This is the UFC on FX 3 undercard live blog for the UFC on FX 3 prelims from the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla.
There will be eight fights on the undercard. Mike Pierce vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha, Seth Baczynski vs. Lance Benoist, Leonard Garcia vs. Matt Grice, Dustin Pague vs. Jared Papazian, Tim Means vs. Justin Salas, Buddy Roberts vs. Caio Magalhaes, Henry Martinez vs. Bernando Magalhaes, and Jake Hecht vs. Sean Pierson will all be featured bouts.
Check out the UFC on FX 3 undercard live blog below.
Round 1: Hecht immediately moved in and earned a takedown. He was trying to take Pierson's back, but instead ended up on the bottom. Pierson threw a huge punch from the top and used it to pass guard to side control. Pierson tried to get full mount but Hecht worked to his feet and slammed Pierson down. Midway through, this is a grappling match. Pierson gets to his feet now. An elbow cut Pierson on the top of his head. They break with 30 seconds left and reset. Hecht hunts the high kick but misses. Pierson with a right hand just before the horn. a close round, but MMA Fighting scores it for Pierson 10-9.
Round 2: Pierson working the body early. Hecht initiates a clinch and pushes his opponent against the fence. Pierson lands an uppercut, and later, a straight left. Hecht hasn't had an easy time finding his range. Another clinch against the fence, but Pierson gets out after a series of body strikes. Pierson seems to be just a little quicker, more accurate. It's his round again, 10-9.
Round 3: Perhaps sensing he's behind, Hecht shoots in early and puts Pierson on the mat with a double-leg. The ref doesn't give them much of a chance to work after Pierson ties him up from the bottom, and they're stood up. Hecht shoots another double leg but Pierson stops this one. Hecht running out of time but he's content to take his time in the standup. Finally, with 1:15 left he shoots, but Pierson's ready and they clinch against the cage. Pierson works free, but only after taking a knee to the body. Hecht with a body kick. His best round gives him the round 10-9, but it might not be enough for the win.
Winner: Sean Pierson def. Jake Hecht via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Henry Martinez vs. Bernando Magalhaes
Round 1: Martinez walking Magalhaes down, landing strikes when he backs him into the corner. He's doing a nice job poking out the right for range and firing off a straight left. During a scramble, Magalhaes hunted for a leg lock but Martinez easily worked free. Back to their feet, and Martinez lands a hard left, causing Magalhaes to purposely fall to his back, hoping to invite him into his guard. Martinez doesn't bite. Magalhaes gets up and Martinez stalks him around the cage, sticking and moving as the round end. Martinez 10-9.
Round 2: Magalhaes looks more comfortable to start the second, with his straight right finding its home repeatedly. Martinez doesn't look quite as confident either. The fight settles into a kickboxing exchange, with Magalhaes performing well. With less than a minute left, Magalhaes shoots low but it stuffed, and they go back into their striking stances. This round was the Brazilian's, 10-9.
Round 3: This round should decide the fight. The shorter Martinez is hesitant to try to get inside as Magalhaes is owning the center, a stark contrast from the opening round. Magalhaes' head movement and footwork has him just out of reach. Martinez is mostly pawing out the jab and waiting for the right moment to unleash his left, but it's never coming. As a result, he's reactionary. Martinez does shuck off a takedown try as the fight nears its final minute. Magalhaes tries one last takedown late, which is stuffed. Martinez has stuffed them all, but it might not be enough. It's Magalhaes' round, 10-9.
Winner: Henry Martinez def. Bernardo Magalhaes via split decision (29-28, 30-27, 28-29)
Note: This fight was originally, incorrectly announced as a unanimous decision win for Martinez
Buddy Roberts vs. Caio Magalhaes
Round 1: Roberts lands a huge right with his first strike of the fight. Roberts out aggressive early, but Magalhaes recovers from the shot. Magalhaes shoots in but Roberts sees it coming and works the double underhooks to stay on his feet. Magalhaes gets a body clinch, still looking for the takedown. Magalhaes changes it to an inside trip but Roberts slickly takes his back and then gets back to his feet, refusing to play on the ground. Roberts switches stances and lands a two-punch combo. He's had the most significant strikes of the round, and takes it 10-9.
Round 2: The difference between the two so far is that Magalhaes is looking for one strike at a time while Roberts throws strikes in combos. Magalhaes came forward looking for the double leg, and had no luck. He switched to the high-crotch and had Roberts off his feet, but still couldn't take him down. Roberts broke free. That had to be a frustrating stretch for Magalhaes, who is breathing with his mouth open while Roberts still looks fresh and relaxed. He's also much lighter on his feet, which is paying dividends in the standup. Magalhaes does land a nice left hook late, but it's not enough. Roberts, 10-9.
Round 3: It's more of the same early, with Roberts using his speed to land. Two minutes in, Magalhaes finally scores a takedown. Roberts uses the fence to get up, but Magalhaes doesn't let go and gets him down again. Roberts doesn't spend much time in the position, back up again. Roberts lands a right behind the ear and a head kick. Another nice combo from Roberts as we dip into the final minute. Magalhaes scores with a left hook in the final seconds. It's not enough. Roberts 10-9.
