Jussier Formiga moved one step closer to earning a UFC flyweight title shot with a win over Zach Makovsky in the featured preliminary bout at UFC Fight Night: Bader vs St. Preux Saturday.
Formiga (17-3) was able to out-grapple his opponent in the first two rounds, taking Makovsky’s back several times and securing favourable positions after each scramble.
Makovsky (18-5) had Georges St-Pierre’s trainer Firas Zahabi in his corner and dominated third round, but all three judges scored the bout 29-28 in favour of the Brazilian. Makovsky is a former Bellator bantamweight champion and was previously unbeaten at flyweight.
Demetrious Johnson will look to defend his 125-pound belt against Chris Cariaso in the main event of UFC 178 on Sept. 27. Formiga, who holds a win over Cariaso, has won two in a row and could potentially fight the winner of that bout.
In a women’s bantamweight tilt, Sara McMann handed former Invicta FC champion Lauren Murphy her first pro loss as she picked up a split decision win.
McMann (8-1) used her wrestling skills, the same wrestling skills that won her an Olympic silver medal in 2004, to dictate where the action took place. Although Murphy (8-1) out-landed McMann 203-72 in total strikes, McMann had a 58-25 edge in significant strikes and was five for eight on her takedown attempts.
England’s Tom Watson snapped a two-fight losing streak as he beat former Maximum Fighting Championship middleweight champion Sam Alvey by unanimous decision in a back-and-forth, crowd-pleasing brawl.
The two men fired heavy shots at one another with Watson (17-7) taking the first two rounds before Alvey (23-6, 1 NC) mounted a comeback in the third that ultimately fell short.
Prior to the bout, Alvey told Sportsnet he hoped his UFC debut would be a memorable one: “I’m hoping that I can go out there and put on a Fight of the Night performance. I want to make sure people talk about me on Monday and I’m sure [Watson] feels the same way.”
In the opening fight of the evening, Frankie Saenz beat fellow UFC newcomer Nolan Ticman by unanimous decision in bantamweight action.
Saenz (9-2) bullied Ticman (4-2) for three rounds, mixing up his combinations and takedowns that kept his opponent on the defensive for most of the 15-minute tilt. A former King of the Cage flyweight champion, Saenz is expected to drop back down to the 125-pound division.
The event took place at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine.
