ATLANTA -- John Alessio's long-awaited return to the octagon didn't end well.

The longtime veteran was repeatedly taken down and controlled en route to a unanimous decision loss at the hands of Mark Bocek. The judges scored the contest 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.

Bocek easily captured the first, taking Alessio down early and using his dangerous ground game to keep him down. While Bocek eventually took his back and hunted his neck, Alessio defended that well but left himself open to strikes throughout.

Alessio found more success in the second with a crisp right hand that found its target repeatedly, but Bocek took that distance away from him by closing the gap and putting him against the fence.

Any hope Alessio had of stealing the fight in the third ended when Bocek put him down again.

Bocek improved to 11-4 with his second straight win while Alessio is now 34-15.