Heavyweights collide on the UFC Vegas 51 prelims.
Viral sensation Chris Barnett makes his return to the Octagon. ‘Beast Boy’ meets Martin Buday, following his spinning back kick TKO of Gian Villante. Buday looks to extend his win streak to 9, when he faces Barnett.
Round 1:
The two play it safe from a distance. A minute in, they start trading shots in the pocket before Buday clinches Barnett. Buday controls him against the cage. They break away after a minute. Buday would close the distance once again, initiating the clinch against the cage. They separate.
Buday lands some good punches while Barnett misses some wild hooks. They clinch up. Buday pushes his head to the neck of Barnett making it uncomfortable for ‘Beast Boy’. Buday lands some knees in this position before the round ends.
Round 2:
Buday presses forward aggressively with strikes, not giving Barnett any room to breathe. Buday clinches up with Barnett once again close to the cage. They separate. Barnett throws some wild haymakers but misses each time. Barnett gets clinch control next to the cage but Buday reverses position quite quickly. Buday controls for more than a minute before separating. After a few strikes, they go back to the same clinch with Buday in control (again).
Barnett swings for the fences when they separate, but Buday evades every punch. Rounds ends with them in the clinch yet another time.
Round 3:
Buday clinches up once again, dropping Barnett with a brutal knee to the body. Buday throws more follow-up strikes, but Barnett gets back up to his feet. Buday unloads a nasty elbow to the back of Barnett’s head, following up with more elbows. Barnett is dropped with the referee stopping the action.
Due to the illegal blow, the fight will go to the scorecards instead of a disqualification or a no contest.
Official Result: Martin Buday defeats Chris Barnett via technical unanimous decision
Check out the highlights below:
https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1515461162653073413?s=20&t=h6P8Y3r27k4XsD680cvMGQ
The fight's been called off due to an illegal strike in the third round.
The ref deems it accidental so we'll now go to the judges scorecards. #UFCVegas51 pic.twitter.com/C3bnNSWu0V
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) April 16, 2022
Winner by technical decision, @MartinBudayUFC gets the victory tonight at #UFCVegas51.
[ Prelims continue LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/BJIqwga1cI
— UFC (@ufc) April 16, 2022
