UFC International Fight Week is upon us and on Friday the UFC hosted The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption Finale in Las Vegas.
The night featured an exciting lightweight battle in the main event and the crowning of a new TUF champion, but the night also featured a full night filled with exciting matchups.
The UFC Fight Pass prelims were headlined by a featherweight fight between former title challenger Gray Maynard and Team Alpha Male’s Teruto Ishihara.
Maynard landed a takedown early in the round. Ishihara moved his way to the cage and managed to briefly get to his feet. Every time Ishihara used the cage to stand up, Maynard immediately got the fight back on the ground. Midway in the round, Ishihara got to his feet and landed a couple hard shots before Maynard landed another takedown. At the end of the round, Ishihara once again fought his way to his feet. After both fighters threw a couple of shots, Maynard secured another takedown. The round ended with Maynard landing shots on top.
Within the first 30 seconds, Maynard landed a takedown early in round two. Ishihara was able to get to his feet, but he couldn’t stop Maynard from taking him down at will. For almost for the entirety of the round, Maynard smothered Ishihara on the ground.
Once again, Maynard took only seconds to get Ishihara on the ground to start the final round. Maynard threw strikes and went for submission attempts on the ground, but Ishihara showed toughness by staying in the fight. Ishihara did everything he could to get up but Maynard’s wrestling was too much for him to handle. Towards the end of the round, Ishihara hit an illegal up kick, but Maynard wanted to quickly resume the fight. The fight ended with Maynard on top of Ishihara.
Official Result:
Gray Maynard def. Teruto Ishihara by unanimous decision — 30-26, 30-26, 30-26
