UFC 115: Martin Kampmann Derails Paulo Thiago

Just when MMA fans were starting to recognize Paulo Thiago as one of the top welterweights in the sport, Thiago was derailed by Martin Kampmann Saturday night at UFC 115, as Kampmann completely controlled the fight both on his feet and on the ground in winning a unanimous decision.

Kampmann showed off better technical striking in the early going, landing several jabs and straight right hands that appeared to frustrate Thiago, and when the fight went to the ground late in the first, Kampmann continued to control it, attempting to submit Thiago with a guillotine choke. It was a very good first round for Kampmann.

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In the second Kampmann continued to control it both on his feet and on the ground, and the fans started to boo late in the second as Kampmann stayed on top of Thiago without doing much. Thiago finally swept Kampmann and got into side control with 30 seconds left in the second round, but there wasn't enough time for him to do anything, and Kampmann clearly won the second round as well.

Early in the third Kampmann took Thiago down and put him on his back, and it was impressive to see the way that Kampmann was able to dominate Thiago, a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt. The fight wasn't close, and the judgesgave it to Kampmann 30-27 all around.

Thiago, who fell to 13-2, is still a good fighter who has a good future ahead of him. But Kampmann, who improved to 17-3, showed that he had found the perfect blueprint for beating Thiago.