The UFC 167 Preliminary Card kicked off with three online bouts and featured Jason High, Sergio Pettis, and Gian Villante walking away with victories.
High was able to use his grappling to win his second straight fight as he defeated Anthony Lapsley by unanimous decision.
Most of the fight would be on the ground with High having nearly nine minutes of top positionHe went for several submissions in the opening round, including a guillotine and rear-naked choke. Lapsley was able to survive the submission attempts and he would be able to have his best round in the second. After getting taken down early in the second, he was able to reverse the position and control the round with his strikes from top position.
High would take back control of the fight in the final round by getting the action to the mat and look for various submissions. His best submission came at the mid way point of the round as he went for a guillotine choke. Lapsley would be able to escape and they would continue their ground fight until the final bell sounded. All three judges scored the fight 29-28 for High (18-4) and he has won two of his three fights since entering the UFC this year.
Pettis remains undefeated with decision victory in his UFC debut
Sergio Pettis made his UFC debut on Saturday in Las Vegas and remained undefeated with a decision victory over Will Campuzano.
Pettis was able to land his kicks in the opening round and appeared to hurt Campuzano with a kick to the thigh. Campuzano immediately took the fight to the ground, but Pettis was able to get back to his feet. They continued striking until the end of the round and if Pettis had an nerves, they appeared to be gone.
He would continue to control the fight in the second round with his strikes, including a knee that stunned Campuzano late in the round. The best round for Campuzano would come in the final round as he was able to get the fight to the ground and have top position for nearly two minutes. Pettis was able to get back to his feet and ended the fight by landing strikes on the ground.
All three judges scored the fight for Pettis (10-0) and this is the fourth time in his career that he has won by decision.
Villante finishes Donovan in the second round
In the opening bout of the fight card, Gian Villante scored his first victory in the UFC as he defeated Cody Donovan by TKO in the second round.
Donovan was able to score with his strikes in the opening round as Villante stood straight in front of him. During the opening round, Villante was able to score a takedown, but elected to take the fight back to the feet after being unable to mount much offense on the ground.
They continued to have their striking battle at the beginning of the second round, and Villante was able to land a right hand as Donovan was throwing a head kick. The punch dropped Donovan and Villante would finish the fight on the ground.
Villante (11-4) is now 1-1 in the UFC and has won four of his last five fights. This is his seventh career win by knockout and all of Donovan’s (8-4) defeats have come by TKO/KO.
UFC 167 Results:
Jason High def. Anthony Lapsley via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Sergio Pettis def. Will Campuzano via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Gian Villante def. Cody Donovan via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:22