UFC 171 Prelims Results: Kelvin Gastelum Remains Unbeaten
UFC 171 is in full swing, and the prelims provided an exciting opening to the biggest event of 2014 so far. With the tension and anticipation building for the main event of the evening, featherweights Robert Whiteford and Daniel Pineda put on a technical three round display. Whiteford was able to land more strikes and defended submissions well, taking the UD.
Next up middleweights Bubba McDaniel and Sean Strickland threw down, and the debutant Strickland made quick work of the TUF Veteran; scoring a slick rear naked choke in the opening round.
On to the flyweights, and Will Campuzano looked to get back on track against Justin Scoggins but was unable to get off the mark. The 21 year-old Scoggins showed excellent movement, striking and grappling en route to a dominant decision victory.
Lastly on the fight pass prelims was a 157-pound catchweight bout between Renee Forte and Francisco Trevino. The debuting Trevino had a shaky first round, but totally owned the last two with his impressive Muay Thai. Solid decision win for Trevino.
On to the Fox Sports prelims and Sean Spencer took on Alex Garcia in a welterweight attraction. This was an action packed bout throughout that saw both guys rocked badly in the second round. After a hard fought three rounds, Garcia took a split decision win.
Featherweights Dennis Bermudez and Jimmy Hettes squared off next, and the skinny on this fight was that Bermudez was too good. ‘The Menace’ dropped Hettes four or five times in the second round, and the referee waved the fight off. Bermudez has won six straight at 145 pounds now.
Women’s bantamweights up now, and it’s Raquel Pennington taking on the butch force that is Jessica Andrade. These feisty 135 pounders put on a real barnburner, Pennington used precise boxing and some nice slams, and Andrade was all about power punching and throws. Andrade picks up the split decision win.
The last fight on the preliminaries was a welterweight bout between TUF winner Kelvin Gastelum and Rick ‘The Horror’ Story. Gastelum turned up the heat early in this one, and looked very impressive in doing so. Story responded by dropping Gastelum in the second, and the third round was just a total slugfest. A well deserved split decision win for KG after a classic scrap.
Robert Whiteford def. Daniel Pineda by unanimous decision
Sean Strickland def. Bubba McDaniel by submission (rear naked choke) round one
Justin Scoggins def. Will Campuzano by unanimous decision
Frank Trevino def. Renee Forte by unanimous decision
Alex Garcia def. Sean Spencer by split decision
Dennis Bermudez def. Jimmy Hettes by TKO (knee) round two
Jessica Andrade def. Raquel Pennington by split decision
Kelvin Gastelum def. Rick Story by split decision