Winner: Buddy Roberts def. Caio Magalhaes via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Round 1: Means drilled Salas early and knocked him down. Salas tried to get to his feet but Means is all over him. Drilling him with every weapon in his arsenal. Knees, hooks, uppercuts, elbows. Means is surgical in his striking, patient but everything is landing. Salas is getting every opportunity to recover and defend himself, but forget it. This is an epic beating.
Winner: Tim Means via TKO, Rd. 1 (1:06)
Dustin Pague vs. Jared Papazian
Round 1: Papazian sprints out to the center of the cage to establish the position. The pair clinch and Papazian lands blows from their, but Pague trips him down and immediately moves to mount. Pague with an elbow that lands flush. Pague takes his back and after a long hand fight, sneaks his left arm under his neck. From there, it's a wrap.
Winner: Dustin Pague via rear naked choke submission, Rd. 1 (3:21)
Round 1: Garcia is usually a tornado of action, but he's measured and conservative early. Grice throws out a jab into a takedown. Grice pushes Garcia against the cage and moves to half-guard. Grice quickly postures up with strikes. Grice changes position looking for the north-south choke. He can't get the tap but retains top position. Grice with hard elbows from the top, scoring with his activity. He controlled the majority of the action, making it an easy 10-9 in his favor.
Round 2: Garcia slow to strike again, perhaps fearing the takedown. It comes anyway, and Grice has him on his back one minute in. Grice with strikes while standing over him until Garcia breaks his posture. He briefly got to side mount but Garcia recovered the neutral guard position. Grice is working him over from the top. Garcia is stuck there as Grice lands punches and elbows. Another 10-9 for Grice.
Round 3: Garcia needs to go into kill mode here. He's done very little, and Grice has actually been the better of the two on their feet. Garcia has swung and missed several times in this round but he's mostly tentative. Garcia finally stops a takedown but Grice lands two punches on his way out. Garcia fires off a wild left hook and Grice smoothly ducks under and moves right into a successful takedown. This will probably mean the end as Garcia hasn't come close to getting to his feet. Grice with heavy punches from the top. Garcia does manage to get upright with 40 seconds left. He needs a miracle. It doesn't come, as Grice takes him down again. It's a Grice sweep with another 10-9.
Winner: Matt Grice def. Leonard Garcia via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Seth Baczynski vs. Lance Benoist
Round 1: Benoist hunts a head kick early but it misses. Benoist earns a takedown one minute in. As Baczynski was working his way up, Benoist landed an illegal knee, necessitating a timeout. Benoist wasn't penalized however. Benoist ducked under a hook and tried to jump into a standing arm triangle, but Baczynski wasn't having it, and Benoist gave up. Benoist tried a takedown but ended up on the bottom following a scramble. Baczynski landed a hard strike but Benoist did a nice job from his back avoiding most of the heavy fire. Baczynski may have stolen the round late, but MMA Fighting scores it for Benoist 10-9.
Round 2: Early on, as Baczynski ducks in for the takedown, Benoist with another illegal strike. Again, no point deduction. Benoist scores a takedown 1:00 in. Baczynski hunted the arm bar, Benoist pulled free and smashed him with a right. Baczynski fired back a hard upkick. Baczynski lands a flying knee and ends up on top. Benoist looked for a kimura but let it go. Another close round. Baczynski 10-9.
Round 3: Baczynski got the Thai plum early and scored with knees to the body. Benoist went underneath and used it for an inside trip. Somewhere along the way, Baczynski sliced Benoist open, likely with a knee. The two got back to their feet. Baczynski tried a standing guillotine but let it go and was soon back to the mat again. The ground was a struggle with neither guy able to do much, and eventually, ref Chris Adams stood them up. Baczynski threw him down for another takedown that might clinch the round. Heavy hands from Baczynski from the top as he takes it 10-9.
Winner: Seth Baczynski def. Lance Benoist via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 27-30)
Mike Pierce vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha
Round 1: Pierce quickly turns it into a grind, pushing Rocha against the cage. The fight goes to the ground, but Pierce doesn't want to engage Rocha there, so we're back to standing. Rocha misses on a head kick, and Pierce copies him, with the same result. Pierce shoots in, and Rocha stops the takedown. Pierce lands an elbow, then goes low and takes Rocha down. Again, Pierce lets him up seconds later. A lot of work for little payoff. Not much to the round, but Pierce takes the 10-9.
Round 2: Pierce closes the distance again. After a long fight against the fence, Pierce scores the takedown. This time, he stays in the top position, though he picks his shots conservatively, going to the body repeatedly and keeping good position. Rocha gets back to his feet with 45 seconds left but can't do much as Pierce stays on him. It's not flashy, but it's Pierce's round 10-9.
Round 3: The final round starts out exactly as the previous two. The crowd is quite restless with the jockeying for position against the fence. After a while, even the ref has seen enough and breaks them up. Rocha needs to turn things up a notch or three. Instead, it's another Pierce takedown midway through. Pierce again picks his shots very carefully, occasionally landing a hard right but mostly controlling the position. To his credit, he's completely shut down Rocha's vaunted jiu-jitsu game, and in the final seconds, he hurts Rocha with ground strikes. Pierce 10-9.
Winner: Mike Pierce def. Carlos Eduardo Rocha via split decision (30-27, 30-27, 27-30)
That last scorecard has to be incorrect. There is no way Rocha won even a single round. Expect a change to be announced later.