The Ultimate Fighting Championship began a doubleheader of events today with UFC Fight Night 41: “Munoz vs Mousasi” from O2 World in Berlin, Germany. The card featured a middleweight bout as Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz took on Gegard “The Dreamcatcher” Mousasi.
In the 185-pound co-main event, Francis “Limitless” Carmont battled C.B. “The Doberman” Dollaway. Also in the middleweight division, Luke “The Bigslow” Barnatt clashed with Sean “Tarzan” Strickland. MMARising.com has play-by-play and results for today’s UFC Fight Night 41 main card.
Gegard “The Dreamcatcher” Mousasi vs Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz
Round 1:
Mousasi fought off two early takedown attempts, but Munoz slammed him down on his third try. Mousasi quickly stood and landed jabs. The fighters traded hooks and Munoz looked for another takedown. Mousasi broke free of a clinch with knees and he stuffed a takedown with a guillotine choke. Munoz rolled to his back and Mousasi passed to side control.
Mousasi mounted Munoz and landed elbows to the sides of his head. Munoz got to his knees and ate more elbows. The fighters stood and Mousasi reversed a takedown into mount. He swiftly took Munoz’s back and locked on a rear-naked choke for the tapout win.
Winner: Gegard Mousasi by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:57 of round one. He improves to 35-4-2.
C.B. “The Doberman” Dollaway vs Francis “Limitless” Carmont
Round 1:
Dollaway lunged in with punches and a leg kick early on, but Carmont responded with a vicious kick to the body. More kicks were exchanged and Carmont knocked Dollaway off-balance with a right hand. Both men threw jumping kicks to the body and Dollaway dropped Carmont with a lead left hook. He dove in with punches, but Carmont weathered the storm and got back to his feet. Dollaway kept the pressure on with punches and the fighters taunted each other. Dollaway punched to the body and Carmont took him down. Dollaway reversed before the bell. 10-9 Dollaway.
Round 2:
Carmont mixed up his strikes with left hands and leg kicks in round two. He landed a grazing head kick and both men rushed in with looping left hooks. An exchange of leg kicks followed and Dollaway took Carmont down. Carmont got back to his feet and used a kimura to counter a second takedown. Dollaway took his back and fought off another kimura attempt. In the final seconds of the round, Dollaway worked for a rear-naked choke and Carmont defended until time expired. 10-9 Dollaway.
Round 3:
Dollaway countered a head kick with a lead left hook in the final round. He shrugged off two takedowns and Carmont clinched against the fence. Dollaway tripped him to the mat and avoided a triangle choke. He took Carmont’s back and looked to set up a rear-naked choke. Carmont exploded back to his feet and landed an elbow in the clinch. Dollaway got him back down and dropped elbows from mount. Carmont gave up his back and Dollaway kept him pinned down. The fight ended with Dollaway on top in Carmont’s guard. 10-9 Dollaway.
Winner: C.B. Dollaway by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 15-5-0.
Sean “Tarzan” Strickland vs Luke “The Bigslow” Barnatt
Round 1:
Barnatt pressed forward and landed occasional leg kicks in round one. Strickland circled away and jabbed. The crowd booed the lack of action and Barnatt landed a body kick. A hard leg kick scored for Strickland and Barnatt answered with another body kick. After an exchange of kicks, Strickland landed a lunging left hook. The fighters jabbed until the final 15 seconds when Strickland connected with a quick one-two and Barnatt responded with an overhand right. Uneventful round. 10-10.
Round 2:
Strickland landed left hooks and jabs in the second round as Barnatt walked forward with kicks. Strickland took him down and avoided an armbar by punching from the top. Barnatt stood and landed more kicks, but he ate a stiff jab in return. Strickland broke free of a clinch with a right hook, but Barnatt cracked him with a right cross. Another hard right hand and a knee scored for Barnatt, who remained the aggressor. Both men scored with right hooks and Strickland landed jabs. Very close second round. 10-9 Strickland, barely.
Round 3:
It was more of the same in round three and Strickland countered Barnatt’s aggression with jabs and one-twos. Barnatt cut him below the right eye with a jab and he followed with a right-left combo. Strickland snuck in a nice right hand that slowed Barnatt down momentarily, but Barnatt landed an overhand right and clinched. Strickland took his back and rolled for a kneebar. He switched to a heel hook and pulled Barnatt down to the mat. The fight returned to the feet and Barnatt landed a right hook. Strickland jabbed and Barnatt tripped him at the bell. 10-9 Strickland.
Winner: Sean Strickland by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 15-0-0.
Niklas Bäckström vs Tom “Stoneface” Niinimäki
Round 1:
Bäckström opened the fight with a leg kick, but Niinimäki promptly took him down. The fight returned to the feet and Niinimäki took Bäckström’s back. He dragged him down again, but Bäckström quickly returned to his feet. Bäckström sprawled out of a takedown and the fighters traded knees in the clinch. Bäckström jumped into a flying guillotine choke and pulled guard with the hold. Niinimäki pulled his head free and the fighters stood. Bäckström landed a jumping knee and locked on a bulldog choke. Niinimäki could not escape and tapped out.
Winner: Niklas Bäckström by Submission (Bulldog Choke) at 4:15 of round one. He improves to 8-0-0, 1 NC.
Undercard Fights:
– “Sergeant” Nick Hein defeated Drew Dober by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 11-1-0, 1 NC with the win.
– Magnus “Jycken” Cedenblad defeated Krzysztof Jotko by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:59 of round one. He improves to 12-4-0 with the win.
– Iuri “Marajo” Alcantara defeated Vaughan Lee by KO (Punches) at 0:25 of round one. He improves to 30-5-0, 1 NC with the win.
– Peter Sobotta defeated Pawel “Plastinho” Pawlak by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 14-4-1 with the win.
– Maximo “Maxi” Blanco defeated Andy “The Little Axe” Ogle by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 10-6-0, 1 NC with the win.
– Ruslan “Leopard” Magomedov defeated Viktor Pesta by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 12-1-0 with the win.