Pettis (photo) submitted Melendez and defended his UFC title. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
He came back in style. One year and three months after winning the UFC lightweight belt, Anthony Pettis made his first title defense at event 181, held this Saturday (6) in Las Vegas, in the United States. And the result couldn't have been better, as the champion submitted challenger Gilbert Melendez in the second round.
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However, the fight was not easy for Pettis. Melendez started the fight with a well-defined strategy: going all out, betting on boxing, trying to stifle the champion and, later, taking the fight to the ground.
The game worked well in the first round, but in the second period of action, Pettis returned to his opponent's strategy. Melendez couldn't impose his game like before, and as soon as he had an opening, he was hit with a powerful counterattack. Melendez immediately looked for the takedown, but Pettis was smart to apply a tight guillotine. “El Niño” struggled trying to survive, but had no alternative but to withdraw.
At 27 years old, Pettis scored his 18th MMA victory, against just two defeats. Melendez suffered his fourth setback, the first other than the judges' decision.
Browne confirms favoritism and beats Schaub
Browne (photo) returned to his winning ways. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
After losing to Fabricio Werdum in April, Travis Browne resumed his winning ways by beating Brendan Schaub still in the first round in the third to last fight of the night.
The favorite, Browne avoided exposing himself in the opening seconds of the fight and took advantage of his greater reach. Schaub tried to take the fight to the ground, but “Hapa” resisted and didn’t let the position stabilize.
In one of his takedown attempts, Schaub ended up taking a upper accurate in the counterattack and fell stunned. He tried to survive the end of the first round, but Browne persisted with the blows and achieved the technical knockout.
Duffee needs just 33 seconds to knock him out
Duffee dispatched Hamilton within seconds. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
Known for having one of the fastest knockouts in UFC history, lasting just seven seconds, Todd Duffee did not disappoint the fans. In his first fight since 2012, the American giant needed just 33 seconds to knock out Anthony Hamilton and claim victory.
Duffee connected with a powerful straight right on Hamilton, who was instantly knocked out. Thus, Duffee achieved his ninth victory in MMA, against only two defeats, while Hamilton suffered his fourth defeat, the second in three fights for the UFC.
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Ferguson recovers and submits Trujillo
The opening of the UFC 181 main card featured a duel between lightweights Abel Trujillo and Tony Ferguson. The fight started with a frenetic pace, with Trujillo managing to land a good straight right and deliver a knockdown. Still stunned, Ferguson defended himself and survived. Truijllo continued to land good blows and Ferguson was nowhere to be found, but at the end of the first round, the tide seemed to be about to turn.
Ferguson started the second round more aggressive, while Trujillo, clearly with less momentum, sought to take the fight to the ground. The fight was held on the ground for a few moments, but Ferguson was able to move more efficiently as soon as he reached Trujillo's back. Shortly after, he secured a tight rear-naked choke, which gave Trujillo no choice but to tap out.
TUF 13 champion, Ferguson achieved his seventh victory in the UFC, against just one defeat. It was his fourth consecutive triumph inside the octagon, while Trujillo lost his second in the UFC. He, who was coming off victories over Jamie Varner and Roger Bowling, had not lost since May 2013, when he was dominated by Khabib Nurmagomedov.
MAIN CARD
Robbie Lawler derrotou John hendricks in the judges' split decision;
Anthony Pettis defeated Gilbert Melendez via submission in R2;
Travis Browne defeated Brendan Schaub by technical knockout in R1;
Todd Duffee defeated Anthony Hamilton by knockout in R1;
Tony Ferguson defeated Abel Trujillo via submission in R2;
PRELIMINARY CARD
Urijah faber defeated Francisco Rivera via submission in R2;
Josh Samman defeated Eddie Gordon by knockout in R2;
Corey anderson defeated Justin Jones via unanimous decision;
Rachel Pennington defeated Ashlee Evans-Smith via submission in R1;
Sergio Pettis defeated Matt Hobar via unanimous decision;
Clay Collard defeated Alex White via unanimous decision
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