In a bloody, back-and-forth brawl Saturday night in Montreal, Jeremy Stephens beat Sam Stout by split decision at UFC 113.It was a great fight that showed why many MMA observers believe Stout has the best chin in the lightweight division -- but also why Stephens has some of the best punching power in the lightweight division.
The live blog is below.
Stephens caught a Stout kick and turned it into a takedown in the first 30 seconds of the fight, but Stout was able to get back to his feet without much damage. When they got back up Stephens hurt Stout a couple times with punches, and although Stout landed some punches as well, it was Stephens who was doing the damage.By the end of a tremendous first round of striking by Stephens, Stout had a black eye and a bloody nose.
Early in the second round the fight went to the ground and Stout threatened Stephens with a kimura, although Stephens was never in too much trouble. When they got back to their feet Stout looked a little fresher than Stephens and may have landed more punches, although when Stephens connected, he connected with more power than Stout. Both guys had bloody noses by the end of the second.
Early in the third round Stout kicked Stephens in the groin, leading to a brief halt in the action, but Stephens recovered nicely and landed some hard punches to Stout's face. Midway through the second Stout hurt Stephens with a leg kick and then took him to the ground and tried to pour it on, perhaps thinking he'd need to knock Stephens out to win the fight. Stephens managed to weather that storm, however, and got back up to his feet and started scoring again.
The judges scored it 30-27 and 29-28 for Stephens, and 29-28 for Stout.
"Sam Stout is a warrior," Stephens said afterward. "I just felt I was more powerful."
There's no doubt about that: Stephens is as powerful a puncher as the UFC's lightweight division has, and a forced to be reckoned with in the Octagon.
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