In the end, it was a feat that both Yves Edwards and Piotr Hallmann could see. Ultimately it was Hallmann who survived a second-round eyepoke that prevailed over the veteran Edwards, scoring a third-round submission victory (rear-naked choke) over Edwards. The end came at 2:31.
Throughout the first round, Hallmann used wrestling and clinchwork, but the crafty veteran Edwards and his lateral movement rocked the Polish fighter inside and on breaks. Hallmann finally scored the takedown and controlled action for the next minute on the ground midway through the round. Edwards was able to get up towards the end, and drag Hallmann down from his back.
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From that point, perhaps because of the 5,300-feet elevation in Albuquerque, Edwards began to fade. In the second round, after absorbing another eyepoke, Edwards began to let the fight slip away. As Yamasaki warned Hallmann to keep his hands closed, Edwards then inadvertently poked Hallman in the eye. By that point, the momentum began falling to Hallmann as the round went on. Hallmann opened up a gash on Edwards with a vicious elbow during the ground and pound.
In the third round, Hallmann got Edwards back and sunk the choke. With the victory, the 26-year-old Hallmann improves to 15-2. Edwards, winless in his last four fights, falls to 42-21-1.