UFC 154 Live Blog: Francis Carmont vs. Tom Lawlor

This is the UFC 154 live blog for Francis Carmont vs. Tom Lawlor, a middleweight bout at Saturday night's UFC event at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Carmont, who has won all three of his UFC fights, will square off against Lawlor, who has won two of his past five fights, on the main card.

Check out the live blog below.

Round 1: Phillippe Chartier is the referee for this one. Lawlor pushes forward from the outset and they clinch along the fence. This goes on for more than a minute before Chartier breaks them up. They clinch again almost immediately, but Carmont goes for a Kimura, but Lawlor gets out of it. Another clinch battle breaks out along the fence. They're back out at center Octagon. Carmont lands a straight right and a kick to the body. Carmont goes for a takedown, but Lawlor grabs him into a guillotine and takes him to the mat. Blood trickles out of Carmont's mouth. Carmont gets out in the round's final seconds. An interesting round to score. MMAFighting scores the round for Tom Lawlor, 10-9.

Round 2: Carmont throws a leg kick, but otherwise Lawlor is keeping his distance. They grapple along the fence again, then break toward the center. Carmont with a front kick. Lawlor with a two-punch combo, then goes for a takedown, but it goes nowhere. Lawlor keeps Carmont pinned along the fence. Lawlor changes levels and finally gets the takedown. Carmont gets up and they clinch along the fence again. Carmont wants a Kimura, but can't do anything with it. Lawlor with another takedown. Lawlor transitions into another guillotine with about 30 seconds left. Carmont escapes in the closing seconds. MMAFighting scores the round for Lawlor, 10-9 (20-18).

Round 3: Lawlor's sticking to the game plan, as he pushes Carmont back toward the fence. Crowd gets a bit restless as Lawlor works a single-leg. Chartier breaks them up about two minutes in. They're both keeping their distance and throwing single punches. But Lawlor again pushes Carmont back toward the fence. Carmont makes a half-hearted attempt at a Kimura. If nothing else, Lawlor is dictating the tempo and bossing the direction of the fight. Carmont lands a couple rights, but there isn't much behind them. Final minute. They clinch along the fence late, Lawlor delivering foot stomps. MMAFighting scores the round for Lawlor 10-9 (30-27 overall).

Francis Carmont def. Tom Lawlor via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28).