UFC Fight Night 72: "Bisping vs Leites" Live Play-By-Play & ResultsThe Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the SSE Hydro Arena in Glasgow, Scotland tonight for UFC Fight Night 72: “Bisping vs Leites.” The event was headlined by a middleweight contender’s battle between Michael “The Count” Bisping and former UFC title challenger Thales Leites.

Also on the card, Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson took on Evan Dunham in the lightweight co-feature. “Irish” Joseph Duffy faced Ivan “Batman” Jorge, and Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood met late replacement Cortney “Cast Iron” Casey-Sanchez. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the main card.

 

Michael “The Count” Bisping vs Thales Leites

Round 1:
Time was called early on when Bisping was kicked in the groin. Action resumed and Bisping landed a counter right hook. He followed with a grazing head kick and Leites responded with leg kicks. A one-two from Leites forced Bisping to circle to the side and Leites followed with more leg kicks. Bisping answered with two of his own and connected with a right hand. Leites tried for a takedown, but Bisping reversed on the way down. Leites scrambled and took Bisping’s back. Bisping tried to stand and Leites held him down until the bell. Close round. 10-9 Leites, barely.

Round 2:
Bisping landed an overhand right in round two and Leites fired back with a looping right hand. Bisping mixed things up with body kicks, but Leites staggered him with a hard one-two. Right hands landed for both men and Leites knocked Bisping down with a leg kick. Bisping stood and scored with a liver kick. Leites chopped away at Bisping’s lead leg with kicks and the fighters traded hard right hands. More leg kicks were exchanged and Bisping snuck in short left hooks. He threw more kicks in the dying seconds. Another very close round. 10-9 Leites.

Round 3:
Leites rocked Bisping with left and right hooks in the third round, but Bisping stayed on his feet and clinched. He recovered and landed a right hand of his own. Both men suffered cuts near their left eyes and Leites countered an overhand right with a leg kick. Bisping picked up the pace and landed a spinning back kick, but Leites responded with a body kick. Bisping scored with quick hooks and avoided counters from Leites, who secured a brief takedown. Right hands were exchanged and Leites rocked Bisping with an uppercut. 10-9 Leites.

Round 4:
Leites pressed forward with power punches right away in round four, but Bisping cracked him with a counter right hand as Leites threw a leg kick. Both men landed right hooks at the same time and Leites landed a Superman punch. Bisping kicked to the lead leg and body of Leites, whose punches began to slow down. Bisping stuffed a takedown and he landed two stiff jabs. Leites finished the round with a flying switch kick to the head. Very even round. 10-9 Bisping by a slim margin.

Round 5:
Bisping circled on the outside and threw right hands in the final round. He jabbed and backed Leites up with a three-punch flurry. Bisping connected with an overhand right and a head kick. He avoided most of Leites’s punches, but Leites walked him down and scored with a four-punch flurry against the cage. Bisping ducked under a looping left hand and landed a counter right cross. More counterpunches scored for Bisping, who used his superior footwork to sidestep Leites’s lunging punches. Big right hooks were exchanged and Leites landed a kick to the body. 10-9 Bisping.

Winner: Michael Bisping by Split Decision (49-46, 48-47, 47-48) after five rounds. He improves to 27-7-0.

 

Evan Dunham vs Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson

Round 1:
Dunham opened the action with a head kick and a knee to the face, but Pearson was unfazed and he rushed in with a lunging right hook. Dunham dumped him to the mat, but Pearson regained his footing. Dunham took his back and dragged him back down. Dunham elbowed the sides of Pearson’s head and worked to set up a rear-naked choke. He transitioned to a vicious armbar that had Pearson in great pain, but Pearson refused to tap out and he somehow escaped. The fighters stood and Pearson landed right hooks. 10-9 Dunham.

Round 2:
Dunham quickly took Pearson back down in the second round and he punched from the top until Pearson scrambled up to his feet against the cage. Dunham pulled him back down to the mat and tried to hop on his back. He locked on a body triangle and threw elbows to Pearson’s nose. Pearson defended and fought off an armbar late in the round. 10-9 Dunham.

Round 3:
Pearson stuffed two takedowns early in round three, but Dunham landed short right hooks and he shot in for another takedown attempt against the cage. Pearson countered with a front headlock and he landed knees that cut Dunham’s forehead. Pearson continued to throw knees to the body and head as Dunham held him against the fence. He finally got Pearson down just as time expired. 10-10.

Winner: Evan Dunham by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 16-6-0.

 

“Irish” Joseph Duffy vs Ivan “Batman” Jorge

Round 1:
After trading kicks in the opening minute, the fighters briefly clinched against the cage and Duffy landed knees to the body. He circled away and stunned Jorge with a body kick, then followed with punches. He backed Jorge up with a knee to the ribs, but Jorge countered with a combination and a takedown. Duffy countered with a tight triangle choke from his back and Jorge was forced to submit.

