Lightweights Cody Pfister and Yosdenis Cedeno went back and forth for 15 minutes in the opener, with Pfister bouncing back from some early trouble to take a close, but unanimous, three-round decision.
Scores were 29-28 across the board for Pfister, now 12-4-1; Cedeno falls to 10-5.
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Cedeno’s kick-heavy attack put the Cuban in the lead immediately and he only widened that lead as the round progressed, as he punished the left leg of Pfister, who didn’t stop moving forward, but started doing it with a limp by the end of the frame.
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Early in the second, Pfister changed the real estate of the fight as he got the bout to the mat and soon after took his opponent’s back. Seemingly in trouble, Cedeno reversed position and smoothly got into Pfister’s guard, where he was able to slow the pace down long enough to get a standup from referee Chris Tognoni. Pfister was undeterred, taking the bout back to the mat, and he was able to end the round in control.
With the two apparently splitting the first two frames, the bout was on the line in the final round, and Pfister drew first blood with another takedown. Surprisingly, Tognoni stood the two up almost immediately, but Colorado’s Pfister put Cedeno on his back and kept him there for an extended spell, taking his back again at the midway point of the round. Cedeno broke free with under two minutes left and attempted a guillotine choke, but Pfister pulled his head out and resumed his attack, keeping the upper hand until a late surge by the Cuban.
