
live blog for all the Facebook preliminary bouts on tonight's event at the HP Pavilion.
vs. Danny Castillo.
Tom Lawlor vs. Chris Weidman
Round 1: After an Olivia Netwon-John-themed entrance, Lawlor is finally in normal attire and ready to work. The meet in the center and he's immediately loading up on the right hand. Weidman sees this and promptly drops under for a takedown. Lawlor tries to work up using the fence, but Weidman stays on him. Lawlor turns into him looking for an escape, and Weidman grabs a D'Arce choke. Lawlor's not doing much to defend as Weidman adds some torque to it. Weidman seems to be telling the ref that Lawlor is out, and the ref finally investigates it enough to see that that is indeed the case. Lawlor is out cold, and Weidman has another victory under his belt.
Chris Weidman def. Tom Lawlor via technical submission (D'Arce choke) at 2:07 of round one
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Gleison Tibau
Round 1: Referee Jason McCoy starts us off, and the two Brazilians meet in the middle of the cage. Tibau charges forward with a lunging two-punch combo, and dos Anjos tries to answer moments later with a looping left haymaker that everyone in the building saw coming. Tibau flicking out the jab, then he catches dos Anjos moving forward and nabs a takedown. Good timing by Tibau, but he can't keep dos Anjos down long. Tibau sticks dos Anjos with a jab as he comes in swinging, but dos Anjos evens the takedown score seconds later. He, too, can't do much with it, however, and we're back to the feet. Tibau tries for a takedown in the final minute, but he gives up on it and settles for a punch combo that rattles dos Anjos around. Tough one to score, but MMA Fighting gives it to Tibau, 10-9.
Round 2: Dos Anjos' corner earned themselves a talking to from the commission for not getting out of the cage quick enough, but then the fight is paused right away to address some lose tape on Tibau's wrist. Get it together, corners. Dos Anjos is cranking up the punch volume in the second frame, but so far he's not landing most of them. Tibau tries for a takedown, but doesn't come close. Left hand haymaker by dos Anjos misses, and they battle for position in the clinch briefly. They get into a feinting contest against the cage, then finally dos Anjos throws a single punch before clinching up. Again dos Anjos tries the big left in misses, but Tibau fires back and rocks him. Dos Anjos is on shaky legs and Tibau is teeing off. Dos Anjos is wobbled and bloody, but he swings back just enough to keep Tibau at bay and survives the round...barely. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Tibau.
Round 3: Dos Anjos' face is showing the effects of the brutal end to round two, but his legs appear to be back under him now. Tibau's aggression gets checked by a stiff strike from dos Anjos early, but he quickly gets back in his rhythm and has his offense working again. Dos Anjos has been the busier fighter for much of the fight, but Tibau has landed almost all the significant strikes. Takedown by Tibau plants dos Anjos on his back near the fence. Tibau gives up space to try and punch, but dos Anjos uses it to escape to his feet. Dos Anjos thinks about a takedown of his own from the clinch, but that's probably not going to win this fight for him with only a minute left to work. They punch their way out in the closing seconds, and dos Anjos is bloodied up again around his right ear. One look at these two tells you a lot about who'll likely take the decision. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Tibau.
Gleison Tibau def. Rafael dos Anjos via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
Miguel Torres vs. Nick Pace
Round 1: Referee Josh Rosenthal gives the signal and we're underway. Pace looks to land a looping hook when Torres comes in, and he finally sticks it after several attempts. "You got his attention, Nick," says his corner. Torres jabs him back and lands a nice straight right. Leg kick by Torres buckles Pace. Torres lands the straight right again, and Pace comes in swinging before looking for the takedown. Torres defends well with his back on the fence, working short elbows and punches. Pace seems to be holding and hoping here. Torres uses a kimura to flip Pace onto his back, then they scramble up. Pace is bleeding out of his mouth. They trade right hands in the final seconds of the round. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Torres.
Round 2: Torres starts with some leg kicks and a jumping knee attempt. Punches by Torres, and Pace's corner points out that Torres' head is "way up when he punches." Pace cuts off the cage and puts Torres on his back with a takedown. Torres tosses some blows off his back, but Pace is content to hold him down, slowly working past the guard and into side control. Torres turns into him and escapes to his feet while Pace looks for a guillotine that he's eventually forced to give up on. Torres stays busy with knees and footstomps, and Pace is at a loss to do much about it. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Torres.
Round 3: Torres fires off some body kicks and lands a looping right in the first minute of the final round. Pace's corner seems to sense the urgency of the situation, but they're having trouble imparting that to their fighter. Torres is the quicker man, sticking and moving at will. They clinch against the cage, and Torres brutalizes Pace some more in close. Pace circles away and throws a desperation right uppercut a few seconds later that misses by a mile. He's looking for one punch, while Torres is firing off combos. "30 seconds, Nick, let some go!" Pace doesn't have many left to let go of, and Torres ends the fight throwing every strike he can think of, and at least one that he seems to have made up on the spot. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Torres.
Miguel Torres def. Nick Pace via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Seth Baczynski vs. Matt Brown
Round 1: Brown paws his way forward behind a jab and Baczynski comes over the top with a right. That gave him something to think about. Baczynski looks for a takedown, but settles for a clinch against the fence. Nice elbow by Baczynski in close. Baczynski steps back and launches a punch combo, but Brown does a pretty decent job of bobbing and weaving. Baczynski closes the distance again and scoops Brown up for a takedown. Baczynski looks to strike from the top, but Brown pulls off a nifty little sweep and gets to his feet. He lets Baczynski up shortly thereafter, and they exchange blows on the feet with Baczynski landing a pretty left hook counter before looking for the clinch again. Knee to the body by Baczynski, and Brown makes the 'that was my testicles' face. The ref encourages Baczynski to not do that anymore. They end the round with Baczynski tentatively looking for a standing guillotine. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Baczynski.
Round 2: Brown looks to start faster in the second frame. He gets busy with strikes right off the bat, then shoots and secures a takedown of his own. Baczynski grabs for a guillotine on the way down, and Brown seems perhaps not as concerned with defending against it as he should be. Baczynski adjusts and squeezes with everything he's got, and Brown is forced to tap.
Seth Baczynski def. Matt Brown via submission (guillotine choke) at 0:42 of round two
Shamar Bailey vs. Danny Castillo
Round 1: Castillo goes to work with kicks to the legs and body early, but promptly slips and ends up on his butt. Bailey rushes in and gets himself taken down, though he's back up quickly. Castillo lifts him up and slams him back down, then does it again when Bailey rises again a few seconds later. Castillo working from half-guard, but he's hesitant to give Bailey the space to escape and so his striking from the top is limited. Castillo sits back and gets a few consecutive blows in. The crowd digs it, sparse though it is this early on. He pounds away at Bailey with hammer fists, and Bailey seems to be losing steam. Castill takes mount briefly, but can't stay there. Castillo goes back to the hammer fists from half-guard and Bailey seems to be folding up. Less than ten seconds left in the round, but Bailey is just covering up and hoping to be saved by the bell. The ref isn't going to let him do that for long, and this one is over.
Danny Castillo def. Shamar Bailey via TKO (punches) at 4:52 of round one
In his post-fight interview, Castillo tells Joe Rogan he felt "disrespected" by Bailey showing up at 138 for Friday's weigh-ins. Bailey paid for that oversight with 20 percent of his purse, and now he has a loss on top of it.
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