The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its way to the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky this evening for UFC Live On Versus 3: “Sanchez vs Kampmann.” The event was headlined by a welterweight matchup between Diego “The Dream” Sanchez and Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann.
Also on the card, four middleweights all looked to take a step towards title contention when C.B. “The Doberman” Dollaway battled Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz, while Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara faced Chris Weidman. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the Versus card.
Diego “The Dream” Sanchez vs Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann
Round 1:
Kampmann put together quick punches early on, but Sanchez answered with a right hook and a knee. More punches were exchanged and Sanchez attempted a takedown. He backed Kampmann up to the cage, but Kampmann broke free and landed a knee. Kampmann floored Sanchez with a right cross and landed another knee as Sanchez stood. Sanchez tried again for a takedown and met with no success. The fighters separated and both landed punches.
Two right hands scored for Kampmann as Sanchez’s face began to swell and bleed. A hard knee landed for Kampmann and he stuffed a takedown. One-twos kept Sanchez backing up and Kampmann effortlessly defended another takedown. Sanchez landed two punches to the body and ate a right hand in return. Sanchez continued to bleed badly from the mouth as Kampmann picked his shots with jabs and right hooks. Sanchez clinched and Kampmann landed two knees. 10-9 Kampmann.
Round 2:
Sanchez immediately tried for takedowns in the second round and Kampmann defended. Sanchez landed an elbow over the top and backed away. The fighters exchanged punches and Kampmann landed a nice left cross. He followed with a right and a glancing head kick. Sanchez tried to use a jab to set up a takedown and Kampmann fought it off with a knee to the body. Sanchez was forced to retreat and ate a right hook. Again, Sanchez dove in for a takedown and Kampmann stuffed it.
Sanchez rushed forward with punches and Kampmann initially tagged him with three hard right counterpunches, but Sanchez hurt him with a right hook. Kampmann, now bleeding from near the right eye, recovered and circled away. Sanchez landed a lunging right hook, but was hit with four punches in return. Two more right hands landed for Kampmann and he followed up with a combination. Kampmann defended a takedown with a knee and the fighters teed off in the final seconds. Sanchez appeared to hurt Kampmann, but fell at the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Kampmann by a slim margin.
Round 3:
Kampmann stuffed an early takedown in the final round and landed a knee as the pace slowed. Both fighters landed right hands at the same time and Sanchez rushed forward with a flurry that missed. Kampmann returned to his jab and sprawled out of a takedown. Sanchez threw a lunging combo and landed one right hook. He finally got Kampmann down and landed in side-control. Sanchez tried to take Kampmann’s back, but Kampmann scrambled out to his feet.
Sanchez unloaded with two more combinations of hard punches and landed an uppercut. Kampmann responded with a right cross. Sanchez backed Kampmann up to the cage with a flurry and Kampmann shook out his right hand, which appeared to be injured. A knee landed for Kampmann and it opened up another cut on Sanchez’s already badly swollen and bloodied face. Sanchez rushed forward with punches before the bell, but landed nothing. Another close round. 10-9 Sanchez, if barely. Extremely even fight in the final two rounds.
Winner: Diego Sanchez by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 23-4-0.
Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz vs C.B. “The Doberman” Dollaway
Round 1:
Munoz looked for a takedown early on, but Dollaway defended and the fighters stood. Seconds later, Munoz landed a huge right hand and an uppercut, and Dollaway fell to his back. Two big hammerfists followed for Munoz and referee Mario Yamasaki waved off the fight. Dollaway protested the stoppage and seemed to recover quickly, but he was definitely hurt.
Winner: Mark Munoz by TKO (Punches) at 0:54 of round one. He improves to 10-2-0.
Chris “All-American” Weidman vs Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara
Round 1:
The fighters exchanged leg kicks and Weidman looked to set up a takedown. Sakara landed a three-punch flurry and a leg kick. He fired off another identical combination seconds later and backed away from a Weidman head kick. Weidman clinched and Sakara broke free. A nice right hand scored for Weidman and he followed with a one-two. Sakara replied with another three-punch flurry and a leg kick.
