Continuing our coverage from the Facebook fights we pick up on the FX portion of the card.
Michael Johnson vs. Myles Jury
Round 1 – Both guys come out throwing leg kicks that don’t connect but Johnson lands a pair of nice rights. Jury wants to throw leg kicks but he’s not moving his head when he throws; Johnson is throwing with the same side hand whenever he does. It’s making Jury tentative and moving backward; Johnson is setting the pace. Neither guy is throwing much but Jury doesn’t want to get into exchanges with Johnson; every time he gets in close Johnson throws some beautiful combinations. Jury fakes a kick and gets a beautiful double leg, landing in half guard. Jury gets mount and Johnson scrambles, winding back in half guard after giving up his back. Jury is working for an arm and Johnson rolls to his side, eating some big lefts as Jury is pounding away. Johnson isn’t doing much but he’s not getting hit flush, either. Johnson gets back into half guard and Jury lands some big elbows; Jury is using offensive position on top to just tee off on him right now. Johnson is doing good things to keep him in half guard, preventing him from passing into side control. Jury looks for a kimura as Johnson tries to shrimp to no avail. Jury lands a couple of nice elbows and gets into full mount; Johnson rolls to his back and Jury ends the round unable to finish a rear naked choke. 10-9 Jury
Round 2 – Johnson comes out more aggressive as Jury is staying away from his striking game. He’s pressing forward more but not letting his hands go; as soon as he throws Jury is getting out of there. He has a healthy respect for Johnson’s power. Jury lands a nice head kick that Johnson shrugs off. Johnson is landing solid punches but as soon as he gets touched Jury is getting out; he’s looking to counter but Johnson is too athletic for him to get a spot to land something solid. Johnson throws a kick that gets caught and Jury turns it into a single leg and then to the ground. Johnson’s in full guard as he’s holding tight onto Jury to get a standup; he’s playing hand control now. Jury postures up but Johnson’s defensive guard is really strong right now. Jury isn’t landing in volume but he’s controlling the fight right now. Johnson is angling for a standup by controlling Jury but Jury’s active enough to keep this from being stood up. Round ends in this position. 10-9 Jury, 20-18 Jury
Round 3 – Johnson comes out throwing with authority now; he knows he’s down on the cards and is going for broke right now. Jury gets a clinch and works him against the cage, beautiful trip and Johnson is on his back again. Into half guard; Jury’s top positional game is something else right now. He’s active and keeping Johnson off his game by always going for a better position. He’s not content to stay in on spot. He’s in side control against the cage, looking for a kimura again. He loses side control going for mount; Johnson is doing a good job at getting back into better position whenever Jury moves but Jury isn’t giving him any space to do anything significant to sweep or stand up. Johnson shrimps to his right against the cage and Jury is striking him right now; he’s looking to set up a choke but Johnson is doing just enough to not get finished right now. Johnson isn’t fighting with urgency right now; he’s hanging on for dear life right now. Jury’s controlling him right now as Johnson goes for a kimura from the bottom right now. Jury’s top control game is quite spectacular right now; Johnson has no answers in the final 30 seconds. Johnson gets back up to his feet in the final seconds and gets a guillotine but has no time to do anything with it. 10-9 Jury, 30-27 Jury
Official Decision – 30-27 unanimous decision for Miles Jury
Melvin Guillard vs. Jamie Varner
Round 1 – Both guys come out a bit more tentative than they usually are. There’s a definite respect for one another’s power at this point; as soon as a power punch comes down both are retreating. Lots of leg kicks landing and punches missing by a wide margin from Guillard, more punches missing than kicks landing by Varner. Varner isn’t checking those leg kicks, either, but he’s working on the inside of Guillard’s legs with his kicks. Varner lands a nice overhand right but Guillard is out before he can follow up with anything. Both guys really worked on frustrating one another’s range; neither has found timing yet. Guillard is really patient right now; this is the most patient Guillard has been in quite some time. Guillard is making Varner eat a lot of leg kicks when Varner comes forward with his boxing game, all to the lead leg. Guillard’s looking to take this longer than a round; he’s not over committing for the kill, which is his usual suit. Varner lands a nice combination but Guillard is out before he can turn it into something more. Varner goes for a low single but can’t complete it. Guillard got out of it fairly easily. Wild exchange as Varner catches Guillard with 15 seconds, Guillard face plants but is right up; Varner grabs a guillotine but can’t finish it as the round ends. Varner 10-9
Round 2 – Guillard wades to throw in but Varner ducks and nearly lands a massive shot of his own; he’s confident right now as he throws wildly but catches a double leg attempt to get Guillard against the cage. Guillard is doing a good job scooting out, exposes his back but Guillard throws him off violently. Varner scrambles away but Guillard makes him eat a knee for his troubles. Melvin back to his kickboxing game; Gulliard’s head movement is starting to improve. He’s really improved that in the past couple months. Varner needs to start doing something other than just absord leg kicks at this point. Varner with a nice combination as Guillard’s movement is saving him from eating 2-3 punches. Varner with another double leg but Guillard sits up against the cage. Varner is looking to drag him all the way to his back; Guillard stands up out of it and looks for a hip toss, Varner lets him go instead. Guillard goes back to the kicks as Varner lands a really nice right. He doesn’t quite have the spring in his step to follow up with it though; Guillard’s leg kicks have worn him down. He’s throwing one long punch and trying to get in close instead of multiple punch combinations. Varner goes for a leg kick and hits Guillard in his Melvins with 40 seconds left. It was unintentional but Melvin is given time to recover. Guillard with a nice body kick, some light exchanges to end the round. Varner 10-9, 20-18
