Kurt Pellegrino and Josh Neer got the UFC 101 pay-per-view show off to a good start Saturday night in Philadelphia, with Pellegrino getting on top of Neer early and often and defeating him by unanimous decision.
The first round was mostly on the ground, but the Philadelphia fans, in a bit of a surprise, didn't boo -- showing that they're smart MMA fans who appreciate good action. Pellegrino had a couple of solid slams, while Neer attempted a couple of arm bars, and both fighters looked impressive.
In the second round Pellegrino was more dominant from the top. Pellegrino got full mount with a minute to go, but Neer bucked him off and survived the round.
Early in the third Pellegrino caught a Neer kick and took Neer down once again, and it was another round spent mostly on the ground and with Neer mostly on his back. Neer did some damage with elbows from the bottom and opened a nasty cut over Pellegrino's eye, but it wasn't enough to stop the fight.
Pellegrino won the decision by scores of 30-27 on all three judges' cards, and on my Twitter UFC scorecard.
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