Winner: Joseph Duffy by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 3:05 of round one. He improves to 14-1-0.

 

Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood vs Cortney “Cast Iron” Casey-Sanchez

Round 1:
Casey rocked Calderwood with a lengthy flurry of punches right away, but Calderwood weathered the storm and clinched against the cage. Casey attempted a flying armbar, but lost it and wound up on her back. She continued to hunt for armbars from the bottom and Calderwood countered with elbows from the top. Casey spun into an inside heel hook and she used it to try to sweep into top position. Calderwood kept her pinned down and Casey landed a series of elbows from her back. The round ended with both fighters punching on the ground. 10-9 Casey.

Round 2:
Calderwood got off to a much better start in the second round and she backed Casey up with a body kick and a combination. Calderwood landed knees to the face and took Casey down. She briefly struck from the top, then stood and motioned for Casey to follow. Calderwood flurried again, but Casey cracked her with counter left and right hooks. Calderwood tripped her and pinned her upside-down against the base of the cage. She landed punches and elbows from the top, then stood up again. Calderwood targeted Casey’s body with knees and punches, and the round ended with an exchange of hooks. 10-9 Calderwood.

Round 3:
Big power punches landed for both women in the final round and Calderwood just missed with a spinning back elbow. She dropped Casey with a spinning back kick to the liver and followed with punches on the ground as Casey held on. Calderwood stood and Casey followed. Calderwood punched to the body and pushed Casey down to the ground. She stood again and kicked at Casey’s lead leg. Casey jumped guard and Calderwood punched from the top. Casey attempted a late kneebar, but Calderwood easily avoided danger and finished the round with some hard ground and pound. 10-9 Calderwood.

Winner: Joanne Calderwood by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 10-1-0.

 

Leon “Rocky” Edwards vs Pawel “Plastinho” Pawlak

Round 1:
Edwards landed a head kick and a liver kick in the opening 30 seconds and he followed with a flurry of punches that backed Pawlak up against the cage. The fighters traded knees in a clinch and Edwards kept Pawlak pinned against the fence. Referee Leon Roberts separated the fighters and Pawlak landed a body kick. Edwards backed him up with a combination and a kick to the ribs. 10-9 Edwards.

Round 2:
Big punches were exchanged early in round two and Edwards remained the aggressor. He threw a spinning hook kick and avoided a lunging flurry of punches from Pawlak. Edwards scored with another body kick, but Pawlak countered with punches that bloodied his nose. He pulled guard, but Edwards used short punches and elbows to set up a move to half-guard late in the round. 10-9 Edwards.

Round 3:
Time was called early in the final round when Pawlak was inadvertently kicked in the groin, but action soon resumed and Edwards floored him with a head kick. Pawlak recovered on the ground and tied him up from the bottom. Edwards stood up and Pawlak followed. Both fighters attempted flying knees at the same time and Pawlak ran forward with a spinning backfist and a body kick. The fight ended with a clinch battle against the cage. 10-9 Edwards.

Winner: Leon Edwards by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 10-2-0.

 

Stevie “Braveheart” Ray vs Leonardo “Maccarão” Mafra Texeira

Round 1:
The fight began with an exchange of leg kicks and Texeira followed with a kick-punch combo. Ray tagged him with a lead right hook and badly rocked him with another one soon after. Texeira covered up as Ray teed off with punches. Texeira recovered and began to fire back big shots of his own, but Ray hurt him again and Texeira staggered backwards. He fell to the mat and Ray landed two final punches before the fight was stopped.

Winner: Stevie Ray by TKO (Punches) at 2:30 of round one. He improves to 18-5-0.

 

Undercard Fights:

– Patrick “The Hooligan” Holohan defeated Vaughan Lee by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 12-1-1 with the win.

– Ilir “The Sledgehammer” Latifi defeated Hans Stringer by KO (Punches) at 0:56 of round one. He improves to 10-4-0, 1 NC with the win.

– Mickael “Ragnar” Lebout defeated Teemu Packalén by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 14-4-1, 1 NC with the win.

– Robert “The Hammer” Whiteford defeated Paul “Redser” Redmond by KO (Punches) at 3:04 of round one. He improves to 12-2-0 with the win.

– Jimmie “El Terror” Reivera defeated Marcus “The Bama Beast” Brimage by KO (Punches) at 1:29 of round one. He improves to 17-1-0 with the win.

– Daniel Omielanczuk defeated Chris de la Rocha by TKO (Punches) at 0:48 of round one. He improves to 17-5-1, 1 NC with the win.