Round 3 – Melvin with a flying knee and is much more aggressive. Varner goes for a high crotch but can’t finish. Guillard is fighting like a man who thinks he’s down on the scorecards. Varner gets a double leg and gets Guillard down, back against the cage. Varner goes for a Pervuain necktie but can’t finish it, Guillard winds up on top in an open guard. Guillard isn’t doing much on the ground as Varner gets back to his feet, eating a knee in the process. Varner with a wild shot and gets the takedown. Varner is working top position game as he’s unloading some nice ground and pound. Guillard gives up his back but Varner can’t capitalize, Guillard standing up. Guillard throws wildly and Varner gets another takedown, landing in full guard. Melvin rolls for an armbar but can’t finish, scramble and Melvin gets into side control. Varner with a beautiful switch of his own and he winds up on top in full guard. Guillard pushes him off with his legs and we’re back standing. Varner is backing off and lands a nice combination. Takedown attempt and Varner flips and nearly spikes Guillard on his head; fight ends with the two scrambling for position. Varner 10-9, 30-27
Official decision – 30-27 Varner, 30-27 Guillard, 30-27 Varner … Jamie Varner wins by split decision
Erik Perez vs. Byron Bloodworth
Round 1 – Byron comes out with a big overhand that Perez ducks and counters with a couple of nice rights of his own. Perez grabs the clinch and we’re up against the cage as the two are throwing knees to one another’s bodies. Perez looks for space for a short elbow and Bloodworth reverses him. Another reversal and we’re cage-dancing. Perez is throwing uppercuts to the body as he controls Perez with his head against the cage. He’s landing a lot of nice strikes and lands a beautiful knee to the body that drops Bloodworth, he recovers and lands in full guard. Perez postures up and is looking to throw big strikes; Bloodworth is holding on for dear life right now as he’s trying to get a stalemate. Perez’s right arm is becoming the big to do; Perez is looking to throw it, Bloodworth to tie it up. Perez is letting his hands go when he can bu Bloodworth is doing a great job of preventing anything significant from coming through. Perez is landing some nice elbows as he’s dominating Bloodworth right now. Bloodworth is cut open right now as Perez unloads with strikes, ref stops in at 3:50 of the first round. Erik Perez wins via TKO at 3:50 of round 1
Brad Pickett vs. Eddie Wineland
Round 1 – Both come out fast and both have skipped the feeling out process. Pickett with some nice punches early on; Wineland is keeping his hands down and chin up, almost daring Wineland to land big on the chin. Wineland’s footwork has been fairly remarkable so far in that his other techniques would normally get him hurt haven’t done so yet. Pickett is landing some nice strikes so far but Wineland lands a massive shot, and then another big one, but Pickett isn’t rocked. Wineland is looking pure offensively at this point as Pickett is trying to get in but Wineland is letting his hands go. Wineland with another big left and Pickett has to take a knee, back up quickly. PIckett’s face shows the damage. Pickett goes for a double but Wineland whizzers his way out of it. Pickett’s head movement has picked up since he got tagged the second time; this is a fight about movement and both fighters are trying to find each other out so far. Pickett lands a nice body shot with 30 seconds left; he’s not shying away despite the power. Fight ends as Pickett goes for a superman elbow of sorts against the cage, scramble turns into nothing. Wineland 10-9
Round 2 – Same start as the first as Wineland’s technique in how he holds everything is not good but Pickett can’t quite reach him. He’s starting to throw a jab more to set up combinations; Wineland is really using his range effectively as Pickett is rushing in and getting countered. If you’re a boxing enthusiast now Wineland has to be frustrating you right now; Pickett just can’t quite exploit it. His footwork is buying him ground his hands/chin up high shouldn’t. At this point Wineland is sticking and moving, making Pickett come in. Pickett just can’t land anything of note as Wineland is countering him at range. Pickett is landing jabs but Wineland is getting out of the way of anything more substantive. Pickett lands a nice right that opens up a cut on Wineland but Wineland with a nice counter to close the round. Wineland 10-9, 20-18
Round 3 – More of the same as Pickett is pushing the pace, trying to get inside, but can’t quite keep Wineland there. Wineland’s footwork and countering are better than Pickett’s aggression at this point; Pickett is eating a lot of punishment to try and do anything. Wineland is moving backward and out-landing Pickett fairly easily. Pickett is landing jabs easily but Wineland is moving away and countering him easily. He catches a kick and lands a couple of nice strikes off it. Pickett just can’t keep the distance close as whenever he gets close he eats something, whenever he lands a jab he has to take something bigger in return. He’s throwing wilder in the final minute, much more desperately. Round ends the way the fight has been; Pickett moving forward, Wineland countering him. 10-9 Wineland, 30-27 Wineland,
Official Decision – 30-27 Wineland, 29-28 Pickett, 30-27 Wineland by Split Decision
