Mitch Clarke opened his UFC career with back to back losses and he was able to score his first UFC victory on Saturday night at UFC 161 as he defeated John Maguire by unanimous decision.
The fight opened with Clarke attacking the lead leg of Maguire and none of the kicks were being checked.
As the fighters exchanged strikes with each other, Clarke accidentally poked the eye of Maguire and the fight was stopped for a moment. Maguire would be able to continue and he looked for a takedown as the fight was restarted.
Maguire had the back of Clarke against the fence but he was unable to lock in a submission or take the fight to the ground. As the round came to an end, Maguire had the back of Clarke but Clarke landed back elbows to the stomach of his opponent.
In the second round, they started off by striking with each other before Maguire took the fight to the ground. Maguire had top position on the ground. Clarke was holding onto Maguire in the hopes that the referee would stand them up. Clarke did look for a kimura submission off his back and the referee told the fighters they needed to work or he would stand them up.
Clarke worked his way back to his feet and they grappled against the fence. After neither fighter was able to advance their position, the referee separated them. As the round came to an end, Maguire took the fight to the ground and looked for a submission. However, he ran out of time and the fight headed to the third and final round.
In the first 20 seconds of the final round, Clarke landed a knee to the chin of Maguire and began to come forward. Clarke grabbed Maguire and they grappled against the fence. Clarke threw several foot stomps before the referee separated the fighters due to a lack of action. After the fighters were separated, Maguire was able to get the fight to the ground and had the back of Clarke.
Maguire began to work his way for a rear-naked choke and Clarke held onto the hands of his opponent to block the submission attempt. Clarke would be able to reverse the position and get on top of Maguire. He passed to side control with 15 seconds left in the round and the judges will decide the winner.
All three judges scored the fight for Clarke (10-2) and this is his first victory since 2011. Maguire (18-6) has now lost three straight fights and he could be released by the UFC following this defeat.
UFC 161 Results:
Mitch Clarke def. John Maguire via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Yves Jabouin def. Dustin Pague via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)