Weidman clinched and tried for a takedown against the cage. Sakara backed out and ate a one-two. He landed a counter flurry and a one-two of his own. Sakara stuffed a takedown, but Weidman landed three consecutive punches that backed Sakara up. Weidman landed more punches late in the round and Sakara answered with a body kick. Very close round. 10-9 Sakara, barely.
Round 2:
Weidman took Sakara down early in the second round and worked from the top in Sakara’s guard. Elbows from Weidman opened a cut on Sakara’s forehead above his left eye. Sakara also continued to bleed from a cut sustained in round one near his right eye. Weidman moved to side-control and landed more elbows as Sakara bled all over the place. Short hammerfists landed for Weidman as well.
Sakara managed to scramble back to half-guard, but not before eating some left hands for his efforts. He worked back to his feet and tagged Weidman with a combination of kicks and punches. Weidman clinched and took him down against the cage. Sakara kicked Weidman off and stood. Time was called to check Sakara’s cut. He wiped the blood off on the referee’s shirt and the doctor allowed the fight to continue.
The fighters exchanged punches and Weidman landed a leg kick. Sakara just missed with a hard right hook and Weidman landed three jabs in return. A bloodied Sakara scored with a one-two to the body and another one soon after. Weidman circled away and the round came to a close. 10-9 Weidman.
Round 3:
The final round began with jabs from Weidman and Sakara fired back with hard punches to the body. Weidman responded with a knee and a one-two. He took Sakara down and landed in side-control. Sakara tried to push off of the cage, but Weidman kept him down. Weidman landed short punches and elbows from the top until the referee stood the fight up.
Weidman took Sakara back down against the cage and moved to side-control once more. Sakara regained guard and fired a hammerfist strike from the bottom, but Weidman passed to half-guard and kept the pressure on. Sakara kicked Weidman off and stood up, only to be taken back down yet again. Weidman struck from the top until the final bell. 10-9 Weidman.
Winner: Chris Weidman by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 5-0-0.
Brian Bowles vs “The Angel of Death” Damacio Page
Round 1:
Page opened the fight very aggressively with a big right hand, a body kick and a knee. Bowles circled away and landed a right hand as Page fired off two leg kicks and a brutal flying kick to the body. Page continued to land leg kicks as Bowles threw single punches in return. Both fighters connected with hooks in close and Page just missed with a wild haymaker. He landed a knee and another body kick. More kicks landed for Page and he avoided a counter left hook.
Bowles put together a combination and avoided a looping overhand right. He stunned Page with an uppercut and followed with more punches as Page fell. Bowles struck from the top and secured a guillotine choke. Page refused to tap out and was choked unconscious, resulting in his second guillotine loss to Bowles.
Winner: Brian Bowles by Technical Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 3:30 of round one. He improves to 9-1-0.
Cyrille “The Snake” Diabate vs Steve “The Robot” Cantwell
Round 1:
Diabate landed kicks to the legs and body early on and Cantwell looked to counter with right hands. He landed a nice right hook counter, but Diabate continued to score with kicks. Cantwell caught a vicious body kick and took Diabate down. He worked from the top and tried to pass Diabate’s guard. Diabate defended well and prevented Cantwell from landing any damaging strikes.
Diabate scrambled to his feet and landed a knee to the body. A flying switch kick and a knee landed for Diabate and he scored with a kick and a knee to the liver. Diabate rocked Cantwell with a knee and dropped him with a hook seconds later. Cantwell held on and dove for Diabate’s leg as Diabate blasted him with hammerfists. Cantwell stood and was very wobbly. He ate three more punches at the bell. 10-9 Diabate.
Round 2:
Diabate opened round two with a body kick and the fighters exchanged punches. Another hard body kick and a left cross scored for Diabate and he reversed a takedown. Diabate stood and Cantwell followed. Diabate landed jabs and quick punches in combination. He backed Cantwell up and landed a leg kick. Cantwell managed to connect with occasional right hook counters.
