The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia today for UFC on FX 2: “Alves vs Kampmann.” The card was headlined by a pivotal welterweight showdown between former top title contenders Thiago “Pitbull” Alves and Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann.
The inaugural UFC Flyweight Championship tournament also kicked off today with both semi-final matchups. Joseph Benavidez battled Yasuhiro Urushitani, while Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson took on Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for UFC on FX 2.
Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann vs Thiago “Pitbull” Alves
Round 1:
Alves landed a nice leg kick early on and Kampmann answered with an uppercut. He clinched for a takedown, but Alves fought him off with short right hands. Kampmann managed to get Alves down to his knees very briefly, but Alves got back to his feet. Kampmann rocked Alvaes with a front kick and took him down. He landed punches on the ground and a huge knee as a bloodied Alves stood.
The fighters clinched briefly and Kampmann tried for a takedown. Alves stuffed it and scored a takedown of his own. He passed to side control, but Kampmann scrambled back to half-guard. Alves moved straight to mount and landed short punches, but Kampmann held on and did well to defend. Kampmann scrambled to his feet just before the bell. Close round. 10-9 Alves by a slim margin.
Round 2:
Both fighters landed punches early in the second round. Alves connected with a counter one-two as Kampmann looked to clinch. A left hook also found the mark for Alves and an exchange of two-punch combos followed. Alves backed Kampmann up briefly with a pair of hooks and he fought off a clinch attempt.
Alves’s punches began to take their toll and Kampmann’s face swelled up. Kampmann jabbed and Alves cracked him with a hard right cross. Kampmann tried for a head kick, but Alves blocked it and landed a nice left hook. Kampmann flurried with punches and ended with a knee. 10-9 Alves.
Round 3:
Alves landed a right hook and clinched in the final round. Kampmann stayed on his feet and reversed the clinch against the cage. Alves circled free momentarily, but Kampmann clinched up again. Kampmann scored with an uppercut and Alves answered with a one-two and a body kick. A nice leg kick landed for Alves, but Kampmann threw a knee and a kick to the body.
Kampmann pushed forward, but Alves kept his distance and landed a counter right. Neither fighter could take the other down and they soon broke free of a clinch. Kampmann missed with a front kick and ate a hard right hook. Alves took him down, but Kampmann locked on a guillotine choke and rolled into mount. Alves had nowhere to go and tapped out. Nice comeback for Kampmann.
Winner: Martin Kampmann by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:12 of round three. He improves to 19-5-0.
UFC Flyweight Championship Tournament Semi-Final
Joseph Benavidez vs Yasuhiro Urushitani
Round 1:
Benavidez opened the fight with leg kicks and countered a kick from Urushitani with a right hook. Punches were exchanged and Benavidez continued to throw kicks to the leg and body. Both fighters landed right hooks and clinched against the cage. He tripped Urushitani to the mat and landed a knee just as Urushitani stood.
Benavidez closed the distance and looked for a single-leg takedown against the cage. He managed to get Urushitani down and moved to half-guard. Benavidez used elbows to try to set up a rear-naked choke and a guillotine. He passed to mount and then took Urushitani’s back. Urushitani defended until the bell. 10-9 Benavidez.
Round 2:
Benavidez floored Urushitani with a big right hook to open the second round. Urushitani was clearly hurt and Benavidez dove in with punches until the fight was stopped.
Winner: Joseph Benavidez by TKO (Punches) at 0:11 of round two. He improves to 16-2-0 and advances to the finals of the inaugural UFC Flyweight Championship tournament.
UFC Flyweight Championship Tournament Semi-Final
Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson vs Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall
Round 1:
Quick leg kicks and punches were exchanged right away and Johnson looked to be a step ahead. McCall clinched and took Johnson down. He tried to pass to mount, but had to settle for side control. Johnson reversed and wound up on top. McCall stood and Johnson landed a nice one-two. McCall countered with knees. Johnson threw a pair of quick combinations, but McCall caught a kick and swept Johnson to the mat.
Johnson stood and both fighters landed punches. A hard right hand backed Johnson up briefly and McCall followed with two more punches. Johnson looked for a takedown and scored with a right hook to the temple. McCall was wobbled momentarily, but recovered and both fighters flurried. McCall landed a series of leg kicks and Johnson answered with a head kick. Very close round. 10-9 Johnson, barely.
