The Ultimate Fighting Championship travelled to Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the first time tonight at UFC 149: “Faber vs Barao.” The event featured a UFC Interim Bantamweight Championship bout between “The California Kid” Urijah Faber and Renan “Barao” Pegado.

Also on the card, former Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector “Lightning” Lombard made his Octagon debut against Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch. Cheick Kongo faced Shawn “The Savage” Jordan in a featured heavyweight matchup. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the UFC 149 card.

 

UFC Interim Bantamweight Championship

Renan “Barao” Pegado vs “The California Kid” Urijah Faber

Round 1:
Faber kept his distance and picked his shots early on. Both fighters landed front kicks to the body and Pegado grazed the chin of Faber with a high kick. Faber tried to set up one-twos but came up short with his punches. A spinning back kick appeared to glance off of Faber’s jaw and Pegado followed up with a big knee. Pegado remained aggressive and he landed leg kicks and a left hook. Faber pushed forward with punches, but ate a counter right. Faber landed a right cross late in the close round. 10-9 Pegado.

Round 2:
Pegado countered a leg kick with a three-punch combo in round two, but only one of the punches found its intended target. Big punches were exchanged and time was called after Pegado was poked in the eye. Action resumed and Pegado missed with a spinning hook kick. He landed a flying knee and a left hook. Faber answered with a right and and leg kick before circling away.

Pegado scored with a leg kick and a right hook. He stayed out of Faber’s range and grazed the top of Faber’s head with a powerful kick. Pegado landed a right hook and threw another head kick. Lead hooks landed for both fighters and Pegado landed a pair of one-two combos. A leg kick and more punches scored for Pegado in the final seconds. 10-9 Pegado.

Round 3:
Pegado landed a leg kick and a nice combination early in round three. He followed with a front kick to the body and Faber tried to answer with punches. Pegado threw a flying knee and more leg kicks that prompted Faber to switch stances. Pegado landed a left hook as Faber fired off a one-two and tried for a takedown.

Faber landed once of his best punches of the fight in the form of a short uppercut, but it had little effect. Pegado’s punch-kick combos continued to take their toll and he targeted Faber’s lead leg again. Faber tried to catch a kick, to no avail. Punches were exchanged in the final seconds. 10-9 Pegado.

Round 4:
Both fighters landed hooks in an early exchange in the fourth round. Pegado avoided a clinch attempt and Faber punched to the body. Pegado missed with a spinning back kick and Faber landed a nice right hand. He was poked in the eye and time was called for him to recover. The fight continued and Pegado connected with a lead left hook.

Faber landed a leg kick and circled away from a counter right from Pegado. Faber tried to catch a kick and Pegado fired off a right hand that landed to the arm. A one-two, a spinning back kick and a head kick all partially landed in succession for Pegado. He scored with a left hook to the liver and another one-two. Faber ate a knee and landed a left hook. 10-9 Pegado.

Round 5:
Faber appeared to be hesitant in the final round and Pegado landed two quick punches. A front kick scored for Faber and both fighters threw head kicks. Jabs were exchanged and Pegado countered a leg kick with a hard one-two. Another big two-punch combination scored for Pegado and Faber replied with a lunging flurry. Pegado kicked at Faber’s leg and missed with a spinning back kick. Pegado landed left and right hooks in the final 20 seconds. 10-9 Pegado.

Winner: Renan Pegado by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46) after five rounds. He improves to 29-1-0, 1 NC and becomes the UFC Interim Bantamweight Champion.

 

Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch vs Hector “Lightning” Lombard

Round 1:
Boetsch opened the fight with kicks and Lombard answered with a quick one-two. Lombard stuffed a takedown and the fighters clinched against the cage. Lombard picked Boetsch up and dumped him to the mat. Boetsch used the cage to stand and landed a leg kick and a glancing Superman Punch. A hard left cross landed for Lombard and Boetsch continued to throw kicks.

Lombard avoided a takedown attempt and fired off another left cross. Single punches scored for Lombard and Boetsch stuck to kicks. The fighters exchanged power punches and Boetsch kicked at Lombard’s lead leg. Boetsch set up a takedown attempt with a right hook, but Lombard sprawled out. Single strikes were exchanged before the bell. 10-9 Lombard, barely.

Round 2:
Lombard landed an overhand left in the second round, but he did not follow up. Lombard began to walk forward more aggressively, however, and he landed a jab. The fighters exchanged big punches but neither landed cleanly. Boetsch kicked at Lombard’s thigh and Lombard fired off a one-two. Leg kicks were exchanged and Lombard kicked to the body.

An uppercut from Lombard grazed the jaw of Boetsch and he hurt Boetsch with a kick to the body. Boetsch dropped to his knees and Lombard punched from the top as Boetsch tried to latch onto a leg. Boetsch stood and reversed a takedown. The fighters stood again and little transpired in the final 20 seconds. Another extremely close round. 10-9 Lombard.

Round 3:
The final round began with cautious punches from both fighters. Very little transpired for the next two minutes and the crowd voiced its displeasure. Boetsch threw occasional kicks and Lombard did the same. Lombard stuffed a takedown and another one soon after. Boetsch landed a knee and a leg kick and ducked under a right hook. Lombard slammed him to the mat, but Boetsch stood and scored with a knee. He landed more knees before the bell. Yet another uneventful round. 10-9 Boetsch.

Winner: Tim Boetsch by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 16-4-0.

