UFC On ESPN 28: "Hall vs Strickland" Live Play-By-Play & ResultsThe Ultimate Fighting Championship stayed at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada today for UFC on ESPN 28: “Hall vs Strickland.” The event featured a middleweight matchup between veteran contender Uriah “Primetime” Hall and rising star Sean “Tarzan” Strickland, who had won four straight fights.

In the revised co-main event, Cheyanne “The Warrior Princess” Buys faced Gloria “Glorinha” de Paula in a women’s strawweight matchup. Also on the main card, Niklas “Green Mask” Stolze battled Jared “Nite Train” Gooden in welterweight action. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

 

Sean “Tarzan” Strickland vs Uriah “Primetime” Hall

Round 1:
Hall landed an early right hook, but Strickland pressed forward with a series of jabs and he followed with an overhand right. Strickland kept Hall on the defensive with more jabs until Hall stood his ground with an overhand right and a hard leg kick. Strickland landed a nice combination and he backed Hall up once again with a one-two that landed to the left eye of Hall. As Strickland threw another two-punch combo, Hall ducked under it and snapped his head back with a straight right. Strickland continued to jab and he mixed in a head kick that was blocked. Both men landed right hands in the final seconds. 10-9 Strickland.

Round 2:
The second round opened with Strickland landing a leg kick, which Hall countered with an overhand right and two jabs. Strickland stunned Hall with a quick flurry that backed him up against the cage. Strickland landed short elbows to the sides of Hall’s face while pinning him in place. The fighters separated and Strickland jabbed while backing up. Hall threw jabs of his own and one snapped Strickland’s head back. Time was called in the final minute when Hall was kicked in the groin. The fight continued and Hall landed a strong leg kick. He attempted a spinning wheel kick in the dying seconds, but Strickland blocked it. Close round. 10-9 Strickland.

Round 3:
Jabs were exchanged throughout the opening minute of round three and Strickland hurt Hall with a right hand soon after. He took Hall down and punched from the top until Hall fought his way back up against the cage. Strickland took his back and pulled him back down to the mat. He wound up on top in Hall’s half-guard and eyed a kimura on his left arm. Strickland let it go and settled for elbows from the top that forced Hall to give up his back. Strickland tried for a rear-naked choke until the end of the round. 10-9 Strickland.

Round 4:
Strickland’s jab continued to dictate the tempo of the fight and Hall struggled to land anything in return. Near the midway point of the round, Hall finally connected with an overhand right, but the action was largely confined to a prolonged exchange of jabs. Strickland’s jabs were more effective and he backed Hall up with a combination. Strickland took his back and tried to pull him down to the mat. Hall stayed up, but he ate knees and uppercuts to his face that opened a cut near his left eye. In the final seconds, Hall pushed Strickland away and he landed a right hand and a jab. 10-9 Strickland.

Round 5:
Hall pressed forward with two leg kicks and a lead left hook in the final round. He was much more aggressive than in previous rounds, but Strickland used his jab to set up a clinch against the cage. Hall punched his way free and both men landed right hooks. Strickland began to bleed from his nose, but he was relentless with four- and five-punch combinations. Following two brief clinches, Strickland landed three hard punches and Hall backed up to the cage. Strickland held him in place and threw punches to the body. Hall pushed him away with 45 seconds remaining, but Strickland tied him up again and he landed a spinning back elbow. The fight ended with Strickland landing a final combination of punches. 10-9 Strickland.

Winner: Sean Strickland by Unanimous Decision (50-44, 50-45, 49-46) after five rounds. He improves to 24-3-0.

 

Cheyanne “The Warrior Princess” Buys vs Gloria “Glorinha” de Paula

Round 1:
Buys landed two right hands during an early exchange and she took de Paula down into full guard. After a few seconds, Buys stood up and she landed a vicious head kick just as de Paula was getting back to her feet. The fight was not immediately stopped, so Buys followed with punches from mount until de Paula was unconscious and the bout was waved off.

Winner: Cheyanne Buys by KO (Head Kick & Punches) at 1:00 of round one. She improves to 6-2-0.

 

Jared “Nite Train” Gooden vs Niklas “Green Mask” Stolze

Round 1:
Gooden secured a takedown against the cage early in the fight, but Stolze worked back to his feet and the fighters traded leg kicks. Gooden landed a massive overhand right that froze Stolze in place and sent him crashing to the mat, and the fight was stopped.

Winner: Jared Gooden by KO (Punch) at 1:08 of round one. He improves to 18-6-0.

 

Melsik “The Gun” Baghdasaryan vs Collin Anglin

Round 1:
Baghdasaryan opened the fight with three body kicks and he countered a right hand from Anglin with a spinning back kick that partially landed. Baghdasaryan continued to score with kicks to the body and he clinched after landing a knee. Angelin secured a takedown, but Baghdasaryan got back to his feet and he pressed forward with two knees. Anglin landed a right hook and Baghdasaryan wobbled him with two left hands. He held Anglin against the fence and landed more punches and two standing elbows, but Anglin recovered quickly and he scored with a right hand before the bell. 10-9 Baghdasaryan.

Round 2:
Baghdasaryan slowed down somewhat in the second round, but he still landed a body kick and two follow-up punches that backed Anglin up. Seconds later, Baghdasaryan dropped Anglin with a head kick and he followed with a big left hand on the ground that knocked Anglin out and prompted referee Mark Smith to stop the fight.

Winner: Melsik Baghdasaryan by KO (Head Kick & Punch) at 1:50 of round two. He improves to 6-1-0.

 

Jason “The Vanilla Gorilla” Witt vs Bryan “Bam Bam” Barberena

Round 1:
Little transpired until Witt secured a takedown into half-guard against the base of the cage and he went to work with short punches from the top. When Barberena scrambled up to a knee, Witt tried to take his back and he landed a knee as the fighters separated. Barberena landed a lunging left hand and Witt took him down again. Barberena punched from the bottom and Witt landed an elbow to his face from the top. 10-9 Witt.

Round 2:
Barberena stung Witt with a right-left combo early in round two, but Witt recovered quickly and he attempted a head kick. Barberena easily avoided a takedown attempt, but Witt connected with a nice right hand. Seconds later, Witt dropped Barberena with a lunging right hook. Barberena immediately got back to his feet and he landed a solid right hand of his own, but Witt took him down and struck from the top. Barberena got back to his feet and Witt floored him with another right hook. He jumped into a tight guillotine choke, but Barberena held on and he managed to escape. The fight returned to the feet and Barberena landed a counter right hook, followed by a left. Witt tripped him to the mat and stayed on top until the bell. 10-9 Witt.

Round 3:
After an exchange of hooks, Witt looked for a takedown in the final round and Barberena fought him off. He dropped Witt to a knee with a huge right hand and followed with more hard punches as Witt got back to his feet. The fighters clashed heads and separated, and Witt took Barberena down into side control. Barberena got back to half-guard and then scrambled up to his feet. He landed three short hooks and then dropped Witt with a right hand. Witt, on his knees, tried to take Barberena down. He could not do so and was forced to get back to his feet.

Barberena dropped him again, but Witt quickly recovered once more and he took Barberena down. Barberena got back to his feet and used a rolling kimura to get Witt down. Back on the feet, Barberena knocked Witt’s mouthpiece out, but time was not called and Barberena closed in with more punches as Witt retrieved his mouthpiece. The ridiculous round ended with Witt dropping Barberena with a counter left hook before the bell. 10-9 Barberena. Could be a 10-8.

Winner: Jason Witt by Majority Decision (29-27, 29-28, 28-28) after three rounds. He improves to 19-7-0.

 

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