UFC 185 Preliminary Card Results: Ross Pearson Pastes Sam Stout

Tonight’s (Sat., March 14, 2015) UFC 185 is finished from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Right before the blockbuster pay-per-view (PPV) main card, Texas fans were treated to a seven-fight preliminary card that featured seven finishes.

In the feature bout, veteran slugger Ross Pearson faced another seasoned lightweight in Sam Stout. The first round featured some good back-and-forth action, with Pearson utilizing his trademark boxing and Stout some solid kicks and hooks. The second round was to be all Pearson, however, as “The Real Deal” blasted a vicious left hook to knock Stout out cold.

Undefeated The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Nations winner Elias Theodorou met Roger Narvaez, who won a controversial decision over Luke Barnatt in his last bout, at middleweight. Narvaez had more spring to his step in the first round, largely staying out of range of Theodorou’s strikes. However, Theodorou stayed persistent with his kicks in the second. He broke Narvaez’ arm with one eventually, swarming to unload an endless torrent of ground punches to finally earn the stoppage.

Daron Cruickshank and Beneil Dariush threw down in a lightweight affair that was an under-the-radar candidate for UFC 185’s “Fight of the Night”. Dariush landed a plethora of sharp body kicks in the first, reddening Cruickshank’s midsection. He ended the round on top landing ground and pound. Cruickshank came out swinging in the second round, but Dariush capitalized on a scramble off of a Cruickshank takedown attempt to lock on a tight rear-naked choke that forced Cruickshank to tap immediately.

At heavyweight, Team Takedown member Jared Rosholt battled the debuting Josh “Cuddly Bear” Copeland. Copeland landed a big right that rocked Rosholt in the first, but “The Big Show” turned the tables with a takedown and some big ground and pound to finish the second. That trend continued in the final round, and this time Rosholt was able to secure the finish in the latter half of the round.

On the Fight Pass prelims, lightweight champion Anthony Pettis’ younger brother Sergio took on touted Ryan Benoit at flyweight. Pettis was picking Benoit apart in the first round with varied strikes in a one-sided bout, but his fortunes changed quickly . The fighters traded left hooks in the second, and Benoit’s dropped Pettis immediately as he followed to the ground with follow-up strikes to earn the biggest victory of his career. He marred the victory by kicking a done Pettis after the bell, however.

Joseph Duffey, who owns the dubious distinction of being the last man to defeat Irish sensation Conor McGregor, battled Jake Lindsey in his UFC debut. It wasn’t much of a fight in the end, with Duffey pushing the pace to land a huge first round head kick to set up an impressive referee stoppage.

The Fight Pass card got kicked off with a women’s bantamweight bout between Germaine de Randamie and Larissa Pacheco, with de Randemie using a varied and lethal Muay Thai game to earn an excellent second round stoppage.

Preliminary Card (FX, 8 p.m. ET):

Ross Pearson def. Sam Stout via R2 KO (punch, 1:33)

Elias Theodorou def. Roger Narvaez via R2 TKO (strikes, 4:07)

Beneil Dariush def. Daron Cruickshank via R2 submission (rear-naked choke, 2:48)

Jared Rosholt def. Josh Copeland via R3 TKO (strikes, 3:12)

Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass, 6:30 p.m. ET):

Ryan Benoit def. Sergio Pettis via R2 TKO (strikes, 1:34)

Joseph Duffey def. Jake Lindsey via R1 TKO (punches, 1:47)

Germaine de Randamie def. Larissa Pacheco via R2 TKO (strikes, 2:02)

Photo Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports