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[Cat--Smasher]

John Makdessi's body 'covered in scratches' following UFC 158 win | News

John Makdessi admits his patience was tested at UFC 158. Opponent Daron Cruickshank complained about a low kick that Makdessi didn't think landed illegally. Cruickshank complained about a shot to the back of the head – after he had turned his back to Makdessi.

The scratches, though, bothered him more than anything.

"I thought he was a little bit disrespectful at one point because he had a weird defense, and he kept shoving his fingers in my face," Makdessi today told MMAjunkie.com Radio (MMA Radio, UFC Radio - MMAjunkie Radio). "It was a little irritating in the second round. In the last (round), he poked me.

"I was full of scratches – my whole body, my whole neck. my back. I was all scratched up. I don't know if it was his glove or his nails or whatever."

Despite the scratches, which likely resulted from Cruickshank's open-hand strikes and blocks, Makdessi took home a unanimous-decision victory at Saturday's UFC 158 event at Montreal's Bell Centre. Makdessi (11-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Cruickshank (12-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) fought on the FX-televised preliminary card.

For Makdessi, who fights out of Montreal with Tristar Gym, it was a memorable win. After suffering the first two losses of his career in 2012, the lightweight now has rebounded with a pair of victories. And getting both of them on home soil has been special.

"The Bell Centre, it's an incredible feeling – the energy, the vibe, everything," he said. "It was a crazy experience."

And this is a guy who knows something about crazy experiences. After all, he had more than 55,000 people buzzing after he scored a highlight-reel spinning-backfist knockout of Kyle Watson at Toronto's massive UFC 129 stadium show in 2011.

Although Makdessi has proven knockout power – he won his first six pro fights via strikes – he admits Cruickshank initially threw him off his game plan.

"If I'm trying to box with a guy and he has his fingers sticking out in my face, I'm always aware of that," he said. "It's hard for me to box with him, strike with him, if he's doing that. ... I'm not saying he's doing it intentionally, but it was very weird for me. It was the first time I had a fight like that."

[rivethead]

Originally Posted by some mma hack

Cruickshank complained about a shot to the back of the head – after he had turned his back to Makdessi.

...it doesn't matter if he turned his back or not. Fighters are responsible for where their blows land.

Cruikshank is a punkass if he didn't cut his nails, but this is garbage "journalism" before he gets out of the first paragraph.

rh