TUF 23 Finale Prelims Results: Gray Maynard Defeats Fernando Bruno By Decision
It’s once again fight day here at LowKickMMA, and the talent on display tonight (Friday, July 8th, 2016) will come in the form of TUF 23 Finale. Headlining the card are Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha, but there’s a whole bunch of great fights also taking place on the preliminary section of the card.
Fernando Bruno vs. Gray Maynard closed the TUF 23 Finale preliminary card on Fox Sports 1 in a featherweight bout. Maynard lived up to the hype in his featherweight debut. In round 1, Maynard came out and blasted him. Maynard took him down, but Bruno got back to his feet. Maynard pressed him up against the fence, and then they separated. Maynard clinched with him and landed some solid knees to the body of Bruno. Bruno was landing some uppercuts and took Maynard down with under 40-seconds to go. Bruno got his back, and Maynard stood up. In round 2, Bruno came out and started blasting Maynard. Maynard fired back with some body strikes. Maynard took him down and got half guard midway through the round. Maynard went for a guillotine choke off his back, but Bruno got out. In round 3 Maynard came out and took him down. Maynard worked him over with strikes throughout the round. Very dominant. Maynard picked up the unanimous decision victory.
John Moraga vs. Matheus Nicolau met in a flyweight bout at the TUF 23 Finale. Not a ton of action in this fight at all. In round 1, Both men were careful to start. There was not a ton of action in this one at all. In round 2, Moraga was waiting on Nicolau to counter, but it just wasn’t happening. Nicolau didn’t have the range down and was missing a lot of strikes. Moraga was using a lot of kicks. In round 3, There was not a ton of action in this round, and the fans did not like this fight at all. More of the same from round two. Neither guy could get anything going. Nicolau scored a late round takedown, but Moraga got to his feet to end the round. The judges gave Nicolau the split decision.
Cory Hendricks vs. Josh Stansbury met in a light heavyweight bout at the TUF 23 Finale. This was all Stansbury. In round 1, Stansbury came out and pressured him right away. Hendricks was working the inside leg kicks. Stansbury tried to take him down, but it was stuffed. Hendricks landed a head kick. In round 2, Hendricks came out more aggressive and went for a takedown, but Stansbury stuffed it and ended up on top. Stansbury did very little work and they were stood up with a 1:30 to go in the round. In round 3, Stansbury came out and took him down again. Stansbury got side control and then half guard. While in this position, Stansbury worked him over with strikes and elbows. Stansbury won by majority decision.
Cezar Ferreira vs. Anthony Smith opened the TUF 23 Finale Fox Sports 1 preliminary bouts in a middleweight bout. In round 1, Ferreira took him down midway through the round and got full guard. He worked him over with strikes from the top. They are stood up about a minute later after not a ton of action was taking place. Ferreira landed a good left straight after Smith missed a knee strike. Ferreira took him down again and ended the round on top in guard. In round 2, Ferreira scored a takedown about a minute into the round and got side control. Smith scrambled to his feet about 20-seconds later. Smith landed a spinning back kick and then caught him with a right hand. Smith followed up with another cracking right hand. Smith was bleeding from the right side of his face. Smith clinched with him and rained down strikes that hurt Ferreira. Smith rained down strikes, but Ferreira stayed on his feet and survived the round. In round 3, Ferreira got an early takedown and worked him over with strikes from full guard. Smith was bleeding pretty good. Smith got up but Ferreira took him right down, and Smith locked in a guillotine choke in the process. Ferreira got out of it and ended up in half guard. Ferreira scored the decision victory.
Kevin Lee vs. Jake Matthews in lightweight bout finished off the TUF 23 Finale UFC Fight Pass preliminary card. Another quick fight to wrap up the first set of prelims. Lee worked for a takedown early in the round and got it. He took back mount and rained down strikes to finish the fight.
Opening the TUF 23 Finale UFC Fight Pass prelims was Li Jingliang vs. Anton Zafir in a welterweight bout. This one did not take long at all. Zafir came out and took him down. He got in half guard and worked him over with strikes. Jingliang scrambled to his feet before being taken down again. Jingliang got back to his feet and Zafir went for a guillotine choke but then let go of it. Jingliang took him down then landed some huge bombs to win the fight.
Here are the results:
Gray Maynard def. Fernando Bruno by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Matheus Nicolau def. John Moraga via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Josh Stansbury def. Cory Hendricks via majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)
Cezar Ferreira def. Anthony Smith via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Kevin Lee def. Jake Matthews via TKO (strikes) at 4:06 of R1
Li Jingliang def. Anton Zafir via Knockout (Punches) R1, 2:46
