UFC Columbus results: Marc Diakiese wrestles Viacheslav Borshchev to grind out victory

Marc Diakiese’s wrestling was on full display in his latest win.

Saturday’s UFC Columbus main card kicked off with a battle of lightweights that was won by Diakiese (15-5), who took a clear-cut unanimous over Viacheslav Borshchev (6-2) after three rounds of grueling ground work. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Diakiese.

In his post-fight speech, Diakiese called for a fight with Drew Dober.

From Round 1, it was clear what Diakiese’s plan was as he looked to grapple with Borshchev, a less experienced MMA fighter with a background in boxing and kickboxing. Borshchev did well fighting off takedown attempts early, even scoring clean punches off of a break, but Diakiese stuck with his wrestling and was eventually able to put Borshchev on his back. Even with little damage done in the first round, it was a frame easily scored in Diakiese’s favor.

The other two rounds were even more lopsided as Diakiese scored takedowns to open both Round 2 and Round 3 and Borshchev had no answer for him on the ground. Diakiese either attacked with ground-and-pound or focused on controlling Borshchev, with one of the highlights of the fight being a Diakiese slam in the final round when Borshchev attempted to stand.

Diakiese gets back in the win column after consecutive losses to Rafael Alves and Rafael Fiziev. He bumps his UFC record up to 6-5.

This is Borshchev’s first loss in the UFC following a successful debut against Dakota Bush in January.