Kelly, Walsh, Moontasri, and Nguyen emerge victorious in UFC 193 Fight Pass Prelims
Daniel Kelly def. Steve Montgomery via unanimous decision
Daniel Kelly thrilled his home crowd in Australia with a gritty victory over Steve Montgomery in a back-and-forth affair to close out the UFC 193 Fight Pass prelims.
In the opening round, Montgomery made the mistake of clinching up with Kelly, and Kelly - a high-level judoka - dummied Montgomery to the mat with big throws. Once on the floor, Kelly mashed Montgomery with some massive elbows from on top.
The fantastically nicknamed "Creepy Weasel" turned the tide in the middle frame, marking Kelly up with heavy punching combinations and vicious knees to the liver.
The final round was more of the same, as the two men traded big punches, before Kelly snagged a takedown with just over a minute left in the frame, and hunted for submissions until the final horn sounded.
Richard Walsh def. Steve Kennedy via unanimous decision
Steve Kennedy doesn't check leg kicks ... and ... well, that was a massive problem against Richard Walsh.
Walsh demolished Kennedy's lead leg with debilitating leg kicks for the better part of 15 minutes, and, when that leg wasn't being transformed into hamburger meat, Walsh was cracking the awkward Kennedy with heavy combinations.
Kennedy showed flashes of control on the rare occasions he was able to drag Walsh to the mat. Otherwise, it was all Walsh, as he spent the majority of the final round denting a prone Kennedy with heavy punches from on top.
30-27 Walsh in an up-and-down performance. Kennedy should get a pink slip after...whatever that was. #UFC193 @MMADecisions
— Patrick Wyman (@Patrick_Wyman) November 15, 2015
James Moontasri def. Anton Zafir via 1st-round TKO
All it took was a rib-roasting back kick.
After being ground down in the clinch and on the floor by a rugged Anton Zafir, James Moontasri turned the fight on a dime once he got some space.
Fighting on short notice, Zafir seemed to tire as the opening-round dragged on, and Moontasri exploited his first real opening with a back kick-back forearm combo, crumbling the Australian in spectacular fashion.
From there, it was academic. Moontasri pounced on the fallen Zafir and delivered a barrage of punches until referee Steve Perceval quickly waved off the fight.
UFC James Moontasri vs. Anton Zafir #ufc193 #UfcMelbourne #JamesMoontasri #AntonZafir #ufcfightpass #ufcnetwork pic.twitter.com/h1Vx63zygA
— John Frias (@johnfrias15) November 14, 2015
James Moontasri becomes the 3rd UFC fighter to earn a finish stemming from a spinning back kick to the body.
— Michael Carroll (@MJCflipdascript) November 14, 2015
Ben Nguyen def. Ryan Benoit via 1st-round submission (rear naked choke)
Ben Nguyen unleashed a flawless performance to jump-start UFC 193.
Uninterested in wasting time with the feeling out process, Nguyen immediately started cracking Ryan Benoit with hard shots and crisp combinations, eventually forcing the bewildered Texan to the mat.
Once there, Nguyen secured full mount, and after chipping away at Benoit's defenses, sunk in both hooks from back mount, and snatched a fight-ending rear-naked choke at 2:35 of the opening stanza.
UFC Ryan Benoit vs. Ben Nguyen #ufc193 #UfcMelbourne #RyanBenoit #BenNguyen #ufcfightpass #ufcnetwork pic.twitter.com/1GBwYeOe0H
— John Frias (@johnfrias15) November 14, 2015
Ben Nguyen brought it so raw there. Real improvement in this man's career. Thought Benoit would touch the chin, didn't even get a chance to.
— Jordan Breen (@jordanbreen) November 14, 2015