division."
JEDRZEJCZYK vs. LIMA
Polish strawweight Joanna Jedrzejczyk may not have the easiest name to spell or pronounce, but in her impressive unanimous decision win over Juliana Lima, it’s clear that it’s one we’ll have plenty of time to get used to.
Scores were 30-27 twice and 29-28.
After a busy start, Lima’s offense in the first round consisted of a lot of holding against the fence, prompting two restarts from referee Mike Beltran. When the two were separated, it was Jedrzejczyk pushing the pace and landing hard shots on her opponent, a theme that got stronger as the round progressed.
The second was similar to the first with Jedrzejczyk dominating the stand-up action as Lima tried to tie her up against the fence. Beltran was again forced to restart matters with a minute remaining, bad news for the Brazilian, who ended up eating more hard shots.
After getting peppered with more and more punches for the first three minutes of the last round, Lima finally got a takedown with two minutes left, but she was unable to do anything with it, allowing Jedrzejczyk to get up and finish the fight on her feet.
With the win, Jedrzejczyk improves to 7-0; Lima, who missed weight by a half-pound Friday, falls to 6-2.
LAHAT vs. SILER
A strong late second round rally secured a hard-fought three-round unanimous decision win for featherweight prospect Noad Lahat in his bout against Steven Siler, but now the San Jose resident will rejoin the Israeli Defense Forces to aid his home country of Israel.
“It’s something I really don’t want to do, but I’m going to have to go, otherwise we’ll have nowhere to go,” said Lahat, who leaves for Israel Sunday. “I have to defend my home, but as a soldier there’s nothing more I want to see than peace.”
Scores were 29-28 for Lahat, now 8-1; Siler falls to 23-13.
The first round was fairly uneventful, but Lahat initiated what events there were in the opening five minutes, landing a couple solid right hands while standing while also scoring with takedowns throughout the frame.
Siler seemed to have Lahat’s timing down for much of round two, as he dominated the stand-up action, but in the final 90 seconds, the local favorite roared back, taking Siler down and nearly finishing him with a triangle choke.
With Siler starting off round three aggressively and with more strong striking, Lahat sought the takedown, but it was Siler taking his back on the mat in an ensuing scramble. After a long spell on the canvas, the two rose with under two minutes left, and it was Siler finishing the stronger of the two with his stand-up and ground striking, but it wasn’t enough to pull out the win.
