RIGGS vs. STALLINGS
An inadvertent foul by Ron Stallings brought a premature end to his back-and-forth middleweight bout against Joe Riggs in UFC 191 early prelim action Saturday, with the illegal kick rendering Riggs unable to continue and disqualifying Stallings at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Stallings had a solid first round thanks to a stiff southpaw jab that opened a cut around Riggs’ right eye and had the veteran bothered throughout the opening five minutes. Even two takedowns by Riggs didn’t allow the Arizonan to take control, as Stallings smoothly got himself out of trouble.
In the second though, Riggs got back in the game, dropping Stallings with a hard left. “Diesel” proceeded to deliver some thudding ground strikes, but after cutting Stallings, Riggs took a kick to the head when he was down and referee Jason Herzog intervened to give Riggs time to recover. When meeting with the Octagon-side physician, Riggs said that he couldn’t see, and the bout was halted, Herzog disqualifying Stallings at the 2:28 mark.
Riggs moves to 41-16 with 1 NC, winning for the first time in the Octagon since August of 2006; Stallings falls to 13-8 with 1 NC.
More from UFC 191: Full Results | Post-fight bonuses awarded | Fight Night blog | Watch: Dana White recaps UFC 191 | UFC 191 photo gallery | Order UFC 191 replay | DJ turns back Dodson again | Arlovski outlasts Mir | Rumble romps past Manuwa | Anderson’s ground assaults gets him win | VanZant dominant in victory | Pearson, Lineker, Pennington win in prelims | Silva wins, Diesel gets DQ victory
SILVA vs. MALEGARIE
The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 4 veterans Joaquim “Netto BJJ” Silva and Nazareno Malegarie kicked off the UFC 191 card in the lightweight division, Silva winning a three-round split decision.
Scores were 30-27 twice and 28-29 for Brazil’s Silva, now 8-1; Argentina’s Malegarie falls to 28-5.
Despite going back to his corner with two cuts, one on the side of his head and the other over his eye, Malegarie had the better of the action in the opening round, as he repeatedly tagged Silva with left hooks. None of the shots appeared to stun Silva though, and the sporadic blows he scored with were the heavier ones.
Malegarie got an early takedown in Round 2, and though he didn’t do much with it, he continued scoring well once the two were back on the feet. Silva had the same success as he walked down his foe, leaving it to the final five minutes to determine the outcome of the bout.
In the last round, the two continued to battle on fairly even terms, Malegarie’s busier attack and a takedown serving him well. But it was Silva’s harder shots and aggression ultimately turning the judges’ scores in his favor.
