Welcome to the MMANews.com live coverage page for tonight’s UFC 177: Dillashaw vs. Soto event, which comes to us live from the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California.
Updates will begin with the first preliminary bout and continue throughout the evening, covering each fight on the prelim and pay-per-view cards.
FOX Sports 1 Preliminary Card
FIGHT #1: Chris Wade (7-1) vs. Cain Carrizosa (6-0)
Round 1: The horn sounds and here we go. Wade gets a big takedown early and is now controlling Cain against the cage. Wade is looking to take Cain’s back as Cain is trying to stand up. Wade slaps on a guillotine choke and taps him out. That didn’t take long.
Chris Wade def. Cain Carrizosa via Submission (guillotine choke) at 1:12 of Round 1.
FIGHT #2: Ruan Potts (8-2) vs. Anthony Hamilton (12-3)
Round 1: Potts misses with a leg kick attempt. Seconds later, Hamilton scores a big takedown on Potts. Hamilton and Potts quickly scramble back to their feet. Potts catches Hamilton coming in with a good right hand. Hamilton clinches with Potts and pushes him up against the cage. Hamilton manages to get Potts back down to the mat. Hamilton steps back and lets Potts get up. Potts stays on the ground and challenges Hamilton to fight him there. The referee forces Potts to get back up, as Hamilton just stood and waited for him. Back on the feet, Potts misses a high kick attempt. Three minutes left in this first round. Hamilton catches Potts with a solid uppercut. Hamilton catches Potts with a heavy middle kick and follows up with a right hand. Hamilton with another big takedown. Hamilton has Potts up against the cage and is in Potts’ half guard. Potts is looking for a kimura from the bottom. Hamilton is throwing big body punches from the top. He switches to elbows, prmopting the referee to warn him for 12-6 elbows. Hamilton stands up, backs up and lets Potts get back to his feet yet again. Hamilton takes Potts right back to the mat as soon as he stands up. Potts looks for a guillotine immediately, but Hamilton easily escapes. Hamilton lands one shot and then stands up and waits for Potts to get back up. He’s done that four times this round, seemingly looking to win on points with takedowns. Potts comes in swinging wildly but nothing lands. Potts lands a good kick. Hamilton pushes Potts up against the fence and the buzzer sounds to end the first round. Easy round to score. MMANews.com scores the round 10-9 for Anthony Hamilton.
Round 2: We’re back from the commercial and we see a replay from round one of Potts landing right on the top of his head during one of the takedowns. The second round begins with Hamilton pushing Potts up against the cage. Potts tries for an elbow standing, but Hamilton ducks under it and takes him down. Once again, Hamilton stands up and backs up. The crowd boos as Hamilton stands in front of Potts waiting for him to get back up. With both guys standing once again, Potts throws a couple of leg kicks. Potts goes high with a kick but Hamilton avoids it. Hamilton takes Potts down with ease. Potts is working the butterfly guard from the bottom. Hamilton passes to Potts’ half guard. Hamilton has Potts wedged up against the fence, but isn’t doing much from the top position. Three minutes remaining in the second round. Hamilton is working some punches to the body of Potts from the top. He’s firing away and Potts’ side is starting to get pretty red and beaten up. The referee keeps yelling at the guys to “work to finish.” Now the ref is warning Potts. “Show me something Ruan!” he says repeatedly as Hamilton continues to smash away at Potts’ ribs. Really not the type of shots that you stop a fight over, however the referee is warning him pretty seriously that he will. We see a nice shot of Potts’ ribs and they are all red and welted up. Hamilton is firing away again to the ribs of Potts and the referee is giving Potts a stern warning. Finally, the referee has seen enough and stops it. Pretty odd stoppage, as it was just some simple punches to the ribs. In all fairness, the referee did warn Potts many, many times and Potts wasn’t able to improve his position or do anything offensively. Not the most exciting fight you’ll ever see by any means.
Anthony Hamilton def. Ruan Potts via TKO (referee stoppage) at 4:17 of Round 2.
