UFC Fight Night 42 Main Card Recap: Henderson Takes Out Khabilov In The Fourth
Fight Night 42 from Albuquerque is in the books and if provided fans with a great night of fights.
UFN 42 went down inside Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico and was broadcast on Fox Sports 1 as well as UFC Fight Pass. The main event featured an important clash in the lightweight division as Dagestan’s Rustam Khabilov took on former UFC and WEC champion Benson Henderson.
The first couple of rounds went to the Dagestani native who was able to land multiple takedowns and catch Henderson with some nice counters. “Bendo” had a little more success in the third and was able to score some points of his own. But leading into the fourth he was down on the scorecards and desperately needed to turn things around. Which is precisely what he did.
Early in the round Henderson landed a perfectly timed right uppercut followed by a right straight to send “Tiger” down. The former champion quickly took his back and sunk in a rear naked choke to get the tap.
It may not have been as entertaining as we might of hoped but the co-main event still delivered an interesting battle as lightweights Diego Sanchez and Ross Pearson went head-to-head. It looked like a clear cut victory for “The Real Deal” after putting on a striking clinic for three straight rounds, almost getting the stoppage in the second, but somehow two of the judges scored the fight for “The Nightmare” giving him the split-decision win. Without doubt one of the worst decisions of the year.
It might not have come how he would of liked but John Dodson still managed to pick up his second straight finish over one of the divisions best in John Moraga. “The Magician” showed his speed advantage early on, getting in and out to land short bursts on his opponent. Moraga was still game coming out in the second but a flurry stopped him in his tracks before a high kick sent him crashing to the canvas. He held on and made it to the end of the round but the damage to m was too much and te doctor
Brazil’s Rafael Dos Anjos showed the evolution of his game against Jason High and managed to get himself back in the win column with a second round TKO stoppage. High started out well, keeping up with RDA’s striking before taking him down to the mat. But the Brazilian turned things up in the second round and dropped his opponent with a big left hand. Dos Anjos is now 7-1 in his last 8 with his only loss coming to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
In the first lightweight bout of the main card Poland’s Piotr Hallman got himself back in the win column after putting in a flawless performance against UFC vet Yves Edwards. Edwards took it “Pletwall” early and was looking sharp, however, he was unable to defend the takedowns from his opponent which was pretty much the story of the fight. After two dominant rounds Hallman snuck in a rear naked choke to get the tap.
The bantamweight’s kicked off the main card as Bryan Caraway took on top Mexican prospect Erick Perez. The fight started well for “Goyito” with him getting the better of his opponent on the feet. But, Caraway stuck in there and managed to capitalise on a failed takedown by taking Perez’s back before sinking in a RNC.
UFC Fight Night 42 Main Card Results:
Bryan Caraway def. Erick Perez via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 2 1:52
Piotr Hallman def. Yves Edwards via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 3 2:31
Rafael Dos Anjos def. Jason High via TKO (punches) – Round 1 3:36
John Dodson def. John Moraga via TKO (doctors stoppage) – Round 2 5:00
Diego Sanchez def. Ross Pearson via split-decision
Benson Henderson def. Rustam Khabilov via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 4 1:16
