Read on for Fight Night Glasgow prelim results
A week after his teammate Conor McGregor won the interim UFC featherweight title, flyweight prospect Paddy Holohan kept the momentum going for the Irish contingent Saturday, winning a three-round unanimous decision over Vaughan Lee in UFC Fight Night action at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.
An aggressive start by Holohan ended with him in the bottom position as Lee reversed position on the takedown. Holohan wasn’t bothered by the change in plans though, as he stayed busy with strikes and submission attempts while Lee did next to nothing until a late burst of activity as he threw several punches and attempted a rear naked choke.
Holohan (12-1-1) ate a couple knees in the early going of round two, and as the bout went back to the mat, Lee (14-11-1) was able to get into the mount. Holohan responded with a heel hook attempt and then improved his position by getting on top, where he continued to outwork his foe, nearly locking up another submission try.
An inadvertent low blow by Holohan in the first minute of round three brought a halt to the action, but once it resumed, “The Hooligan” kept the pressure on with his striking, earning him his third UFC victory.
LATIFI vs. STRINGER
Bouncing back from an October loss to Jan Blachowicz, Ilir Latifi needed less than a minute to ruin Hans Stringer’s evening, knocking out the Netherlands product in a light heavyweight matchup.
“It feels good coming back from my last fight, getting a finish and putting on a show for the fans,” Latifi said. “We’re fighting the top of the food chain, the best fighters in the world, so every fight is important.”
After the two circled each other trying to find their range, Latifi pounced with a quick and powerful right hand to the jaw, and Stringer dropped to the canvas. Two shots later and Grant Waterman was stepping in to stop the fight at :56 of the opening round.
Malmo, Sweden’s Latifi ups his record to 11-4 with 1 NC; Rhenen’s Stringer falls to 22-7-3.
LEBOUT vs. PACKALEN
European lightweight prospects Mickael Lebout and Teemu Packalen went back and forth in a grueling three-rounder, with France’s Lebout picking up his first UFC victory via unanimous decision over Finland’s Packalen.
Scores were 30-27 and 29-28 twice for Lebout, now 14-4-1, with 1 NC; Octagon debutant Packalen falls to 7-1.
Lebout stuffed Packalen’s first takedown attempt and proceeded to pin his foe to the fence. As the bout went to the mat though, Packalen reversed position and took the top spot. Lebout’s defense was solid, and by the midway point, he had escaped the bottom position and resumed control. After some back-and-forth battles, It was Packalen back on top, where he fired off ground strikes to the horn.
The Frenchman played Packalen’s game in the opening stanza, but he had no intention of doing it in round two, as he continually stayed off the ground. In one of his sprawls however, he landed an illegal knee to the head of the downed Finland native, bringing a momentary halt to the action. When the bout resumed, Lebout landed some hard strikes before Packalen got the bout to the mat and nearly locked up a leg, finishing the round strong.
Fatigue had clearly set in on Packalen as round three commenced, but he still tried to stay busy with his striking and takedown attempts. As the frame progressed, it was evident that Lebout was just as tired, but he was a tad busier, allowing him to pull out the hard-fought decision win.
WHITEFORD vs. REDMOND
Glasgow’s own Robert Whiteford thrilled his hometown fans in featherweight action, stopping Ireland’s Paul Redmond in the first round.
“For a small country, we can really fight,” Whiteford said. “I’m not pulling punches and neither are they.”
With the crowd firmly in his corner, Whiteford fought confidently, countering the shots of the aggressive Redmond, who was able to tag the Scot several times with hard blows. Whiteford wasn’t bothered by any of his opponent’s strikes though, and with just over two minutes left, “The Hammer” scored with a left hand that put Redmond on the canvas. A few more unanswered shots followed, and referee Marc Goddard intervened, ending the bout at the 3:04 mark and prompting Whiteford to run into the crowd to celebrate with his family.
“I’m on top of Scotland right now, never mind the world,” Whiteford said. “Emotions came over me at the end and I was going to start crying. I didn’t want to cry in front of 11,000 people so I was out of there and over the fence and into the crowd. Even the guys here said the hairs on the backs of their necks were standing up on end when we heard the crowd. My coach Conan at American Top Team told me to enjoy the moment and embrace it. As soon as I got out there I soaked it all up and it was absolutely amazing. Just so, so amazing."
Whiteford lifts his record to 12-2; Redmond falls to 10-6.
RIVERA vs. BRIMAGE
New Jersey bantamweight veteran Jimmie Rivera waited a long time for his UFC debut, but he didn’t stick around long, blitzing and halting Marcus Brimage in just 89 seconds to extend his current winning streak to 16.
Both fighters got after each other from the start, Rivera sharp with his strikes early and Brimage responding in kind. In the second minute, Rivera stunned Brimage with a right hand, and he didn’t let “The Bama Beast” off the hook, as a follow-up barrage sent the TUF 14 veteran to the canvas, referee Neil Hall stopping the bout 1:29 into the bout.
“I’m on top of the world,” Rivera said. “I traveled all the way to Scotland and I wanted to put on a show for the fans. To have my first UFC win with a first round TKO feels unbelievable.”
Rivera improves to 17-1 with the win; Brimage falls to 7-5.
OMIELANCZUK vs. DE LA ROCHA
Poland’s Daniel Omielanczuk made short work of late notice replacement Chris de la Rocha in the heavyweight opener, stopping the American in less than a minute.
“I feel great,” Omielanczuk said. “This was a very important fight for us. We knew that if we wanted to stay here, we needed to win this fight. I also did it in a very aggressive way, with a KO, so that’s good for me. I am happy with my progress. This was so important for us.”
Omielanczuk hurt de la Rocha with the first punch he threw, and most of the ones after that, never giving his opponent a chance to get started. Finally, a right hand drilled de la Rocha and sent him to the deck, referee Grant Waterman stepping in shortly after, the official time of the stoppage coming at the 48-second mark.
With the win, Omielanczuk improves to 17-5-1 with 1 NC; de la Rocha, who replaced the injured Konstantin Erokhin, falls to 4-1.