 

Cheick Kongo vs Shawn “The Savage” Jordan

Round 1:
Kongo punched his way into a clinch early on, but Jordan reversed against the cage and looked for a takedown. Kongo defended and stayed on his feet. Kongo spun and took Jordan’s back. He landed right hands and tried to secure a standing rear-naked choke. Time was called after Kongo was elbowed in the groin.

Kongo was aggressive after the restart, but Jordan kept his distance. Kongo closed in with a right hook and clinched against the cage. Jordan reversed and tried to take Kongo down, but he could not. Kongo remained on his feet and fought off Jordan’s attempt to slam him before the bell. Uneventful round. 10-9 Kongo.

Round 2:
Kongo clinched after an early knee in round two and Jordan resumed his attempts to take the fight to the mat. Kongo landed two right hands and a knee and promptly clinched again. Kongo backed away and landed two big right crosses, but Jordan was unfazed and answered with one of his own. He looked for a takedown and Kongo stuffed it.

The fighters continued to battle for position in the clinch. Kongo took Jordan’s back and punched with his right hand. He briefly held a neck crank, but Jordan spun to escape. The crowd began to boo the lack of action, but Kongo dragged Jordan to the mat. He lost the position and Jordan wound up on top. Jordan landed short punches before the bell. 10-9 Kongo.

Round 3:
Kongo landed a high knee in round three and clinched. He took Jordan’s back, but Jordan spun and landed an elbow. Kongo kneed to the body and followed with a right cross. He clinched once more and Jordan dropped levels for a takedown. Kongo defended and threw more knees. Kongo slipped and Jordan tried to capitalise with punches on the way up.

Kongo clinched and landed another solid knee to the ribs. The crowd booed once again as Kongo avoided Jordan’s takedown attempts but mounted little offence. In the final minute, Kongo threw sporadic knees to the face and body and stayed on his feet as a fatigued Jordan failed to get the fight to the ground. 10-9 Kongo.

Winner: Cheick Kongo by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-28) after three rounds. He improves to 18-7-2.

 

James Head vs Brian “Bad Boy” Ebersole

Round 1:
Head sprawled out of two early takedown attempts and both fighters landed hooks at the same time. Head put together a combination of punches and a knee. Ebersole threw a pair of body kicks and tried to clinch, but Head shrugged him off. Head backed Ebersole up to the cage with knees and punches to the body, then followed with elbows over the top.

Ebersole landed lead right hooks to the head and body and stopped Head’s momentum with a left cross. Head stuffed a takedown and locked on a guillotine choke. Ebersole escaped and took top position in half-guard. He landed elbows and looked to set up a Kimura. Head tried to push off of the cage, but ate big shots on the way up. Ebersole attempted a cartwheel kick, but he wound up on the bottom as the close round ended. 10-9 Head, barely.

Round 2:
The second round began cautiously until Ebersole scored with a left cross. He punched to the thigh of Head and the fighters clinched. Ebersole punched to the thigh again, but Head answered with a combination. Ebersole shot in and Head sprawled out to defend. Head landed a right hook and Ebersole replied with one of his own. Head landed a big knee and Ebersole took him down. Ebersole threw shoulder strikes, but Head swept and ended the round on top. 10-10.

Round 3:
Ebersole looked to take the fight to the mat in the final round, but Head sprawled again and Ebersole was forced to stand. He shot back in and Head stuffed it once more. Head landed a lead left hook and a knee. He followed with a one-two and took Ebersole’s back. Head dragged Ebersole down, but Ebersole scrambled and the fighters stood.

Ebersole kicked to the body and tried unsuccessfully for a takedown. Again, Ebersole failed to take Head down and Head looked to transition to the back. Ebersole stood and Head followed. Head countered a takedown with a guillotine choke attempt, but Ebersole closed out the round on top in side control. 10-9 Head.

Winner: James Head by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 9-2-0.

 

Matt “Deep Waters” Riddle vs Chris “The Menace” Clements

Round 1:
Riddle scored an early takedown, but stood and allowed Clements to get back to his feet. Clements landed an elbow and punches in close. Riddle clinched against the fence, but backed away seconds later. Clements scored with a nice right hook and Riddle answered with knees. Lead hooks were exchanged and Riddle hurt Clements with a liver kick.

Referee Josh Rosenthal mistakenly thought that Clements had been kicked in the groin and briefly halted the action. Riddle took Clements down against the cage after the restart. Clements battled back to his feet, but Riddle took his back. Clements rolled and Riddle landed punches from the top. He allowed Clements to stand and Clements landed a nice uppercut. 10-9 Riddle.

Round 2:
Riddle countered a kick with a takedown in round two and kept Clements pinned down against the cage. Riddle took Clements’s back and secured a body triangle. He landed short punches to try to set up a rear-naked choke. He continued to punch until Clements landed a solid back elbow to the face. Riddle moved to side control and then took Clements’s back again.

Clements threw more back elbows, but Riddle smothered him on the ground. Clements finally managed to stand up and he broke free of the clinch. He landed a hard body kick and a right hook. Riddle shot in for a takedown and wound up on the bottom. Clements landed punches and Riddle replied with elbows from the bottom. 10-9 Riddle.

Round 3:
Clements landed a body kick and avoided a takedown in round three. Riddle scored with a head kick just as Clements attempted a spinning back kick. Riddle tried again for a takedown and met with no success. He ducked under a spinning backfist and locked on a standing arm-triangle choke, however, and used it to take Clements down to the mat. Clements had nowhere to go and tapped out. Impressive submission win for Riddle.

Winner: Matt Riddle by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 2:02 of round three. He improves to 7-3-0.

 

(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)