The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey today for UFC on ESPN 5: “Covington vs Lawler.” The event was headlined by a welterweight contender’s bout between former interim champion Colby “Chaos” Covington and “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler.
In the lightweight co-main event, Jim Miller battled fellow veteran Clay “The Carpenter” Guida. Also at 155 pounds, Joaquim “Netto BJJ” Silva took on Nasrat Haqparast, and Trevin Giles met Gerald “GM3” Meerschaert at middleweight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the main card.
Colby “Chaos” Covington vs “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler
Round 1:
Lawler avoided an early takedown attempt from Covington and he landed a hard one-two that led to an exchange of punches. Covington shot in again and he briefly took Lawler down against the cage. Covington secured a second takedown and he took Lawler’s back as the fighters stood. Lawler countered with a back elbow strike and a kimura attempt. Covington dragged him down again and worked from Lawler’s back. Lawler fought off rear-naked choke attempts and he got back to his feet with one minute remaining in the round. Covington punched his way into a clinch and he took Lawler down again. Lawler fought off another rear-naked choke attempt and Covington finished the round strong with a flurry of punches on the feet. 10-9 Covington.
Round 2:
Covington punched his way into a clinch in round two and he took Lawler down against the cage. Lawler stood and he broke free after avoiding a spinning back elbow from Covington. Lawler landed a leg kick and Covington responded by taking him down. The fight returned to the feet and Covington flurried with punches before taking Lawler down into back control. Lawler stood and Covington picked him apart with jabs and straight left hands. Lawler landed a left hook and a stiff jab, but Covington picked him apart with punches and he mixed in a body kick. More punches landed for Covington before the bell. 10-9 Covington.
Round 3:
Lawler pressed forward early in round three, but Covington countered with two takedowns and he pinned Lawler against the cage. Lawler broke free and he landed jabs and left hands, but Covington fired back with a flurry and he dropped levels for a takedown. Lawler stayed on his feet and he connected with two uppercuts in close. Covington threw a head kick and a flying switch knee before clinching briefly against the cage. Lawler broke free and Covington walked him down with punches. Lawler stunned Covington with a hook, but Covington recovered and he resumed the forward pressure. Jabs and hooks landed for Covington as he kept Lawler’s back against the cage. Covington landed a variety of kicks to Lawler’s lead leg and body before time expired. 10-9 Covington.
Round 4:
Covington continued to pressure Lawler with jabs and left hands in the fourth round. Lawler backed up against the cage and Covington looked for a takedown. Lawler stayed on his feet and both men landed uppercuts in close. Covington landed at will with jabs and left hands as Lawler struggled to connect with anything in return. Right hooks to the body and left hands over the top landed for Covington, who mixed in knees to the body as well. He took Lawler down, but Lawler quickly worked back to his feet. Covington pinned Lawler against the cage again and threw elbows over the top. Both men landed left hooks late in the round. 10-9 Covington.
Round 5:
The final round began with Covington punching his way into a clinch, but Lawler stayed on his feet. Covington scored with knees and uppercuts in a clinch and Lawler responded with a left hook over the top. Non-stop jabs and left hooks landed for Covington in the middle portion of the round until Lawler rushed forward with lunging right hooks. Covington weathered the storm and he kept Lawler at bay with more jabs. Lawler finally landed a few hooks in the final 30 seconds, but Covington cut him with a tornado spinning backfist and he taunted before the final bell. 10-9 Covington.
Winner: Colby Covington by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-44) after five rounds. He improves to 15-1-0.
Jim Miller vs Clay “The Carpenter” Guida
Round 1:
Miller opened the action with kicks to the body and head, but Guida rocked him with a counter right hand. Miller recovered and landed a huge left hook that badly rocked Guida. Miller jumped into a guillotine choke and Guida was rendered unconscious within seconds.
Winner: Jim Miller by Technical Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 0:58 of round one. He improves to 31-13-0, 1 NC.
Nasrat Haqparast vs Joaquim “Netto BJJ” Silva
Round 1:
Silva jumped in with a flying knee early on and he followed with kicks. Overhand rights and more body kicks landed for Silva until Haqparast pressed forward with a combination and a kick of his own. Haqparast countered a knee with a lead right hook and both men landed body kicks. Power punches were exchanged and Haqparast landed a kick to the body. A lunging left hook and a hard combination landed for Haqparast in the final minute and he avoided Silva’s punches before the bell. 10-9 Haqparast by a slim margin.
Round 2:
Haqparast countered strikes from Silva with a straight left hand in round two. He floored Silva with a massive overhand left soon after and dove in with more punches on the ground until the fight was stopped.
Winner: Nasrat Haqparast by KO (Punches) at 0:36 of round two. He improves to 11-2-0.
