UFC Fight Night 44 Main Card Recap: Cub Swanson Takes Down Jeremy Stephens
The UFC’s second event of the day is in the books from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
The main card failed to live up to the preliminary fights but the headliner delivered just as expected with featherweight contender’s Jeremy Stephens and Cub Swanson going to war for five rounds.
The first round was fairly even with both fighterst testing out their striking skills, each having relative success. However, the second was a big one for “Lil Heathen” as he was able to land some huge shots on his opponent. Swanson began to unload on his strikes in the next round and hurt Stephens with a big shot to the body. “Beautiful Destruction” pushed for the finish but he couldn’t find it and the fight saw the next round.
The championship rounds were just as excited with the fighters contiuning to slug it out on the feet. Swanson hurt Stephens again in the fourth and went looking for the stoppage. Stephens held on untill the end of the fight and was still pushing but it wasnt enough for him to take the win. He loses his first fight in the division while Swanson puts himself right in line for a title shot.
In the co-main event, TUF 17 victor Kevin Gastelum neutralized Sweeden’s Niko Musoke to take his fourth-straight win in the UFC, his third straight in the welterweight division, and extend his undefeated record to 9-0. It wasn’t easy for “Mini Cain” with him decisvely losing the first round but he corrected himself in the second and battered Musoke on the feet. The last round was just as one-sided giving Gastelum the win.
TUF: Brazil’s season 1 winner Cezar Ferreira took on Texas-native Andrew Craig in the second middleweight bout of the main card. “Mutante” came out firing and hurt his opponent early who did well to hold on. Ferreira contiuned to chop away at Craig in the second but came into trouble in the third after getting caught with a high-kick. “Highlight” pushed for the finish but it never come giving the Brazilian the win on points.
Ricardo Lamas got himself back in the win column with a solid decson over Hacran Diaz following his unsuccessful title shot against Jose Aldo in February. “The Bully” put in a dominant performance against Aldo’s Nova Uniao training partner and was able to overcome a suspected broken hand in the first round to grind out a win. Dias falls to 0-2 in his last two fights after losing to Nik Lentz in his previous bout.
The Ultimate Fighter 17 alum Clint Hester stretched his current winning streak to four in the middleweight division by taking a points win over Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Antonio Braga Neto after another extremely close matchup. Hester was smothered in the first round but the second was a little closer. However, the former pro boxer came out firing in the third and was able to land some big shots on the feet which ultimately gave him the decision.
In other action, Joe Ellenberger -brother of UFC welterweight Jake Ellenberger- made his UFC debut a successful one by taking an ultra-close split-decision win over James Moontasri. After getting dropped in the first round with a brutal uppercut, Ellenberger was able to regain his wits to grind out a decison win.
UFC Fight Night 44 Main Card Results:
Joe Ellenberger def. James Moontasri via split decison
Clint Hester def. Antonio Braga Neto via split decison
Ricardo Lamas def. Hacran Dias via unanimous decision
Cezar Ferreira def. Andrew Craig via unanimous decision
Kelvin Gastelum def. Niko Musoke via unanimous decision
Cub Swanson def. Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision
Photo: Troy Taormina for USA TODAY Sports