Diabate continued to pick Cantwell apart with varied strikes. He countered a takedown and took Cantwell’s back on the ground. Diabate landed punches and Cantwell worked back to his feet. A standing elbow, punches and a body kick all scored for Diabate. He followed with a leg kick and a knee as Cantwell bled from the face. Diabate stuffed a takedown and fought off a triangle choke with punches. 10-9 Diabate.
Round 3:
Diabate landed more leg kicks in the early stages of round three as the pace slowed. Cantwell answered with kicks of his own and Diabate landed a combination. Diabate scored with two knees to the body and a pair of left crosses. Cantwell continued to push forward, but was unable to land anything meaningful.
Diabate landed snapping jabs and another knee to the body. A knee and a flurry backed Cantwell up. Diabate landed a combination and easily avoided a takedown. Both fighters connected with punches in an exchange and Diabate landed a stinging body kick. Cantwell stayed on his feet until the bell. 10-9 Diabate.
Winner: Cyrille Diabate by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-25) after three rounds. He improves to 17-7-1.
Danny “Last Call” Castillo vs Joe “Daddy” Stevenson
Round 1:
The fighters exchanged strikes early on and Stevenson defended a takedown with knees and a front headlock. He pressed Castillo up against the cage and took him down seconds later. Stevenson landed in side-control and tried to move to mount, but lost the position in a scramble. He locked on a standing guillotine choke, but Castillo pulled his head free and slammed Stevenson down.
Stevenson worked for another guillotine and Castillo got out again. Castillo landed a combination as the fighters stood. He took Stevenson down and escaped a third guillotine choke. Stevenson worked back to his feet and avoided an uppercut. Castillo rocked Stevenson with a series of hooks, but Stevenson stayed on his feet. Both fighters landed knees in the final seconds. Close round. 10-9 Castillo.
Round 2:
Punches landed for both fighters in the second round and Stevenson returned to guillotine choke attempts. Castillo evaded danger and stayed on his feet, then jabbed from the outside. A big left hook landed for Castillo and he defended a takedown attempt against the cage. Stevenson got him down and landed in side-control, but Castillo quickly regained half-guard.
Stevenson tried to set up a Kimura, but Castillo got back to full guard. Stevenson threw elbows while standing over Castillo and Castillo looked to counter with submissions. Two more elbows landed for Stevenson, but Castillo scrambled out and took Stevenson’s back while standing. Stevenson kneeled down and Castillo landed an accidental illegal knee. Time was called, but the fight resumed and the bell sounded seconds later. 10-9 Stevenson, barely.
Round 3:
Both fighters landed single punches to open the final round and Castillo began to put together quick one-two combos. Stevenson shot in for a takedown and Castillo reversed. He wound up on top and tried for a guillotine choke as Stevenson got to his knees. Castillo kept him down and landed knees to the body. Stevenson stood again and Castillo continued to work for a takedown.
Stevenson dropped down for yet another guillotine choke attempt and Castillo pulled his head free. He landed elbows from the top and tried to take Stevenson’s back. More knees to the body scored for Castillo and he took Stevenson’s back. Stevenson stood and Castillo retained back control. Stevenson began to bleed from the ear as Castillo slammed him to the mat again and moved to mount. 10-9 Castillo.
Winner: Danny Castillo by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 11-3-0.
Undercard Fights:
Shane Roller defeated Thiago Tavares by KO (Punches) at 1:28 of round two. He improves to 10-3-0 with the win.
Takeya Mizugaki defeated Reuben Duran by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 27-30) after three rounds. He improves to 14-5-2 with the win.
Dongi “The Ox” Yang defeated Rob “The Rosedale Reaper” Kimmons by TKO (Punches) at 4:47 of round two. He improves to 10-1-0 with the win.
Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares defeated Dave Branch by Submission (Heel Hook) at 1:44 of round two. He improves to 12-3-0 with the win.
Igor “The Duke” Pokrajac defeated Todd “Bulldog” Brown by TKO (Retirement) at 5:00 of round one. He improves to 23-8-0 with the win.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)