Gerald “GM3” Meerschaert vs Trevin Giles
Round 1:
Giles cracked Meerschaert with a hard right hook early on and he took him down into side control soon after. Giles tried to move to mount, but Meerschaert used an arm-triangle choke to sweep into mount himself. Meerschaert looked to set up a submission and he landed punches from the top, but Giles swept back and he wound up on top in side control after a scramble. Giles threatened with an Anaconda choke late in the round, but Meerschaert escaped. Close round. 10-9 Giles.
Round 2:
The second round began with Giles landing two hooks and a body kick. Meerschaert clinched and worked for a takedown against the cage. Giles pushed him down and took top position on the ground, then passed to mount soon after. Meerschaert scrambled free and he got back to side control momentarily, but Giles returned to mount. Meerschaert swept and wound up in Giles’s guard. He landed short strikes from the top until the end of the round. 10-9 Giles, barely, in spite of the late control.
Round 3:
Meerschaert opened the final round with a head kick and he took Giles down into half-guard soon after. Meerschaert locked on a power guillotine choke in a scramble and Giles tapped out just before losing consciousness. Referee Herb Dean missed the tap, but stopped the fight seconds later.
Winner: Gerald Meerschaert by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 1:49 of round three. He improves to 29-11-0.
Scott “Hot Sauce” Holtzman vs “Maestro” Dong Hyun Ma
Round 1:
Holtzman opened the action with leg kicks and he followed with an overhand right. A second right hand dropped Ma and Holtzman worked from the top with punches before passing to half-guard. He attempted a shoulder choke and used it to pass to mount. Holtzman landed short elbows and tried for a second shoulder choke. Ma bucked to escape, but he could only get back to half-guard and Holtzman continued to pepper him with punches and elbows. The fight returned to the feet and Ma’s left eye swelled shut from Holtzman’s punches on the ground. Both men landed strikes in a clinch before the bell sounded. 10-8 Holtzman.
Round 2:
The fighters traded punches early in the second round and Holtzman landed a combination. He followed with a right hook to Ma’s damaged eye and Ma returned fire with a flurry and a takedown. Holtzman stood and both men landed short punches in close. Holtzman teed off with looping punches, but Ma dropped him with a counter hook. Holtzman returned to his feet and the fighters exchanged heavy punches, with Holtzman landing the better strikes. Ma’s eye completely swelled shut and Holtzman took advantage by landing heavy combinations. He took Ma down against the base of the cage and landed punches and elbows until the bell. 10-9 Holtzman.
Between rounds, the fight was stopped due to Ma being unable to see out of his left eye.
Winner: Scott Holtzman by TKO (Doctor Stoppage – Swollen Eye) at 5:00 of round two. He improves to 13-3-0.
Kennedy “African Savage” Nzechukwu vs Darko Stošić
Round 1:
The fight began with an exchange of kicks and Stošić continued to chop away at Nzechukwu’s lead leg.. A brief clinch followed and Nzechukwu punched his way free. More leg kicks and right hooks scored for Stošić as the round progressed and Nzechukwu countered with a knee to the chest. Stosic rushed forward in the final 30 seconds and unloaded a big combination of left and right hooks that backed Nzechukwu up against the cage. 10-9 Stošić.
Round 2:
Time was called early in the second round after an inadvertent kick to the groin from Stošić. Action resumed and the fighters traded jabs and body kicks. Stošić landed leg kicks and right hands, but his output slowed down and Nzechukwu took advantage by backing him up with jabs and more kicks to the body. Stošić secured a brief takedown and Nzechukwu quickly returned to his feet. A series of jabs landed to Stošić’s nose, but he connected with a hard body kick. Time was called again after a second groin kick from Stošić and he was docked one point. Action resumed and Nzechukwu countered a body kick with a one-two. He walked Stošić down with punches in the final seconds. 10-8 Nzechukwu.
Round 3:
Stošić opened the final round with a body kick and a combination. He dumped Nzechukwu to the mat and landed right hands as the fight returned to the feet. A hard kick landed to Nzechukwu’s groin and time was called again. The fight eventually continued and Stošić was docked another point. Both men landed lead hooks and Nzechukwu pressured with punches to the body. Stošić scored a brief takedown and he secured another one soon after. Nzechukwu returned to his feet and Stošić took him down for a third time. Nzechukwu fought off a fourth takedown attempt and the fight ended with an exchange of punches. 9-9.
Scores were initially announced incorrectly. Correct scores were 29-26, 29-26 and 28-27.
Winner: Kennedy Nzechukwu by Unanimous Decision (29-26, 29-26, 28-27) after three rounds. He improves to 7-1-0.