The Ultimate Fighting Championship held its first event on the FX network tonight from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. UFC on FX 1: “Guillard vs Miller” was headlined by a lightweight bout between hard-hitting Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard and jiu-jitsu specialist Jim Miller.
Also on the card, Duane “Bang” Ludwig battled fellow veteran Josh “The Dentist” Neer in the co-main event, while Mike “The Hulk” Easton looked for his second UFC victory when he faced Jared “The Jackhammer” Papazian in bantamweight action. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.
Jim Miller vs Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard
Round 1:
Guillard landed a right hook in the opening seconds and Miller quickly replied with a left. Guillard threw a pair of flying knees and dropped Miller with a left hook. Miller stood and tried to clinch. Guillard fought him off and landed a big knee. He continued to mix up his strikes with jumping knees and kicks. Miller clinched and backed him up to the cage. Guillard landed a knee and backed away. Both fighters landed right hands at the same time.
Guillard scored with a flying knee, but Miller caught it and took him down. Miller moved from half-guard to back control and secured a rear-naked choke. Guillard fought it off initially, but Miller adjusted his grip and Guillard was forced to submit. Nice comeback win for Miller after a tough start.
Winner: Jim Miller by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:04 of round one. He improves to 21-3-0.
Josh “The Dentist” Neer vs Duane “Bang” Ludwig
Round 1:
Neer walked Ludwig down early on, but Ludwig briefly wobbled him with a counter one-two. Neer clinched and tried for a body-lock takedown. Ludwig defended and landed a knee. Neer scored with a combination, but Ludwig hurt him with a right hook and a knee. He recovered and time was called so Neer could retrieve his mouthpiece. Action resumed and Ludwig unloaded with punches and knees to the body.
Neer latched onto a leg and tripped Ludwig to the mat. Ludwig got to full guard and tried to kick Neer off, but Neer locked on a tight guillotine choke in a scramble. He pulled half-guard and tightened the choke. Ludwig tried to tap out, but lost consciousness and the fight was stopped.
Winner: Josh Neer by Technical Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 3:04 of round one. He improves to 33-10-1.
Mike “The Hulk” Easton vs Jared “The Jackhammer” Papazian
Round 1:
The fighters clinched up and traded a series of right hands to start the fight. Easton backed Papazian up to the cage and Papazian countered with a standing elbow. A battle for position followed and Papazian snuck in more elbows and knees. Easton scored with a quick knee of his own. Referee Mario Yamasaki separated the fighters and both landed leg kicks. Easton ducked under a right hook and landed one of his own.
Papazian flurried in close, but Easton deflected many of the strikes. More leg kicks were exchanged and Easton countered a one-two with a left hook. Papazian threw a pair of lead left hooks and Easton answered with a knee. Easton just missed with a spinning back kick but landed a leg kick. The round ended with the fighters trading punches in the clinch. Very close opening round. 10-9 Easton.
Round 2:
Easton walked forward and landed a left hook early in round two as Papazian threw a right cross. Papazian briefly backed Easton up with a combination and the fighters exchanged big punches in close. Easton landed a hard leg kick and a right cross as Papazian circled away. A clinch followed and both bantamweights landed knees to the body.
Referee Mario Yamasaki broke the fighters apart and Papazian fired off a three-punch combo. Easton clinched and backed him up against the cage. He took Papazian down and punched from the top in half-guard. Papazian scrambled to his feet and Easton landed a knee. Power punches were exchanged and Papazian tried for a takedown, but wound up on the bottom as the bell sounded. 10-9 Easton.
Round 3:
The final round began with yet another exchange of hard punches. Easton initially landed a nice combination, but Papazian countered effectively with a flurry of his own. In the clinch, both men landed knees to the body. Time was called after Papazian was struck in the groin. Action resumed and Papazian landed leg kicks. Easton clinched and tried for a trip takedown. He punched to the body and scored with a hard one-two to the jaw.
Papazian peppered Easton with a series of punches, but Easton ducked under and landed an uppercut. Papazian found success with uppercuts of his own and he backed Easton up to the fence. Papazian circled away and countered a leg kick with a flurry. Both threw kicks to the body and Papazian flurried to the body. Easton tripped him and landed punches as Papazian stood. The final 30 seconds saw both fighters land, but Papazian got the better of it with an uppercut and a right hook. 10-9 Papazian.
Winner: Mike Easton by Majority Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-29) after three rounds. He improves to 12-1-0.
Pat “HD” Barry vs Christian Morecraft
Round 1:
Morecraft caught an early leg kick and tripped Barry to the mat. He landed a right hand and took Barry’s back. Barry rolled to his side and escaped out the back. On the feet, Barry landed a stiff jab and a leg kick. A second kick tripped Morecraft to his knees. He stood up and tried for a double-leg. Barry stuffed it initially, but Morecraft got him down. Morecraft used an arm-triangle choke attempt to pass to mount.
Morecraft spun into an armbar and it was tight, but Barry managed to spin around and scrambled to his feet. Barry landed a grazing head kick and floored Morecraft with a huge left hook. Morecraft briefly maintained consciousness and Barry turned his lights out with a barrage of powerful punches on the ground.
Winner: Pat Barry by KO (Punches) at 3:38 of round one. He improves to 7-4-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)