It’s on! The UFC 216 official pay-per-view card us underway and up first is an intriguing lightweight clash between Beneil Dariush and Evan Dunham.
In the opening round, It was mostly Dariush who after a brief feeling out period, landed some nasty elbows to drop Dunham. He was then able to land heavy shots from top position after the fight hit the mat. Dunham worked his way up before the rounds end, the obvious loser of the first frame.
In the second round, Dunham on his bike, circling on the outside. Dariush throws a flying knee and Dunham grabs and doesn’t let go. He uses the opportunity to slam Dariush to the ground. He works from guard. Dariush gets tricky from his back and ties Dunham up. Evan stands up to escape and the two are back up. Dariush is visibly tired and Dunham is just getting started. The round ends with Dunham the likely winner of the frame.
Round 3 and Dariush seems to have recovered. Opens up with some nasty low kicks. Dunham lands his best punch of the night with a left. Dunham starts to bring it now. Dariush overcommits on a punch, Dunham ducks under and grabs a double leg. He can’t get it, and the two clinch against the cage at the midway point of the round. They separate and start trading punches. It’s all Dunham in the final minutes of the round. He presses forward, landing shots until the bell sounds.
UFC 216 Result: Beneil Dariush and Evan Dunham fight to a draw. (29-28, 28-28, 28-28)
HELLbows!!@BeneilDariush lands some serious elbows in the clinch and drops Dunham! #UFC216 pic.twitter.com/et8wgusoHT
— UFC (@ufc) October 8, 2017
Majority Draw
Agree? #UFC216 pic.twitter.com/iL8bUUSsxE
— UFC (@ufc) October 8, 2017
