The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the O2 Arena in London, England tonight for UFC Fight Night 37: “Gustafsson vs Manuwa.” The event was headlined by a light heavyweight bout between Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson and unbeaten prospect Jimi “The Poster Boy” Manuwa.
In tonight’s co-main event, teammates Michael “The Menace” Johnson and Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard faced off in a lightweight bout. Brad “One Punch” Pickett took on Neil “2Tap” Seery in a featured flyweight fight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the UFC Fight Night 37 main card.
Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson vs Jimi “The Poster Boy” Manuwa
Round 1:
Gustafsson closed the distance and fought off a guillotine choke attempt by taking Manuwa down into half-guard. He isolated Manuwa’s left arm in search of a straight armbar. Gustafsson continued to hunt for a submission on Manuwa’s left arm, but Manuwa defended and eventually got back to full guard. He scrambled to his feet and fought off an Anaconda choke attempt. Manuwa landed a knee and Gustafsson replied with a leg kick. 10-9 Gustafsson.
Round 2:
Time was called in the opening minute of round two after Manuwa was poked in the eye. The fight continued and both men landed big punches. Gustafsson rocked Manuwa with a right hook and a knee. A badly wobbled Manuwa fell forward as Gustafsson blasted him with three more right hands. He followed with hammerfists on the ground and the fight was stopped.
Winner: Alexander Gustafsson by KO (Knee & Punches) at 1:18 of round two. He improves to 16-2-0.
Michael “The Menace” Johnson vs Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard
Round 1:
Guillard landed a nice knee to the body in the opening minute, but time was called after he was kicked in the groin. Action resumed and Johnson pressed forward with punches, but Guillard countered with a looping right hook. A one-two scored for Johnson, who tried to clinch against the cage. Guillard shrugged him off and the fighters traded cautious punches. Guillard landed a big uppercut and fought off a takedown attempt. Close round. 10-9 Guillard.
Round 2:
Johnson pawed out with jabs and left hands in the second round. He kicked to the body and Guillard answered with right hands. Johnson landed leg kicks and a straight left, then followed with more kicks to the lead leg and body. He landed a succession of left hooks that wobbled and briefly dropped Guillard, but Guillard got back to his feet and recovered before the bell. 10-9 Johnson.
Round 3:
The final round began with an exchange of power punches and Johnson took Guillard down. Guillard stood and missed with a spinning back kick attempt. A lead right hook from Johnson landed behind Guillard’s ear. He cracked Guillard with a left hook to the jaw that backed Guillard up against the cage. Guillard returned fire with a looping right hand. Johnson flurried with punches and he hurt Guillard again. Guillard regained his footing and Johnson landed more hard punches. He attempted a head kick before the final bell. 10-9 Johnson.
Winner: Michael Johnson by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 15-8-0.
Brad “One Punch” Pickett vs Neil “2Tap” Seery
Round 1:
Quick punches were exchanged early on and both men scored with hard left hands. Seery landed another one soon after and Pickett backed up. Time was briefly called after Pickett was poked in the eye during an exchange. Action resumed and Seery landed another solid combination. Pickett took him down and worked for an arm-triangle choke from the top. Seery escaped, but he ate some short punches and elbows from half-guard. The fighters returned to their feet and traded punches before the bell. Good round. 10-9 Pickett.
Round 2:
Heavy punches were exchanged right away in round two and both men landed looping hooks in close. Seery fought off a clinch and landed a counter three-punch combo. More punches landed for both fighters and Pickett clinched against the cage. He took Seery down and punches from the top. Seery kicked him off, but Pickett returned to his guard and continued to strike until the bell. 10-9 Pickett.
Round 3:
Seery scored with right hooks and one-twos in the final round. Pickett was poked in the eye again and time was called. The fight continued and Seery landed more punches. Pickett pressed forward, but missed with wild hooks. He shot in and took Seery down into half-guard. Pickett worked for an arm-triangle choke, but Seery defended well and returned to his feet. He landed more combinations, but Pickett dumped him to the mat again. He struck from the top until the end of the fight. Close round. 10-9 Pickett, barely.
Winner: Brad Pickett by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 24-8-0.
Gunnar “Gunni” Nelson vs Omari “Lakec” Akhmedov
Round 1:
Both fighters landed leg kicks in the opening minute and Nelson kept Akhmedov on the defensive with feints. He closed the distance and stunned Akhmedov with a left cross, then took him down into mount. Nelson postured up and landed short elbows to the face of a bloodied Akhmedov. He continued to batter Akhmedov with more elbows as the round progressed. In the final minute, Nelson locked on a tight guillotine choke and pulled half-guard, forcing Akhmedov to immediately submit.
Winner: Gunnar Nelson by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:36 of round one. He improves to 12-0-1.
Undercard Fights:
– Ilir “The Sledgehammer” Latifi defeated Cyrille “The Snake” Diabate by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 3:02 of round one. He improves to 8-3-0, 1 NC with the win.
– Luke “The Bigslow” Barnatt defeated Mats Nilsson by TKO (Head Kick & Punches) at 3:24 of round one. He improves to 8-0-0 with the win.
– Claudio Henrique “Hannibal” da Silva defeated Bradley “Bear” Scott by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 10-1-0 with the win.
– Igor Araujo defeated Danny “The Cheesecake Assassin” Mitchell by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 25-6-0, 1 NC with the win.
– Louis “Goodnight” Gaudinot defeated Phil “Billy” Harris by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 1:13 of round one. He improves to 7-3-0 with the win.