Round 2:
Johnson latched onto a single-leg in the opening seconds of round two. He let go of McCall’s leg and unleashed a flurry of power punches. McCall landed punches of his own in return. McCall landed two solid leg kicks and ate a right hook. Johnson landed another right hook and time was called after he was kicked in the groin. Action resumed and Johnson landed two hooks over the top as McCall looked to clinch to land knees.
Both fighters scored with big power punches in an exchange, but neither appeared to be fazed. McCall landed a left hook and clinched. He could not get Johnson down, but landed knees to the body. After an exchange of leg kicks, Johnson went high with a head kick. McCall clinched once more and landed knees. A vicious kick to the liver scored for Johnson and he followed with a left hook. 10-9 Johnson.
Round 3:
McCall landed a body kick in the final round and avoided a one-two from Johnson, who landed a kick that strayed low. The fight continued on and Johnson scored with a combination. He attempted a flying knee, but McCall countered by taking him down. McCall landed punches and elbows from the top in half-guard. Johnson scrambled to his feet and McCall suplexed him back down. McCall took Johnson’s back and flattened him out.
A series of punches and elbows scored for McCall and he worked to set up a rear-naked choke. Johnson was able to fight his way back to his feet and the fighters traded punches. Johnson landed kicks to the body and reversed a takedown, but wound up on the bottom anyway. McCall moved from a front headlock to half-guard and then to mount. McCall absolutely teed off with punches until the final bell. 10-8 McCall.
*Note: Bout initially announced with incorrect scores twice. Official ruling is a Majority Draw.
Result: Majority Draw (29-28 [Johnson], 29-29, 28-28) after three rounds. Johnson moves to 14-2-1, while McCall is now 11-2-1. The fighters will rematch at a later date to determine who will advance to the finals of the inaugural UFC Flyweight Championship tournament.
Constantinos “Costa” Philippou vs Court “The Crusher” McGee
Round 1:
Philippou circled early on and McGee closed the distance. He landed a right hook, but Philippou appeared to stun him with a combination seconds later. Philippou kept McGee on the defensive and landed another hard flurry. McGee recovered and landed a body kick and an overhand right. A head kick from McGee was immediately countered by a right cross from Philippou.
A looping right hand missed for Philippou and he blocked a head kick. The fighters traded power punches in close and both landed. Philippou scored with a lead left hook and followed with a right cross. He avoided a takedown attempt, but McGee scored with a body kick and a left hook. McGee clinched for a takedown and landed a trio of hooks. Both fighters landed punches in the final seconds. 10-9 Philippou.
Round 2:
Both fighters landed left hooks in the second round. Philippou scored with a short left counter as McGee closed in and fired off a flurry. Philippou landed more left hooks and mixed in jabs. McGee ducked under a punch and clinched, but he could not get Philippou down and Philippou circled away. Both fighters landed punches and Philippou connected with an overhand right and a left hook.
McGee ducked under another left hand and tried for a takedown, but Philippou drilled him with an uppercut. Philippou escaped the clinch and an exchange of punches followed. McGee ended a combination with a body kick. Philippou landed another solid uppercut and followed with a one-two. McGee attempted a spinning back elbow, but missed. The round ended with punches from both fighters. 10-9 Philippou.
Round 3:
Philippou continued to put together quick one-twos in the final round and just missed with an uppercut. McGee was game, however, and scored with a right hook. Time was called after Philippou was kicked in the groin. The fight continued and McGee tried for a takedown. He jumped into a flying guillotine choke attempt, but Philippou shrugged him off. Philippou tripped McGee, but allowed him to stand. McGee landed a flying knee and a grazing head kick.
McGee began to pick up the pace and he landed two leg kicks. A spinning wheel kick narrowly missed for McGee. He landed a left hook to the body. The fighters traded punches and McGee threw kicks to the head and upper body. Another body kick and an overhand right connected for McGee. He tried for a takedown, but Philippou stayed up. Again, Philippou stuffed a takedown. McGee missed with a spinning back elbow. 10-9 McGee.
Winner: Constantinos Philippou by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 9-2-0, 1 NC.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)