UFC Fight Night 171

By Scott Reichel

Michael Johnson vs. Thiago Moises

Result: Moises via Second-Round Submission (Heel Hook)

Summary:This fight was a battle between two fighters with conflicting styles so the outcome was not too surprising. Johnson wanted to keep the fight on his feet while Moises wanted to take the fight to the ground as soon as possible. After a phenomenal display by Johnson in round one in which he spent the entire round picking his opponent apart in the standup, Moises sprinted out of his corner for the start of round two and immediately got a takedown. After some brief defending by Johnson, Moises continued to work and got the submission victory via heel hook.

Andrei Arlovski vs. Philipe Lins

Result: Arlovski Via Unanimous Decision

Summary:This fight was expected to be an absolute slugfest and it did not disappoint. Both fighters were constantly throwing heavy shots for the first five minutes with Lins getting the slight edge in those exchanges. However, Arlovski did manage to land a nasty spinning backfist towards the end of the round. Round two started out similarly but at a slightly slower pace. Lins got the better of the early exchanges before accidentally kicking Arlovski in a “sensitive area” which resulted in a brief stoppage. Arlovski decided to continue and landed some leg kicks late to potentially steal the round. Both fighters come out for round three and Lins lands a few solid shots. However, he completely faded for the rest of the round and Arlovski landed a decent amount of leg kicks to steal the round late. Overall, the fight was very close and could have gone either way.

Ray Borg vs. Ricky Simon

Result: Simon Via Split Decision

Summary:Simon started the round off with a few jabs before landing a takedown. The two fighters gain no progress on the ground and they return to the feet. Borg lands a few shots to the body before Simon lands a few more takedowns before the bell. Second round is a bit of the same story but slightly closer. Simon landed a lot more strikes and two takedowns while Borg landed a few powerful body punches in the final minute. Simon realistically won the first two rounds. In round three, Borg landed some heavy shots over the first minute before getting taken down by Simon a few more times. Borg got back to his feet and landed a few more powerful shots before the end of the fight. Seemed like Simon won all three rounds.

Alexander Hernandez vs. Drew Dober

Result: Dober Via Second-Round KO

Summary:At the start of round one, Hernandez used his speed and elite kickboxing to score some early body shots. Hernandez eventually landed a takedown before both fighters exchanged blows pretty evenly for the rest of the round before Hernandez accidentally got poked in the eye right before the bell. Tough round to score but I thought that takedown was enough to get Hernandez the lead heading into round two. In round two, Dober started out as the aggressor and landed some big power punches to the face. Midway through the round, Dober landed a combo that briefly dropped Hernandez before surrendering a takedown. Dober got out of it and finished the fight with some headshots as Hernandez was completely out of gas.

Ben Rothwell vs. Ovince St. Preux

Result: Rothwell Via Split Decision

Summary:Both fighters did virtually nothing for the first five minutes. St. Preux landed a few kicks and ran away while Rothwell landed a few punches. Rothwell eventually got a takedown and attempted a submission. St. Preux escaped and the round was over. In round two, both fighters once against did next to nothing early on as St. Preux landed some kicks and fled. Rothwell landed some punches in the middle of the round before getting dropped late by a St. Preux punch. Probably tied after two rounds. Round three started with Rothwell leaning on his opponent for about two minutes while neither fighter really moved. St. Preux eventually got away and landed some big strikes before getting trapped back again against the cage. St. Preux got away once again and landed a big combo over the last ten seconds of the fight. Rothwell fell down after the final bell sounded. Pretty boring fight overall but I think that St. Preux won the last two rounds.

Anthony Smith vs. Glover Teixeira

Result: Teixeira Via Fifth-Round KO

Summary:Both fighters came out for round one and spent the entire round on their feet. Smith dominated the standup and landed several combos before Teixeira landed a punch to the groin. Smith takes a few minutes before getting back to fighting. Smith dominated the standup once again afterward and easily won round one. Smith started round two out the same way as he dominated the early part of the round. However, he started to fade due to fatigue and Teixeira started landing some big combos for the rest of the round. Probably tied headed into round three. Teixeira landed a massive punch to Smith’s nose in round three which caused Smith to hit the floor. Teixeira gets on top and tries to finish it but Smith manages to defend himself enough just to keep the fight from getting stopped. Smith spends the rest of the round with the opponent on his back before the bell. Teixeira should be up two points headed into round four. In round four, Teixeira continued where he left off in round three and immediately rocked Smith with a punch to the face. Smith tried to punch back but eventually got taken down by Teixeira once again. Teixeira spent the rest of the round on top of Smith before the bell. Smith decided to come out for round five and immediately got put on the mat. Teixeira finally got top mount and kept throwing punches until the referee stopped the fight.