UFC 277's prelims was topped by an entertaining featured welterweight bout between Alex Morono and Matthew Semelsberger.
Morono (22-7, 1 NC) was able to find success on the feet early on, being able to land left hooks that stunned "Semi The Jedi," who ended the round with a swollen eye. Semelsberger (10-4) wasn't deterred by his eye closing as he continued to come forward and ended Round 2 with a takedown and some solid ground-and-pound. Shockingly, Semelsberger would floor Morono with a jumping knee to start Round 3. Morono would recover and safely finished the round without any other significant scares.
After 15 minutes of action, Morono took a well-deserved unanimous decision win with scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.
Dober Liver Shots Alves
Drew Dober and Rafael Alves put on a show in an action-heavy fight.
Dober (25-11, 1 NC) would land a head kick early against Alves (20-11), though the Brazilian was able to take the fight to the ground and control the American on top. Alves was slower in Round 2 before an eye poke gave him a break, which led to the Brazilian rebounding with an energetic flurry of punches before the round largely controlled by Dober ended. Dober would bring the back-and-forth bout to an end with a gorgeous left hook to the body that hit Alves' liver and left "The Turn" on the ground.
The stoppage at 1:33 of Round 3 improved Dober's UFC record to 11-7, 1 NC.
Abdelwahab Passes Test Against Mayes
Hamdy Abdelwahab made a statement in the heavyweight division against Don'Tale Mayes.
Abdelwahab (6-0) hurt "Lord Kong" early in the first and was able to control the fight on the ground as well. Mayes (9-5) wound wind up turning the tide in the second round as he connected with a big left hand and several knees that clearly hurt "The Hammer." Abdelwahab would get a takedown late in Round 2 and went back to that strategy in the third round as Mayes had little to offer off his back. After a standup by the referee, the two would trade hard blows on the feet to end the fight.
A split decision would go to Abdelwahab with two of three 29-28 scorecards being in his favor.
Klose Edges Garcia
The first lightweight bout of the night saw Drakkar Klose go up against Rafa Garcia.
A competitive first round was edged by Klose (13-2-1), who was able to secure two takedowns on Garcia (13-3). The momentum switched in the second round as "Gifted" took down Klose and was able to land some solid ground-and-pound. Over the final five minutes, Klose would defend against several takedown attempts from Garcia and wound up landing the more damaging blows by pressuring his opponent.
Klose took a unanimous decision with cards of 29-28 in his favor and has now won two straight inside the UFC.
Morales Unloads on Fugitt
Undefeated welterweight prospect Michael Morales stayed perfect against Adam Fugitt.
Morales (14-0) came out firing an eccentric mix of punches that included a Superman punch, although Fugitt (8-3) landed several solid shots in the first round as well. The fight continued at a measured pace, which allowed Morales to explode in spots and land the harder strikes. The Ecuadorian fighter would clip Fugitt coming in with a right hand in the third frame and kept pouring on punches to secure a finish.
Morales advanced to 2-0 inside the Octagon with the stoppage coming at 1:09 of Round 3.
Edwards Takes Split Nod Over Kim
The first women's mixed martial arts bout of the night saw bantamweight Ji Yeon Kim take on Joselyne Edwards, who missed weight by 1.5 pounds.
Using kicks to keep Kim (9-5-2) at bay, Edwards (11-4) was able to easily control the first round through superior striking. While "La Pantera" was the naturally bigger fighter, her output dipped significantly in Round 2, which allowed Kim to land the better punches. The final round saw "Fire Fist" get taken down by Edwards, who was able to momentarily threaten with an armbar and then land the harder shots on the feet.
After 15 minutes, the judges awarded a split verdict in the favor of Edwards with scores of 28-29, 29-28 and 30-27.
Negumereanu Outclasses Potieria
The night's first light heavyweight bout was a battle between Europeans in Nicolae Negumereanu and Ihor Potieria, which wound up being extremely one-sided.
It was the grappling of Negumereanu (13-1) that was the difference maker in the opening frame, although "The Duelist" largely stayed out of danger. Negumereanu began having more success on the feet early in Round 2, hurting Potieria (19-3) with punches several times. A nonstop barrage would come with less than two minutes remaining, which saw Potieria's mouthpiece go flying and a knee from Negumereanu put the exclamation mark on the performance as the Romanian secured a stoppage.
The finish came officially at 3:33 of the second round.
Cosce Outgrapples Mathetha
Orion Cosce came in 1.5 pounds overweight for his welterweight bout against Mike Mathetha, but the miss didn't seem to impact his performance.
Cosce (8-1) took Mathetha (3-2) down to the ground several times in the first round and largely controlled the frame. The second round was a different story as "Blood Diamond" was able to keep the fight on the feet and landed a spinning back fist and knees to the body that had Cosce severely damaged. However, the final frame would be all Cosce as he took his opponent down and threatened with rear-naked and arm-triangle choke attempts.
Cosce took a unanimous decision win with three scorecards of 29-28.
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