TUF 24 FINALE: Prelims Results Recap

Gray Maynard vs. Ryan Hall

(Featherweight Bout – 3 Rounds)

TUF winner Ryan Hall took on multiple time UFC 155lbs title contender, Gray Maynard in a ‘cat and mouse’ type of bout for the 15 minutes that it lasted. The story of the preliminaries headliner was easy to decipher; even if it was tough for fans to appreciate, ‎ Hall would feint, jab or back up along the cage floor before hitting a summer salt looking for a flying heel hook or rolling knee bar. He rinse and repeated this offensive approach for the span of those 3 rounds while Maynard fearlessly or carelessly, whichever way you want to look at it, walked forward befuddled by his foe’s arsenal.

At first it seemed like Maynard would push through and off-set his man’s attack by calling on his fantastic wrestling which got him to the top of the lightweight division on multiple occasions in the past with his wicked ground and pound and powerful jab. But, it was nowhere to be found. As Hall backed up, rolled and attacked all through Round 1, he put his man in a box. Maynard came forward in the next 10 minutes expecting the summer salt tactic but instead, Hall whipped him across the face with a beautiful roundhouse kick or front kick, cleanly. This happened on about 5 instances where Maynard fell for the feint and was caught with his hands at his waist as the TUF champion snapped away with the powerful and flawlessly executed leg strike.

The fans kept booing as the match progressed and in the final minutes of Round 3, ‘The Bully’ Maynard chose to come in a little bit more but failed to string together more than one jab or hook that landed and opted to land a couple of leg kicks to his foe’s legs and thigs as Hall ended up on the mat and pulled guard taunting to have Maynard come in and battle on the mat. Hall cruised to a points verdict and left his man confused and frustated but remains unbeaten in his Octagon run‎.

RESULTS: ‎Ryan Hall defeats Gray Maynard via unanimous decision. Scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.

Matt Schnell vs. Rob Font

(Bantamweight Bout – 3 Rounds)

The Cuban-American Font immediately shot in on his man in the opening 30 seconds of Round 1 getting a clean take down. Schnell defended well on the mat as Font went for a submission finish then used that same Kimura attack to transition to his man’s back and attempt a rear naked choke. Font had the body triangle locked in and the forearm clear across ‎the face of his foe but Schnell would not go quietly into the night holding his own, getting out of the body triangle as well as shoving the arms off his face and getting the fight back standing.

About halfway into the round Font landed an Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort style front kick from UFC 126 that rocked his man’s chin. Schnell was on very wobbly legs and covered up while he backed away as the Boston native unleashed a barrage of punches. Font searched for the perfect kill shot and found it landing sneaky left hook before closing with a ‎standing right knee that Schnell walked into after falling for a Font feint. His head snapped back from the vicious strike and he toppled to the canvas. Font swarmed him with some mean ground and pound, raking him across the head and face with hammer fists as Schnell gave up his back, laying almost flat then Font landed some heavy right and left hooks that put him to sleep as the referee stepped in.

RESULTS: Rob Font stops Matt Schnell via TKO at ‎(3:47) of Round 1 via strikes.

Brendan O’Reilly vs. Dong Hyun Kim

(Lightweight Bout – 3 Rounds)

Kim was wrestle heavy for the first three minutes and would not let up on that look, pushing the pace of the match behind great conditioning. He pressed his man along the cage wall, applied his clinch, worked for the take down and finally got it after ‎O’Reilly made the mistake of throwing a left standing knee along the cage wall while in the clinch which allowed Kim to catch it and body slam him off of it. From there, he took the next 2 minutes to work his ground game after getting side control via some wicked ground and pound and knees to the body before attacking his man’s back. Kim successfully took his man’s back and sunk in his hooks but before going for a rear naked choke finish O’Reilly hit a reversal. Still, Kim managed to get himself into his man’s guard and land a few hammer fists before the 1st Round came to a close.