FIGHT #3: Lorenz Larkin (14-3) vs. Derek Brunson (11-3)
Round 1: The guys touch gloves and off we go. Brunson pushes Larkin against the cage and has double-overhooks. Nothing happens for a while and the two finally separate. Brunson throws a middle kick but Larkin blocks it. Larkin lands a double-right hand combination. Brunson comes in wild and Larkin just misses with a huge uppercut. Brunson holds Larkin up against the cage again. Brunson keeps sliding him across the cage and seems to be looking for a trip-takedown as he moves him, however Larkin manages to keep his balance. The two separate for just a moment and Brunson lands a nice punch. Brunson clamps on a guillotine out of nowhere and it looks pretty tight. He gets Larkin down to the ground with it and finally lets it go. Larkin was in some pretty big trouble there. He had to go to his back to relieve some of the pressure of the choke. Larkin is now giving up his back and Brunson is taking advantage by hammering away with solid punches. Larkin tries to sit out, which allows Brunson to slide his arm under Larkin’s throat. Brunson looks for a rear-naked choke but Larkin again goes to his back to avoid it. Brunson works his top game now, landing some punches and elbows while Larkin is stuck against the cage. Larkin gets full guard now and is trying to control Brunson’s arms and ride out the round. Just under a minute remaining in the round. Larkin goes for mission control now and has the left arm of Brunson trapped. Larkin switches to an oma plata attempt but Brunson avoids it and hammers down with a few more punches as the round ends. MMANews.com scores the round 10-9 for Derek Brunson.
Round 2: The second round begins with both guys circling around and seeming a bit timid. Brunson lands a decent right hand. Brunson seems to be faking takedown attempts, trying to get Larkin to drop his hands, but Larkin isn’t biting yet. Brunson shoots in for a takedown. Larkin defends it at first but Brunson eventually gets him down. Brunson immediately moves to side control. Brunson seems to be looking for a D’arce choke but Larkin avoids it and gets his full guard. Just under three minutes remaining in the second round. The crowd is starting to boo now as the action slows down a bit on the ground. Larkin gets his back on the fence now and is trying to wall-walk his way back to his feet. Brunson is making him pay for it by throwing some punches. Brunson is looking to take Larkin’s back now. The two scramble and now they’re back on their feet. Larkin explodes with some nice punches and finishes with a knee. Brunson takes Larkin right back down. Larkin nearly sweeped him but Brunson avoided it. Brunson is in Larkin’s half guard now and is landing some small shots from the top. 30 seconds left in the round. Brunson lands a pretty good elbow as the ten second warning hits. The round ends with Brunson on top. MMANews.com scores the round 10-9 for Derek Brunson.
Round 3: The third round is now officially underway and Larkin clearly needs a finish or a very, very big round if he wants a shot at winning this one on the judges cards. Brunson clinches with Larkin but Larkin separates and gets away. Larkin throws a vicious kick at Brunson but doesn’t fully connect. Brunson takes Larkin down. Brunson is working from inside Larkin’s half guard and we hear Greg Jackson shouting instructions to him from cage-side. Three minutes remain in the fight as Brunson continues to work light ground and pound from the top position. Larkin threatens with a leg lock of some kind but Brunson quickly escapes and remains on top. Brunson is back inside Larkin’s half guard and is working some punches from on top. The crowd is getting restless now and is letting the fighters hear it. Kenny Florian replaces Joe Rogan on commentary in the middle of this fight, joining Mike Goldberg. Goldberg informs us that Rogan is headed backstage “for a very important interview.” The two joke about how they’ve never experienced a commentator change at the announce table in the middle of a fight. Just under a minute remains as Brunson continues to do the same thing he has done this entire round, and most of this fight, which is work punches from the top position on the ground. Larkin finally works his way back to his feet with only 15 seconds left. Larkin lands a nice standing elbow. The horn sounds as Larkin was in the middle of throwing a crazy spinning kick. Not even sure how to describe that. Some Capoeira type stuff. Pretty clear who won this fight, even if it wasn’t that exciting at all. MMANews.com scores the round 10-9 for Derek Brunson.
Derek Brunson def. Lorenz Larkin via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Live coverage continues with the pay-per-view portion of the card on page two. Click below to advance to page two …
