Thales Leites returned to the UFC on Saturday night at UFC 163 and defeated Tom Watson by unanimous decision on the main card.
The fight opened with Leites landing a right hand that put Watson on his heels and took the fight to the ground. Leites ended up getting the back of Watson and began to work for a rear-naked choke.
With Watson defending the submission, Leites landed several short punches in attempt to loosen up Watson for the submission attempt. The punches thrown by Leites opened up a cut on the head of Watson.
After being unable to get the submission, Leites flatten out Watson and looked for the finish. Watson would survive the punches and get back to his feet. They exchanged strikes with each other until the end of the round and the fight moved into the second round.
In the second round, Leites continued to land his strikes and ended up taking the fight to the ground. Once on the ground, he went from side control to top position. He would transition to the back of Watson and started to look for rear-naked choke. He would end up going for an armbar but Watson would escape.
After being unable to get the submission, Leites appeared to be slowing down and Watson began to push the pace. The round would come to an end with both fighters throwing big punches and the fight moved into the last round.
In the final round, Leites landed a punch that opened up a cut near the right eye of Watson. They clinched against the fence and Leites was unsuccessful with getting the fight to the ground. After they separated, Leites was able to get the fight to the ground with a double leg takedown.
Once on the ground, he achieved the full mount position and transitioned to the back. Watson worked his way back to his feet but Leites took him right back to the ground. Leites would end up locking up an arm triangle choke but he could not get Watson to submit before the fight came to an end.
All three judges scored the fight for Leites (21-4) and he has now won four in a row and seven of his last eight.
UFC 163 Results:
Thales Leites def. Tom Watson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
John Lineker def. Jose Maria via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:03
Anthony Perosh def. Vinny Magalhaes via KO (strikes) – Round 1, :14
Amanda Nunes def. Sheila Gaff via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:08
Sergio Moraes def. Neil Magny via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:13
Ian McCall def. Illiarde Santos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Rani Yahya def. Josh Clopton via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Francimar Barroso def. Ednaldo Oliveira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Viscardi Andrade def. Bristol Marunde via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:36