‎Going into Round 2 Kim kicked things off with a quick fast shot that blasted the match unto the mat. O’Reilly worked off of his guard as Kim ripped away to the body and head with some short punches before his man pushed away and created space to get back standing. Nonetheless, Kim shot in for the take down once again and forced the match back on the mat. O’Reilly had some success with about two minutes left reversing and getting his man’s back. Kim spun around and started working out of his foe’s guard before passing the guard and trying to sink in another rear naked choke attempt. O’Reilly defended the attack well, got the fight standing and landed a clean short right elbow on the inside along the cage wall on Kim. They battled it out for the final moments along the cage wall throwing punches before the 2nd Round came to an end.

Heading into Round 3 Kim took all of 20 seconds to close the distance on his foe, mash him along the cage wall and used an under hook to pin him there. With 2 minutes left O’Reilly reversed position and got his man along the cage wall burying his head into Kim’s chest and landing some punches in the pocket. Kim reversed and used his right under hook to trap O’Reilly along the cage wall for a few moments before the referee broke them up at about the 90 second mark. Kim returned to his bread and butter, closing distance and getting the take down before passing to mount. O’Reilly reversed and got into his man’s guard to close out the 3rd Round in the final seconds.

RESULTS: Dong Hyun Kim defeats Brendan O’Reilly via unanimous decision. Scores of 29-28 all across the board.

Jamie Moyle vs. Kailin Curran

In the first of two women’s matches of the night, Moyle and Curran collided in a great stand up bout. Moyle secured a solid take down in the first 20 seconds before Curran scooted her hips and worked her way back to her feet. Moyle walked her down and unleashed her strikes, applying a clinch then hitting her foe with some standing knees on the inside. She then dropped levels to fish for a single leg take down which Curran defended well with her back along the cage wall. With about 2 minutes left she reversed position as they stood and applied a standing D’Arce choke. ‎Moyle turned her neck and popped her head out using both arms to defend then the two women started landing strikes along the cage wall.  A battle of Curran’s low leg kicks versus Moyle’s 1-2 combinations developed for the next few moments. Moyle closed range and kept her foe at bay along the cage wall using a right under hook then raking her opponent with some left hooks before the round came to an end.

A headbutt in the opening Round had bad swelling developing over Moyle’s left eye. It didn’t keep her from trading punches in the center of the Octagon against her foe however. Curran threw a high kick which Moyle caught it under her armpit, then used it to force her foe along the cage wall and work for a single leg take down to try and get the match to the canvas. ‎Curran created space but shortly thereafter Moyle again pursued the take down and didn’t get it along the cage wall. Curran circled out and started boxing while Moyle launched some front kicks and roundhouses at her with about 2 minutes left in the 2nd Round. They kept the action in the center of the ring with Curran working her jab and 1-2 combinations as Moyle looked to counter with single strikes. With 80 seconds left in the round Moyle closed the distance, used a clinch then dropped down for a single leg take down which she got. She lifted Curran above her own head and then viciously  slammed ‎her to the ground like a prime Frankie ‘The Answer’ Edgar. Moyle worked out of her foe’s guard on the mat landing some nice ground and pound before the round came to a close with that big bruise now leaking blood just abover her eye streaming down her face.

Heading into Round 3 Moyle’s face was a bloody mess but, she still pushed forward landing some punches as Curran countered with her right hook before being pressed up against the cage wall. Moyle worked hard for a single leg then a double leg take down as Curran stuffed both shots. With about 2 minutes left they ended up back along the cage wall and Moyle was not shying away from the take down finally getting it but Curran reversed it almost mid fall temporarily taking her back. Moyle fought out of guard then swept her foe to get back to her feet just when Curran landed an illegal knee which caused the referee to call time out so the doctor could take a look.

The replay showed the knee hitting the chest and the doctor already felt that she was good to continue by the time it finished playing on the big screen. Both women resumed trading shots when in the last 90 seconds Moyle used the Muay Thai clinch to land some powerful knees of her own at close range. In the final 60 seconds they traded punches, Moyle shot in and secured an inside leg trip to force the match to the ground and work from Curran’s half guard as both ladies were a bloody mess to close out the final round landing some punches to the crowd’s delight.

RESULTS:‎ Jamie Moyle defeats Kailin Curran via Unanimous Decision. Scores of 30-27 all across the board.